The Platteville Supertastic Dodgeball to Your Face Kiss Your Butt Goodbye Explosionfest Invitational

Well, ladies and gentlemen, as always it is your favorite content writer coming to you with another preview.  It is Platteville’s home tournament this weekend on Saturday October 28, 2017 at the Williams Fieldhouse (350 Jay St, Platteville, WI 53818). Three teams will be in attendance: UW-Platteville (UWP), DePaul and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUe). This will be SIUe’s Induction match into the league and it could not be with two better teams to show them how to play the game of dodgeball. Below is the schedule for the day for: The Platteville Supertastic Dodgeball to your Face Kiss Your Butt Goodbye Explosionfest Invitational (Tournament name, courtesy of Will Martin- former freshman and sophomore sensation and now junior sensation).

Time	High Seed	Low Seed	Rating	Rating	Predicted Exchange	Xchg if Upset (Percentile)
9:30	UWP-JV	SIUe
10:35	UWP-JV	DePaul
11:40	UWP	DePaul	44.626	36.711	0.208	1.792 (97%)
12:45	SIUe	DePaul	40.000	36.502	0.650	1.350 (67%)
1:50	UWP	SIUe	44.834	40.650	0.582	1.418 (73%)

In preparing for this tournament I interviewed one of the captains from each team and here is what they had to say about their expectations and performance for the weekend.

DePaul

Erik Zander-What do you want to see from your new players?

Alec Scott- The new players are ready to bring it. After two previous tournaments, there’s no one on this roster who hasn’t already played in a match. Even with just a little bit of NCDA-style experience, they are ready for anything that is thrown at them. They will put their heart and passion out on the court for every match and play all 50 minutes of game time. Even if they are out, they will be shouting from the out-line for shot clock and crosses. They’ve learned a lot and they will continue to learn more.

EZ- What do you want to see from your veteran players?

AS– The veterans will come ready to play. They have been on this trip before and they know what to expect from Platteville. Our veterans should coordinate team throws and protect each other when they have a ball. When the time comes, our veterans and new players will both be on the same level; in the end, we are all on the same team.

EZ- Who do you want to see step up more?

AS– I’m excited to see Ryan Atz step up. Now, most might say that he is a senior and he should be at the top of his game—but I think there is more. He doesn’t yell loud enough and I feel he is really holding himself back. He has the position and authority to yell at anyone he chooses to, including myself, for not listening to his orders. This tournament will really help give him a foothold in being a leader and captain at future tournaments. If you hear screaming, then that will be Ryan Atz from DePaul Dodgeball.

EZ- Any predictions on who comes up on top and the scores of your games?

AS- DePaul will go undefeated. That is all. (EZ: Enough said!)

Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville

Erik Zander- What do you want to see from your new players?

Troy Kramer– First, I would like to see them enjoying themselves during the game. A few of them weren’t initially planning to come out, but decided to step up when our numbers were getting low. I expect to see a few big plays out of our new players since I’ve seen what they can do in foam dodgeball formats, however, it might take some time for them to adjust to the [rubber] format.

EZ- What do you want to see from your veteran players?

TK– Our veteran players need to take charge early. They need to be able to help direct our newer players in any confusion with the new format. In particular, they need to manage the shot clock. With a recent injury to one of our co-captains, we will need him to help coach from the sidelines to keep us on track.

EZ- Who do you want to see step up more?

TK- In the throwing department, we need Ryan Moran and Chris Carducci to have a strong showing to succeed. We also need Esmir Karabes and Kyle Kent to come in strong with the catching as well. With our co-captain Branson Thaxton out, we will need one of the remaining players to step up and fill in his role.

EZ- Any predictions on who comes up on top and the scores of your games?

TK- Due to the limited practice we’ve been able to have with the rubber style dodgeballs, I predict we will likely start in a 0-2 hole in our first match because of the inexperience. I think we will close this gap a bit and make it a close game. We will come out stronger in our later matches, and I don’t think I can make an accurate prediction of those scores.

University of Wisconsin Platteville

Erik Zander- What do you want to see from your veteran players?

Tim Ebert- What I want to see from the veterans is solid playing on the court by maintaining ball control, getting a lot of catches, working together with the team, cross throws, and most importantly play clean and have fun.

EZ- Who do you want to see step up more?

TE- I would like to see some new players step up in a more leadership role during the JV games, such as Bobby Lehrer, Ryan Wall, Ethan Steinmetz, Austin Kurey, and Edwin Calvillo. I would also like to see some board members step up during the varsity games such as Louis Thompson, Carter Vosters, Ken Adamo, David Ruegsegger, Brandon Dane, and Tomas Zander to lead in our matches.

EZ- Any predictions on who comes up on top and the scores of your games?

TE- I feel Platteville has the ability and talent to sweep the tournament, I feel that SIUE and DePaul will be a close match but I feel DePaul’s experience will bring them on top 4-3. I think Platteville vs. DePaul will be a good rematch from the Nebraska tournament in which Platteville won 6-1, I feel DePaul will come out swinging hard, but Platteville will win this match 4-0. Finally, Platteville vs. SIUe, since I haven’t seen much of SIUe I can’t say much about this match up, I feel that Platteville’s experience will lead us to the win in this match 5-0.

Thoughts

This is going to be a fun filled weekend and it is awesome to be inducting another team into the NCDA. I know both Platteville and DePaul are excited to play SIUe and SIUe is ready to make the trip. It is awesome that they are traveling so far to compete. It just shows how dedicated Troy and his team is to playing dodgeball. Let us know what you think the results will be for this tournament.