Dustin Swedelson
dmswedelson@valdosta.edu

The race for VSU’s next National Championship will continue even as the dorms are emptied in the next coming weeks.

Whether or not you are here isn’t a big deal, but whether or not the Blazer Softball team, and both Tennis teams are still playing at the end of the coming days is. Last year while students departed for Atlanta, Orlando or over-seas to study abroad, the Men’s Tennis team captured their National Championship, the school’s third.

The team I see as least likely to win a National Championship this season is Men’s Tennis.

That’s not to say they won’t and shouldn’t; I do see it as feasible.

Let’s be honest here, it’s almost a coin toss between the three remaining national contenders.

They’re all in the top five in the nation at their respective sports, sit atop one of the nation’s best Division II conferences, so me picking them as least likely isn’t really a knock on them.

They came into last year returning just about every piece to the puzzle that put a ring on their fingers last season. They did, however, lose one giant piece of the puzzle in Christoph Schneider. With Schneider gone, Coach John Hansen needed everyone to step up their game. Depth wasn’t going to be an issue, in fact, it was one of the team’s biggest strengths throughout the year. It was the lack of a true ace to lead this team, that is their biggest problem. They had four players named to the Eastern Division All-GSC Team. The future looks bright as freshman Joerg Ekkenga was named to that team and the East’s top freshman. Joining him on the all conference team are Mickael Andreo, Thomas Provost and Leos Jelinek. Andreo is the only senior in the bunch. I am still nervous about the team’s lack of a sure fire ace everyone knows will win everytime he steps on the court. Behind the ace, they can match up with anyone in the country in my opinion, but if they had that ace I’d feel more confident. The fact that they have been there before is a huge advantage. They know what to expect and how to act and will remain calm at crucial times.

With that said, I think VSU has two other teams with better odds. I could not find myself picking this team to win it all even though I wanted to. Yes, the Women’s Tennis team had an unblemished regular-season record in the Gulf South Conference; but this past weekend they fell to West Florida in the GSC Championship. The reason I like them over their male counterparts is because they have what the men lack, a dominant top tier player who makes you believe she will win every time she steps on the court. In fact they have two of them; Anne Corten and Dominique Rothlaender are a combined 23-6 this season. You choose which one is the ace, because I can’t. Hansen will have a fun time picking his match ups as we gear up for the Regional Tournament. They too had four Eastern Division all conference players including Corten, Rothlaender, Raphaelle Durante and Natali Gumbrecht. Yes I know Durante has played mostly at the #1 spot this year, but it doesn’t make her the ace. If you can have a slightly sub .500 record as she has from the top spot and follow that up with two dominant players at the two and three spots you’re in great shape. There’s decent chances Durante will win her match and extremely great odds Corten and Rothlaender take theirs home. Dominance at the top of their team is the reason I have them as VSU’s second best chance at a National Championship. That’s right, the team I picked as most likely to win the next National Championship for Valdosta State is the softball team.

The softball team is disciplined, patient and dominant. This can be attributed to Coach Thomas Macera who has brought in some great talent and has preached his style of softball to a willing and eager team. The best part about this team is they don’t rely on the long ball. Their homerun leaders Alex Acosta and Robin Williams have ten apiece on the year.

Those are good numbers but not near the top of the conference. What this team does is get timely hits. They get runners on base and hit a lot of doubles to set themselves up to do the same thing over again. They work counts deep, and force pitchers to make mistakes. This team uses the whole field and has a knack for hitting it where the other team isn’t. Peaches Ramsey manufactures runs all on her own.

She has a great on base percentage of .468 and when she gets on she’s usually stretching whatever she just did into an extra base. That sparkplug at the top of the lineup is a huge asset. Alex Acosta is a true throwback hitter. She battles at the dish and usually comes through in an RBI situation. She makes a ton of contact, striking out just 17 times in 136 at bats, meaning she will make productive outs. But the key to this team is the pitching staff, especially The two headed monster of Kristen Lindsey and Brianna Collis.

The two have lit up the GSC. Now they will attempt to do the same to the entire southeast at Regionals. Collis is giving up less than a half of a run a game (0.47 ERA), and Lindsey had one bad start against a big time offense in West Alabama inflating her ERA all the way up to 1.30. They each have 16 wins; Lindsey has the only loss between them. Pitching wins championships, this is as good pitching as you will see. I see the Blazers riding their pitching to the National Championship. So, as you are working, traveling or just hanging out over the summer, make sure to follow these three teams on their quests to give VSU its next national championship.