MARION, Ind. - The Wildcats wrapped up a few of their seasons this week after some close series.

This weekend the Wildcats Rocket League team headed to South Bend, Ind. for the GLEC LAN tournament. The Wildcats held the 9 seed and were excited for their first GLEC in person event.

After arriving in South Bend Friday night, the Wildcats were ready for their first round match against Cleary University on Saturday morning. The 8-9 match was an intense one, with Clearly opening the series with two straight wins. The Wildcats would not be deterred however, as they stormed back to win two straight games. Cleary returned the momentum with another win, forcing a 3-2 match point. However, the Wildcats stood their ground with their backs against the wall, winning an overtime game in game 6 to tie the series at 3-3. Finally, with the wind at their backs, the Wildcats stormed forward to take the series 4-3 after a huge 5-2 game 7 win!

After the win, the team got a chance to show their skills off on the main stage at Bendix Arena against no. 1 seeded Shawnee State. Despite being heavy underdogs, the Wildcats managed to take a game and tie the series score at 1-1. In game 3, the Wildcats were in it the whole way, but a kickoff goal from the Bears finally ended their momentum. Even though there were some close games the rest of the series, the Wildcats would ultimately fall 4-1.

In the loser's bracket, the Wildcats took on no. 5 Cleveland State. The series was similar to the Shawnee State one, where the Wildcats lost their early momentum and lost 4-1. Finally, the 7^th place game was rescheduled to Wednesday night due to scheduling conflicts with both teams. And yet again, the Wildcats struggled to hold early momentum in close games and yet again lost the series 4-1.

The 8^th place finish was ahead of where the Wildcats were seeded. They also were the first IWU team to make the GLEC LAN playoffs since the program started in 2023. Even with the loss, Rocket League will be headed to NECC Nationals next Thursday night, where they are expected to receive the no. 5 seed.

Speaking of NECC Nationals, the #6 Wildcats Valorant team got their shot at the NECC Nationals in the Round of 16 this week. Their opponent was no. 11 Catawba Valley College, who had eliminated the Wildcats in the East Conference Semifinals just two weeks ago.

The match started on Fracture, where the Wildcats had been comfortable before. But it was all Catawba to start, as they took a 10-2 lead after the Wildcats' defense. But the match wasn't over, and the Wildcats played like they were the ones that had taken the momentum. They created a huge comeback, bringing the score to 10-11 late in the map. Finally, Catawba started to stabilize and unfortunately were able to take the last two rounds of the Fracture to win 10-13.

Map 2, Haven, was more of the same. The Wildcats struggled in the first half, falling behind 9-3 before starting a big comeback. However, this time Catawba was ready for it and the Wildcats ultimately fell 8-13.

This loss ends the Valorant team's season. Even with the loss, the Wildcats made NECC Nationals for the second time and have not missed nationals since the program began in 2023. "This team is really something special," said Head Esports Coach Ryan Plummer. "It always hurts to end your season on a loss, but I'm so blessed by the students on this team. I couldn't have asked for better people. While we weren't able to win back-to-back national championships, I saw tremendous growth from each and every individual player."

We hope you'll stick around for the NECC Rocket League National Championship next week! And we hope you'll follow along with the IWU Valorant and Smash Bros. teams in the Fall of 2025!




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