All of the pictures taken this year are posted on our photo website http://lightsphotos.ifp3.com.
Today Northern Lights had 3 team of it's eight teams in the Gold Championship Brackets. Congratulations to 15-2, 14-2, & 13-1 for great performances.
The 12-1 team played at 8:00am. This was the 4th day in a row the kids were up at 5:30am. They played Front Range in the Red division for 17th place. They lost the match in 2 sets. They officially finished 19th in the 12 Open Division, but as Sheridan said....we were 19th out 80 when you count all of the Open and Club teams together.
The 13-1 team started their day in the Gold Championship Division with 7 other teams. They played Toa Alta Queens from Puerto Rico in their first match and won it in 2 sets. By winning that match they moved to the Semi Finals and at least a 3rd place medal and trophy. The 2nd match was against another Pureto Rico team, GVA. That match went 3 games with NL losing in the 3rd game 15-10. The 13-1's officially finished 3rd in the 13 Open Division. They attended the awards ceremony later that evening where they were awarded their Bronze medals. Samantha Swenson received an All American award. Congratulations to the 13-1's and Samantha. This is the highest our 13's team has ever placed at the AAU National Championships. We are extremely proud of them and their coaches for this great performance.
The 14-1 team was in the Consolation Division. They were playing for 13th place in the 14 Open Division. They lost their first match of the day to MVA in 2 sets. They officially finished 15th.
The 14-2 team was in the Gold Championship Bracket today. They started off the day as seed #11 playing seed #6 Orange Crush, which the 14-2's finished off fairly quickly. The second match of the day was against Milwaukee Sting 14-2's. The match was very intense and the 14-2's lost game 1, and then won games 2 & 3 to win the match. By winning that match they moved to the Semi Finals and at least a 3rd place medal and trophy. In the Semi Final match the 14-2's were up against Arsel, a team from Puerto Rico. The first set was close, and had our chances to win it, but in the end we lost 26-24. They then lost the second set. This ended their tournament and they officially placed 3rd in the 14 Club Division. They attended the awards ceremony later that evening where they were awarded their Bronze medals. They also received 2 All American awards to Samantha Flattum & Greta Geist. Congratulations to the 14-2's and Sammi & Greta. We are extremely proud of them and their coaches for this great performance.
The 15-1 team started their tournament today. They had an afternoon pool, so by that time most of us had moved over to Milkhouse for the finals matches and awards presentations. They did however manage to survive the day and went 3-0.
The 15-2 team was in the Gold Championship Bracket today. They started off their day by getting up at 5:30am for a 8:00am match. Their first match was against Fort Wayne and it was real thriller. It went 3 sets, but in the end the 15-2's won 15-12, and they advanced to the round of 8. Their next match was against Capital 15 Navy. This match was actually fairly dull. It was clear from the start that the 15-2's were in control and nothing was going to stop them. They finished Capital off in 2 straight sets and advanced to the Semi Finals with a guarentee of at least a Bronze Medal. In the semi final match we were up against Sports Performance's 15-Frosh team which is their 15-2 team. This match was tougher one with good play on both sides. But in the end the 15-2's wanted to be in the finals and the won the match in 2 sets. This put them in the 15 Club Championship match! The Championship match was held in the Milkhouse. All of the Northern Lights teams attended the match (except 151 which was playing). It was full match protocal with a pre-game march in. When the 15-2's marched in they were greeted by about 300 Northern Lights players, staff, chaperones and parents giving them a standing ovation. It was an awesome sight to see our entire club there supporting them. The team they played in the finals was Puerto Rico and was a very good team. They pretty much controlled the entire match and there was not much doubt who was going to win that match after about the first 8 points. The 15-2's played hard, but in the end the Pureto Rico team won and the 15-2's placed 2nd in the 15 Club Division of about 138 teams. The awards ceremony was held right after the match, and the 15-2's received their Silver Medals and trophy and also were given 3 All American awards which went to Carlee Hoppe, Paige Patterson, & Rachel Voss. Congratulations to the 15-2's and Carlee, Paige & Rachel. This is the highest our 15-2 team has ever placed at the AAU National Championship. We all are extremely proud of them and their coaches Colleen & Marlon.
The 15-3 team was playing for 49th position today. They lost their first match of the day to A5 15-2's. They officially finished 57th out of 138.
The 15-4 team was playing for 25th position today. They lost their first match of the day to N3. They officially finished 29th out of 138.
The 15-5 team was playing for 73rd position today. They had a very good day. They were in a bracket of 12 teams and they won their first 3 matches of the day. This put them in the finals of the Yellow Division playing against Dunes 15-2 team. Dunes won that match in 2 sets, so the 15-5's officially finished 74th. This was a great showing for them!!!
The 18-1 team started their tournament today. But with all the excitement going on with the younger teams we really were not able to watch them very mcuh. They ended up not having a very good day. They are in a 7 team pool and played 4 matches today. Their record was 1-3 for the day. They are hoping to do much better on Sunday so they can advance to the top half.