Esports pushes forward into November
MEQUON, Wis. – The CUW esports team continued to push forward as the calendar turned into November. The Falcons competed in six contests over the past week, including one post-season match.
"We are starting to see our leagues come to a close and I've been loving the mindset I have been seeing from the players," said head coach Lewis Smith. "They are more dedicated than ever and are striving to be the best despite this being their first true competitive experience for some. You would not be able to tell our program is new."
CUW competed in the NACE Fall Cup Playoffs on Friday evening. The Falcons fell short in the first round of the playoffs with a 0-2 loss to Central Michigan. 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.) fell 8-12, 5-12 on Friday evening. Uriostegui led the flock with five kills as Lucas.
The Falcons finish the season ranked in the top 32 in the nation.
"This was an incredible first season for our Smash team," said Smith. "In just a couple of months, our Smash team went from an unknown to the strength of our program. I can guarantee you will see some very big things come from them in spring."
Rocket League saw a split in results on Thursday. CUW opened the night with a 1-3 loss to Grand Valley State. The team of senior Alex Reimer (Sheboygan, Wis.), senior Ethan Koch (Fredericksburg, Iowa), junior Andrew Burk (Townsend, Del.) and junior Austin Esterly (Lombard, Ill.) then topped Arkansas, 3-1. Esterly led the flock with eight goals on the week, including six against Arkansas. He also collected 13 combined saves over the two games.
The Hearthstone duo of senior Charles Kingma (Port Washington, Wis.) and junior Jack Kral (Kohler, Wis.) defeated Illinois on Thursday, 3-1. The Blue and White opened the match with a victory with the Pen Flinger DH deck. The Fighting Illini evened the match in the second game with the Gala Rogue deck. The Falcons retook the lead in the third game with the Gala Rogue deck against Illinois' Control Warrior deck. CUW secured the victory with the Libroom Pally deck.
"Our lineup did really well this match," Kingma stated. "I feel us solidifying our confidence with our decks against multiple matchups. We were able to put pressure on them early, forcing them to make desperate plays."
Monday night saw the Falcons fall short against Alabama-Birmingham, 1-3. The Falcons took the first game with the Control Priest deck, but then fell in the next two games with the Pen DH deck. The Blazers secured the victory with the Bomb Warrior deck against the Falcons' Gala Rogue deck.
"We started out really strong and we proceeded to lose everything by chance," said Kral. "It was an unfortunate match cutting our playoff chances away."
The Falcons ended the week in the NACC Fall Season Week Seven Fortnight competition. The team of freshman Kodee Keys (Dupo, Ill.), sophomore Austin Lichtenstein (Johnsburg, Ill.) and sophomore Colby Williams (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) finished in 44th place.
The Blue and White will compete in five events over the next two weeks.
