Penn State looks to open up the second half of the season with their first home tournament of the year. Rally in the Valley will See Penn State, James Madison University, West Virginia University and the University of Akron in their first matches of the second semester. lets take a look.
9:00 AM: Penn vs JMU
10:15 AM: Akron vs WVU
11:30 AM: Akron vs Penn
12:45 PM: JMU vs WVU
2:00 PM: JMU vs Akron
3:15 PM: WVU vs Penn
James Madison: The Dukes come into the second semester ranked 3rd in the Gonzalez Standings, and for good reason. This team has been a force to be reckoned with this season with notable wins over Towson, SVSU, CMU and MSU. While they had a bit of a rocky start for JMU standards, it seems they have begun to catch their footing again. This weekend they will do battle with the host team Penn State, the Akron Zips, and the West Virginia Mountaineers.
University of Akron: The Akron Zips are making their first trip out of Ohio this season to attend the Rally in the Valley. This weekend will be the first true test to see just how good the Zips actually are. Their 7-2 record would make you believe that they are top performers, but they have yet to beat a team within the top ten. If they can come out with a winning record, then I expect them to break the top ten.
Penn State: PSU is currently having a lackluster season thus far sitting at 1-4, with their only victory over WVU. They did however have two close matches against Ohio and Kent State at the Pinkout IV last semester. If this team wants to compete, they’re going to have to become more disciplined and strategic, because the two above teams will take advantage of the lack of game plan. I look forward to seeing how they perform on their home turf.
West Virginia: Folks, the Mountaineers have really impressed me this season. They went to multiple tournaments in the fall and have had their best season so far clocking in at 3-4 to start the second half of the season. They had some big wins, including a comeback win against CSU at Ohio’s Bobcat Bash. While it looks like they may be outmatched, don’t expect this team to go down without a fight. They’ve tasted victory now, and they want more.