Zanderthon Throw-Down 2
Well, it is the most anticipated tournament of this semester. Two great teams, the DePaul Dodgeball Society and Platteville Dodgeball Club will duke it out once again for the sixth time this year on Saturday, February 25, 2017. There will also be some UWP alumni dodgeball players joining the fun that day. I also want to give these alumni a shout out for being a part of and starting the club ten years ago. Your determination to play dodgeball has led to me and others on the team making many new friends from around the country. It should be interesting to see how these games turn out. The games this year have been all over the place from an overtime in Nebraska to a blowout game at DePaul. The last few matches have been more competitive and DePaul is showing that they can hang in there and cause teams problems. With that said let’s take a look at the match ups for the day.
Platteville-JV vs. DePaul:
This game should make for an interesting match-up for DePaul and for Platteville to learn a lot about its younger guys. It’ll be a game that will consist of DePaul’s finest and Platteville’s first and second year players. For DePaul this should be a nice warm up game to get their arms loosened up for the big match of the day against Platteville. For the Platteville-JV crew, they have a lot to prove to the upperclassmen that they care about playing and want to compete at the highest level. Some players that I will be looking at to be leaders on this team are Will Martin (23), Tim Ebert (12), Louis Thompson (69), and David Ruegsegger (64). If these guys can communicate to their other team members and help them play as a unit this will make it a tough match up for DePaul. I hope they can do this because this will really go a long way in our captains’ books to show us that they know what it will take to win and put our minds at ease at our skill level. I predict that DePaul wins this 4-1.
Platteville Alumni vs. DePaul:
In this matchup it will consist of players back from when the club first started to more recent players like Matt Bautch (2012-2016) and Brandon Chappell (2011-2015). I know that DePaul is looking forward to having to play Matt Bautch again. He is ready and looking to leave some marks on some people. DePaul will face a variety of skills from the Platteville Alumni. When asking the Alumni attending what these skills were I got answers from dodging, throwing, and catching to organizing paper work (Scott Skelly, 2007-2009). That will come in handy on the court as he should be able to organize the team to try to bring a beat down on DePaul. One of the skills that DePaul will have to keep an eye on which is impressive to say the least came from one of Platteville’s former President’s Brandon Chappell. He said, his best skill is his “ability to throw faster than Blue” aka Matt Bautch! Needless to say I can’t wait to see these old timers in action and see what they can do. I predict that DePaul easily wins this 5-0.
Platteville Alumni vs. Platteville:
Now this is a game I can’t wait for, it should be a blast and it will be fun to play against some of the guys who started up this club ten years ago. I expect the current team to play the alumni very well and show the alumni how much skill we have. This will be the first time that I get to play with Matt Bautch on the other side of the court in competition. I will finally show him that my skill level is superior to his and proceed to get him out several times. His arm was always weak to me and he wasn’t that great of a catcher, just kidding. But seriously, the players from the 2007- 2009 era will be eager to play and show what dodgeball for them looked like back in the day. I feel after a few points these guys will pick up back where they left off and make for a fun game. I predict that Platteville will win this game no need for a score.
Platteville vs. DePaul:
Finally, the last game of the day and most important match. Will DePaul come out swinging and keep rolling after their first win ever on Platteville at the Chicago Dodgeball Open, or will Platteville rebound and take it to them? Well, it will depend on how the leaders of both squads play. For DePaul they have great leadership in Alec Scott (30), Brian Hymel (55), and Tyler Hamilton (5). Alec Scott (Captain Fluffy) has a strong arm that can put you into a daze if you’re not paying attention. Brian Hymel (FN Brian) and Tyler Hamilton (The Ham) are both incredible catchers and are the best dynamic duo I have seen on the court. They have always given Platteville trouble and are a big reason why DePaul got their first win on us. If these guys can play well and get a few big catches and throws, they will make it a tough match-up. Some other players to watch for on DePaul that are solid are: Ryan “Pryan” Atz (42), Jake Binder (37), Josiah Nodal (88), and Ricky Gonzalez (19). Quinton Lutz (75), a freshman, according to Tyler Hamilton has also turned into a solid player and he can’t wait to see what he can do in upcoming matches.
The leaders for the Platteville crew are Brian Hargrove (68), Nick Harding (65), and Dominic Cypher (16). Brian Hargrove (Brog) has a strong arm, and as I have stated before, if he plays with intensity and energy, his teammates will be able to feed off of this and become very dangerous for DePaul. Nick Harding has a strong arm and has the ability to snipe people when they are not paying attention. His best attribute though for the team is when he gets up to line and sets his teammates up for team throws. It has the potential to get several of DePaul’s finest players out. Dominic Cypher is another guy like Brian and Tyler who is an excellent catcher and will need it to stay in the game with DePaul. He also knows how to get his teammates to push up and can communicate effectively on the court. Some other solid players that fly under the radar for Platteville that will make a big difference are: Carter Vosters (14), Brandon McCullough (1), Jeremy Oney (30) and Freshman Austin Baehnman (24). These guys know how the game is played and are dependable players on the court. I predict that being at home will help Platteville edge out DePaul 3-2.
Final thoughts:
This may be a small tournament, but rest assured these games will be a blast and both teams are going to battle to the last second of the match because that is just who they are. DePaul is a great bunch of guys and girls, and I’m always glad that they are willing to come and play us even if it is just DePaul in attendance. We may not bring as much press as the MDC, Beast, or the ODC, but to us our games are just as important and we always bring our A games. Who do you think will win? What will the score of the Platteville vs DePaul game be? Comment below, we would love to hear from you.
Platteville vs. DePaul will go to OT I’m hoping. I’ll go DePaul def UWP 3-2 (OT).
Gonzalez Exchange: 0.864 in favor of UWP, with a technical upset exchanging 1.364.
With UWP’s home advantage, they have just 1.364 points on visiting DePaul, the shallowest exchange in the relatively short history between these two schools. We’ve only seen this match once or twice a season, but Zander certainly noted this: DePaul is facing UWP for the sixth time this season. That’s something.
Just dug my flaming dodgeball jersey out of closest. I expect the intimation factor to be so high from just that, that the alumni will not lose a single point.