APP Tour Sacramento Open Preview

📸 @marybrascia.pickleball

Authored by Gritty

There is no women’s singles for this event so we decided not to do a fantasy draft preview. Instead, we have a podium pick preview for you all. These are solely my picks that Slim has nothing to do with. Since the APP dialing it back to 20 stops next year with bigger purses and better venues, that should do away with these weaker, smaller tournament brackets. This one in Sacramento is the weakest one I can recall for the entire year.

Mixed Doubles

1. Anna Bright / DJ Young

2. Cierra Gaytan-Leach / Chuck Taylor

3. Lacy Schneemann / Zack Taylor

The mixed field is the deepest of the 4 pro brackets. Anna and DJ are a legit team that should roll through. I think Chuck Taylor is far and away the next best male so paired with Gaytan-Leach they are a strong silver choice.

The Rest: That bronze could go any way. Schneemann and Taylor have had one good pro run together but the Brascia sisters, Maggie with Patriquin and Mary with McMakin, offer some upside. The most intriguing team is Susannah Barr playing with her son and king of the soon to be defunct spin serve, Porter Barr. That serve will be deadly in mixed and Porter is starting to get results in pro. This may be a lot of pressure for Porter in a softer field when a result is up for grabs. Keep an eye out for Padegimaite and Wyatt Stone too.

Women’s Doubles

1. Susannah Barr / Lina Padegimaite

2. Mary Brascia / Maggie Brascia

3. Anna Bright / Beth Bellamy

This is a weird pro draw. Barr and Padegimaite are my pick, but the Brascia sisters should be competitive with them. Anna Bright playing with one of the top senior women in Beth Bellamy is quite the thing. It will be interesting to see how Bellamy holds up as no one else outside the top 2 teams features a legitimate pro partnership. Bellamy and Bright had solid results in the Shootout last night too.

The Rest: Gaytan-Leach/Erokhina have found some results together before in pro. Joy Leising and Tracie DeJager are relevant for this field, but I don’t see them finding a podium.

Men’s Doubles

1. Mario Barrientos / DJ Young

2. Ky McMakin / Chuck Taylor

3. Hayden Patriquin / Wyatt Stone

Mario and DJ are heavy favorites as the only other people in this men’s field with pro podiums are Chuck Taylor and Hayden Patriquin. Hayden and Wyatt Stone’s results have levelled off with their dual high variance style, which is why I like McMakin/Taylor a little better. Hayden and Wyatt lost early in the Shootout last night too.

The Rest: I have Nemoff/French ahead of them but a team to watch would be Zack Taylor/Matt Baca. Taylor and Baca play with the strong Cali group that features Irvine, Crandall, Warnick and Schneemann. The silver and gold medal teams for the shootout were Ashworth/Vavra, who beat Hayden/Wyatt, and Venkatesan/Tamanaha.

Men’s Singles

1. Kyle Lewis

2. Hayden

3. Zack Taylor

Kyle Lewis is the only guy here with a pro podium so it shows how soft this field is when he is the clear top dog. Hayden Patriquin gets pro wins and should have a shot at a podium here while Zack Taylor is a wild card as he has been solid enough in pro.

The Rest: Other names to watch for the podium are Connor Garnett and Noah Zwiren. Garnett is a tennis guy pegged recently by Daniel Roditi as one to watch. Zwiren is a PNW guy who gets some pretty solid results when he plays pro singles.

Agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments below or email us at nmlpickleball@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook too!

9 thoughts on “APP Tour Sacramento Open Preview

  • September 24, 2022 at 3:27 am
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    Weak field. Maybe reflects the burn out of pro players and the number of APP tournaments. Will you guys be watching?

    Reply
    • September 24, 2022 at 7:41 am
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      Tier II event on APP Tour Dan.
      This is exactly what the purpose of a tier II is on APP- the middle tier pros. Tier II events are a development / satellite tour not meant for the top tier pros. The fact that we have several of the top 15 pros here and adding it to their schedule, is a attribute to the pros wanting get extra match time on court. I have made the decision to take the Tier II’s off the schedule for next year and open my tier I’s with a full qualifier, hence needing the need for development/ satellite tour stops. So it’s a huge positive for what the purpose and vision of what this particular tournament is suppose to be for that caliber of player.

      Reply
      • September 25, 2022 at 9:57 am
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        Okay. Sorry. I didn’t realize what tier it was.

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      • September 25, 2022 at 11:23 am
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        Ken – thank you for the explanation. Next year will the tier II events (like Indianapolis and Cincinnati) be qualifiers or will the qualifiers take place immediately prior to the tournaments listed on your schedule?

        Reply
      • September 25, 2022 at 1:13 pm
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        Thanks for the explanation. Do you limit the number of top pros who can play in this tier, or is the smaller purse just a natural disincentive for them?

        Reply
  • September 24, 2022 at 3:03 pm
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    With the lack of PPA players why didn’t the MLP draft senior pros? Guys like Weinbach, Gingrich and Crandall for sure are better than some of the #2 guys and after watching Bellamy play with bright today I’d take her over many of the drafted women. I’m sure there are others I haven’t watched that are also very good.

    Reply
  • September 26, 2022 at 11:00 am
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    What a great weekend from Maggie. Really stepped up and showed that she can take a little more control.

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    • September 26, 2022 at 11:14 am
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      Couldn’t agree more. Took down some “top dogs” in Anna Bright and DJ Young, played extremely well.

      Reply

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