The second annual Redhawk Classic had some interesting results, leading to more uncertainty in the Ohio Region. In this recap, we take a look at how each team thought they performed in Oxford.
Cincinnati
UC 4-2 BGSU
UC 3-1 Miami
UC 4-0 Akron
“For UC, it was a business trip. Going 3-0 on the day for the second consecutive tournament was impressive for a team many forget is laden with youth. While UC does boast seven returning starters from last season, it’s easy to forget that four of them are only sophomores. Starting with another rocky game against Bowling Green State (kudos to BG for making us work for it again!), it was apparent that Matt Rosinski would once again be called upon to be the workhorse that he has proven to be this semester for the Bearcats. While wins against Miami and Akron came a fair bit easier for Cincinnati than their first match, this team still has a lot left to figure out. The sheer amount of youth this team features has resulted in a lot of inconsistent play and numerous mistakes throughout their 12 matches this semester. That’s why you play a lot of matches in the first semester though, to get that invaluable experience, particularly when your team is so young. UC will once again take the court this weekend at the Tyler Webb Memorial Tournament in Bowling Green, where they will face their biggest challenge yet in the Michigan State Spartans.” – Wes Peters, UC Coach
Akron
Akron 2-3 Miami (OT)
Akron 4-3 Ohio (OT)
Akron 0-4 UC
“While the results on paper from the RedHawk Classic may not have been precisely what Akron had hoped for, we still considered this tournament a net positive based on our performance. We took Miami to overtime and lost. Thrown catches are what killed us. Then we redeemed ourselves and took OU to overtime and won. Although the results versus Cincinnati were not as close, we were in every single point and they all could have swung our way.
Zips Standouts: Brad Fischbach saw the floor the most he has in one tournament for his career, and he delivered. He was the last left alive more often than not and got clutch catches when we needed him most. He also stepped into crucial leadership roles making calls when captains got out. Jeremy Faircloth had an exceptional day, only further feeding off of his superb performance at Akron’s Pink Out. His catching is improving with every tournament and his kills consistently rank in the top 3 highest in the team. Carter Crawford is another kill leader on the team, against OU he caught almost everything thrown at him and got many critical kills leading to the overall team win. He had two great performances in OT for Akron as well.” – Alexis Schultz, Akron Captain
Bowling Green State
BGSU 2-4 UC
BGSU 1-5 Ohio
BGSU 1-4 Miami
“This tournament was not good for BG, as we went 0-3 on the day. Our opponents outworked us and outplayed us. This shows we have a lot more to work on than we previously thought: better strategy, better communication, better play style. Our rookies played well, however, with Colby Jeffries, making his exciting debut, and Wes Nidzgorski making a great amount of catches. All in all, we have a lot to work on, especially leading up to this weekend’s tournament that we’re hosting with MSU, Kent, and NKU on our opponent list.” – Kaylin Strawther, BGSU Captain
Ohio
Ohio 5-1 BGSU
Ohio 3-4 Akron (OT)
Ohio 3-1 Miami
“The Bobcats hoped to go 3-0 this past weekend and fell short of that goal. Despite this, coach Max Anthony and the captains were happy with the way the team played. Convincing wins against Bowling Green and Miami definitely felt good while the controversial loss to Akron was quite the opposite. Despite the tough loss, things are moving in the right direction for Ohio. After starting the season 0-3 at Buckeye Opener, the Bobcats are 4-2 with plenty of room for growth. Captain Terence Checkett returned to playing at an All-American level after a rough start to his season at Pink Out, and the rest of the OT6 had solid performances, especially Garrett Carbullido and Austin Bensman. Rookie Emmanuel Miller continues to turn heads and stake an early claim for ROTY with his rocket arm; he even cracked the shorthanded OT lineup in their match against Akron. Another rookie who saw the court a lot for the first time was Jack Watts, a promising all-around player. There is no confirmation at this time about whether the Bobcats will play again this semester. Overall this was a bittersweet tournament for OU.” – Max Anthony, Ohio Coach
Miami
Miami 3-2 Akron (OT)
Miami 1-3 UC
Miami 4-1 BGSU
Miami 1-3 Ohio
“Miami is satisfied with our performance, especially having played four long-fought matches against some top Ohio teams. The day was very long and were definitely tired at the end. Overall, our teamwork has improved immensely, however, we just need to be more disciplined when points get chaotic. Winning in OT against Akron was huge for us and we had a lot of players who had fantastic weekends. One standout player was rookie Davis Honroth. He had countless catches (including the winner in OT), won every middle ball he ran for, played a crucial role in blocking, and got key outs by throwing. Other top performers were Philip Hampton (#98) who is always extremely reliable and made huge plays and set the pace for our team. Finally, Henry Brill (soph.) was a major leader for Miami who played smart and consistent dodgeball. We noticed the difference it made when he was on the court for us.” – Katie Mei Williams, Miami Captain
Full Results
