Seven teams made the trip to the Kron (at least that’s what the kids are calling it nowadays) for the seventh annual WAR tournament, with 3 teams staying for both days of the tournament’s duration. Here’s a full breakdown for those interested to see what exactly happened. (Some results may surprise you, or in Kevin Bailey’s case, disappoint you).
By Ethan Lehmkuhl (OSU) and Rylan Close (Kent)
Akron
Day 1
Akron 5-2 Nebraska
Akron 3-2 Kent State
Akron 3-1 SVSU
Day 2
Akron3-2 Miami (OT)
Akron 3-0 GVSU
Can you hear that sizzle? The Zips are HOT on the streets after a 5-0 performance in 2 days at their home tournament. If you haven’t noticed, Akron is a different animal at home, winning their last 16 in a row in Akron. As for whether this is due to the cerebral scheduling of coach Adam Pfeifer, or the Zips’ skilled play, I’ll let you make the call.
After cruising to a 3-0 performance on day 1, the Zips got into an OT thriller with Miami on day 2 that had the entire gym watching. After a lot of back-and-forth action, a 1v1 for the match ensued. In what was possibly the wildest play of the season, the two remaining players charged each other before their throws collided in the neutral zone. Akron’s Carter Crawford got up first and was able to subsequently get the kill to end the match. It is worth noting that Miami had to play the OT down a man due to a yellow card, which I think ultimately cost them the game. Akron followed this banger up with a 3-0 thumping of GVSU. Two words. Momentum and depth. Akron had it all this game. While GVSU was sloppy, I will not take anything away from this victory for the Zips. They now have great momentum heading into nationals, and I don’t envy the team that draws them on Sunday.
Nebraska
Day 1
Nebraska 2-5 Akron
Nebraska 4-2 SVSU
Nebraska 1-3 GVSU
Day 2
Nebraska 1-4 Miami
Nebraska 2-5 OSU
Deja Vu anyone? While 1-4 is a slight improvement over last year’s 0-3 at WAR, it is still not the result Nebraska was hoping for coming into the weekend. The only bright side I can think of for this team is that if they are mirroring last season, they are going to come out hot at nationals. We’ll see if that actually happens, but who’s to say it will or won’t? One bright spot for the Cornhuskers was star player Noah Willey. He may as well be a gas station attendant because this kid was pumping gas well into day 2 of the tournament. He is now my lock for Central Region MVP. Other notable players for Nebraska include Caleb Fowler and Alex Schmitt, who will both need to be key contributors for Nebraska if they want to make a run in April.
GVSU
Day 1
GVSU 3-1 Kent
GVSU 6-0 Akron B
GVSU 3-1 Nebraska
Day 2
GVSU 1-3 OSU
GVSU 0-3 Akron
GVSU 4-1 Miami
Grand Valley State finished the day 4-2 overall. To any outsider, this would seem like a good performance, but when you consider the history and reputation that GV has, it is not. With that being said, I still consider the Lakers a title contender, and I expect them to clean up most of what went wrong this weekend. Grand Valley has the perfect opportunity to bounce back and prove any doubters wrong as they host the tenth iteration of the Grand Valley Gauntlet on March 30th.
Playing two days in a row will tire out just about any arm, and we saw that happen on day 2 of the WAR. Grand Valley needed to rely on their catching to win those later games, and what happens when it isn’t there is well… you lose. Is this the end of the GV dynasty as we know it? It may be too early to say, but for now, they have some naysayers to let know.
Kent State
Day 1
Kent 5-1 SVSU
Kent 1-3 GVSU
Kent 2-3 Akron
Day 2
Kent 5-0 Akron B
Kent 1-3 OSU
Kent State still finds themselves coming up short against top-level teams. However, they also keep closing the score gap with every match. Young players continuously find themselves stepping up big time, with rookies such as JJ Oldenburg, Ben Welch, Carlton Pittman, and Cameron Kruger all having big days. Rookie Grace Tonelli also had a nice weekend in both women’s showcase matches as well as the co-ed games. Despite the youth, the Flashes have traveled to a huge amount of tournaments this season, and that experience has them improving consistently with every tournament. It will be important for any sort of Nationals run this April. If Kent State keeps up their trajectory this roster can become a serious contender in the coming seasons.
SVSU
SVSU 1-5 Kent
SVSU 2-4 Nebraska
SVSU 4-0 Akron B
SVSU 1-3 Akron
Saginaw Valley State was only in attendance on Saturday, but they were able to get 4 games in, posting a 1-3 record. I’m not going to blow anyone’s mind here, but it helps when you get some players to travel! With it being spring break, it can be tough, so expect SV to have a deeper and more competitive roster come April. Despite posting a disappointing performance, the Cardinals debuted some new red jerseys that I think are pretty clean (Now everyone that complains there are too many white unis can stop). As always, Cole Machiela was the leader for this team. Owen Folsom was also a big contributor this weekend and will certainly be a key piece for the future of this program.
OSU
OSU 3-1 GVSU
OSU 5-2 Nebraska
OSU 3-1 Kent
Ohio State needed a 3-0 in a bad way after dropping two of their last 4 games, and they got it. The Buckeyes opened up day 2 of the WAR by claiming their first win over GVSU since winning the 2006 national title. Being fresh for the second day of the tournament was definitely a factor, but put simply, OSU outplayed their opponents all day. The next game saw OSU cruise by Nebraska by a score of 5-2. The Buckeyes would finish with a 3-1 win over Kent in what was ultimately their toughest matchup of the day. This is the perfect way to head into nationals as OSU will play host to the event on the 13th and 14th of April.
Miami
Miami 4-1 Nebraska
Miami 2-3 Akron (OT)
Miami 5-0 Akron B
Miami 1-4 GVSU
Miami opened the day with a dominant victory over Nebraska before playing what would become the match of the day against Akron. I will spare any Miami readers the agony of having to read those details for a second time, and instead highlight some notable Redhawks. Philip Hampton has come on strong for this team and is now an integral part of their success. Cole Ginocchio made his case for baller of the month after nearly coming back down 4-1 in OT versus Akron. Cole would make 2 catches and a kill but the effort came up just short. Max Edling also was making lots of plays for Miami, but notably had to sit out of the OT period due to a yellow card. Overall, Miami proved again that they are quite the wildcard, and can hang with just about anyone in the league, but they are a few pieces away from the contender status in my eyes.