Nationals 2011 – Results

NCDA Nationals @ Western Kentucky University
04-09-2011 & 04-10-2011

Teams at Event: 17 teams of the NCDA – 340 people
Results: [OSU 5 - DPU 0] [GVSU 4 - DPU 1] [DPU 2 OT - NSULA 1] [WKU 3 - DPU 1]
Team Placing: DePaul Dodgeball remains Undefeated

Story by Brian Weinert, #24

The 2011 DePaul Dodgeball Nationals team arrived in Bowling Green, Kentucky at eight o’clock the evening of April eighth.  The caravan finally came to a halt in the parking lot of the Baymont Inn.  Roughly six other dodgeball teams from all areas of the surrounding Midwest had already arrived.  As DePaul’s twenty-three dodgeballers streamed through the hallways, players from a myriad of colleges and universities uproariously greeted them, celebrating the beginning of another all too brief weekend of violent camaraderie.  They would be friends, for now, but bitter opponents come the following morning.

Daybreak found the DePaul twenty-three basking in the warm brilliance of a spring sunrise Chicago had yet to witness.  The hiatus from the gnawing cold was a much-welcomed perk of the tournament.  Clad in fresh new uniforms, they assembled outside WKU’s athletic center.  Fronted by a DePaul Dodgeball banner and a massive Chicago flag, Champ hit the play button on the boom box and the team took off at a dead sprint into the building to the blaring melodies of the Power Ranger’s theme song.  The referees had to pause game play as DePaul roared through active courts, stopped to chant “Chicago” with The Moody Bible Institute and teams in play stopped to applaud DePaul’s entrance.  Known affectionately in the NCDA (National Collegiate Dodgeball Association) as the “court jesters”, DePaul reiterated their claim to the name by sporting gratuitous mullets, horrendously outdated mustaches, and capes fashioned out of Chicago flags.  The gym erupted into laughter and applause- the manifestations of appreciation for the Court Jesters.

The first game versus last year’s top four finisher, the Ohio State University, resulted in a 0-5 loss for DePaul.  That, however, was the warm-up.  DePaul does not do well with mornings. The next match had DePaul versus the NCDA powerhouse Grand Valley State University, who has won four of the past four Nationals.  DePaul won one game against GVSU, resulting in a final score of 1-4.  A long, much needed break from play resulted in a huge impromptu game of kickball breaking out on Western Kentucky University’s quad.  DePaul players and GVSU players shared teams and, though they had just been mortal enemies on the court, found childish joy in the lazy game of kickball.  The last game of the seeding matches resulted in an overtime victory for DePaul over Northwestern State University of Louisiana. It should be noted that this was the lowest scoring game in DePaul history.
After devouring a mountain of Domino’s Pizza and stretching their overworked shoulders, the court jesters slept in anticipation of the beginning of single-elimination the next morning.  DePaul was seeded to face the host, WKU, first thing in the morning.  The game resulted in a 1-3 loss and elimination for DePaul.  But, after victory proved eminent for WKU, the two teams agreed to play a few games with special rules.  The first was “lava ball”: standard dodgeball rules, but players may only step on the lines of the basketball court.  Any misstep results in an out.  Next came DePaul’s beloved “sexy nurse”: each team picks one player to assume the role of sexy nurse.  When a player is hit, he or she sits down and the sexy nurse may revive the fallen.

Eliminated, but never to be discouraged, DePaul joined caravans with The Moody Bible Institute and assaulted the local Buffalo Wild Wings.  The Chi-town brethren met once more for a lunch stop at Sonic in Indiana. This Scottsburg Sonic has endured DePaul four times over the year.

The air steadily became colder as the exhausted DePaul twenty-one neared home.  Some players slept, others reminisced about the highlights of the tournament, and the rest industriously pored over homework and textbooks.  Altogether, the consensus regarding the success of the tournament remained the same as it always has, and always will as long as DePaul Dodgeball remains active- DePaul is always undefeated.