Sixteen Cinderellas met their Prince Charmings at the second Summer of Love Pickleball mixer on May 3!
SLPCIO held its second Summer of Love Pickleball mixer with a twist May 3. All 16 Cinderellas put one of their tennis shoes in a box and all 16 Prince Charmings randomly chose a shoe from the box. Each Prince Charming then found their Cinderella, placed the shoe on her foot, tied her shoe and presented her with a diamond bracelet made special for this event. These 16 beautiful couples then competed in four round robins playing three matches each. The winner of each round robin advanced to the semi-final round.
Before the semi-final round began, there were important matters to take care of. Our eight semi-finalists took their positions around the Maypole on Pickleball court No. 1 each holding one ribbon. Once the music started the Cinderellas wound their ribbons clockwise while the Prince Charmings wound their ribbons counterclockwise over and under each other in traditional Maypole style. It was a colorful sight to behold as all players and spectators added their lovely voices and applause. Courtesy of SLPCIO, pizza was served for lunch.
The semi-final matches pitted Julie Clausen and Milt Sharpe against Cathy McDonald and Tom Kasper on court No. 1 and Evonne Jasnic and David Novikoff against Patty True and David Zapatka on court No. 2. These were very close, exciting matches! The crowd roared their approval time and again as long rallies unfolded before their eyes.
The finals match saw the hard-hitting pair of McDonald/Kasper taking on the tournament-tough pair of True/Zapatka. In a hard fought match with a plethora of outstanding points, True/Zapatka edged out a win.
The third place match between Jasnic/Novikoff and Clausen/Sharpe was very exciting! The rallies were more than just long, hard-hitting affairs, the Arizona soft game, lob and angle strategies were out in full force as the cheering gallery was entertained to the very last point; Jasnic/Novikoff pulling out the win.
In closing ceremonies, Patty True was crowned with a sparkling diadem worthy of her play in carrying her partner to victory. David Zapatka was also crowned with a gold coronet making it look like he had just finished a whopper at Burger King. To top the ceremonies off, both were presented their very own green frogs to kiss. It was a day to remember.
Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped stripe tennis court No. 8, set up the temporary nets, brought the beautiful spread of food everyone feasted on and helped with the smooth running of the tournament. Special thanks to Bev Krueger for coming up with exactly 32 players, organizing all our refreshments and designing the beautiful jewelry enjoyed by our Cinderellas. Our biggest thank you goes to Greg Mather for organizing this fun event with a special twist enjoyed by all!