Undefeated No. 1 Aceholes will face off against either No. 32 Lopez or No. 33 Maternal Instincts at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday in the second round of the intramural doubles competitive pickleball playoffs.
The duo of civil engineering sophomore Elvin Jaya and industrial engineering junior Kyle Nguyenphu finished its regular season slate with a 4-0 record, highlighted by a dominant 21-6 win over Hajjplayspickle to wrap up regular season play. Aceholes’ efforts in the regular season afforded them the No. 1 seed out of 110 teams that compete in the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday leagues.
Although the team looks good on paper, there are still improvements to be made before playoff competition, according to Jaya.
“We played great during the regular season going undefeated but still learned a lot about where we could improve, such as staying focused and closing out games,” Jaya said. “Kyle and I have been drilling in preparation for our playoff matches to make sure we keep our touch and shots consistent.”
Aceholes’ potential opponents both hold a 1-3 record after going on three-match losing streaks to end their seasons. Lopez competed in the Wednesday 6:15 and 6:45 p.m. league and finished sixth in league standings. Meanwhile, Maternal Instinct competed an hour later in the Wednesday 7:15 and 7:45 p.m. league with an eighth-place finish in the regular season.
Looking at its opponents has given the team insight into its playoff chances, Jaya said.
“The team we will be playing against is the winner of the preceding bracket, but they both have records of 1-3,” Jaya said. “So we feel pretty confident in that match. We have a pretty light bracket until we get to the semifinal and final matches, as we will be going against teams that also went undefeated in the regular season and thus far in the bracket.”
If Aceholes wins its match to move forward in the playoffs, it will compete against either No. 16 Tickle My Pickle or No. 17 Wesley’s Revenge on Oct. 9 at 9:45 p.m. on Court 1.
For more information on the doubles competitive playoffs, visit the pickleball IMLeague website.
Neomi Brown is a journalism senior and contributed this article from the course JOUR 359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.
