Category: Uncategorized

– by Jacob Sebranek

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville had a great time playing dodgeball this year. UWP had a large group of freshmen who gained valuable experience. UWP also had several team parties and went to several tournaments where we had loads of fun. The team didn’t do quite as well as they had hoped at nationals but improved a lot and will have a very strong team for next year.

Tournaments

Nebraska – September
UWP – October
CMU – November
Midland – November
UWP – February
DePaul – March
GVSU – March
Nationals @ VCU – April

Nebraska – September

In the month of September UWP traveled to the University of Nebraska Lincoln to play DePaul and Nebraska in dodgeball. First, the freshmen played a short point to get used to collegiate dodgeball. Then UWP played and beat DePaul. Following that Nebraska beat DePaul. Then UWP finished off the day by beating Nebraska.

https://www.facebook.com/DodgeballUWP/videos/1188211967946539/
https://www.facebook.com/DodgeballUWP/videos/1188236177944118/

UWP – October

This was UWP’s first home tournament of the year. UWP’s JV tied SIUE to start the day. Then UWP’s Varsity beat Nebraska and SIUE.

https://www.facebook.com/DodgeballUWP/videos/1208803172554085/
https://www.facebook.com/DodgeballUWP/videos/1208840805883655/

CMU – November

UWP traveled to Central Michigan to play the various Michigan schools in dodgeball. UWP did not do very well on this day. They did not beat any of these talented schools.

https://www.facebook.com/DodgeballUWP/videos/1214181922016210/
https://www.facebook.com/DodgeballUWP/videos/1214133012021101/

Midland – November

Nebraska started off the day beating Midland in a close match. Then UWP beat Nebraska in a hard fought match before easily handling Midland to win the tournament.

UWP – February

This was UWP’s second home tournament of the year. UWP played Nebraska twice and in both matches UWP won a hard fought battle due to experience. Nebraska and UWP then played a friendly with UWP’s alumni.

DePaul – March

UWP and Nebraska traveled to DePaul for dodgeball on St. Patrick’s Day. Nebraska started the day by beating DePaul. Then UWP sweep Nebraska and DePaul but not before they both took early one point leads.

https://www.facebook.com/DodgeballUWP/videos/1324330031001398/
https://www.facebook.com/DodgeballUWP/videos/1324365624331172/

GVSU – March

UWP traveled to Michigan to play at Grand Valley. Grand Valley started things off by crushing UWP. Then UWP got beat by Michigan State. To end the day UWP got demolished by CMU. Although UWP did not win it was a great learning experience for UWP by playing some of the best teams in college dodgeball.

https://www.facebook.com/DodgeballUWP/videos/1331675546933513/

Nationals @ VCU – April

VCU started off the tournament by crushing UWP. Later, Ohio State beat UWP in a close fought 2-1 match. To end day 1 Towson beat UWP in convincing fashion. On day 2 UWP beat Cleveland State to advance to the sweet 16 where UWP lost to eventual champions Grand Valley.

https://www.facebook.com/DodgeballUWP/videos/1355316617902739/
https://www.facebook.com/DodgeballUWP/videos/1355504854550582/
https://www.facebook.com/DodgeballUWP/videos/1356146767819724/
https://www.facebook.com/DodgeballUWP/videos/1356229227811478/

Thoughts:

Louis Thompson – This year I would say we had a down year by Platteville standards. That being said I expect great things from this team in the future. We are a very young team that’s on going up. The experience that was gained was invaluable, especially what came from playing the Michigan schools. I look forward to seeing what this team can prove in the coming future.

Mark Liedtke – I was only here for the second half of the season this year but looking back from where we started when I joined, we made a lot of progress in all different areas on the game. I think one of the more important things we started to figure out on the court this year was our identity as a team and how we wanted to approach the game of dodgeball. While we still have a little bit of searching to do until we find our true style, I am very pleased with the progress we made this year as a team. As the captain, my expectations for the team next season are very high. Being a team of mostly freshman, we still have a lot of room to grow as a team. I feel like we will have a lot more to show on the court with everyone gaining a lot of experience from this season. I am looking to push everyone a little harder to see what we can really do as a team next year.

Goodbyes: Louis Thompson

This year UWP was co-captained by Louis Thompson. Louis is leaving the team to go to a tech school but wishes the team the best.

-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

1. Preview
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/cornhusker-clash-4/13287#more-13287
2. Scores
   1. UNL def UWP 4-2
   2. UNL def UWP 3-2
3. Recap
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/cornhusker-clash-recap-2/13399#more-13399

UWP – November

1. Preview
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/battle-of-the-midway-preview/13576
2. Scores
   1. UWP-JV def SIUE 2-1
   2. UWP def SIUE 4-2
   3. UWP Alumni def UWP 3-2
   4. UWP def SIUE 6-1
3. Recap
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/battle-of-the-midway-recap/13637

Kent State – November

1. Preview
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/summit-street-slugfest-picks-against-the-spread/13622
   2. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/summit-street-slugfest-a-preview/13651
2. Scores
3. Recap

MSU – November

1. Preview
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/midwests-best-teams-set-to-clash-at-spartan-invite/13682
2. Scores
   1. MSU def MIAMI 3-1
   2. CMU def UWP 4-1
   3. CMU def WMU 5-0
   4. GVSU def Kent 5-1
   5. SVSU def OSU 6-1
   6. MSU def Kent 5-2
   7. OSU def WMU 2-1
   8. SVSU def UWP 5-1
   9. GVSU def MIAMI 4-1
   10. UWP def WMU 4-1
   11. MSU def OSU 4-2
   12. GVSU def CMU 2-1
   13. SVSU def KENT 3-2
   14. MIAMI def CMU 4-3
3. Recap
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/spartan-invite-recap-2/13705

Ball State – December

1. Preview
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/december-dodgeball-dash/13717
2. Scores
   1. BSU def UC 5-3
   2. GVSU def UWP 5-0
   3. GVSU def BSU 6-0
   4. Miami def UC 5-0 [S]
   5. UWP def BSU 4-2
   6. Miami def UWP 5-1
   7. GVSU def Miami 5-1
   8. UWP def UC 4-0 [S]
   9. Miami def BSU 4-2
3. Recap
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/december-dodgeball-dash-recap/13780

UWP – February

1. Preview
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/zanderthon-throw-down-4/14307
2. Scores
   1. UWP def NSULA- 5-1
   2. UWP def Alumni- 4-0
   3. NSULA def DePaul- 6-1
   4. UWP def DePaul- 7-0
   5. Alumni def NSULA- 4-1
   6. NSULA def DePaul- 6-0
3. Recap
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/zanderthon-throw-down-recap-3/14399

Miami (Ohio) – March

1. Preview
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/redhawk-rampage-preview/14498
2. Scores
   1. UWP def UC 6-0
   2. Miami def UWP 6-1
   3. BGSU def UWP 4-2
3. Recap
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/redhawk-rampage-ii-recap/14566

Nationals – April

1. Preview
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/brutally-honest-nationals-preview/14721
2. Scores
   1. UWP def Kent State 3-0
   2. UWP def GSU 5-0
   3. MSU def UWP 2-1 OT
   4. UWP def GSU 4-1
   5. Miami eliminated UWP 5-1
3. Recap
   1. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/2019-national-champions-towson/14734
   2. http://ncdadodgeball.com/blog/nationals-2019-saturday-results/14731

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.

By: Carter Vosters

The new season of dodgeball is here and underway.  There is a lot to expect from our team this year with more returning players than the previous year.  We have nearly a full team of returning players, many of which have two or more years of experience on the team.  The year kicked off with the first practice on Sunday the 4^th, where we saw many new faces looking to join the team.  Through this new season, I would plan on seeing the Platteville Dodgeball Club working more as a whole, with improved team dynamics, better catching, and an overall faster pace than the last season.

Players to look for-

Will Martin- We can expect to see the former freshman sensation make more incredible catches, even though he is not a freshman any more…

Matt Bautch- Keep an eye out for the previous NCDA September 2015 Baller of the month, and the 2015-2016 All American Team.

Nicklaus Harding- The Club President for the 2016-2017 season, very good all round player, he can throw, catch, dodge, you name it… Plus the beard.

Tim Ebert- It may be his second year on the team but you could easily think he’s been doing it since he was 5.

Jordan Gillette- Throughout the new season it would be easily said he will be the most improved player from the previous year.

Brandon(s)- Between Brandon Dane and Brandon McCullough there is an enormous amount of catching ability.  Dane had an and exceptional previous season, especially at the CMU tournament where he made 5 consecutive catches.  McCullough also had an amazing season, he is really able to throw himself at any ball to make a catch.

There are many more players on the team to keep an eye on, I could have kept writing about everyone but I want to keep this short.

        Upcoming tournaments-

 At Nebraska- the weekend of September 24^th, where we expect see the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Northern Texas, and DePaul.

At DePaul- the weekend of October 8^th, where we expect to play against DePaul, and Nebraska.

Home– the weekend of October 22^nd, Again we expect to see DePaul and Nebraska.

By Jacob Sebranek

9/14/2018

After a long summer the 2018-19 dodgeball season is finally here. UW-Platteville has big expectations for this season. They are led by a strong senior class that wants to leave it all out on the court. Here is the season preview by some of UWP’s board members:

Name: Mark Liedtke (Captain)

What would you say is the status of the team right now?

The team is working on shaking off the rust right now and bringing the new members up to speed on the game of dodgeball.

What things do you want to see the team improve upon?

The biggest things we have to work on are communication and trusting each other to be in the right positions.

What are your expectations for the team for the season?

I think we are a lot better than our preseason ranking of 17^th and once our veteran players get back in the groove, we can push for top 10.

Name: Tomas Zander (Vice President)

What would you say is the status of the team right now?

The team has a lot of returning members who are bringing what they learned last season into this one. We are going to be a force to reckon with.

What things do you want to see the team improve upon?

I want to see the team get better at pushing up together.

What are your expectations for the team for the season?

I think we have what it takes to make it to the final four this year. We got a lot of seniors who want to make it a great last season.

Name: Ryan Wall (Treasurer)

What would you say is the status of the team right now?

The team is trying to build on the foundation of the returning members, while also teaching the new members the basics for a strong base.

What things do you want to see the team improve upon?

The team needs to improve on court communications so that we look like a team on the court.

What are your expectations for the team for the season?

I think that the team can push for the top 10 towards the end of the season.

If I were to describe the 2021-2022 season in one word, it would be “growth”.

We were not in the best spot coming out of the 2020-2021 season. There were hardly any new rookies that joined from the season prior, and it was uncertain how the COVID policies would change or if they would even change at all. With that being said, we were able to recover and recruit one of the biggest rookie classes yet. This new growth also allowed us to take full squads with subs to away tournaments, which was difficult to do in seasons prior. This growth will even propel us forward through the next few seasons and promote new leadership within the club.

With that being said, having such a large rookie group also meant that we did not have the best arms in the start of the season, which our record reflected since we lost a majority of the Fall games. However, we managed to implement more throwing drills, develop a strategy that works, pull together, and show up as a team that could compete against the some of the best at nationals. And although we lost 3-1 against Cincinnati in the first round, other teams noticed how well we played for our ranking, complementing us for such a close game.

UWP Dodgeball plans to carry the momentum and growth from this season to the 2022-2023 season with our newly elected board. Please see below for the election results and some responses from the board. Also, check out which players received an award for their outstanding performance this season.

Elections

Captain: Caleb Newell

Q: What are the most important changes you think we as a team should implement next year?

A: I will advocate for a more serious environment. While this is all in good fun, we need to take more time perfecting skills such as: blocking, catching, court awareness, etc. I plan to have these worked on via drills. This will limit the number of games we will play each practice but increase the quality of them. 

Co-Captain: Tomas Zander

Q: As Co-Captain, what changes will you advocate for in practice to put our team in a better position for next year’s national’s tournament?

A: I am super excited for next season’s dodgeball team because we have a lot of guys returning. With a veteran squad, we can better create strategies at practices to prepare us for tournaments. I am still hoping we get another big recruiting class, that way we build competition within the team. It would also be nice to have 12v12 during practices to better simulate games. We have goals to be a final four team next season. If we can commit to doing drills and taking full squads to every away tournament, we will be top four team for sure. Go NEERS!!

President: Austin Kurey

Q: As the newly elected President, what trajectory do you plan on taking the club next year?

A: I think the best thing that I can work on is to continue to improve our reach as a club. The more students that know of our club, the more students we can get to join. Not only would it be great to increase our range with students, but also it would be great to help out with dodgeball events that occur on campus that aren’t related to the club.

Vice President: Nicholas Stocks

Q: Going from a rookie this year to the newly elected Vice President of the club, what are some specific things you want to focus on to attract more newcomers to the club come next Fall?

A: To bring more students into the club we have to advertise ourselves more. In the Fall I know we plan to have tables at events where students can see what clubs UW-Platteville has to offer, and that’s a great way to reach all students, whether they are freshmen or seniors. Being the person in charge of fundraising I am looking into the idea of having a fundraiser on campus for students, something similar to a dunk tank, but instead, throwing a dodgeball at a professor. I think students will enjoy this because when else can you throw something a professor.

Treasurer: Jalen Sims

Secretary: Zak Lathrop

Content Writer: Jordyn Vanevenhoven

Awards

Baller of the Year: Jacob Sebranek

I would like to thank the club for voting for me to be “Baller of the Year.” It helps validate all the hours I put in with Coach Erik on Mondays and Wednesdays. It also feels good to know that the drills we do on the non-practice days really do make a difference even if we’d like to have more people show up to them. Lastly, I’d like to say “Thank you” to everyone on the club for being such good friends and teammates. Have a great summer and dream of me headshoting all of you at the fall tournament.

Rookie of the Year: Jalen Sims

I would like to start off by thanking everyone for this award and I’m proud of everyone who came out to play this year. I’ve only seen our team improve from our first tournament to nationals, but I look forward to the next 3 years and can’t wait to see where we end up.

Most Improved Player: Zak Lathrop

I would like to say that I am honored to have earned this award and I am proud that my hard work for myself and the club is paying off. 

Team Impact Award: Noah Larscheid

Thank you to all of my teammates for making Dodgeball Club as fun as it is. It’s not every day you get to throw a dodgeball as hard as you can at someone else. Thank you for the last four years and I hope to make my last semester at UWP a good one next fall in the dodgeball club. Go ‘Neers!

Practice MVP: Eli Huntley

UWP Dodgeball is proud to congratulate two veteran players, Kyle Reinke and Jake Sebranek on their commencement. Kyle Reinke is graduating with a Civil Engineering B.S. and already has a job lined up with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in the Waukesha area. Jacob Sebranek is graduating with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, a Mathematics Minor, as well as a History Minor, and will be starting his job at the City of Eau Claire this Summer.

Both Kyle and Jake have been with the club for many years, and both have certainly left their mark through holding board positions, leading practices, and teaching the rookies how to play competitively. They each have their own competitive strengths as well. Jacob in particular has grown significantly in just this past year in both his catching and throwing abilities, which won him this year’s Baller of the Year Award. Kyle, even with his elbow injury, has gone to almost every tournament this year and has made some amazing catches when we needed them the most.

However, the things that we appreciate about Kyle and Jake are not limited to just what happens on the court. Whether it be a weeknight bowling trip or a weekend darty, Kyle and Jake are always there. Both of these guys have great capacities for empathy and truly care about each of the club’s members, especially the rookies. Lastly, I know that this will not be the last time that I see Kyle and Jake as they are eager to come back to home tournaments to play on the alumni team and see the progress that the club they love has made.

Congratulations Kyle Reinke and Jake Sebranek on your achievements! We look forward to seeing all the structures and roads that you will create throughout your careers.

The 2022 NCDA Nationals tournament was held in Kalamazoo, MI at Western Michigan University after a 2-year hiatus of national competitions; needless to say, every team was jacked up to be under one roof again. This was a special year for UWP as a large portion of our team consisted of rookies that have never been to nationals before. In practice leading up to the big day, veterans would hype it up as a great opportunity to be a part of something bigger and to truly bond as a team. This was exactly the case because we never had as many players jumping, yelling and cheering at one time before.

Going into the tournament, Platteville sat at seed 16 out of 18 other teams, so the odds were not exactly in our favor from the start. The first day served as a placement day where all points gained were doubled and Platteville was scheduled to play Cleaveland State University, Ohio State University, and Saginaw Valley University, which were some of the better teams out of the bunch. UWP fought hard in each match and ended up taking SVSU to overtime and even winning against CSU, thus moving up to the 13th spot.

For the first game of the single elimination tournament, we were matched up against the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, whom we lost to two weeks prior. Everyone on the team knew that these guys were going to be tough competition, but that did not hinder anybody’s spirits. Everyone, even those on the sidelines, were shouting out the clock and cheering. UWP managed to score the first point against UC after a strong start, with which they responded by scoring two consecutive points. After halftime, the fourth point was hardly fought ending in a 1v1 situation with UWP President JT Warren against UC Brannon McGinn. It was so close, but UC ended up getting the point from a catch. The clock stalled out during the fifth point resulting in a final score of 3-1 UC.

Even though we ended up losing a hard battle, everyone was glad that we went down fighting. When the captains first found out who they were playing, UC was upset that they had to play us instead of an easier team. In fact, other teams were even joking after the game that they blew their arms out when playing us. Although it didn’t go the way that some veterans were hoping it would, the future looks bright for our team. Once clumsy rookies have become well-seasoned in the game, many even stepping up and starting each point. One thing is for certain next year, and that is that we will compete hard, together, and for the win.

Sorry for the delay folks. The UWP Dodgeball content writer is about as efficient as the current supply chain. We have a repeat offender this month as he was also the October BOTM. Caleb Newell, Co-Captain and dodgeball extraordinaire, is greatly deserving of the March BOTM Award due to his excellent leadership skills during games and his overall enthusiasm towards the team. For anyone that saw national’s this past weekend, I’m sure we all can agree that Caleb is a perfect candidate to win 2 BOTM Awards in the same year.

1. Upon completing your first national’s dodgeball competition, is this what you expected it to look like?

Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Many of our teammates had kept talking it up and it didn’t disappoint. It was a great atmosphere to be around people who love the game. I really enjoyed being able to make friends and talk with those that I have already had the pleasure of playing against. I’m excited for next year already.

2. Do you have any comments from the loss against Cincinnati?

Man, that was a tough loss for us. We had ample opportunity to win that game and mental errors killed us. However, I am extremely proud of us. I want to give a shout out to the rookies and back half of the starting 12. We asked you to come into this tournament to play roles for us and you did just that, it was amazing watching you all work as a unit. I think we made noise around the league and especially in the heads of Cincinnati. I know they were hurt after that tough game, and if we couldn’t win I’m glad we made them work for it.

3. You were a part of the bidding process for next year’s NCDA national’s tournament. What are your thoughts on UWP potentially hosting a national’s tournament?

I seriously think UWP is perfect for nationals. Almost every single year we have put in a bid for Nationals, but we’ve come up short. Everyone’s complaint is that its far and I think that is a poor excuse. The other clubs would have all year to raise travel money for nationals. Also, our club literally travels anywhere and everywhere for games, so that just reiterates the fact that distance shouldn’t be a factor. One of the big reasons we should be looked at is the fact that all of our courts have curtains on all sides, this would eliminate wall ball and keep all of the balls on the court, which was an issue at the most recent nationals.

4. How has your outlook on the sport changed since joining the UWP Dodgeball Club this past Fall?

Whenever I first joined, I thought it would be a good way to stay active but play a goofy childhood game. I shortly realized that it was competitive and that I was hooked. I believe I can play with the best of the best, every time when get on the court I plan to prove that. I think if Platteville got more attention, I would be considered one of the better players in the league.

5. Looking ahead, what needs to change in order to compete with other top tier teams?

We need our team to take things a bit more seriously. By this I mean we need to focus more on drills to improve individual facets before we just play games. Yes, you can get reps in games, but if you get out early there is no way to have players improve on certain skills i.e: blocking, catching, countering. To add to that we need a change of philosophy. For us to improve we need coaches to hear the players out and vice versa, although I believe it’s gotten better over the year, there was a significant tension that could be felt at practices. If we are all on the same page, we will perform better.

6. Is there anything else you would like to share?

In the wise words the ‘Man of Many Words’, Mr. Jacob Sebranek, Roll ‘Neers.

As national’s approaches, UWP Dodgeball wants to take a moment to recognize some key athletes this year and how they contributed to the team. Although every player in the team makes an impact, there are a few players that stand out each tournament, and as the young kids say, “come in clutch” when the going gets tough. Below you will find bios on the 5 most valuable players this year, as well as two rookies who stood out from the rest.

Jacob Sebranek #22

There is no surprise that five-year veteran Jacob Sebranek is on the top five list this year for UWP. Jake is one of the best when it comes to catching, blocking, and game awareness. This is especially valuable to the team because we need more players that are as well-rounded as Jake is. Additionally, Jake has been a strong leader in training the newer players during workout sessions to complement the things we work on during practice. We hope to see more of Jake’s phenomenal gameplay at nationals in the coming weeks.

JT Warren #34

Not only is JT the President of the club, but he is also hands-down the best at catching among all UWP Dodgeball members. In fact, he is the kind of guy that will leap for a catch that others wouldn’t even bother going for, even if it means he might get thrown out after. A sports fan at heart, JT is very competitive and is the fire that drives us to not hold back at each game, and it will be same at nationals. While we may not be going into the tournament at a high ranking, JT will surely keep spirits high even when the going gets tough.

Austin Kurey #23

Ausstin has one of the most unique and powerful throws on the team due to his range and accuracy. His sidearm throw is practically everything that Coach Erik Zander tells new players to avoid, yet Austin consistently will get outs from a distance with his sidearm. Both his throw and experience will be a huge asset for the team both in nationals and tournaments to come. Light-hearted and comical, Austin is always there to boost morale and remind everyone of the importance of having fun at practice, which at the end of the day is just as important as winning.

Eli Huntley #8

Another player that UWP would like to recognize is none other than Eli Huntley. Eli is a fourth-year veteran of the team who has developed quite the throw since starting his freshman year. An interesting thing about Eli is that he brings a sense of humor and fun to practice while still being competitive. Because of his adept understanding of the game, other players often look to Eli for callouts of when to throw and be aggressive.

Tomas Zander #25

This top five list would not be complete without mentioning Tomas Zander. Tomas is a well-seasoned player from his experience prior during his undergraduate studies, and now that he is back in school for his graduate degree, the club is excited to have another strong leadership figure on the team. Tomas has been incredible in helping the rookies improve their throw, as well as calling out throws and plays during games. Whoever UWP will be facing at nationals’, they will certainly have a difficult time dodging any throw from Tomas.

Jalen Sims #10 (Rookie)

Jalen has been impactful in the past few tournaments, especially for being so new to the sport. His solid arm and blocking skills are the exact reason why he always makes the starting 12. Jalen, like the many other freshman who joined this past Fall, was eager to have fun and meet friends after the first phase of the Pandemic. However, Jalen quickly developed an interest in competing and has shown more improvement than any other rookie on the team. The team is excited to see Jalen’s abilities further develop in the coming semesters.

Caleb Newell #7 (Rookie)

Yet this only being his second semester in the club, Caleb has been serving as Captain since the start of Spring semester, which says a lot about his leadership qualities. Caleb is also one of the best throwers on the team. Through his past experiences in football and baseball, he has developed quite the arm and is not scared to show it off. The club is sad that Caleb will be graduating in the coming Fall semester but hopes to end his time in the club with a strong appearance in Michigan.

Although Caleb may be new to dodgeball, his experiences as a three-sport athlete is a tribute to his knowledge of effectively working as a team, and thus has a technical perspective of what’s to come for UWP Dodgeball this year at nationals.

“Our mindset heading into nationals is to embrace the dark horse. This team is full of high caliber veterans who, when given the opportunity, have the talent to take over games. Throughout the year our team has shown we can compete with the best. However, I don’t think our team is shown respect for our talent level and I welcome other teams to overlook us. Even though are record shows a different story, we know our power and plan to show that on the court come nationals.”