A brief summary of the weekend competition from sponsor Mark Sailer.
Friday was a better day for Team 422 as they finished 3-3 with a couple of matches that were close. They finished the qualification matches with a record of 4-6. Their final ranking for the division was 33 out of 68 teams.
Saturday began with division awards and alliance selection for eliminations. Team 422 was a Safety Award Finalist. This is a great testament to the team’s focus on training and safety throughout the year. Alliance captains choose 3 additional robots for eliminations at world championships and Team 422 in previous trips to the championships has not been selected to join an alliance. This year, however, Team 422 was selected as the 3rd pick for the 5th seed alliance captain Team 71 from Hammond, IN. The team captain can choose which 3 teams compete during eliminations and can switch around the teams from match to match.
The alliance won their quarterfinal playoff in 3 matches (512-341, 307-363, and 373-371), The last match was very tight and we were all watching the scoreboard very closely for the final scores. Very loud cheers erupted (including myself) when the final score was posted on the screen.
The alliance had to face the #1 seeded alliance in the Semifinals and lost the first match 425-214. The second match had a score of 407-209, but a major penalty by team 225 of the #1 alliance caused damage to our alliance captain’s robot and resulted in a red card. A red card in a playoff match results in a team scoring 0 points, so our alliance won 209-0. Each alliance had one win each and a third match had to be played. A field timeout was called and there was time to work on the robot in hopes of getting it repaired, but the Captain called on team 422 to enter the field for Match #3. Team 422 played an integral part in this match and the final score was 264-247 with the win going to Alliance #5 and Team 422. Now onto the Division Finals.
The Alliance faced the #2 Alliance. The #2 alliance captain was undefeated in all of its qualifying matches. Team 217 was also a previous World Champion. Their alliance was a challenge to play and they won in two matches (414-308 and 469-291). Their alliance survived the Einstein Round robin and played in the Einstein finals on Saturday evening, but lost in two matches.
Team 422 added to their most successful season with their accomplishments at World Championships – Safety Award Finalist, First-time selected to an alliance, First-time to play in a playoff match at Championships and Carson Division Finalist.
Congratulations Dragons…those many long hours of work paid off this year. Can’t wait to see what you do next season.
