Ethan Lehmkuhl’s Grand Valley Gauntlet X Predictions

For this preview, it’s just going to be me sharing my predictions for the Grand Valley Gauntlet, so if you don’t care what I have to say, this is your queue to leave. With that being said, this should be a great tournament all around, as it features 3 of the top 5 teams in the current standings (GVSU, MSU, UC).

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Tournament Recap + Big Picture Outlook following the 2024 MDC

Michigan State holds up three fingers after capturing their third-consecutive Michigan Dodgeball Cup title. PC: Kris Haas

EAST LANSING, MI – Michigan State University was victorious on Saturday at the Michigan Dodgeball Cup (MDC), earning their third consecutive title at the annual event. The Spartans rolled through their early opponents, beating Central Michigan (6-0 win), Western Michigan (6-0 win), and Saginaw Valley State (6-0 win), before a clash with Grand Valley State (3-2 win).

With the 4-0 record on the day, MSU moved to 17-2 on the season, and 5-2 against Top-10 opponents. The Spartans maintained control of the Michigan Region, winning their third-straight MDC Title as mentioned above, and they firmly positioned themselves as serious National Title contenders. All-in-all, a solid weekend for those in East Lansing.

For the other schools in attendance at MDC, it was a bit more of a mixed bag. Central Michigan (0-4 at MDC) wasn’t able to secure a victory at the event, but had some bright spots, including a near comeback against WMU. While we’re on WMU, the Broncos didn’t have their best day, losing a close match to SVSU and finishing 1-3 overall. Saginaw Valley State picked up the key win over Western to stay at the 3-spot in the region, but otherwise had a subpar day, unable to truly hang with the ‘Big Two’ in Michigan. Lastly, Grand Valley State failed to hang on to a halftime lead against MSU for a third straight season, extending their title-less MDC streak to 3 seasons (the previous record was… 1). Let’s dive into each of these teams before getting back to the Spartans, and a big picture view after the 2024 Michigan Dodgeball Cup:

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2024 MDC Preview

This week the five college dodgeball teams from Michigan will make their annual descent on East Lansing, Michigan, and compete for the Michigan Dodgeball Cup. This tournament has a long, storied tradition in the league and usually serves as a good barometer as to who are contenders and pretenders as the league inches closer to April. Historically, the team that wins the Michigan Dodgeball Cup has found itself in the driver’s seat of the National Title race.

With all that said, this year is looking to once again be a two-horse race at the top. Michigan State University is looking to defend not only their MDC Title but also their National Title, while Grand Valley State University is looking to play spoiler and bring both trophies back to Allendale. You don’t often hear the Lakers labeled as potential spoilers, but this is the first time in recent memory that neither one of the trophies (MDC, National Championship) are in the possession of the 11-time National Champions. 

By Tony Stumpo and Owen Israels

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Summit Street Slugfest VII Recap

This past weekend saw the completion of what will likely be the largest pre-nationals tournament of the semester. Don’t worry if you missed any action because we’ve got you covered with a full recap below.

By Ethan Lehmkuhl (OSU) and Rylan Close (Kent)

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Summit Street Slugfest VII Preview

A new semester has come upon us, and with that, the NCDA will return to the corner of Ted Boyd Drive & Summit Street in beautiful Kent, Ohio for the first time since 2019. This tournament will be held on Sunday, January 28th, and will feature 10 teams spanning from East Lansing, Michigan, all the way down to Harrisonburg, Virginia, as well as 7/8 of the Ohio teams, and the Nittany Lions of Penn State. This tournament is putting some big names up against each other as we will see a total of EIGHT top-10 match-ups as this will certainly show who are the contenders versus the pretenders. Down below, we have the schedule, the links to each YouTube channel that will be streaming, and previews for all 10 teams attending.

By Mitchell Porter (Kent) & Rylan Close (Kent)

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Dr. Peter Broe Classic II Recap

We’ve wrapped up our final tournament of the semester. With 9 teams, the Dr. Peter Broe Classic II ended up being one of the biggest tournaments of the year so far. We’ll go over all the scores and stories of the day, as we get ready for the second semester on the road to Nationals.

By Rylan Close (Kent)

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Dr. Peter Broe Classic II Preview

Happy Holidays everyone, are you listening…? Dodgeball is back as the NCDA heads up to Kalamazoo, Michigan for the 2nd Annual Dr. Peter Broe Classic on Sunday, December 3rd. This tournament will be very busy as there will once again be 9 schools attending, who are all looking for an extra present this holiday season as the semester will wrap up following this event. This tournament will see schools from Michigan, Ohio, & Wisconsin face off against each other and as per usual, we have a preview for each team attending. 

By Mitchell Porter (Kent), Owen Israels (GVSU Alum), Erik Zander (UWP alum), and Ethan Lehmkuhl (OSU)

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Tyler Webb Memorial Preview

Another week, another great slate of dodgeball. This weekend features the Tyler Webb Memorial tournament at Bowling Green State University, where the league will come together to honor the life and legacy of the late Tyler Webb. Here, we preview each pinch and women’s team attending.

Article by Mitchell Porter (Kent State), and Ethan Lehmkuhl (OSU)

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2023-2024 Michigan Region Preview

The 2023-2024 season is underway and this is a great opportunity to break down the Michigan region and what to expect. The Michigan region consists of Michigan State University (MSU), Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Western Michigan University (WMU), Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU), and Central Michigan University. Let’s take a look below at the region.

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February WBOTM Q+A: MSU Women’s Team

With the start of the NCDA’s Women’s Division, Michigan State has put in all of their efforts to start their own team and it paid off. Starting the year with one returning women’s player, the Spartans were able to recruit eight more athletes, creating the NCDA’s first ever full women’s roster. Since September, they have worked tirelessly to not only learn the game and all of its rules, but learn more about each other and establish a team foundation. Coming from very different sports and academic backgrounds, we have decided to highlight the Michigan State Women’s Club Dodgeball Team for February and learn more about their success in forming our first full Dodgette squad.

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