The St. Louis Shock secured the first Super Sunday Belt in franchise history after defeating the Los Angeles Mad Drops 3-0 at MLP St. Louis on Sunday. The Shock, playing in front of their home crowd, had one of their most complete performances of the season to get by a team that had denied them victory at the season-opening tournament in Dallas.
Anna Bright and Kate Fahey set the tone early, breezing to an 11-1 triumph against Catherine Parenteau and Jade Kawamoto in women’s doubles. It was another impressive week for the pair who lost only 10 points in five matches together.
Speaking after the victory, Bright credited an unusual pre-match ritual for the partnership’s success. “Kate and I have definitely had a bit of a chip on our shoulder. We’ve been playing some of our best pickleball. I have to shout out Elsie. She came up with a new pre-match ritual for us. I can’t share too much, but I think that has really, really gotten us going and helped Kate and I come out here really, really fired up,” Bright said.
“It felt really good to kind of get that momentum going for the team.”
The momentum carried into men’s doubles where Hayden Patriquin and Gabe Tardio defeated Ben Johns and Max Freeman 11-3 to put the Shock firmly in control.
Despite taking both gender doubles matches, St. Louis knew the job was not finished. The Mad Drops had recovered from the same position in Dallas earlier this season, winning both mixed doubles contests before sealing victory in a DreamBreaker.
That memory remained fresh heading into mixed doubles. The Shock, however, ensured there would be no repeat.
Bright and Patriquin delivered the decisive blow with an 11-5 victory over Jade Kawamoto and Ben Johns, completing the sweep and gaining revenge for the loss suffered against the same pairing in Dallas.
Reflecting on the turnaround, Bright explained how preparation made the difference. “We had never seen Ben play like he did in Dallas. He played out of his mind, so we went back together, rewatched the match, and had a better game plan today. I think we executed it perfectly, but we couldn’t have done it without the fans.”
The win marked the conclusion of a difficult start to the season for St. Louis, according to Pickleball.com. The Shock were the only team in the league to play in all three of the first three regular season events. They kicked off their season with a third place result in Dallas, then moved up to second in Columbus.
That consistent progression eventually led to a title-winning performance on home turf. Bright also praised the support inside the venue, telling Pickleball.com that the atmosphere played a major role in helping the team finish the job.
“I think we executed it perfectly, but we couldn’t have done it without the fans.” Not only did the win get them the Super Sunday Belt but it was a message from a squad that has regularly been one of the best teams in the league in the early weeks of the season.
Third place in Dallas, second in Columbus, and the Shock finished their rise to the top in St. Louis, putting up a dominant performance when it mattered most, and giving their home supporters a championship moment to cherish.