Doubles Teams Arrive for Pickleball Easter Classic

Long Island Tennis Magazine hosted the second event of its 2024 Pickleball Event Series as doubles teams came out to compete in the Pickleball Easter Classic at Bethpage Park Tennis Center. 

Teams competed against one another in round-robin play across two different divisions, Men’s Doubles 8.0 combined and Women’s Doubles 7.5-8.0 combined, with the results of those matches determining who advanced to the quarterfinal knockout rounds.

In the Men’s Doubles division, the pairing of Scott Baker & Matthew Demeo defeated Justin Giannone & Wade Pond in the championship match to claim the title.

“Teamwork,” Demeo said when asked what the key to success was. “When it got tough, we made sure to stay positive and stick together. We played the last one back in February and came in second place, and we used that experience to try and be better today. This was a great event, a lot of nice players and there were food and drinks, how can you go wrong?”

“The way we play really complements each other, and he backs me when I’m screwing up, and vice versa,” added Baker. “I owe the win to George Graulich, my pickleball mentor.”

Larry Dickman & Michael Edelstein defeated Kevin Stanis & Manya Musanha in the third-place match to earn the Bronze Medal. 

Emilie Katz & Val Alliger-Bograd overcame a difficult semifinal match against Larissa Klug & Seema Imberman to advance to the finals in the Women’s Doubles division, and then carried that momentum into the championship to defeat Lisa Goldberg & Darlene Pergola and earn the title.

“In the semifinals they played smart, and I think in the finals we had the most energy we had all night,” said Katz. “We relaxed and had fun.”

Bograd added:

“I think we settled down a bit, and for some reason it felt like we couldn’t miss in the finals.”

Klug & Imberman would earn the Bronze Medal by winning the third-place match. 

The 3rd Annual Pickleball Classic was a success. Long Island Tennis Magazine will continue to be active in the Pickleball world as we head into the summer. 

“We were proud to once again put on a professionally-run event! We made sure all participants played a lot, that the tournament ran on-time and that we had pizza, drinks, etc.. available to everyone throughout the night,” said Tournament Director David Sickmen. “We would like to thank Bethpage Park Tennis Center and the Serve & Return 501c3 organization for allowing us use of the facility and courts.  We’re excited to continue our involvement within the pickleball community, and help to further the sport’s growth by running more special events moving forward.”

The next Long Island Pickleball Challenge event will be a big one and will be held on Saturday, June 15 at Sportime Hempstead Lake. Registration is open and you can go to LITennisMag.com/Events/JunePickleballChallenge to sign up!