The Buccaneer Overwatch team defeated George Mason University 3-0 in a best-of-five National Association of Collegiate Esports Round of 16 tilt, while the Blinn Call of Duty squad fell to St. Clair 3-0 in an NJCAA Esports semifinal bout and the Bucs’ Rocket League team fell to Northeast State Community College 4-1 in the opening round of the NJCAA Esports Open.
Blinn’s Overwatch squad of Gabriel Lopez, William Bowman, Jake Langridge, Nicholas Behney, and Matthew Hutchings advances to the quarterfinal round, where the quintet will battle the University of Wisconsin-Stout at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 15.
“Today’s match was a really straight-forward win for our program,” Blinn assistant coach Kyle Murto said. “We came into this matchup knowing exactly the kind of team compositions George Mason would look to run and we were just able to effectively counter everything they attempted to throw at us. George Mason has a solid program, but I thought today we were the better team, and we outplayed them in every regard. It was a good showing and gives me a lot of confidence going into the next round of playoffs.”
If the Bucs defeat UW-Stout, they will immediately move on to the semifinal round, which begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
In Call of Duty action, sixth-seeded Blinn’s team of Jake Marsh, David Rodriguez, Landon Campos, and Jaiden Walker with substitute Mathew Liu saw their season come to an end.
“It was a valiant effort for our team against second-seeded St. Clair,” Blinn assistant coach Ryan Lucich said. “We were upset with the way in which our season ended, but regardless of that, I am proud of how far this team has come throughout the semester to nearly make it to the NJCAA national championship.”
The Buccaneer Rocket League squad also saw the conclusion of its season.
The trio of Andrew Askins, Vince Purcell, Braden Nardecchia put up a fight, but ultimately fell short of a second-round appearance.
“Overall, it was a good showing,” Murto said. “Northeast State has a really solid roster and we played really well against them today. I am proud of all my players and the hard work they put in this semester.”
Murto also made special mention of Nardecchia, who he said performed extremely well in the match.
“He really stepped up and played what was probably his best matches of the year,” Murto stated.
The Blinn Overwatch team will also have an NJCAA Esports playoff match Saturday, as the Bucs battle Hocking College at 4 p.m. in the quarterfinals. Should Blinn win, it will move into the semifinals later in the day.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 43 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
