Late run helps Waters, Parenteau defeat Bright, Rohrabacher in four games
Anna Leigh Waters/Catherine Parenteau took the win in their first match of 2025 against Anna Bright/Rachel Rohrabacher, coming away with an 11-4, 11-6, 5-11, 12-10 victory.
The top seeds got off to a quick start and took the first two games, but Bright Rohrabacher—who beat Waters/Parenteau three times in 2024—struck back and comfortably took Game 3.
That momentum shift continued for the No. 2 seeds to the point of earning a 10-5 lead in Game 4. But after saving a game point, Waters/Parenteau went on a seven-point run to avoid going to a decider and secure their second straight title at Mission Hills Country Club.
Waters says that new looks from Bright/Rohrabacher made things difficult down the stretch.
“I felt like I was able to be aggressive and was getting the balls that I wanted to early on, and then I felt like [Anna and Rachel] did a good job in the other games of giving us some different looks and hitting speedups in different places, so I think it kind of threw us off a little bit,” she explained.
Parenteau put together a particularly inspired effort, generating offense in key moments. The tour veteran says that she’s been paying extra attention to that part of her game in preparation for the 2025 season.
“It’s definitely something I’ve been working on because the game is really going that way,” she noted. “You cannot just be defensive—you need some offensive shots as well, so that’s something I keep on trying to improve.”
It certainly paid off on Sunday.
In the bronze medal match, Dallas Flash teammates Jorja Johnson/Tyra Black outdueled No. 21 seeds Vivian Glozman/Jackie Kawamoto by a 12-10, 11-7 score line.
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