Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters won’t be on national television today. Catherine Parenteau won’t be there and neither will Riley Newman or Anna Bright.
Undoubtedly, the above mentioned stars of the PPA Tour are all well deserving of their top-five rankings in mixed doubles this season.
But it’s hard to imagine there’s someone made more for the camera and CBS coverage than Tyson McGuffin.
A natural showman, from the hair to the tats, to the double espresso amount of energy McGuffin has, no one’s love for the spotlight is deeper and truer than McGuffin’s.
It only makes sense that McGuffin gets another shot to showcase his name, game, and more today when he and partner Lacy Schneemann play against the brother-sister team of J.W. and Jorja Johnson at 10 a.m. local time in the finals of the Newport Beach Shootout on CBS.
“Daddy’s always here,” McGuffin said. “Newport Beach, you like that?”
It’s hard not to like McGuffin. His attitude is infectious and his smile is genuine. He stalks around the court, chasing after shots with as much gusto as he has when pumping up his partner. Friday, his partner was Schneemann, who will be making her second-ever showing in a PPA final and will be trying for her first gold medal.
“It’s hard not to root for this guy, right?” said Scheemann. “I love playing alongside him and am ready to keep it going.”
Pretty impressive first tournament together for the two and an impressive run to the finals, that included a game-two rally and win against Johns and Koop.
“Lacy has arrived,” McGuffin said, quick on his feet and even quicker with a compliment. “I let my girl do her thing. Any time I can get a dub over him (Johns), I usually sleep like an angel and you can bet your ass I’m going to be drinking some Miller Lite. It’s a damn good day and I’m happy as hell.”
Just the No. 12 seed in the tournament, McGuffin came into the tournament underrated and overlooked. He and Schneemann beat the No. 5-seed team of Jessie Irvine and Jay Devilliers in the second round, the No. 4-seed team of Anna Bright and James Ignatowich in the quarterfinals and then topped Johns and Andrea Koop, the top-seed team in the semifinals, 11-6, 11-8.
McGuffin knows marketing and branding like he knows a backhand and a forehand, shouting out his thanks to sponsors like Miller Lite and Skechers and constantly playing up to the crowd.
“We came here for one reason and that’s to get ours,” McGuffin said. “The end goal is to end up on top. “The Johnsons are playing really well, but we want the crowd behind us and we want the crowd to get loud.”
A more reserved presence than McGuffin, but no less of an impressive performance on Friday, Lacy Schneemann touched on balancing a full-time career as an aerospace engineer along with her pro pickleball career.
“I wouldn’t say it’s an easy thing to do, for sure,” Lacy said, eliciting laughs from the crowd. “We’ll see how long the job lasts after this, but not too long probably, because I’m loving being out here on the PPA Tour.”
The Johnson siblings will also be vying for their first-ever mixed title together, with Jorja looking for her very first PPA gold medal. The duo was in sync all day long, taking down #10 seeds Mary Brascia and Dylan Frazier in the round of 16, followed by a win over No. 2 seeds Matt Wright and Lucy Kovalova in a barn-burner 3-11, 11-3, 11-8. They then followed this up with a massive win 11-7, 11-5 over No. 3 seeds Riley Newman and Allyce Jones, who were pairing up for the first time.
“Everyone we played was great today, and we just had to stay mentally tough,” Jorja said after the semifinal. “It’s pretty hot out here, and it’s not quite what we’re used to, we’re used to more humid weather, but [we just focused on] sticking together as a team.”
Johns and Koop went on to win the bronze medal with a 2-11, 11-2, 11-3 victory against the third-seed, Riley Newman and Allyce Jones.
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