Dodgeball Club 2018-19 RECAP
-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.