On Sunday, November 23rd in Kalamazoo, Michigan, seven teams arrived at Western Michigan University for the fourth Dr. Peter Broe Classic. The teams in attendance were: University of Akron (Akron), Cleveland State University (CSU), Central Michigan University (CMU), Western Michigan University (WMU), Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP). Below are the results and thoughts from captains and coaches on the day.
| Team | Score | Team | Score |
| CSU | 6 | CMU | 1 |
| Akron | 4 | CSU | 2 |
| MSU | 8 | Akron | 0 |
| CSU | 6 | WMU | 2 |
| GVSU | 4 | CSU | 3 |
| GVSU | 6 | WMU | 0 |
| CMU | 5 | WMU | 1 |
| MSU | 8 | CMU | 1 |
| Akron | 6 | UWP | 2 |
| MSU | 11 | UWP | 0 |
| GVSU | 6 | UWP | 1 |
Here are thoughts from the attending teams.
Erik Zander-How did you feel about your team’s performance?
Jostein Sagnes (CSU)-Despite some disappointing outcomes in our games against Akron and GV, I am quite proud of our team. We went in looking to win all our games and to make a statement that we can run with the best. I think despite the results we did just that. Both Devon Adams and Austin Blood really stepped up and I can’t wait to see how they continue to grow over the course of the year.
Adam Pfeifer (Akron)-We felt pretty good about our overall performance. We went in and got the job done against CSU like we knew we should have the first time we played this year and against MSU we were a few dropped catches out of almost every point outside of 2.
Connor Picard (GVSU)-Grand Valley is happy with their performance but is eager to continue improving.
Matt Barriball (MSU)-The team played extremely well to cap off a dominant semester. We ended the day 27-1 over the course of the 3 games which we are all very proud of.
Blake Brown (CMU)-I feel like we really improved team chemistry and we were able to catch a stride during the Western game. Unfortunately, we had a slow start against CSU and came into MSU with a poor mindset and we fell to a very bad score.
Dr. Peter Broe (WMU)-I am overall pleased with the team despite the 0-3 record. We desperately need game time experience and we found it this tournament. The team showed amazing resilience even when down by 4+ points. No one got frustrated, or down, on themselves or the team. Quote the contrary, they still received coaching and constructive criticism well, and continued to step up and attempt to make plays.
Tori Sanborn (UWP)-Overall, I think our team was able to communicate better than we have at our past tournaments. While we didn’t do as well as we were hoping, we stayed positive and had fun with every point. Our captain, Dylan Fabry, stepped up and was a positive role model showing why he is our captain. He was highly effective on getting outs on court as well as providing pressure. This tournament showed what we are capable of as a team, and that we can hold our own.
EZ-Which team in attendance impressed you?
JS-The team that impressed me the most at the tournament was CMU. For a rebuilding program, they were very impressive with the talent and strategy they’ve managed to put together so far. They have several good arms and some good catching all around and will definitely be a force in the future if they can keep making it to tournaments to grow.
AP-CMU was probably the team that impressed us the most. Good things are coming for them if they keep working hard.
CP-The team that impressed us was Cleveland State. CSU has some strong players and they showed good ability to play together as a team.
MB-CMU impresses me more every time we play them. They are really starting to hone in their strategy and are starting to catch much better. Ethan and Landon are doing very good job manning the corners and leading that team.
BB-We were really impressed with Cleveland State.
PB-Very impressed with CMU and the building they have done. For a club that was all but nonexistent two years ago, they have bounced back in an incredible fashion. I commend their leadership for continuing to strive and build that program back up to its former glory days. I really enjoyed our game against them, and they are going to be a fantastic motivator for us to get in gear and make the rivalry competitive.
TS-CMU was a very impressive team to say the least. When going against MSU, they held out and secured a point. When watching, it was a game that kept everyone on their toes, making MSU work for every point they got. When going against other teams, they communicated well and worked together to help each other out. When in tough times, they didn’t give up on any point, and held out with every match they played.
EZ-What will your team need to focus on next semester to have success?
JS-Going into next semester we will need to focus on ball control. We are a team with great arm talent and our key to success is using it to its full potential.
AP-For the rest of the season just keep working on our game as a team.
CP-Grand Valley looks to focus on its rookie depth going forward. We have some talented rookies and are looking forward to them really hitting their stride second semester.
MB-As a team, we need to focus on not falling into other teams chaos. During the Akron game, we started to fall off strategy and had a few shaky points. If we maintain our game, we know we can dominate.
BB-As a team we need to focus on not playing so timid and keeping ball control.
PB-We need to focus on foundational development and tournament experience. We were unable to capitalize on a lot of advantages because we lacked the firepower/game state knowledge/fundamentals to do so. It’s back to basics for us, and using tournaments to hone those basics to competitive levels.
TS-We need to focus on communicating every tournament from here on out. Communication is a key factor into our style of play, and when we do this well, we are able to compete against high competition. This helps bring us together on court, as well as keeping our attitudes positive and keeping us successful.
Final Thoughts– We got to see a lot of games at the Dr. Peter Broe Classic and none of the results were too surprising. A lot of teams in attendance got to learn a lot about their team and what they really need to work on to have success in the second half of the semester. The top teams need to continue to find a way to stay on top and not let up and the lower teams are only going to go up from here and their future games will be much more challenging for their opponents. If you missed the action and would like to see the games, go to the league YouTube channel at the following link (College Dodgeball). Make sure to subscribe so that you get the notification the next time we go live!