1463031_569208953152160_1065399560_n

By Kylie Bowman

Congratulations are in order for the University of Wisconsin–Stout paintball club for a very successful season. The team placed in all three events that occurred in the Midwest this year. Each event is made up of multiple games against different opponents.

The team took third at their first event, went undefeated to take first at the second and placed third at the final regional tournament.

Club secretary Jeremy Her, a junior from Hugo Minn., said, “My favorite games were against UW–River Falls and Purdue University. Most of our teammates know students at those universities from playing in past years together, so it was like playing paintball with friends.”

Despite the friendliness off the field, UW–Stout battled to earn the first place win against University of Wisconsin–River Falls. Although UW–River Falls was an easy win, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater put up a greater challenge.

President Sam Kanthak, a senior from Golden Valley Minn., said, “Our most difficult opponent was UW–Whitewater. They have amazing players, and we could never beat them heads up.”

The paintball club played UW–Whitewater when they placed third overall.

Since they were able to place at every event they competed in, the paintball team qualified for the National Collegiate Paintball Association Championships in Lakeland, Fla.

Player Adam Tarr, a junior from Brooklyn Park Minn., described the nationals experience as diverse.

“We struggled out of preliminaries the first day but made it to the top 24 and then made it through finals to the top eight pretty easily,” said Tarr.

They finished in seventh place overall. Tarr and Her both expressed the great communication on the team that helped them get to nationals.

Tarr explained, “The team communicates by having special calls designated from the different bunkers across the field.”

Her reiterates, “Without communication, your side of the playing field would be like playing sports with a blindfold.”

If you want to be part of a winning team that builds friendships throughout the year, the club is always looking for new members. They typically meet once or twice a week and can be contacted at stoutpaintball@uwstout.edu

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *