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The Elite South Region Round 1 Recap

The last New Orleans Elite tournament was the 2016 Elite National Championship, so kicking off the 2018 South Region Series in New Orleans this past weekend felt a bit like a homecoming. This tournament had it all: a surprising no-show, a solid comeback, victories by the “right” teams in the “wrong” divisions and most notably, the debut of the the South Region’s Women’s Division.

The 4v4 Women’s Division now in the South is the third of the four Elite Regions to establish a women’s division. Five teams participated, with a New Orleans-based team defending their home turf to claim the first championship.

In the Open Division, four-time series champs Adrenaline Rush bowed out at the last minute, leaving the road to the championship wide open. The parity of the South region was evident when all four top seeds came out of round robin with two losses, requiring tiebreakers to determine seeding.

The New Orleans teams also had a good showing in no-sting, thanks in part to the experience that comes from playing in local leagues that use no-sting as their standard ball.

Worth Noting: Marie Garrigue deserves a massive shout-out for her push and guidance in establishing a women’s division in the South.

Spitfire set up the first Live Stream that covered the entire day, not just the Championship matches, an accomplishment that no other region has done this season yet. The stream was clearly worth the effort, as it received over 10,000 views throughout the day on Saturday.

Women’s Division

In what would be expected of a new division, any of the five teams competing in this division had a legitimate chance at the throne, but the sole local team, Throw Me Something Sista, was victorious.

Throw Me Something Sista was captained by Maria Cervini and crafty veteran Dani Kennedy (who was instrumental in bringing dodgeball to New Orleans after years playing with the World Dodgeball Society (WDS) in Los Angeles).

The team finished second in round robin and then swept the playoffs. They were a tough team to beat, with right corner Christine Johnson and Blaire Windham on the left side both playing spectacularly, making solid and accurate throws. The team put together a smart, controlled performance, hitting their targets and making catches (including an early double from Dani during round robin) when needed, while maintaining ball control and rushing when appropriate.

A few other standout performances: Caught Up had some solid play, especially after being knocked to the Comeback Bracket. They knocked off Crashers and top seed Weapons of Mass Destruction before losing a heartbreaker to Southern Glory to finish third overall.

Although the 4v4 Women’s Division is not part of the series (since the Elite series is 6v6) The Dodgeball Tribune will still tabulate points. The point total for the Women’s Division are as followed:

Throw Me Something Sista: 10 Points
Southern Glory: 9 Points
Caught Up: 8 Points
Weapons of Mass Destruction: 7 Points
Crashers: 6 Points

Weapons of Mass Destruction had the best showing in Round Robin play securing the #1 seed. They were led by Captain Kristy Stephens leadership and by stand out player Jen Woodlee, whose play arguably earned her the Women’s Division MVP. Though they ran into a tough and experienced Southern Glory and Caught Up in elimination, Jen definitely stood out in round robin play as one of the fastest and most accurate arms.

Open 8.5" Division

In the Open Division, Outsiders, a team that’s been on an impressive trajectory for quite some time, finally broke through and took the title.

After Outlaws sent them to the Comeback Bracket, Outsiders found their stride and didn’t lose a single game, much less a match, en route to their championship.

Their dominance was highlighted in the finals by Mikey Hashimoto, who was a contender for tournament MVP. He had two huge, game-saving catches against Matt Giovinco, a top player and Elite All-Star from the East. Von Kelly and Scott Bronson were outstanding on the corners and Cody Stidham, Jake Hebert and Joe Martinez provided the fire power that pushed them over the top.

Outlaws had an impressive showing as well, although as the only team other than Adrenaline Rush to win a round in last season’s Open 8.5" Division, they might still be disappointed with a third place finish. Many, if not most people expected them to win the division, since 8.5" has been their strength for quite some time. Guided by Anthony Miller and with strong showings from Jorge Portales and Corey Larson, their tough losses to Stingers and then Outsiders took many by surprise.

Voodoo also had a solid showing, despite not finishing where they had hoped to in elimination play. At the end of Round Robin, Outsiders, Outlaws, Stingers, and Voodoo were tied for the top seed at two losses apiece with seeds 1–4 being determined by tiebreakers.

Finally, Wrecking Ballz had a great showing, finishing in the top four. They had some clutch wins against Spitfire and Voodoo and they were led by a gritty Justin Ashby who faced down multiple 1v2s and 1v3s and still managed to save his team.

The point total for the Open 8.5" Division are as followed:

Outsiders: 10 points
Stingers: 9 points
Outlaws: 8 points
Wrecking Ballz: 7 points
Voodoo: 6 points
Rage: 6 points
Spitfire: 4 points
Category 5: 4 points
Dodgetronic: 2 points

Stingers were the surprising team in this division. Though they weren’t overpowering in 8.5", Matt Giovinco’s experience and leadership led them to the final. They proved they have loads of talent, with Chris Carillo’s multitude of catches as a prime example (only Mikey Hashimoto may have had more catches than Chris). The team will benefit from the cohesion that derives from more time playing together.

Open No-Sting Division

The Open No-Sting Division was by far the most surprising of all the divisions. The New Orleans teams wasted no time demonstrating that this was their best ball style.

Category 5 driven by Alex Matherne and Austin Deeks, finished round robin as the top seed, out-seeding and out-playing the other home team, Voodoo.

Our expected winner and the second seed in round robin play, Outsiders, couldn’t accomplish what they were able to do in the 8.5" division. Even the #3 seed Stingers, a predominantly no-sting team, led by Khiem Nguyen (whose blazing arm may have made him No-Sting division MVP) couldn’t repeat their Cinderella journey.

Instead, eighth-seeded Outlaws (of nine total teams), figured things out once bracket play began and rode their hot streak over the #1 and #2 seeds and all the way to the championship without losing a match. Jorge Portales deserves credit for a strong performance when his team needed him most, particularly for his multiple clutch catches, including in the finals.

Another notable player in the No-Sting Division was Riley Julian. He gave Dodgetronic a big boost offensively with this style of ball.

Although Elite Dodgeball only does points for their Championship Series (Open and Women), The Dodgeball Tribune will tabulate points for every division in each region. That said, the point total for the Open No-Sting Division are as followed:

Outlaws: 10 points
Voodoo: 9 points
Outsiders: 8 points
Category 5: 7 points
Stingers: 6 points
Spitfire: 6 points
Dodgetronic: 4 points
Wrecking Ballz: 4 points
Rage: 2 points

Voodoo had quite the Elite debut. While they finished tied for 5th place in the 8.5" division, they really found their groove in No-Sting. Andrew Ferniz, Dylan Hitchins, Derik Cavoto and company, were solid despite their inexperience in Elite play and they showed tenacity in their finals push, knocking out both the Outsiders and top-seeded Category 5. This is definitely a team to look out for for future rounds.

This tournament was a great step in the evolution and growth of dodgeball in the South. While the teams were evenly matched, the amount of competition and level of play continues to grow which is what the sport needs most. More dodgeball is good dodgeball.

-Written by Tyler Greer (with contributions from Von Kelly) and edited by Dan Levine

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