Kentucky Invite 2011

Kevin "Champ" Hill - 42 - A
Zigmas "Zigmister" Maloni - 68 - A
Mike DeFazio -  31 - F
Troy "Big Dix" Dixon - 25
Spencer "Belushi" Flynn - 72
Ian Gonzalez-Muentener - 88
William "Gigantor" Guenette - 18
David "Spaceman" Holtzman - 33
AJ Khah - 7
Luke "Kuncklepuck" Mockaitis - 54 - G
Anthony Netzel - 5
Mario "Supa Mario" Romanelli - 85 - R
Brian Weinert - 29

Teams at Event:          DePaul [0-3], SVSU [3-0], Kent [1-2], WKU [1-1], UK [1-1], EMU [1-1], OSU [2-1]
List of Results:             [SVSU 8 - DPU 1] [Kent 4 - DPU 2] [OSU 3 - DPU 1]
Team Placing:             DePaul Dodgeball remains Undefeated

Coming up into this event, I promoted it as a mini-nationals. That promise delivered - DePaul had one of the most enjoyable events in this author’s experience with the team. From the sweet social at their student center to the awesome event shirts, UK put on a great event. From DePaul's perspective, there weren't any problems other than the lack of separation between the courts.

Coming into our matches, we were prepared with a delicious mix of veteran club members and a batch of rookies. But thanks to our previous two trips to MSU and WIU this year, we brought a team with competitive experience. It didn't feel like we were undermanned, and the talent of our team continues to improve and amaze me. I would like to see one of our most talented freshmen, Mario Romanelli, play during his senior year. He is going to destroy all incoming and outgoing plays.

While we specifically asked not to play SVSU in our bracket, our first match of the day was against them. We don't really mind who we play in the end, and there's not much to say about the match. One incident of note is the application of the new "Fish Out of Water" play, where the team drops to the floor at the Opening Rush and flops around. Needless to say, SVSU didn't know what hit them.

Our matches against Kent and The Ohio State were some enjoyable experiences. The Officiating was the way it should be in dodgeball: teams were self-policing and the Officials didn't control the match. Two of our freshman players managed to make catches on one of the fastest arms of the League, a player from Ohio State. If there was a disappointment in these two matches, it was that DePaul Dodgeball played too well. We didn't know what do once we won, and further we weren't able to do explicit goofiness. We haven't really changed the way we played, but it was great to end the matches against Kent and Ohio by mixing up the teams and playing together, against each other.

We regret we didn't get to play UK or especially have a rematch against EMU, but perhaps we'll see each other at Nationals in April. 800 miles, 400 pictures, and an entertaining weekend concluded, DePaul Dodgeball remains Undefeated.