Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Flames' gold line claims Class AA title at Ohio tournament
10/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Paintball
As one of only two Class A teams in Saturday's Midwest/Great Lakes (MWGL) Conference Event No. 1, hosted by Ohio State at a new facility near Columbus, Liberty University's gold line had a clear-cut advantage on its predominantly Class AA competition.
The Flames made the most of it, going 6-0 and giving up just two points on the day to capture first place in the 15-team event. They edged Akron, which placed third at last year's Class AA nationals, in the five-man RaceTo2 preliminary round before facing Ohio, Miami of Ohio, and Ohio State in pool play. Liberty went undefeated to earn a first-round bye in the playoffs and set up a rematch with Ohio in the semifinals, winning 2-0 before shutting out Tennessee in the championship match, also by a 2-0 count.
"Most of their matches, they were a pretty dominant team out there," Liberty Head Coach Brian Davidson said. "Most of the schools noticed that we were winning matches much quicker than other teams."
Davidson said senior David Dickerson played exceptionally well on the Dorito side and freshman and junior newcomers Kyle Babb and Tom Underman also played up to the standards established by their teammates.
"A few of those guys have been playing together for a while and with the addition of Kyle and Tom, you couldn't tell they were new players," Davidson said. "With all the practice they've put in, they seemed like they've all been playing for a while."
Liberty's red and blue lines, both Class AA squads, posted 2-2 and 1-3 records in pool play and did not qualify for the six team playoffs, finishing 10th and 11th, respectively. Complete results are available online.
"It was a really tight tournament," Davidson said. "All the teams were really well balanced. We ended up taking all of our matches to the third round with pretty close (deciding) points. If our red line had won one more point, it would have moved on."
Junior Jonathan Yeo helped keep the Flames' red line together and freshman Adam Schroeder anchored the blue line.
"A few of the guys were playing in their first tournament and nerves definitely played a factor," Davidson said. "There's still a lot of work to be done, a lot to be learned on the red and blue lines. The more experience they get, the better they'll do come (NCPB) nationals. I'm expecting all three of my lines to do well."
This was Liberty's first time competing in Ohio.
"It was a good trip, a good experience to play against slightly different styles of play," Davidson said. "It gave us an opportunity to get to know more teams and share Christ's love to a different region of the country."
Davidson said the Class AA competition gave the Flames' red and blue lines a good idea of what to expect for rest of the season and at National Collegiate Paintball Association (NCPA) nationals, especially challenging teams like Akron and Purdue, which placed sixth at Class A nationals last year.
The Flames' gold line will next compete in the Mid-South Collegiate Conference (MSCC) Class A Event No. 1 on Oct. 22 at the Liberty Paintball Fields.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
