Having qualified earlier in the year, winning multiple Golden Tickets in Mixed, Doubles and Singles, Brooke was able to secure her seat at this year's Diamond Amateur Championship, which was hosted at Pictona in Holly Hill, Florida.
This was our first visit to Pictona, and the facility was gorgeous. There were 49 courts, both under roof and outside. All pool play was done on the outdoor courts. Brooke was scheduled to play mixed doubles on Friday and singles on Sunday. With temps in the low 70's to mid-80's, it sure was a welcome from our dreary PA weather in the 30's.
Our first stop, was of course the Engage Pickleball booth, where Brooke met Dan and his wife and got to chat with them about her sponsorship and the latest Engage offerings.
On Friday, Brooke and Lucas went 5-0 in Pool play and was first seed in their pool, but unfortunately lost a single game in the Semi-Finals which put them in to the Bronze medal match. Over all they went 7-1 and ended up with a bronze only losing one single game for the day.
Sunday called for high winds in the afternoon, with gusts up to 20mph and temps in the mid-80's and threat of rain by 4PM. Brooke's start time was moved from 12 to 1PM so we watched a few friends from back home, that had their own singles matches. As 1 o'clock neared the wind kept increasing from the inbound storm. Brooke had a rough start with the high winds and fierce competetion and ended up 3rd seed for the Semi-Finals. Much like her mixed doubles match, this was the most important game, up to this point. Brooke battled back and won in the Semi-Finals, which put her into the GOLD medal match. The rain began to start, and they moved inside to play for GOLD. This match was best of 3 to 11 (win by 2) and Brooke and her competitor battled back and forth in the first game with a final score of 13-15. This match was so close and fun to watch, with long rallies.
After a long hard battle, Brooke came home with the SILVER, but what an awesome match to witness! Because of her placing she was also a Diamond Amateur Champion!
Two enteries and two medals in a National Championship tournament. Brooke won all these matches using her new Engage Pursuit EX 6.0 Pro. Now, Brooke has a few weeks to rest and off to the World Pickleball Tour National's in Dallas, Texas. There she'll be playing Doubles, Mixed and Singles.
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