The Rookie of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. This month’s winner was Stephen Bittner! He is a Senior currently pursuing a mechanical engineering degree and expects to graduate in 2026. Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.
Q: How do you feel about winning Rookie of the Month for the second time?
A: It feels great! I put in my best at Nationals, and this feels like recognition for the hard work I’ve put into dodgeball.
Q: What skill do you think you improved the most throughout the season?
A: I think I’ve improved the most on blocking. When I first started with dodgeball, that was the skill I had the least experience with. It felt awkward when I first started and I dirty blocked a lot. Fast forward to today, and I think it might be my best skill, and it feels great to protect teammates while they make plays.
Q: What was your favorite part of Nationals?
A: My favorite part was definitely coming back after Saturday and proving how well we could work together as a team against CMU and UIUC. It was a really good way to end the season!
Q: What was your favorite tournament this season and why?
A: It’s between the Ohio Nationals and Tyler Webb Memorial III for me. Despite getting destroyed at bowling green, it was a really enjoyable experience for me to go up against some really good teams and see how well we could stand up against them. I think I also learned a lot from that tournament in particular.
The Baller of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. April’s winner is David Laux! Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.
Q: How does it feel to be recognized by your teammates for this award?
A: It feels good to be acknowledged for what I do on the court. Yeah, I’m not a flashy player, but I set my teammates up for success.
Q: What skill do you think you improved on the most throughout the season?
A: My most improved skill is my on-court communication. Recently I have been put in a position to play call for the team, and it has gone well.
Q: What was your favorite part of Nationals this season?
A: My favorite part of nationals was winning the consolation bracket again.
Q: What was your favorite game or tournament of the season and why?
A: I really enjoy whenever we play against UIUC because they are close to us and every game we play with them is competitive and lots of fun.
The Baller of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. March’s winner is Ben Breidenbach! Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.
Q: How does it feel to be recognized by your teammates for this award?
A: It feels great to be recognized. I’m glad my efforts are being noticed and appreciated by my peers.
Q: What skill or skills have you been focusing on this semester?
A: I’ve been focusing on my ability to play with intensity and to be more of a presence on the court. As well as my ability to command my team and keep them playing hard and fast.
Q: What goal(s) do you have for yourself going into nationals this year?
A: This time around, I’m hoping to keep my thrown catches to a minimum to help my teammates.
Q: What is something you hope to see the team achieve or accomplish at nationals?
A: I’m hoping that my team can play together and keep the energy going. We have put in so much work this year and I’m really excited to see them against high level competition.
The Rookie of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. This month’s winner was Chloe Kaderabek! She is a Freshman currently pursuing a mechanical engineering degree and expects to graduate in 2029. Here are her responses to some brief interview questions.
Q: How does it feel to be recognized by your teammates for this award?
A: It feels really good getting recognized for this award and knowing that the work I’ve been putting into practices and tournaments are paying off.
Q: What was your favorite moment of the season so far?
A: My favorite moment of the season so far was beating UNL in the no-sting match at the Zanderthon tournament. It was so cool seeing my team work together and show off their skills on the court to get that win.
Q: What did you think of your first women’s nationals?
A: My first Women’s Nationals was the best tournament I’ve been to so far. Meeting most of the other women in dodgeball and getting to know them was so cool. Seeing how other female rookies improved through the season was awesome to see too.
Q: What are you looking forward to most for nationals this year?
A: What I’m most looking forward to at Nationals this year is finishing off the season on a high note with my team. I’m excited to see how we all play, and to see everyone show off their talents.
The Rookie of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. This month’s winner was Alex Kirchman! He is a Freshman currently pursuing an Animal Science degree with an emphasis in pre-veterinary sciences and expects to graduate in 2029. Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.
Q: How does it feel to be recognized by your teammates for this award?
A: It really surprised me, having joined the team in January, I didn’t expect the recognition, but I am super excited about it and really grateful.
Q: What is one skill you have been focusing on improving this semester?
A: I have been working on my throwing a lot. I have never done a sport that entailed throwing, so that is my biggest focus for the rest of the season.
Q: What was your favorite moment from playing dodgeball so far?
A: My favorite moment was getting my first catch in my first tournament at home. I was thrown at off the start, and it was the point after I had gotten out by being thrown out off start.
Q: What are you most excited for going into nationals this year?
A: I am really excited to see what we can do in women’s and coed, and see how we compete against stronger teams. It is really cool to see how much the team has grown in the little time I have been a part of the team. It is going to be a really cool experience for me, and I am super excited for it.
The Baller of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. February’s winner is Ethan Schmeling! Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.
Q: How does it feel to know that your teammates recognized you for this award?
A: It’s great to be recognized for how much work I put into getting better and how much it paid off for this month when I played.
Q: What skill or skills have you been focusing on this season?
A: I focused a lot on aim of where I throw and just my throws in general, along with my blocking to be way better than it used to be,
Q: What goal do you hope to achieve before the end of the season?
A: My goal is to be seen by other teams and for them to respect me in a way that they can’t just ignore.
Q: What are you looking forward to most going into nationals this year?
A: I’m looking forward to giving it my all at nationals and seeing what we can do as a team. I hope to get as many outs and wins as a team as possible.
The Baller of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. December’s winner is Griffin Johnson! Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.
Q: How does it feel to be recognized by the team for this award?
A: Good! It feels nice to be recognized on my way out the door.
Q: What advice do you have for everyone going into second semester?
A: Study hard. The feeling once you’re through feels amazing.
Q: What is your favorite memory from playing on this team?
A: My favorite memory is our win at nationals last year in the consolation bracket.
Q: Do you have plans to continue playing dodgeball in the future?
A: Absolutely! Just want to get adjusted to true adult life first.
The Rookie of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. This month’s winner was Stephen Bittner! He is a Senior currently pursuing a mechanical engineering degree and expects to graduate in 2026. Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.
Q: How do you feel about being recognized for this award by your teammates?
A: It feels really good. Sometimes you can get focused on the things you aren’t that good at. This was a good reminder that I have improved since I started.
Q: What are you looking forward to most this semester?
A: I’m really looking forward to how my new shoes impact my performance on the court. It’s going to be interesting not sliding 5 feet across the court whenever I want to stop.
Q: What is one skill you hope to focus and improve on?
A: I’m also going to focus on court awareness. This will help with teamwork, setting up team throws and defending teammates. It will also help me play better against enemy crosses.
Q: What was your favorite moment from playing dodgeball last semester?
A: I think my favorite moment was playing against Iowa. It was a really good experience playing with the B team against a fellow new team.
To end 2025, UW-Platteville traveled to the University of Iowa to play in the Hawkeye State Showdown. UW-Platteville played against the University of Iowa (Hawkeyes) and University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL).
UWP vs Hawkeyes (6-0)
This would be the Hawkeyes’ first game of the season. The match started out with UWP getting ball control and keeping ball control throughout the first point and UWP would win the first point. UWP would continue to work together as a team and have great communication. The Hawkeyes wouldn’t back down that easily and would keep the pressure on. UWP would secure four points by half time. During the start of second half, UWP would put in some of the rookies and would continue working together as a team. UWP would end the match by securing two more points and #21 Co-Captain Ben Breidenbach would end the first game with 17 thrown outs.
Photo Credit: Maisie Montemurno
UWP vs UNL (3-4 OT)
Once again, UWP faced UNL and were amped to get the win over them. The match started with even ball control for each team. #21 Ben Breidenbach would get the first out to get things started. UWP would continue to keep control of the game and would move as a unit and would win first point. The second point started and this time it would be UNL who would dominate and win the point. UWP would continue to keep UNL on the backline during the third and after a shot clock violation and with only 53 seconds left on the clock #21 Ben Breidenbach would get a catch leaving it to be a 3v1 in favor of UWP. With a three-person team throw set up,#21 Ben Breidenbach would get the out giving UWP the lead. The pressure was on during the second half. UWP would get the next point, giving them a two-point lead. However, UNL was not backing down and would take the next two thus forcing overtime. During Overtime, both teams would continue to keep the pressure on, but UNL would take the win.
Photo Credit: Hollie Wheeler
UWP B vs Hawkeyes (3-1)
The UWP B team would play in their second tournament. This time the UWP B team would be led by the following veterans #47 Dalton Foreyt, #66 Andrew Jones, #5 Griffin Johnson, and #73 Keaton Bahr. UWP B would take two points in the first half and would have great communication throughout the 1st half. The second half would start the same with UWP B taking their third point. The Hawkeyes would though continue to apply pressure and be able to score their first point of their season. Rookie #1 Logan VanCamp would finish this game with a total of 9 outs.
Women’s Mixed team vs UWP No-Sting (7-1)
The Women’s Mixed team would be combined with UWP #20 Captain Hollie Wheeler and rookie #17 Anna Behnke and UNL #40 Abigail Nelson and #45 Rachel Tysdal and the UWP team would be combined of #14 Co-Captain Reagan Bucholtz, #15 Co-Captain Tori Sanborn, and rookies #34 Chloe Kaderabek, #4 Jamie Damm, and #13 Maisie Montemurno.
Photo Credit: Abigail Nelson
Players Thoughts:
Here are some thoughts from the players that played in the Hawkeye State Tournament.
Veterans:
Tori Sanborn (Women’s Co-Captain): I think Iowa went well. Our team communicated the best we have yet this year and almost got our win against UNL, but I’m still happy with how we did. Our Rookies once again had more experience, and our Vets got more experience on how our team was in compared to prior years. When it came to Iowa, we had fun and worked on being a close team and worked together. For our Women’s Match, everyone got experience and some Vets really stepping up to help the rookies. Everyone learned greatly and we are one step closer to succeeding as a team.
Hollie Wheeler (Co-Captain): All the teams involved brought a strong competitive spirit while still having fun. I think our team gained more experience and it was a great tournament to end the semester. I’m looking forward to seeing what our team can accomplish next semester, and I hope we can have Iowa host another tournament soon.
Dylan Fabry (Captain): As a whole, I feel our team played great once we started pushing each other and playing our strategy. We learned a lot from the previous tournament and used that to take the lead against UNL. We just need to keep improving and not making mistakes that cost us the game.
Ben Breidenbach (Co-Captain): We played well, and I’m proud of the work my team has put in this semester.
David Laux: I think we have improved a lot since our last tournament. Especially keeping pressure on our opponents. However, we still have a lot of work to do, especially when it comes to aiming and having our throws connect.
Rookies:
Jamie Damm: The Iowa tournament was a great opportunity for UWP to teach Iowa a few of the things we do as a team when we play and a great opportunity for our women to get to play a match! As a team, we did a good job pump faking and applying pressure across the whole court which really helped us throughout the whole match.
Logan VanCamp: I think it was cool to see how well we played as both individuals and as a team. The A team and the Mixed B team had a great showing against Iowa, and we stuck right with Nebraska till the very end. Overall, I think it was a good end to the first semester and I’m sad to see Griffin go.
Stephen Brittner: We did well with communication, advancing, and retreating together in a line. We set up throws and teams throw really well. Some things we struggled with were throwing low; I remember that there were a lot of catches. I think we also might have struggled with throwing behind our blockers sometimes as well.
Chloe Kaderabek: For the Iowa tournament, I felt that the entire team did a good job with challenging themselves on the court and cheering on their teammates. The amount of support compared to the past tournament seemed to be a lot better, and I am excited to see how the team continues to grow with each other for future tournaments.
The Rookie of the Month award is an award given monthly to a player voted on by their teammates to recognize all the hard work they have put into the team throughout the month. This month’s winner was Shaun De Vries! He is a Junior currently pursuing a Civil Engineering degree and expects to graduate in 2027. Here are his responses to some brief interview questions.
Q: How has your opinion on dodgeball changed since you started playing?
A: I didn’t think it was as serious of a sport until I started playing. There is a lot more involved than just throwing and catching dodgeballs.
Q: What role on the court do you hope to play in the future?
A: I would like to take up more of a leadership role with pulling people together and keeping the team moving effectively while still having a good time and doing good myself.
Q: What was your favorite moment of the season so far?
A: My favorite moment was probably practicing dressed up as Deadpool.
Q: What is something you hope to improve on next semester?
A: I would like to improve on my overall court awareness and playing capabilities. Focusing more on faster throws and more consistent game-time catching.
Congratulations again to Shaun for being recognized for this award!
