ACL National #2

Cornhole Mania arrived in Erie, Pennsylvania on May 19th, 20th, and 21st. The Bayfront Convention Center was buzzing with excitement all weekend as National #2 took place. Team Ultra was there is full force looking to make gains as the ACL regular season reached the halfway mark.

ACL PDC Qualifier

As usual, the ACL’s Pro Development Cup Qualifier took place first thing on Friday morning. The PDC Qualifiers are now broken up into 4 divisions: Men’s, Women’s, Senior’s and Junior’s. Up for grabs were 11 singles and 6 doubles spots. Team Ultra’s Reuben Snyder lead all players in the Men’s Qualifier. He finished 5-0. Mason Morgado continued his strong PDC start with his second bracket qualification finishing 4-1. Michigan’s Brodyn Rairigh made the bracket for Pro Doubles. In the Women’s Qualifier Teanitia Lashley finished 5-1 and made the Pro Singles and Doubles brackets. The PDC Qualifying events are grueling. Rounders play is used and players battle for open spots in the Pro brackets. Every game is crucial as these players all have something to prove. Team Ultra having 4 players make one of the Pro brackets was a good start to the weekend. 

Pro Doubles

Following the PDC Qualifier was Pro Doubles. Joe Kniesteadt and Jeremy Schermerhorn were the B Bracket’s #1 seed and the #2 seed overall coming out of Texas last month. The Michigan duo went undefeated again en route to another bracket win. Schermerhorn and Kniesteadt make the ESPN broadcast for the second consecutive National. Ultimately Schermerhorn and Kniesteadt fell short under the lights having a couple of uncharacteristic rounds that proved too much to overcome. The pair have been dominant in the brackets at both nationals. In Erie, the pair had to wait a full day to play the broadcast game with the final 4 taking place on Saturday. They didn’t have what they did on Friday that put them in the final 4. Look for them to regroup going into National 3. They will use the experience and continue to grow as a team.

Alan Rawls and Chris Kingsbury made a very nice run in Erie. The Florida pair picked up a 3rd place bracket finish in the C bracket. Chris was coming off a Pro Shootout win in Fort Worth, TX.  The pair rebounded after starting off the season tough. Travel issues at National 1 forced them to start as the lowest seed in Corpus Christi giving them a tough path in the bracket there. This finish should get them into a better starting position going forward.

Other Team Ultra doubles teams to “have a run” in Erie:

Bracket A: Doug Zafft and Bagin’ Bill Hadley work their way to 7th place. Mason Morgado teams with fellow PDC player Vincent Frisch for a 8th place finish. The brothers Cobb land at 11th.

Bracket B: Tyler Parent and Brevon Valdivia finish 8th. Peter Zazueta Jr and Moses Zazueta slide in at 10th. Ty Lopez and Eric Tscherne finish 13th.

Bracket C: Mark Lopez and Corey Ballard rebound from a tough first National and finish 7th in Erie. Jimmy McGuffin and Daymon Dennis land at 9th place. Steve Schroeder and rookie Blake Karnick place 13th.

Bracket D: Texas twosome Jonathan Segura and Felix Vargas III finish in 5th.

Pro Singles

Pro Singles took place on Saturday. Team Ultra’s players had some great runs. Alan Rawls was a monster all weekend. He lead the way for Team Ultra winning his 2nd straight Pro Singles bracket! It set him up for a matchup with his brother. Alan came up a bit short in the semi final to Alex who took down the overall all championship. Alan Rawls with back to back bracket wins is in good position for future brackets and looks to be vying for a breakout player of the year nod. It was a huge weekend for him taking 9th overall in doubles and 3rd overall in singles.

Joe Kniesteadt also continued his hot start. He notched a 3rd place in his bracket. Joe K continues to impress at the halfway point of the regular season. He finishes 9th overall in singles and 3rd in doubles. Team Ultra players had some good finishes throughout the brackets. The legendary Daymon Dennis finishes his bracket in 8th place taking home some cash for his effort. Also in 8th was Peter Zazueta Jr.. Arizona’s Ty Lopez went on a run finishing his day 9th in his bracket. Team Ultra dominated 10th place. Duncan Clemmer, Terry Mathis and Moses Zazueta got it done taking three of the four 10th place spots in the brackets. Just outside of the money but having good runs were: 14th: Tubby Cobb and Nick Williams. 16th: Eric Tscherne and Mason Morgado. 17th: Felix Vargas III and Corey Ballard. 20th Kimberli Glass and Brevon Valdivia. 

ACL National #2 Sunday Events

Sunday brings about some of the more fun events of a Pro National weekend. In Open Senior Singles Double D, Daymon Dennis, pulls off the double dip for his second National Seniors win of the season. 2 Nationals, 2 Wins for Double D! In Women’s Open Singles, Sarah Cassidy and Kimberli Glass tied for 5th. Ultra did not have anyone playing Open Junior’s Singles in Erie. 

The Pro Blind Draw is the final event of a National Weekend. Mixing up the pro players and seeing what they can do is the ultimate version of what many players experience playing cornhole at their local events. Brodyn Rairigh had a day. He combined with Justin Carpenter to take 2nd in their Bracket. California’s Mark Lopez finishes tied for 5th. Also tied at 5th was the veteran Dave Sutton. Team Ultra player, Brandon Sehlmeyer also picked up a 5th place finish in the B bracket.  

Looking Ahead

Portland Oregon is the next stop on the ACL’s Pro Tour. June 9-11th. Follow our pros on our facebook page or their own social media platforms.