Waynesburg, Pa. (October 19) - The esports team finished week four of their season with a combined record of 10-8 to bring their season overall record to 33-29. Valorant and Marvel Rivals all recorded 2-0 records, NBA2K and Smash Bros. recorded 1-0 records, varsity Rocket League, JV Rocket League, and Overwatch all finished 1-1, EA FC and MLB finished 0-1, and Madden lost both matches finishing 0-2.

The Valorant team continued their strong season with a win against Pitt Johnstown 2-0 on 10/15 and a forfeit win over Pace on 10/16 which elevated their season record to an impressive 6-1 overall. The team was able to secure a shutdown win over UPJ despite not having senior captain Felicia Duffy and saw the return of senior Da'Gyn Williams in his first match this season. During their match, the Pitt Johnstown team never held a lead of the Yellow Jackets. Junior Emalee Wallace continued to terrorize opposing teams with her strong play leading the team in kills. The team will play again tomorrow night against New England at 8pm in an NECC match and again on Tuesday night in an ECAC matchup against Saint Joseph's.

The Marvel Rivals team also won both games this week to also bring their overall record to 6-1. They defeated Russell Sage 3-1 on 10/15 and secured a forfeit victory over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on 10/14. Sophomore Cash Wieczorek continued to impress in this victory and junior Noah Reed, sophomore Jordan Parkins, freshman Caitlin Nguyen, Sophomore Tyler Waldmann, and freshman Tristan Smith all turned in powerful performances to help seal the 3-1 victory. The Rivals team plays again on Tuesday at 6pm against Mercyhurst and Wednesday at 8pm against Southern Connecticut.

Senior captain Alex Solomon led his Smash team to another perfect week going 1-0 and increasing their season record to 5-1. Their sole match this week was a 2-0 win over CCAC on 10/15. The team comfortably won both games in the match and did not yeild the lead at any point. Because of a resheduled match, the Smash team will play three times this coming week with matches against Buena Vista on Monday at 8pm, Seton Hill on Tuesday at 9pm, and Penn State Behrend on Wednesday at 8pm.

Rocket League varsity, JV, and academy combined for a record of 2-4.

The vasity team went 1-1 with a 4-0 shutout win over Idaho on 10/16 and a very close 3-4 loss to perennial NECC rival Stevenson on 10/15. The team of senior Noah Westover, and sophomores Bobby Ballentyne and Nathan Bauza played incredibly well and the loss to Stevenson came down the final seconds of game seven which they lost 1-0. The varsity team plays again on Wednesday against Mary Washington at 7:30pm and Thursday against Virginia Wesleyan at 8pm. The match against VWU will be somewhat of a grudge match as it pits the Yellow Jackets against head coach, Chris Davis' former team. 

The JV team also had a weekly record of 1-1. They lost on 10/15 to a very tough Edinboro team 2-4 and picked up a forfeit win against Wake Forest on 10/16. During the match against Edinboro, freshmen Cade Hendreson and Jeremiah Darnell with sophomore Joel Menear played an agressive in your face offensive strategy. However, Edinboro was able to capitalize on this with some open net goals which allowed them to secure the win 2-4. The JV team faces off against WVU Potomac State on Wednesday at 9pm and Lousiana Tech on Thursday at 8pm.

The academy team did not fair well this week. They lost both matches recording a forfeit loss to Missouri State on 10/15 and a 1-4 loss against Elmira on 10/16. The strong pressure from Elmira was too much for the young freshman team of Dayton Reynolds, Paul Sembower, along with sophmore Joel Meaner. The academy team will play one match this coming week when they also play take on a team from Louisiana Tech on Thursday at 8pm.

The Overwatch team split their week with a 3-0 win against Long Island on 10/16 and a very close 1-3 loss to Marywood on 10/17. This brought their season record to 4-3 and still very much alive for potential playoff spots in NECC and ECAC. The win over Long Island was a lopsided victory with the Yellow Jackets never relinquishing control or the lead. It was a very fast 38-minute match and featured strong play from freshmen Caitlin Nguyen, Gavin Schneider, Ronin Poliquin, and Jack Hood. The loss to Marywood was extremely close. Marywood took the first map and Waynesburg quickly responded with a map two win. The final two maps were each decided in overtime and both decided in push maps with less than one meter separating each team. Although it was a loss, the team put up an impressive fight and handed Marywood their first map loss othe season and sophomore Jordan Parkins put up an impressive 101 eliminations. The Overwatch squad will play again on Thursday at 8pm versus Trine and Friday at 8pm against Temple.

The sports games combined for a record of 1-4. The sole win of the week came from juinor Jarvis Thomas who defeated his opponent from Coppin State in an NBA2K match and maintained his undefeated 3-0 record on the season. Freshman Nate Mayket lost his EA FC match to his opponent from Gallaudet 0-2 and juniors Jarvis Thomas and Darrius Mason both lost their Madden matches 0-2 to thier opponents from Glenville State and Mount St. Jospeth respectively.