Upsetting day Thursday in North Carolina

The last time the PPA Tour was in action Anna Bright and Matt Wright were the big winners.

Bright won a pair of gold medals and was the player of the tournament in Austin, scoring a pair of wins in mixed doubles and in women’s doubles, beating the seemingly unbeatable Anna Leigh Waters twice in the same day.

Meanwhile, Matt Wright picked up his first gold in 2024 in Austin and headed to North Carolina back with regular partner James Ignatowich.

So what the heck happened in North Carolina?

Hard to say, but Bright lost twice on Thursday, Ignatowich lost twice and Wright lost once. All were No. 2 seeds and all are out of the tournament making Thursday’s North Carolina Cup look like March Madness in the first week of April.

Here’s what happened: 

• No. 14 seeded Augustus Ge and Jaume Martinez-Vich topped Wright and Ignatowich in the round of 16 in the men’s draw, 11-6, 11-9.
• No. 22-seeded Todd Fought and Maggie Brascia beat Bright and Ignatowich, 11-4, 11-7 in the round of 16 in the mixed doubles draw.
• No. 15-seeded Audrey Banada and Sarah Ansboury beat Bright and Rohrabacher, 11-7, 1-11, 12-10 in the round of 16 women’s draw.

“I feel solid after that for sure,” Ansboury said. “It just feels like it was how I can play. I obviously want to continue that.”

Not a bad result for Ansboury, who wasn’t even sure she was going to play, after traveling and then getting sick. But since it wasn’t far from her home in Hilton Head, S.C., she felt like she could do it. 

And is it really even an upset if Banada didn’t realize Rohrabacher and Bright were the hottest team in the draw?

“I didn’t even know that they beat them,” Banada said of Rohrabacher and Bright’s win against Waters and Parenteau in Austin. “I don’t even watch pickleball.”

OK, well, nothing like going into the match with a clear head, right? That’s what Martinez-Vich and Ge did. The first-time partners scored the upset with a gameplan of, get this, having no gameplan.

“It’s just us having fun,” Martinez-Vich said. “We found something that works, it’s just improvising. And here we are.”

Yep. Here they are, into the quarterfinals and looking for their first PPA doubles medal. They’ll take on Callan Dawson and Hayden Patriquin Friday in Cary, N.C.

“It’s nice playing with sick partners who have insane energy,” Ge said. 

And it’s nice to have a partner you can count on, too.

“I’m thankful I have a pillar playing next to me,” Banada said of Ansboury. “It felt great and it helps to have Sarah hold down the fort and I now can confirm I can hang with the best and retire happy.”

No retiring – not yet. Ansboury and Banada will take on another higher-seeded team in the quarterfinals. 

“I know how I can play and I know how Audrey can play,” Ansboury said. “Audrey played lights-out. I’m so proud of her. I think I played well, but I know there are things I can do better.”

Hard to be much better than the 22-seeded Fought and Brascia were in their two-game win against Bright and Ignatowich. They’ll take on ninth-seeded Lea Jansen and Hayden Patriquin in the quarterfinals Friday.