The Buccaneers were represented in the three matches by sophomores Jaydon Flores, Christian Ekpenike, and Brett Fahrenholz.
Flores defeated his opponent from Dawson Community College 3-0.
“In his debut match for Blinn College, Jaydon performed exceptionally well,” said Blinn assistant coach and Super Smash Bros coach Kyle Murto. “He will definitely be a pivotal member of our roster and we hope to have him make a deep playoff run this season.”
Fahrenholz was also victorious, defeating his foe from Terra State in a 3-0 match.
“This was an expected victory from Brett,” said Murto. “He is the returning team captain and cornerstone of our Super Smash Bros program.”
Ekpenike fell to his opponent from Terra State Community College in a 3-0 decision.
“It was a disappointing loss for him, but we learned what we need to work on,” said Murto. “He will be back at it next week to try and get a win.”
In just their first week of competition this season, Murto said he believes his players’ performances showed they could be playoff bound by the end of the year.
“We have high hopes for our players,” Murto stated. “I believe all of them will be able to make the playoffs. This was only the first week of the season and we have a long way to go, but we are going to show up every week and let every team know they need to be on the lookout for us.”
In other action, Blinn’s Call of Duty squad fell to Keyano College 3-0 in a National Association of Collegiate Esports tilt.
“The team started playing player better in the latter portion of the match, but it was not enough,” said Blinn assistant coach Ryan Lucich, who oversees the Call of Duty team.
The starting lineup for the Bucs included sophomores David Rodriguez, Mathew Liu, and Jake Marsh, along with freshman Landon Campos.
Blinn’s Call of Duty will take on Pratt Community College at 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 20. The Super Smash Bros team will play its next match at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22. The Buccaneer Valorant team will battle Northampton Community College at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
