2023 URA Championships Preview

taylor@utahroundnet.com (Taylor Sanford) — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 23:41:57 GMT

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow we will see who will rise to the occasion, and who will crumble under the pressure. Who can remain cool and collected on the highest stage, and who will have to try again next year.

Another Utah Roundnet season is drawing near to a close and what a year it has been. This year has seen quite a bit of parity across each division, new faces climbing the rankings and URA OG’s fighting to fend them off.

This year has also seen the introduction of Premier Spike which has quickly become the standard for quality in roundnet equipment and its adoption continues to spread.

Tonight, players will go to sleep as visions of aces and long rallies dance through their heads, and they will wake up with hopes of being on the right side of those points.

Each team here is presented in no specific order, and we’ve listed who we think are the 4 most likely teams to have a podium finish under favorites with each other team listed under “Teams to Watch.” We can’t wait to see who we correctly predicted and who will prove us wrong.

5.0 Podium Favorites

Disordered

Solomon Berry and Andrew Greer - are fresh off of two consecutive Major wins in our Back to School Major where they only lost one game all day, and our Rexburg Classic where they went undefeated all day long. Andrew stands among the URA players with the largest rise through 2023, beginning the year not yet having qualified for Spikeball Premier status, and finishing the year with 3 URA Major wins and a shot to win the Championships is no easy task. It is a testament to the improvements he has made to his already solid game. Solomon has continued to build on his game and it’s tough to identify any area of his game that you would consider a weakness. Although Andrew has more firepower on serves, Solomon is the steady hand on the team making sure they don't have any "bad games."

Chandler is my Handler

Garrett Carver and Chandler Hertzler are both no strangers to the podium. Garrett, currently ranked #1 on the URA points rankings, has podiumed almost every single major he has played this year. Garrett, being one of the most difficult people to get a break against in the community, has significantly improved his serving game. Paired with Chandler, an OG Baller and top 10 player in Utah for years, is known for his oh-so-buttery-sets and his crazy serving power. They've both got the firepower on offense to get the job done, the question will be how clean the rest of their game will be against the best of the best.

Royal Flush

Jacob “The”baron and Bryant Karratti believe the name of the game is defense. Both are known for their ability of keeping the ball in play. Jake, being the stronger server, brings a massive arsenal of serves that keep his competitors on their toes. Bryant is quite possibly the best athlete in the community, which helps him get those defensive ups, long run downs, and somehow still making it back to the net to finish the play. This team relies heavily on momentum, if they are able to find it, they should secure their spot on the podium.

Man (not) on a Mission

Caleb Jarrett, a previous #1 ranked player in Utah before his mission, is teaming up with Trey Thompson the current #1 player in Montana. Both of these players are so well rounded. In Caleb's first tournament back (Back to School Major), he was able to shake off at least most of the rust from his 2 year hiatus and still found is way on the podium against a stacked Premier division. He's a natural lefty who can still use his right just fine. Trey competed a lot nationally in the Spring, but Summers in Bozeman don't give him a lot of practice against others at this skill level. They both have the serves, the power, and the athleticism; the question will be if they've got the team chemistry and if they can keep up without much recent exposure against other top players.

5.0 Teams to watch

If you Give a Mouse a Serve Receive

Matt Barlow and Tyler Stokes - This team can be described in three words, “Clean wit’ it”. Every serve, every hit and every defensive touch seems so effortless. Stokes is an OG OG who has played in multiple Pro brackets at nationals in past years. After an injury in 2022, this year has been his comeback and it doesn't look like he's skipped a beat. Matt is an up-and-coming player coming out of the BYU Roundnet squad and has a Major win of his own this year as well. Other teams may overlook them, but they could just squeak out a win tomorrow.

D&B Supply

Cody Brower and Dylan Mundy will pair up again, if a team is going to beat them, it will be on the serving line. Cody may have the best cut/reverse combo in Utah and Dylan has no shortage of serves that would ace even the best serve-receiver. We'll have to see if their massive amounts of firepower can keep them ahead of teams, or if they allow the others to make a few runs to stay in games. If these two are consistently hitting the net they will out-perform their projection.

Boise TVR

Kaleb Wagner who currently bears the #1 rank in Idaho will pair up with Jake Martha and look to spoil Utah’s chance at an all-local podium. Although they haven't been as active in the URA series this year, these two are very, well-rounded players playing often in Boise and throughout Idaho. Additionally they each communicate defensive positioning and strategy extremely well and adjust well to players hitting tendencies.

Good Vibes

Despite being out of state, Tal Rogers is a returning URA Champion from last year. This team has exciting potential in part due to Tal’s partner Cole Matas who locals have not yet played against. Could the element of surprise catch some teams off guard and lead Tal to yet another deep bracket run/victory?

4.5 Podium Favorites

Just BARly

Remi Prince and Danny Feller come into the Championships leading the points race by nearly 1,000 points over the next team in the 4.5 Division. Remi does have a Major win this year (Summer Spike) in the 5.0 division, and they have developed quite a bit of chemistry playing together. What sets them apart from those looking to climb atop the 4.5 podium is their defense. Regardless of how good of a hitter somebody is, they will have to be spotless in order to put a ball away versus this team. In addition to to their defense, their solid hits and consistent serves will give them a very high floor tomorrow.

TeamNameGoesHere

Jacob Page and Justin Anderson will be teaming up for the first time since Spikeball’s SLC Major. Consistency will be key here. If both of these players are on, they will be difficult to beat. Both Jacob and Justin have a 1st place finish in 4.5 this year, Jacob at Spike Night, and Justin in American Fork. If they can limit mistakes and serve consistently they have as high a ceiling as any team.

Zirkle/Krulish

Emery Krulish and Nick Zirkle would love nothing more than to come to tje URA Championships and knock a Utah team off the podium, and they certainly have potential to do just that. Mentored by the previously mentioned Trey Thompson at MSU, each player has a solid all around game and with Nick’s motor and Emery’s serve pressure they will b e a tough team to beat.

Double Fault

Luke Cook and Nate Avalos are fresh off a 2nd place finish in the Back to School Major and are looking to carry that momentum forward in their breakout season. Each player is athletic, and has a solid variety of serves that create pressure on their opponents to make challenging receives in order to get the ball back on the net. If they can continue to play clean and consistent, they absolutely have a chance to find themselves on the podium again.

4.5 Teams to watch

MOna LEESa

Mo Beard and Seth Lee - are certified DAWGs and will look to cement their status in the top of the 4.5 conversation tomorrow. Mo has been a steady rise, fueled by his wide serve variety and ability to play well with any teammate. Meanwhile Seth has shown that he is more than comfortable against any team in 4.5 with solid wins over many players in podium contention. Many teams are going to go into games underestimating these two, so they really need to take advantage of that and get an early lead and keep opponents behind them.

Chef’s Special

Stephen Goodrich and Luke Gleave have made some noise recently, finishing 3rd during the Spike Night Open last month after Luke's long Summer departure for work. During that tournament they paired consistent serving with great defense and getting deep hits back onto the net to earn points that many other teams would lose. If you think you’ve scored a point against these two, take a second look to make sure before you begin your celebration.

Dummy dummy dummy

Josh Townsend and Jonny Hiatt appeared on the scene fairly recently (first tournament in July) and wasted no time earning respect from many top players. They are a gritty team that never gives up on a play and it pays huge dividends. After winning Intermediate and Advanced in their first two tournaments, it took a couple tournaments in the Elite division to get their feet under them but they're definitely not a low-elite team anymore. If they can hold onto their newly developed Elite skills without going back to their old ways, don’t be surprised to see them make noise during bracket play.

Pocket Rockets

An aptly named team, Trevor Zaleski and Max Wright have very high energy. Ever since Trevor got back from his mission this Summer, he's gotten right back to where he was when he first qualified for Elite in his last tournament before leaving. Max is generally underrated and overlooked hiding in the shadow of his fellow Skyridge squad teammates, but he's been the most active of them all the past few months and it shows. This team will be able to use their endurance to take advantage of teams that lose steam during bracket play. If they can, they have podium potential.

The People’s Champ

Ben G.O.A.T.es lives up to his name by bringing the one and only Creech out of his semi-retired phase. Ben went missing earlier in the year, but is back for his 2nd Major in a row and 3rd tournament in the past month, making the most of his own pre-mission festivities. He's got a deceptive and speedy jam that can ace anyone as well. Creech does Creech things. Does the word Sascreech ring a bell? It should, and we hope we see lots of it.

Respect The Left

Will Peterson and Chris Sorenson are one of those teams that could begin the tournament under the radar. But underestimate them at your own peril, as they are both very talented players who have quietly and consistently risen up the ranks and are primed for a breakout. Chris is one of, if not the most, active players in Utah. His dedication brings him all the way down from Cache Valley nearly every week for tournaments. And Will, well it was a very pleasant surprise to see his name back on the tournament roster after not seeing him all year.

Murgahley

Liza is coming off a recent 4.0 win and is playing with one of the top ladies in Idaho in Nicol. Liza’s middle name might as well be “butter sets” and Nicol has the skills around the net to punish any team. Liza may be no-so-newly pregnant, but they've both been active roundnet players since 2019 and these two (or three) will be a crowd favorite and have solid upset potential.

4.0 Division

The 4.0 Division always has some unpredictability to it. But with the final two Elite spots up for grabs this year, it might be a dog fight. It's got a little of everything with very active and competitive players like Jason Gurney and Michael Sampson, who've competed in Elite even though he never officially qualified; and it's got some OGs like Nate Blickenstaff and Devin Downs who have lots of talent, but have been a little distracted this spike season. There are also plenty of lady-spikers (Cara Page, Becca Feller, Sidney Pharr, Chloe DeGraff, Jaimie Ribera, and Kara Klavins) and as a whole, they've shown a huge amount of improvement in their spike skills because they probably play more often than you do. We're very excited to see who can put together a full day and earn their Elite qualification!

Taylor Church

taylor@utahroundnet.com (Taylor Sanford) — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 15:54:29 GMT

Athlete, author, and avid traveler

Taylor Church, or just Church as to not get confused with the throng of other Taylor’s around, is intriguing to many in the Utah and national roundnet scenes. You’ve seen him win nearly every Utah tournament over the past couple years, and has gotten some national attention. But let’s get to know the man behind the star.

Church was born in Seattle and moved around to various cities as a kid and ended up in rural Utah, a town called Monroe. He was a basketball star, has helped coach high school teams in the past and still plays in multiple rec leagues to this day. He moved up north to Utah County to study History at UVU, specializing in Holocaust Studies; and he has turned his love of reading and writing to pursue the life of an author. He has written 2 books so far, I’m Trying Here and Return Not Desired , with a 3rd novel on the way. If you really want to get to know inside his mind, and his heart, I would highly recommend reading them by the way. (Get a copy from Church himself and he’ll sign it with a personal message - sneaky way to get a star athlete’s autograph).

Now to some of his roundnet accolades. He started playing in 2016 after a friend introduced him to the beloved sport. He’s played in a total of 33 tournaments so far, with 10 different partners, and podiumed in 22 of them. He’s won 17 Utah Roundnet tournaments, and helped qualify 3 other players for premier division after qualifying himself at the 2017 Spikeball™ Roundnet Association Nationals.

His latest achievement which he and Spencer Schmidt attained at the end of the 2018 season as the #13th ranked team, Spikers Anonymous (give them a follow on insta) was qualifying for Pro Division at the 2018 Nationals. They pushed hard and traveled the country the final half of the 2018 season and after placing 4th in the Chicago Grand Slam and 5th at West Regionals, Spikers Anonymous got the invitation to play in the Pro Division. They were voted the Most Improved Team nationally in 2018, and Church himself was voted the 30th best player in the world - and 11th best in the West Coast.

Although Church is very competitive, even personally tracking all of his wins and losses in every pick up game he plays in, he can be seen all the time showing the ropes to new up and comers and helping others become more competitive. So don’t be intimidated to ask him for any advice as he’s always happy to help!

Get Your Spike On in Utah

2023 URA Championships Preview

Taylor Church

Athlete, author, and avid traveler