Indianapolis Grand Prix Men's and Women's Recap

October 25, 2020
Indianapolis, IN

2020 Indianapolis Men's Grand Prix Final Results (doc), (pdf)

2020 Indianapolis Women's Grand Prix Final Results (doc), (pdf)

After a strong performance by all the players on the East Coast at the Darien Invitational in Connecticut, the Grand Prix Tour headed to the Midwest to Indianapolis. Five players in the Indy draw played well the week before in Darien—Jessica Guyaux and Jaclyn Williamson and Filip Rams and Scott Kahler, who all made it to the semifinals, and Alison Morgan.

In Indiana, Morgan teamed up with Alice Tunaru, a pro from Ohio who is moving up the rankings. They were joined in Indy by top talent from Illinois and Ohio. On the men's side, players traveled from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, the Carolinas, and Colorado for a competitive day of paddle. The women’s group comprised 10 dedicated teams and some of the best sportswomen in the game. The men had a 16-team draw, with zero breathing room found in the lineup.

WOMEN

The top two seeds, Guyaux/Williamson (1) and Chris Maglocci and Heather Prop (2), won their quarterfinals with ease. In the other quarterfinals, Spencer Caravaggio and Denise Murphy eliminated Chelsea Mittal and Alexis Prousis, and Morgan/Tunaru defeated the ever-smiling but always dangerous Hallie Bodman and Marina Ohlmuller. Both semifinals went to three sets. Guyaux/Williamson were able to slow down Caravaggio/Murphy after dropping the first set and won the next two sets to earn a place in the final. Morgan/Tunaru battled hard for their spot in the final, with Magocci/Prop winning a desperation second set tiebreaker, to force a third set.

In the final, Guyaux/Williamson got to 6-5 in the first set, but Morgan/Tunaru worked the middle and held the net better to win the first set tiebreaker. Their communication was textbook and propelled them through the second set for a 7-6, 6-3 victory.

MEN

Filip Rams hobbled home from Darien, took care of a lower leg strain, and looked strong on his way to the finals with partner Scott Kahler. The two had a good scare in the quarterfinals against Jeronie Barnes/Dane Schmidgall after losing the first set and eking out the match tiebreaker (the men played these in lieu of a third set in order to get all the matches completed in a timely manner). Kahler/Rams won quickly in the semifinals versus fellow Pittsburghers Dan Hersh/Mike Wagner.

Marek Czerwinski and Graham McNerney were the favorites to win Indianapolis, having finished last season as the fourth-ranked team in the country. They worked their way out of a second set tiebreaker against Coloradoans Nathan Crick and Randy Lofgren in the semifinals and faced Kahler/Rams.

The first set was all Czerwinski/McNerney with huge drives and amazing cuts. The two handled any type of spin, screen leap, or other usually unreadable ball. They won 6-0. The second set took much longer, with the points continuing long and well despite the fast drives and hatchet volleys. The first game with Rams serving lasted almost 15 minutes. Kahler/Rams had a chance at 6-5 but couldn’t convert. The second set tiebreaker had Kahler/Rams leading 6-2, but McNerney/Czerwinski played conservatively aggressive and McNerney was able to crank two unreturnable spin shots that led to an 8-6 tiebreaker and victory for the top seeds.

Tournament Director Ludo Aaron and host pro Brian Hagman ran a great tournament Thanks to all the umpires, volunteers, Live Streaming crew, fans, photographer Casey Cronin, and players.

WOMEN’S RESULTS
Main Draw: Alison Morgan/Alice Tunaru def. Jessica Guyaux/Jaclyn Williamson, 7-6, 6-3
Semi Reprieve: Spencer Caravaggio/Denise Murphy def. Chris Maglocci/Heather Prop, 6-4, 6-4
Quarter Reprieve: Chelsea Mittal/Alexis Prousis def. Hallie Bodman/Marina Ohlmuller, 3-6, 6-0, 10-4
Consolation: Anneliese Adkinson/Wendy Mikola def. Kitty Bingham/Ronnie Noethlich, 6-1, 6-1

MEN’S RESULTS
Main Draw: Marek Czerwinski/Graham McNerney def. Scott Kahler/Filip Rams, 6-0, 7-6
Quarter Reprieve: Ryan Baxter/William Colmar def. Brian Hagman/Wil Lofgren, 6-1, 6-2
Consolation: Mitch Granger/Alex Lambropoulos def. Zachary Held/Ryan Mullaney, 6-3, 6-1
Consolation Reprieve: Kyle Bates/Tyler Owens def. Ludo Aaron/George Higgins, 6-0, 2-6, 10-2

 

L to R Winners Graham McNerney/Marek Czerwinski Finalists Filip Rams/Scott Kahler

L to R Winners Alison Morgan/Alice Tunaru Finalists Jessica Guyaux/Jaclyn Williamson