The Blinn College esports team earned a sweep of three Super Smash Bros matches in NJCAA Esports play Wednesday.
Christian Ekpenike defeated his opponent from Potomac State College 3-1; Brett Fahrenholz ousted his foe from Glen Oaks Community College 3-1; and Jaydon Flores earned a 3-0 win over his opponent from Guilford Technical Community College.
Flores and Fahrenholz are currently in first place in Group 1 and Group 3, respectively. Ekpenike is currently in third place in Group 2.
(Pictured: Blinn College's Super Smash Bros team of, from left, Jaydon Flores, Christian Ekpenike, and Brett Fahrenholz)
"Each player had a very tough matchup today, especially Brett, whose opponent was tied with him for first place before today's match; it was a very close, back and forth game that could have gone either way," Blinn assistant coach Kyle Murto said. "I am proud of all my players today; everyone kept a cool mentality even after falling behind a match early on in the best-of-five series. Today showed that we are prepared to take on some of the better players in the NJCAAE, and that we have a real shot at possibly taking home a national championship for Super Smash Bros."
The Buccaneers also competed in a Call of Duty tilt Wednesday and fell to Independence Community College 3-0.
"While the final score was 3-0, the first two maps were very competitive and we were in winnable positions," Blinn assistant coach Ryan Lucich said. "David Rodriguez played really well once again but ultimately we came up short once more."
Competing for Blinn were Rodriguez, Jaiden Walker, Landon Campos, and Jake Marsh.
Up next, the Bucs will face the University of South Carolina in a Call of Duty tilt at 5 p.m. on Monday, March 13. Blinn Super Smash Bros will be in action at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.