Pro mixed doubles gold medal winners Matt Wright and Lucy Kovalova pose for a photo at the 2018 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championship at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Wednesday Nov. 7, 2018.
Thursday, November 8
Thursday was the largest day yet here at Indian Wells Tennis Garden as the roll over semi-final and gold medal matches of Wednesday Mixed Doubles Pro and Senior Pro matches were held. The roll over matches are unique this year to give spectators here in Indian Wells and the viewing public on ESPN3, an opportunity to see some of best pickleball players in the world compete in prime time.
In the Mixed Doubles Pro semi-final, Lucy Kovalova and Matt Wright battled Sarah Ansboury and Tyson McGuffin with Kovalova and Wright advancing with scores of 11-5, 5-11, 11-5. This victory made them the favorites coming out of the winner’s bracket.
In the other Pro semi match, Simone Jardim and Kyle Yates played Tyson McGuffin and Sarah Ansboury. This was a rematch following a hard-fought match the night before. Today however, Kyle and Simone were able to advance to the final, winning 11-2 and 11-7.
This set up an epic center court Pro division gold medal match up between Kovalova/Wright and Jardim/Yates. The near capacity crowd and the national viewing audience were not disappointed and witnessed some outstanding pickleball. In the end, the National Championship victory went to Matt Wright and Lucy Kovalova with the final match scores of 11-5, 7-11 and 11-4.
Mixed Doubles Pro Winners:
Gold: Lucy Kovalova/Matt Wright
Silver: Simone Jardim/Kyle Yates
Bronze: Sarah Ansboury/Tyson McGuffin
As for the Senior Mixed Doubles action, Kris Anderson and Scott Moore were able to overcome a first game of loss (5-11) to Cammy MacGregor and Brian Straub. However, Anderson/Moore finished strong taking the final two games 11-5 and 11-3 to take the gold.
Mixed Doubles Senior Pro Winners:
Gold: Kris Anderson/Scott Moore
Silver: Cammy MacGregor/Brian Straub
Bronze: Lisa Naumu/Kevin Booth
With semi-final and gold medal matches for the Doubles Pro and Sr. Pro rolling over to tomorrow (Saturday) the ESPN3 broadcast schedule for Friday on the Margaritaville Championship Court will tentatively feature:
On Tap for Today: Friday Nov. 9
Today will feature both the Men’s and Women’s Doubles Pro & Sr. Pro divisions which will be played up to the semi-finals. The semi-finals and gold matches will carry over and be played on Saturday. Junior play also begins today. Boys and Girls Doubles (all ages) with brackets played to completion. Competition today starts at 9:00AM.
The Boathouse has coffee and limited food service available starting at 7AM. The Margaritaville License to Chill Bar and Stage kicks off with full food service beginning at 10AM with bar service 11AM – 8PM. The Margaritaville Pop-Up Bar will be open from 10AM – 5PM down by the lower courts. For evening entertainment, tonight is the time to let loose and celebrate this year’s Nationals Championships as we host the “Pickled Our Party” from 5-8PM. All fans and players are welcome and will enjoy plenty of food and drinks while listening and dancing to live music by Mic Dangerously and The Cartoon Cowboys. The “Pickled Out Party will take place in the Margaritaville Shade Pavilion 2. Throughout the day players and spectators are encouraged to stop by the Interactive Fun Zone from 8AM-8PM for ping-pong, corn hole, and photo opportunities.
Be sure to also stop by the USA Pickleball Information Center and sign up for a guided tour of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Stadium 1. With over 16,000 seats, this is the second largest tennis stadium in the world and one of the crown jewels for the sport. Go behind the scenes look at the media rooms, player interview room, luxury boxes and more! Two FREE tours of 30 people each are offered each day.
Where to Watch:
The Margaritaville Championship Court Live Cam is a special HD baseline-mounted camera, featuring an onscreen scoreboard and live court audio. This livestream is available daily from the official Event website. From licensing issues with the championship court music, the audio feed for this camera is unfortunately not available.
Each day, you can also check out the USAPA Facebook page at 9AM PST for the MORNING UPDATE with information about special USAPA streaming features including player interviews and livestreaming of great outer court matches.
ESPN3 will continue their livestream coverage of the Event today. The free livestream will again be 4PM-8PM EST today – Sunday. Today’s broadcast schedule will be:
Tennis legends Luke and Murphy Jensen will host. In addition, a one-hour national televised special presentation of the 2018 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships will air on ESPNEWS on Sunday, November 25 at 3PM EST.
How to Watch ESPN3 LiveStreaming:
For details on the free ESPN streaming service, FAQs, and more, please review the following: https://usapickleballnationalchampionships.com/live-stream/
If you miss the livestream, the daily replay of the ESPN3 broadcast is also available (still requires a one-time login to your service provider)
