-by Jacob Sebranek
Introduction
The 2018-19 school year is coming to an end and another year of dodgeball is over. UW-Platteville started off the year slowly but ended in strong fashion at Nationals 2019. As a club we went to eight tournaments against some of the best teams in the league. It was a great year and we look forward to the next but first the recap.
Tournaments
UNL – October
- Preview
- Scores
- UNL def UWP 4-2
- UNL def UWP 3-2
- Recap
UWP – November
- Preview
- Scores
- UWP-JV def SIUE 2-1
- UWP def SIUE 4-2
- UWP Alumni def UWP 3-2
- UWP def SIUE 6-1
- Recap
Kent State – November
- Preview
- Scores
- Recap
MSU – November
- Preview
- Scores
- MSU def MIAMI 3-1
- CMU def UWP 4-1
- CMU def WMU 5-0
- GVSU def Kent 5-1
- SVSU def OSU 6-1
- MSU def Kent 5-2
- OSU def WMU 2-1
- SVSU def UWP 5-1
- GVSU def MIAMI 4-1
- UWP def WMU 4-1
- MSU def OSU 4-2
- GVSU def CMU 2-1
- SVSU def KENT 3-2
- MIAMI def CMU 4-3
- Recap
Ball State – December
- Preview
- Scores
- BSU def UC 5-3
- GVSU def UWP 5-0
- GVSU def BSU 6-0
- Miami def UC 5-0 [S]
- UWP def BSU 4-2
- Miami def UWP 5-1
- GVSU def Miami 5-1
- UWP def UC 4-0 [S]
- Miami def BSU 4-2
- Recap
UWP – February
- Preview
- Scores
- UWP def NSULA- 5-1
- UWP def Alumni- 4-0
- NSULA def DePaul- 6-1
- UWP def DePaul- 7-0
- Alumni def NSULA- 4-1
- NSULA def DePaul- 6-0
- Recap
Miami (Ohio) – March
- Preview
- Scores
- UWP def UC 6-0
- Miami def UWP 6-1
- BGSU def UWP 4-2
- Recap
Nationals – April
- Preview
- Scores
- UWP def Kent State 3-0
- UWP def GSU 5-0
- MSU def UWP 2-1 OT
- UWP def GSU 4-1
- Miami eliminated UWP 5-1
- Recap
Thoughts:
This season I think our team came a long way. We started the year with a lot of new players so our early performances were not as great as we would have hoped for them to be. After we started to get our feet under us, we started to put out more quality performances as a team and really started to hang in points with teams that were better than us. As we made our way to nationals, I was a little worried about which UWP team was going to show up. I can say that I was completely surprised with which team showed up. Everyone stepped up when we needed them too and our team chemistry was through the roof. It was a great way to end the season after the performance we put in on the first day of nationals. I think that this team has a lot of potential moving forward into the next season with almost all of the team returning to play so I am excited to see what we can pull off next year!
-Mark Liedtke (Captain)
We started off the season with high hopes, knowing that even though some of our players weren’t coming back, we still had a lot of talent on the roster. We were hoping to get some help from the new freshman, but they blew the expectations out of the water. Everyone was ready to attack this season and, even though it was a slow start, we still played well throughout the year. Once we got to Nationals, everything came together really well. Our team was blocking well, catching well, and throwing well. Everyone was playing as a team during nationals and people listened really well. We were able to take the number three team to overtime and hang with them really well. We finished the season by jumping up in the ranks by quite a bit. I am really excited to see what next year brings!
-Austin Kurey (Co-Captain)
Goodbyes:
Erik Zander
Erik has been on the team for seven years and has had a huge impact on leadership and development of the team. He is one of the best blockers there are and his impact on the court will be missed greatly. Erik plans to stay active with the team as a coach next year.
Tomas Zander
Tomas had probably the strongest arm in the midway conference this past year. He was also vice president of the dodgeball club this past year and was club treasurer his junior year. The club is proud to see him graduate but he will be missed greatly.
Will Martin
Will has been club president the past two years and he has a very high dodgeball IQ. The amount of work he has done for the club the past two years is incredible to say the least. The job of club president is no easy task from going to meetings to completing paperwork all this would not be possible without what Will has done these past few years. He was very kind and got along well with everyone and his leadership will be greatly missed.
Ian Pongratz
Ian is transferring to another university to continue his studies. He has been on the club for two years and is excellent at dodging and throwing. He has a great personality and is always making jokes. We wish him the best at his new school.
Ryan Roberts
Ryan has a great arm that you need to keep an eye out for on the court. He also has a great sense of humor and helps keep practice and games fun. He has been a great friend to many on the dodgeball team and we will miss him greatly.
Conclusion
It was another great year of dodgeball that ended with a good performance at nationals. We look forward to next year. Goodbye.
Recap of Fall 2018:
by Jacob Sebranek
Introduction:
Happy New Year 2019! With one semester down and one to go, it’s time to reflect on the first half of the dodgeball season. After a disappointing performance at nationals last year UWP decidedly went to five tournaments and faced a daunting schedule in hopes of improving. Along the way UWP had several freshmen gain lots of valuable experience and who stepped up in some clutch moments.
Tournaments:
Nebraska
-This was our first tournament of the year. We came into the tournament expecting to win but the results were less than ideal. An improved Nebraska team won 4-2 in the first match and 3-2 in the second match.
UWP
-This was our first and only home tournament of the semester. The UWP-JV beat Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 2-1. Then UWP beat SIUE 4-2. This was a one-sided match as UWP had a lot more experience over SIUE. UWP’s alumni beat UWP 3-2. The alumni won the match with superior throwing arms. Then UWP beat SIUE a second time 6-1.
Kent State
-Platteville started the day against Bowling Green. This game ultimately was one sided. With BGSU having a lot of guys with big strong throwing arms, UWP just sat on their back line trying not to get hit. We lost 5-0. This kind of carried into our next match where we stayed on the back line and Akron came out swinging in that first point. UWP then made an adjustment and started pushing up after Akron threw and then UWP was able to get some ball control. It then came UWP’s turn to control the match taking the next 3 points. However, the veteran squad of Akron made their own adjustments and were able to come and win the game with around 30 seconds left in the match. Final score 4-3, each of those points in the second half were well contested points. The last game was against Ohio. These were two evenly matched teams. In this match, in particularly in the second half, Ohio outdid UWP in the catching department and came away with the win. The final score 4-2.
–Tomas Zander
Michigan State
-Going into this tournament UWP was expected to go 1-2 with losses to Central Michigan and Saginaw Valley State and a win over newly formed Western Michigan. On paper that is what happened. However, UWP with nothing to lose kicked off the day by taking a lead on CMU and fighting hard in every point of their 5-1 loss to CMU. Then UWP played hard against SVSU but was outdone by throwing catches. Final score 5-1 SVSU won. Finally, UWP played Western Michigan and beat the newly formed and outnumbered WMU.
Ball State
-This was the last tournament of the semester. UWP split 2-2 on the day beating Ball State and Cincinnati and losing to Miami and Grand Valley State. The first match was against GVSU. As the top team in the country GVSU came out and stomped UWP but UWP walked away having played hard and gaining valuable experience. The final score was 5-0, GVSU won. UWP then went on to beat Ball State before playing Miami. For most of this match Miami had UWP sitting on the back line because of ball control but UWP stilled tried hard to push the pace in transition. Finally, UWP beat newly formed Cincinnati. This match was especially fun because in the second half some of UWP’s players played for Cincinnati to even up the numbers.
Thoughts:
Austin Kurey (Co-captain) + Mark Liedtke (Captain)
– I believe that we played well overall. We played a lot of high ranked teams throughout the first semester, which led to multiple losses. Even though we did lose, I think our team took a lot away from these matches. The freshmen have developed well throughout these tough matches and our practices, which I hope will translate to nationals. Overall, I think that our team should be proud of themselves as we have really held our own with so much turnover in the roster. I cannot wait to see what 2019 has to offer!
Goodbyes:
Zach Bartz
This semester Zach Bartz joined the dodgeball club. He went to several tournaments with the team and he wore #40. He had a great sense of humor and was always making us laugh. The team is proud to see Zach graduate and we wish him the best in life.
