Esports closes February play
MEQUON, Wis. – The CUW esports team continued its busy 2021 schedule to close the calendar on February. The Falcons competed in Call of Duty, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, Fortnite, Overwatch, Smash Bros and Warzone.
In Smash META solos play, junior Nathanael Quezada (St. Charles, Mo.), junior Gideon Cain (Cedarburg, Wis.), sophomore De'Shawn Ford (Gardena, Calif.) and junior Kurtis Polodna (North Prairie, Wis.) secured victories. Quezada won 2-0 over Alfred State with Daisy, Cain ran a 2-0 victory over Rogers State with Wolf, Ford picked up a 2-0 victory with ZSS over Moravian College and Polodna earned a 2-1 victory over Mitchell College.
The Falcons opened Fortnite trios play on Wednesday. The team of freshman Steven Pieroni (Danvers, Mass.), sophomore Colby Williams (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and sophomore Anthony Garron (Danvers, Mass.) finished in 14th place with 337 points. Williams led the flock with 20 eliminations. The team of sophomore Austin Lichtenstein (Johnsburg, Ill.), Kodee Keys and junior Aiden O'Donnell (Oconomowoc, Wis.) finished in 28th place with 287 points.
In Fortnite solo play, Steven Pieroni finished in fourth place on the evening with 689 points. He finished in the top-five in six of the eight rounds, including a first-place finish in round six. Colby Williams finished in 84th place at 429 points.
The Rainbow Six Siege team of freshman Sean Sullivan (West Bend, Wis.), sophomore Grant Andrada (Plymouth, Minn.), sophomore Paul Witto (Charleston, Ill.), freshman Jake Brennan (Graton, Wis.) and Caeden Perry secured a 7-5, 7-3 victory over Central Methodist. On The Oregon map, Sullivan led CUW with 14 eliminations and Perry led the Blue and White with 14 eliminations in the Club House map.
The Rocket League team of senior Alex Reimer (Sheboygan, Wis.), senior Ethan Koch (Fredericksburg, Iowa) and junior Austin Esterly (Lombard, Ill.) split the week. On Monday, the Falcons picked up a 3-2 victory over Kansas Wesleyan. In game one, the Falcons won, 4-3, with two goals from Esterly. After KWU tied the match in game two, the Falcons rebounds with a 2-1 victory in the third game. CUW clinched the match with a 3-0 victory in game five. Esterly led CUW with six goals.
"We played top-notch rocket league with a few rotation issues that cost us two of our games," said Esterly.
After trailing, 0-2, St. Ambrose, won the final three games to secure a 3-2 victory over CUW. Esterly had six goals and 18 saves in the loss.
The team of freshman Evan Moody (Milwaukee, Wis.), sophomore William Bushie (Watertown, Wis.) and sophomore Aaron Huntley (Green Bay, Wis.) fell in Rocket League play to Carroll, 0-3.
The undefeated season ended for the Call of Duty team of junior Luc Kreuser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.), junior Nathan Bauknecht (Crandon, Wis.), freshman Sean Hofstetter (Columbia, Ill.) and freshman Hunter Kanneberg (Port Washington, Wis.).
The flock started the week with a 3-0 victory over Lakeland. The Falcons opened the match with a 250-80 victory in Hardpoint, then went on to a 6-1 victory in Search and Destroy. The Blue and White secured the shutout with a 3-0 control victory. Hunter Kanneberg had a match-high 62 eliminations.
The Illinois Blue team ended the winning streak with a 250-122 victory in Hardpoint, a 6-1 Search and Destroy victory and a 3-0 Control victory.
"We wanted to keep the undefeated season dream alive," said head coach Lewis Smith. "But this loss will be much more beneficial for us in the long run. We learned the hard way just what it takes to be a top team in the nation."
The Falcons will continue to compete in March.
