It was a successful weekend for a tournament as DePaul and University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP) welcomed Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) to the league as the 48th school to play in the NCDA. The following were the results of the day:
UWP JV def SIUE 4-2
UWP JV ties DePaul 2-2
UWP Varisty def DePaul 6-1
DePaul def SIUE 3-1
UWP Varisty def SIUE 6-0
Here is what each team had to say about Platteville’s home tournament.
Ryan Atz of DePaul dictates:
“My team and I had a blast heading up to Platteville for the day. Although we weren’t able to make it out with a full roster, all of my attending club
members had a grand old time squaring off against the familiar UWP players, and enjoyed a fun game against SIUE to welcome them into the NCDA. We look forward to having another Illinois team around, as well as the next time we can play against UWP in the future.”
Troy Kramer of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville had this to say about Platteville’s tournament:
We were taken off guard by the style at first. We aren’t used to a style of play that involves ball control. As we have always played, there is more chaos in the center and less organized play. As noted by our performance, we struggled to get used to the both the format and different style of balls (EZ: SIUE has been using foam primarily).
While other teams had strategies, we were still figuring out which lines we could and could not step on. The tournament was put together well. We were thankful for playing the JV team at first to give us a chance to adjust. We look forward to putting out a strong showing when we try to host a tournament next semester.
Louis Thompson of of the University of Wisconsin Platteville had this to say.
Platteville: I thought that UWP performed fairly well at our home tournament, especially the JV team. Some of our rookie players that really stood out to me this tournament were Ethan Steinmetz, Edward Cavillo, and Logan Stevenson. Each of these players showed that they have the capability to step up and take over a game when they are needed.
DePaul: They brought a squad that had almost all of their veteran players and it showed. They worked great together and showed that they are not to be taken lightly anymore. I think that if DePaul can continue to bring a team that is comprised of mostly veterans as well as give some of their rookies much needed experience, they will be a competitive teams for years to come.
SIUE: Although this was the first tournament that SIUE has competed in, you couldn’t tell this from just watching them. They put up a much harder fight than I ever would’ve imagined. The throwing ability of some of their players amazed me, and as a team, their ability to make catches rivals that of some of the veteran teams within the league. I look forward to seeing how they perform this year in future tournaments.
Final Thoughts
It was a fun filled weekend and I think all teams learned a lesson or two from the matches. Whether it be just learning the game for the first time, playing down a few players, or just remembering to do the basics on the court, all the teams were able to take some valuable information and apply it in the future. As always, it is fun to play to DePaul and playing SIUE was a blast. I’m looking forward to playing them in the future and hope for big things from these teams. Good luck the rest of the semester SIUE and DePaul!
A special thanks to Jeanne Selep, mother of Nathan Grisa, a Platteville dodgeball player, for taking these pictures. It is always nice to have memories to look back on.