Crown and Phantoms Earn National Goalball Titles

FORT WAYNE, IN<\/strong> (June 26, 2018<\/em>) - Twenty-one teams from across the country traveled to Fort Wayne, Indiana, for the 2018 USABA Goalball National Championships. Turnstone, home to the U.S. Goalball Center of Excellence hosted the tournament for the third consecutive year.<\/p>\n\n

\nRound robin play began on Thursday evening and ran through Friday evening. Quarterfinals were played early Saturday morning to determine which teams would earn the opportunity to compete for the 2018 national titles.<\/p>\n\n

\nMen’s division<\/strong>
\nAt the end of round robin games, Cyclones led Pool A with a 2-0-1 record, Crown led Pool B with three wins, MWABA Eagles led Pool C with four wins, and New Jersey Thunder led Pool D with four wins. MWABA Eagles met Crown in quarterfinals where Crown prevailed 7-4 and advanced to semifinals with New York Knights. The Crown prevailed again in semifinals beating the Knights 11-2. On the other side of the men’s bracket, Goonsquad beat Cyclone to advance to semifinals against Michigan Omega who beat New Jersey Thunder in quarterfinals. Michigan Omega earned bronze in their final game against New York Knights.<\/p>\n\n

\nCrown and Goonsquad gave the audience a nail-biting first half with a 5-3 halftime score in favor of Crown. Crown returned to the court in the second half and turned up the competition to earn gold, and their fourth consecutive USABA Goalball National Title with a 11-5 final score.<\/p>\n\n

\nTwo individuals scored 37 goals each, more than any individual in the tournament – Cody Carmicle and Grej Pesjaka. The tie-breaker looked at which individual’s team went further in the competition. Carmicle, who competed in the gold medal game with Goonsquad, therefore was awarded Most Valuable Player for his 37 goals.<\/p>\n\n

\nWomen’s division<\/strong>
\nIn the women’s division, the Georgia Phantoms were 6 points ahead of the rest of the pack with 4 wins at the end of round robin play. Six teams made up the women’s pool – Phantoms, New Jersey Honeybees, New Jersey Storm, Rose City Thorns, DC Sting and GLASA Tsunami.<\/p>\n\n

\nIn the playoffs, Rose City Thorns faced the New Jersey Honeybees and advanced to the semifinals after beating the Honeybees 9-2. The Honeybees then played DC Sting for bronze and earned the medal with a 11-1 mercy over DC Sting.<\/p>\n\n

In the gold medal game, the dominant Georgia Phantoms played Rose City Thorns. It was an intense game with great play from both teams. In the end, Phantoms prevailed 3-2 with Amanda Dennis scoring the winning goal. Dennis was also the leading scorer in the women’s division throughout the tournament and earned the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.<\/p>\n\n

\nFinal results:<\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n\n

\nMen’s division:<\/strong>
\nGold – Crown
\nSilver – Goonsquad
\nBronze – Michigan Omega
\n4 th – New York Knights
\n5 th – MWABA Eagles
\n6 th – New Jersey Thunder
\n7 th – Cyclone
\n8 th – DC Blue Eagles
\n9 th – Florida
\n10 th – NIU Huskies
\n11 th – Columbus Chill
\n12 th – GLASA Riptide
\n13 th – Atlanta Wolves
\n14 th – New York Empire
\n15 th – USABA Veterans<\/p>\n\n

\nTop Scorers:<\/strong>
\nCody Carmicle – 37 goals
\nGrej Pesjaka – 37 goals
\nJahron Black – 35 goals
\nJohn Kusku – 29 goals
\nJoe Hamilton – 20 goals<\/p>\n\n

\nWomen’s division:<\/strong>
\nGold – Georgia Phantoms
\nSilver – Rose City Thorns
\nBronze – New Jersey Honeybees
\n4 th – DC Sting
\n5 th – GLASA Tsunmai
\n6 th – New Jersey Storm<\/p>\n\n

\nTop Scorers:<\/strong>
\nAmanda Dennis – 35 goals
\nAli Lawson - 27 goals
\nLisa Czechowski – 27 goals
\nEliana Mason – 26 goals
\nShavon Lockhardt – 20 goals<\/p>\n\n

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ABOUT TURNSTONE: <\/strong>Now in its 75th year of service, Turnstone’s mission is to empower people with disabilities to achieve their highest potential by providing one of the most comprehensive offerings of services and programs to people with disabilities and their families under one roof in the United States. Thanks to generous support and compassionate staff, Turnstone’s legacy of advocacy and innovation continues to contribute to a world that accepts and values people based on their abilities. This legacy now includes the privilege of functioning as the home training facility for the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Goalball Teams and the goalball resident program through a partnership with the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA). www.turnstone.org","Twitter: @TurnstoneCenter","Facebook: Turnstone Center of Children and Adults with Disabilities","Instagram: @TurnstoneCenter<\/p>\n\n

\nABOUT UNITED STATES ASSOCIATION OF BLIND ATHLETES (USABA)<\/strong>
\nSince its founding in 1976, USABA, a community-based organization of the United States Olympic Committee, has reached more than 100,000 blind individuals. The organization has emerged as more than just a world-class trainer of blind athletes, it has become a champion of the abilities of Americans who are legally blind. In addition to providing grassroot and development opportunities in multiple sports, USABA serves as the high performance management organization for the Paralympic sport of goalball in the U.S. Through a partnership with Turnstone Center, USABA established the first-ever long-term goalball resident program in the country where members of U.S. Men’s and Women’s Goalball National Teams train full-time. USABA’s mission: to empower Americans who are blind and visually impaired to experience life-changing opportunities in sports, recreation and physical activity, thereby educating and inspiring the nation. www.usaba.org","Twitter: @USABA","Facebook: United States Association of Blind Athletes<\/p>\n\n

\nCUTLINE – Athletes from across the country competed for their respective men’s and women’s
\nnational goalball titles in the 2018 USABA Goalball National Championships hosted at Turnstone in
\nFort Wayne, IN.<\/p>\n\n

\nGEORGIA PHANTOMS WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS 2018 – (L-R) Liz Dennis (Coach), Christella
\nGarcia, Vanessa Coleman, Ali Lawson, Amanda Dennis<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

CALIFORNIA CROWN MEN'S CHAMPIONS 2018 – (L-R) Matthew Boyle (Coach), Josh
\nWelborn, Jordan Main, Daryl Walker, Joe Hamilton<\/p>"]