#CaliRoundnetCommunity
CASR TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
SD GENERAL #3 5/7
The California Roundnet 2022 season continues this Saturday (5/7) in the beautiful city of San Diego! Big shout out to San Diego Roundnet for helping us put this one together. San Diego has been a roundnet hub for a very long time and over the past couple of years it has grown into one of the largest communities in California, thanks to Erik Geffken and Jason Bird. A lot is on the line this weekend with players in the 4.0-4.5 Contender Division getting the chance to earn STS Premier. The 5.0-5.5 Expert Division and 4.0-4.5 Women’s Division will have CASR Elite points and prize money up for grabs.
NOTES
On May 6th, THUS Parabatai (Kayla Wu & Kalin Miramontes) will be hosting CASR’s first ever women's clinic. These women have worked very hard to be at the top level. Thank you THUS!
41 total teams competing (10 teams in 5.0-5.5 Expert, 22 teams in 4.0-4.5 contender, 9 teams in 2.0-4.5 Women’s)
First main series event of 2022 with a Women's Division
Top 3 teams of the Contender Division will earn STS Premier status
#1 ranked player Ryder Rivadeneyra will be in attendance
PREVIEW
4.0-4.5 Contender Division
We are stoked to see so many teams come out and fight for those Premier spots. One of the top teams competing in the Contender Division this weekend is Dialed (Josh Cain & Luke Pennington). Both athletes play for the #1 ranked Cal Poly A squad (5x Southwest champs) and will be headed to College Spikeball Nationals later this year. They placed 3rd at CASR SF General #2, giving them both enough points to get on the CASR Elite leaderboard. Luke comes out hot with some fire serves and hard hitting, whereas Josh controls the defensive side of the game and keeps his setting consistent for Luke to have easy put-aways. Keep an eye out for this young college team.
College teams are on the rise as we see SDSU team Hit it From Behind (Nick Galbo & Garrett Meredith) joining the competition for Premier. Nick and Garrett had an impressive showing at the UCLA Spring Sectionals and are looking to make a name for themselves.
Another team battling for Premier is Friends of OC (Drew Cummins & Clifton Miller). Consistency is key for this team, and it will be tough to hit a ball past these two once they find it. This team is sure to have some of the best rallies of the day.
I think everyone is hyped for Smokin’ Hooklah (Karah Hui & Schon Siguenza) but Jason Rhoads is especially “very excited to watch Karah Hui get premier.” OG and legend Schon Siguenza has earned Premier before but there’s nothing stopping him from unleashing the beast and earning it a second time. Schon is “just excited to play with a master (Karah).” Breakout player Karah Hui has already reached the top of the Women's Division and is looking to earn the STS Premier status that few women hold. Karah has definitely proven she can compete at the top level with her recent STS Coed Division results in Florida, Richmond, and Texas.
2.0-4.5 Women’s Division
Women’s roundnet has been growing rapidly in California and we’re excited to see new faces join the competitive scene. The Women’s Division podium is up for anyone to take, but the favorites are A Squared (Ashley Ortlip & Alex Buckman) and I am Confirm (Perrin York & Seb Kim), who competed in a tight series at Cal Poly EL Grande #2 last year. In their semi finals meetup, I am Confirm (Perrin York & Seb Kim) snatched the first win in the series, but were not able to capitalize on that win with A Squared (Ashley Ortlip & Alex Buckman) taking the next 2 games. Alex says “our play styles mesh well and I’m excited to go out there and show how much my game has grown.” Let’s see if I am Confirm (Perrin York & Seb Kim) can get revenge on A Squared (Ashley Ortlip & Alex Buckman). Perrin says “this time I think we can take it, with the top 3 CA Women's players out of the Women's Division it will be interesting to see who rises up.”
Don't count any Women's teams out of the race just yet. Mey & Elle (Mey Helm & Elle Lowe) will be a team to watch out for. With Mey having lots of tournament experience, we’ll see if she can catch NorCal lady baller Elle Lowe up to speed enough to make it to the finals. College roundnet sneaks its way into the Women’s Division with the deadly mashup team Sneak Attack (Jordan England & Malia Sato). Malia Sato plays for #9 ranked USC and Jordan England plays for #4 ranked GCU. Both women have done really well in the college scene - let's see if they can achieve results outside of it.
5.0-5.5 Expert Division
Let's take a look at the top teams that are playing for the cash prize and CASR elite points. The big question is: will Ryder Rivadeneyra find himself at the top of the podium this weekend? “Kevin and I will be having the most fun this weekend and you know what they say…you ain’t having fun unless you’re winning (;” said Ryder. After two big wins earlier this year in Las Vegas (USAR event) and Austin (ATX Spikedown), he's teaming up with Kevin Um and “he is bringing his extra large backpack to San Diego this weekend.”
Competing against this team is a very dynamic team Queue (Trevor Barbosa & Jason Rhoads). Comeup player Trevor Barbosa has definitely shown that he can hang with the top players after having great results at California events and in his most recent trip to Texas with Andrew Kosche, where they took on Ryan Gross & Matthew Cole in 3 very close games. OG player Jason Rhoads has been playing roundnet for 7-8 years and is a defensive demon. He knows the sport very well and will keep the team on the consistent side of things. Jason is “very excited to watch Trevor ace people from very close up.” These two are a scary combo, best of luck to anyone who has to play them this weekend.
A team with the highest highs and definitely the lowest lows, GEF (Andrew Kosche & Jacob Martinez) will be a team that shouldn’t be underestimated, especially in the later stages of the tournament. They might lose focus on the true goal at hand, but no doubt will have the best highlight tape around.
Introducing Emojis (Daniel Lindeen & Jacob Payer) will be a dangerous team if they’re feeling hot, and they could easily find themselves in the finals. OG Jacob Payer will show you what a real cut serve looks like - if you can even see the ball when it passes you. Daniel Lindeen knows how to handle good serves and is known for having a wide arsenal of serves. Be ready for this team to come out and show everyone what they got.
PREDICTIONS
Contender
Dialed (Josh Cain & Luke Pennington)
Friends of OC (Drew Cummins & Clifton Miller)
Smokin’ Hooklah (Karah Hui & Schon Siguenza)
Hit it From Behind (Nick Galbo & Garrett Meredith)
Honorable Mentions: Cafe Disco (Dylan Medveal & TuckerJudkins), Brown Pounds With Mclean's Ween (Cody Brown & Cade McLean), THUS Waters of Thine Melon (Kalin Miramontes & Kayla Wu), Dive Hard (Cole Sanchez & Nolan Wynkoop)
Women’s
A Squared (Ashley Ortlip & Alex Buckman)
I am Confirm (Perrin York & Seb Kim)
Sneak Attack (Jordan England & Malia Sato)
Mey & Elle (Mey Helm & Elle Lowe)
Honorable Mentions: $$ KA-CHING $$ (Kayla Ngai & Christine Chang), The X’s (Stacey Grimes & Jenna DiMaggio)
Expert
Queue (Trevor Barbosa & Jason Rhoads)
TRP.mp4 (Ryder Rivadeneyra & Kevin Um)
GEF (Andrew Kosche & Jacob Martinez)
Emojis (Daniel Lindeen & Jacob Payer)
Honorable Mentions: Obelus (Matt Ortlip & Ethan Zehr), Frag/Brown (Josh Fragiacomo & Brandon Brown)
PRIZES
5.0-5.5 Expert (Total $400)
1st - $250
2nd - $100
3rd - $50
2.0-4.5 Women’s (Total $400)
1st - $250
2nd - $100
3rd - $50
4.0-4.5 Contender
1st - STS Premier/2x Medals/Spikeball Beanie
2nd - STS Premier/2x Medals/Spikeball Shorts
3rd - STS Premier/2x Medals/Spikeball Shirts
This preview was written by Josh Fragiacomo.