High Caliber Paddle On Display At Lagunitas

January 18-21, 2018
Ross, CA

The 2018 Lagunitas Open was one of the best paddle tournaments the West Coast has ever seen. What can often be a very rainy weekend had few showers and the fans took full advantage of this. The women’s tournament kicked off on Thursday afternoon and the spectators and players enjoyed some chili while the opening rounds were played. On Friday, the rest of the action took place and the ladies battled it into the early evening. The B Draw featured the team of Bobbie Brandon and Annie Stookesberry beating unseeded locals Mary Hickey and Kimberly Tully-Sutton in a fun final. The A draw final had plenty of drama with Jill Isenhart getting injured early in the first set but continuing to play as she and Tori Eichleay won in straight sets against Wendy Birmingham and Kathleen Parker.

The first round of men’s matches kicked off on Friday night right after the women’s tournament ended. This was the strongest draw in the LCC Open’s history, and there was a lot of excitement around it. The draw had some of the top players in the country, as well as most of the West Coast’s top players. There were some fierce battles through out the day and there was a high caliber match in almost every round. The intense competition didn’t stop the great camaraderie that came with Saturday nights dinner and raffle.

Sunday’s agenda featured the Open and Gentleman’s draw semifinals and finals. Fans gathered in the morning and stayed all day as they were wowed by some amazing paddle. In the gentleman’s draw, locals George Eichleay and Mark Puckett won over Brian Smith from Connecticut and Chris Foster from Chicago. The Open draw finals was a New Jersey affair, pitting Drew Broderick and Ian McDonald against Mikk Irdoja and Dennis Cusack. The team of Broderick and McDonald prevailed, but it was repeatedly said that this weekend had some of the best paddle that had ever been played at the Lagunitas Open. We are already looking forward to next years tournament.

Thank you to Mark Innes, Tori Eichleay, and everyone at the Lagunitas Club involved in running this fantastic weeekend of events.

Women’s Open Results:
Main Draw: Tori Eichleay/Jill Eisenhart def. Wendy Bermingham/Kathleen Parker, 6-4, 6-4
3rd/4th Playoff: Linda Lanphier/Sarah Williams def. Chizzie Brown/Valerie Herzog, 6-1, 6-4
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Deedee Schneiders/Sarah Shore def. Sara Lardner/Annie Winship
Quarterfinal Consolation Reprieve: Anne Koo/Cynthia Rentz def. Samantha Goffinet/Cathryn Sheldon
Consolation: Gisela Fernandez/Eileen Sheldon def. Margaret Hawn/Cam Lanphier
Consolation Reprieve: Kris Klein/Karen Van Brunt def. Germana Fabbri/Rachel Greenspon

Women’s B Results:
Main Draw: Bobbie Brandon/Annie Stookesberry def. Mary Hickey/Kimberly Tully-Sutton, 6-4, 6-2
3rd/4th Playoff: Pollie Robbins/Collin Shewey def. Margaret Hays/Suzanne MacKenzie
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Corinne Hedrick/Joan O’Connor def. Danielle Conner/Amy Wynne
Quarterfinal Reprieve Consolation: Kathryn Freeman/Betsy McDermott def. Jane Jonckheer/Lila Steinle
Consolation: Meghan Caldwell/Lisa Kemp def. Genevieve Biggs/Kristin Robillard
Consolation Reprieve: Kelly Seehausen/Sue Sprovieri def. Sarah Atwood/Jen Scales, 7-6, 6-2

Men’s Open Results:
Main Draw: Drew Broderick/Ian McDonald def. Dennis Cusack/Mikk Irdoja, 6-4, 6-2
Quarterfinal Reprieve: Will Lyon/Tom Mayes def. Thomas Darling/Juan Jaysingh
Reprieve: Jeff Jablonski/John Schloss def. AJ Rhode/Blaise Taylor
Consolation: Edward Lanphier/Chris Sheldon def. Edward Hays/Hugh Klein
Consolation Reprieve: Peter Lardner/Nick Willis def.Ben  Burke/Tom Hertzberg

Gentlemen’s Results:
Main Draw: George Eichleay/Mark Puckett def. Christopher  Foster/Brian Smith