By Fredric Hinkle
2020 Texas Majors
Waco
Waco Major Preview
The opening Texas Major this year is Waco! There are 9 teams rising to the challenge of the Gold division. The morning will be round-robin pool play and the afternoon will be a single-elimination tournament. Texas A&M and WySpike make up the majority of these players with a handful of players looking to qualify for LoneStar!
Gold
WySpike Mirror Stage - Matthew Burrows and Luke Mowry
These two players have had a variety of showings and could be the top WySpike team. They have a second place at Strake Jesuit in December, second at Maroon and White in January and a rough 4th at the Wylie Cash Bash Lash. If they serve like they did at Maroon and White, I expect them to podium. If they again put on 12 serves in the semis, like Wylie, they will not podium.
Carnage - Rahul Murthy and Luke Marshall
The most hyped Texas team of all time is HOT off of their Wylie Cash Bash Lash win and their College Sectionals win. Those mark the two events that the two have won together. They have only lost in Austin to Scratch Em from ACU(Luke and Colton Mowry) If Rahul, The Mighty Midget, Murthy continues blasting reverse and cut serves past people and Luke, Kyle, Marshall continues his defensive magic they could win again.
WySpike Butterfingers - Colton Mowry and Garrett Hornok
This team is hard to predict. They have a nice 3rd place at Maroon and White, and Garrett achieved 2nd in Wylie, but that was with Grant. If Garrett serves well I expect to see great defense from these two as Colton is terrific at defense as a tracker, but abysmal when at the net. The main question will be setting. If the setting holds up they will do especially well.
WySpike Triple Threat - David Louis and Nic Noguez
They won at Strake Jesuit, but that field was softer. The lineup of players is almost the same, but the teams are stronger with properly formed teams. They won with consistency and defense. This event has a lot more powerhouse Serveball teams like Carnage, Butterfingers, and Texaner. David will have to take a lot of aces for this team to have enough breaks.
Rim Inspectors - Nick Rushing and Josh Weinbach
This team has found success before. Is it chemistry or was it a fluke? I’m leaning towards fluke. They played unbelievably well 7 months ago in Austin Major, but Rushing is out of practice and has dealt with an injury while Josh has practiced endlessly in Austin with Brian at UT. It is hard to have them better than last in this Gold Division.
Right Minded - Dylan Keen and Ryan Canfield
Can you say lefty serveball? Cause they can! This team will be breaks galore! Dylan and Ryan are both strong left-handed servers and are both active on defense. On the flip side, Ryan struggles with confidence when setting and Dylan struggles with confidence on serve receive. This team will likely develop as the day progresses and maybe eek out a semis showing.
Ad Nauseum - Ethan McWhirter and Caleb Cummings
Two of the most different players imaginable, stylistically. Every time Caleb serves he tries to break the world record for fastest serve. Ethan is not a powerhouse server but hits and sets well. They could compliment each other very well or this could be a disaster.
WySpike HeartThrobs - Cooper Brown and Jeremiah Porter
Cooper is practicing a ton. Jerm lives in Tyler and doesn’t get to practice with strong players. Cooper has improved his serve and serve receive tremendously; Jerm, who knows? Jerm is a large question mark in my mind, and I hope he can keep up with Cooper on defense. This will be a great time for Jerm to show how much he has improved.
Texaner - Fredric Hinkle and Grant Laughlin
Grant moved to 6-1 against Fredric in Wylie. This team lost to Venom(now Carnage) at Sectionals last year. Last year this team won in Austin with no trouble. This team won in exciting fashion at Maroon and White and looks to keep winning. These players have a pretty historic dominance over WySpike and both have some strong results outside of Texas.
LoneStar Implications
Last year WySpike chose not to accept LoneStar in 2019, this means they will now have another option to join this year if they can finish in the top 3 of Gold. Colton Mowry, Garrett Hornok, Luke Mowry, Matthew Burrows, and Nic Noguez all have an opportunity to qualify for LoneStar this weekend with a podium finish.
Author Predictions
Texaner
Carnage
WySpike Triple Threat
Advanced
The top 4 teams in the Advanced Division will earn a Gold qualification for future majors!
Author Predictions
Jester Sauce
Baking Soda
Girls Girls
Juicy Juice