Esports soars on the week
MEQUON, Wis. – The CUW esports team soared once again on the week and was able to compete in seven competitions on the week. The Falcons are now ranked in the top-25 in Fortnite after the week and continue to improve across all events.
"The growth we had in just one week is massive," said head coach Lewis Smith. "It made for an amazing week, but more importantly, it is setting us up for sustained success. Hearthstone clinched playoffs, which is a massive step for us compared to last season, and Fornite and Smash Bros bounced back in major ways! These teams have been absolutely grinding lately, and it is all paying off."
On Friday night, the Super Smash Bros team of junior Gideon Cain (Cedarburg, Wis.), sophomore Angel Uriostegui (Round Lake, Ill.), junior Ryan Schroeder (Seattle, Wash.) and junior Nathanael Quezada (St. Charles, Mo.) downed Jamestown by a 2-0 score. The Falcons won the first game 12-8. The lineup of Daisy, Palu, Wolf and Lucas cruised in the second game against ROB, Joker, Bowser and Samus to a 12-11 victory.
Uriostegui led the Falcons with nine kills as Lucas on Friday night. CUW is 2-1 and currently sits in second place in the group with two weeks left in the regular season, with the top-two teams advancing to the playoffs.
The Falcons secured a spot in the West Region Playoffs in Hearthstone with a 3-1 victory over Texas Tech. The Red Raiders Control Warrior deck started 0-2 against the Bomb Warrior and Face Hunter decks for CUW. In a battle of Soul Shard DH decks, Texas Tech cut into the Falcons lead with a victory in the third game. The Blue and White duo of senior Charles Kingma (Port Washington, Wis.) and junior Jack Kral (Kohler, Wis.) secured the victory with the Soul Shard DH deck against the Libroom Paladin deck for TTU.
"It was a hard-fought battle requiring some tough choices," said Kral. "In the end, our knowledge of our decks and teamwork is what brought our decks to victory."
Monday night saw the Falcons secure a 28th-place finish out of 144 teams in the Fortnite PlayVS Week Four Tournament. The team of freshman Kodee Keys (Dupo, Ill.), sophomore Austin Lichtenstein (Johnsburg, Ill.) and sophomore Colby Williams (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) finished in the top-10 in four of the seven rounds, including a second-place finish in round two and a third-place finish in round four.
CUW currently boasts the 24th-ranked collegiate Fortnite team in the nation.
In Rocket League, the Falcons ended the week on a high note with the team of senior Alex Reimer (Sheboygan, Wis.), senior Ethan Koch (Fredericksburg, Iowa), junior Andrew Burk (Townsend, Del.) and junior Austin Esterly (Lombard, Ill.). On Tuesday, the Blue and White were bounced by Aquinas 0-3 and Kettering 1-3. The Falcons were able to close the week on Thursday with a 1-3 loss to Drexel but topped Miami Ohio, 3-1.
On Tuesday, Austin Esterly secured seven goals including, four against Kettering. Against Drexel, both Ethan Koch and Austin Esterly ended with eight saves. The Redhawks on Miami struck first in game one on Thursday with an 6-5 victory, but the Falcons would not fold and would take the next three games 3-1, 3-2 and 3-1. Alex Reimer and Ethan Koch collected six goals, with Koch leading the team with five saves.
"The first game started off rough," said Koch. "But we came through as a team and pulled out a win."
CUW will compete in seven events on the upcoming week.
