Kalamazoo, Northeast Florida and Pennsylvania Remain Undefeated at Goalball Nationals

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – After 30 pool play and round robin games played among 18 teams, only three have yet to drop a game at the USABA National Goalball Championships.

Goalball is a Paralympic sport played by blind and visually impaired persons both in the United States and around the world in which three athletes on each of two teams aim to launch a ball at speeds of up to 40 mph into the opposing side's goal. Nine bells located in a ball roughly the dimensions of a basketball help the athletes track the ball's location.

In the men’s Pool A, the 2004 silver medalist Pennsylvania Association of Blind Athletes Venom defeated the Western Michigan Wrecking Crew, 5-2 in their morning matchup before overtaking the New York Knights in a 14-4 mercy rule decision.  In spite of having only three players and therefore allowing no substitutions, Athens Paralympic silver medalist John Mulhern (Lebanon, Pa.) and his teammates Andre Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Daryl Green (Philadelphia, Pa.) claimed secure wins in both matches while minimizing penalties.

Pool B is currently being led by Northeast Florida, including two members of the Athens Team: Eddie Munro (St. Augustine, Fla.) and Donte Mickens (Tallahassee, Fla.) as well as 2003 World Goalball Championships silver medalist Daryl Walker (Jacksonville, Fla.), Chris Dixon (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Jimmy Sanchez (Jacksonville, Fla.)  Northeast Florida opened its day with victories over the Michigan Spitfire, 6-3, and the Illinois Tsunami, 12-2 (mercy rule) before tying Athens Paralympian Chris Dodds’ (Myton, Utah) Utah Explosion, 4-4.

And while many of the top teams at the National Goalball Championships are previous medal winners, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind has proved itself to be a team to watch – even though all five athletes are still in high school.  The FSDB team includes 2005 World Youth Championship Team members Preston White (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Tim Dornbrock (Jacksonville Beach, Fla.), Joey Ferranti (Callahan, Fla.), Rashad Morgan (Greenwood, S.C.) and WYC Team candidate

15-year-old Matt Simpson (Smyrna, Ga.) FSDB won its first two games against the Illinois Tsunami, 14-4 (mercy rule), and the Bay Area Outreach Program (BORP), 8-3, before pulling what might be considered to be the day’s biggest upset with a 9-5 victory over the former national champion Michigan Spitfire.

On the women’s side, the Kalamazoo Chaos shut out Utah, 6-0, and defeated Illinois, 8-3, before advancing to the most watched game of the day: a matchup between the Chaos and the Colorado Bandits. The two teams have one every national championship since 2000 with the Chaos taking the odd years and the Bandits winning in the even ones. This year each team also includes two Paralympians – Asya Miller (Battle Creek, Mich.) and Nikki Buck (Paw Paw, Mich.) on the Chaos and Jennifer Armbruster (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Robin Theryoung (Clarkston, Mich.) on the Bandits.

Both teams played solid defense throughout the game with Chaos center Buck blocking all but three shots herself; however it was a corner goal by 19-year-old Susie D’Mello (Troy, Mich.) with just over a minute remaining in the first half that sealed the win for the Chaos

Following the loss, the Colorado Bandits are in second place in the round robin after earlier Friday wins over New Jersey, 7-3; the FSDB Girls’ Team, 8-1, and Utah, 4-0.

The FSDB Girls’ Team also proved to be a team to watch, upsetting the 2004 bronze medalist Illinois Tsunami, 8-1, in a near shut out.  FSDB includes three members of the 2005 World Youth Championship Team – Charity Ryder, Stacie Jenkins, Joceylyn Brannon as well as teammate Crystal Fitzgibbons (all St. Augustine, Fla.)

For more information, please contact Nicole Jomantas, at (719) 630-0422, ext. 10 or njomantas@usaba.org

USABA, a member organization of the U.S. Olympic Committee, is a non-profit organization that provides training for blind and visually impaired athletes for competition in nine sports. USABA members range from blind children developing sports skills to elite athletes who train for competitions such as the Paralympic Games, the world's second largest athletic competition that draws more than 4,000 disabled athletes.