Esports team completes strong League of Legends season
The University of North Georgia's (ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½) esports club team finished as the top group in the Peach Belt Conference's (PBC) Blue Division for the spring 2021 season. It also reached the semifinals of the PBC tournament held March 24-27.
Nick Alden, Yankun Li, Quoc Pham, Connor Sims, and Michael Watson were the team members who took part in the PBC tournament. ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ defeated Alma College 2-0 in its March 24 tournament opener before a 2-1 loss to eventual champion Kennesaw State University in the March 26 semifinals.
ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ finished with a 7-2 record.
The season's final event marked a full-circle moment for the team, as a year earlier its PBC tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The return to competition this academic year was a welcome development.
"It has been a lot of fun to see our teams take part in different competitions online," said Tim Baldwin, president of ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½'s esports club and a senior from Canton, Georgia, pursuing a degree in computer science.
The signature win of ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½'s season came in a 2-1 triumph vs. Florida Southern, the PBC tournament runner-up, in a Feb. 24 match.
"Tim has done a great job of leading this club," said Rob Kelly, coordinator of intramural sports and sports clubs. "It's a growing program that was very competitive this spring."
Soto takes second in state oratorical competition
ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ student Alexandra Soto finished in second place in the virtual Georgia Interstate Oratorical Association competition before taking part in the 152nd annual IOA competition at the University of Florida.
Alum presents cyber research at conference
ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ alumnus Kian Esmaeili took his Honors Program thesis to the next level and presented it at IEEE SoutheastCon in Huntsville, Alabama.
Softball team finishes in top six nationally
The ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ softball team earned one victory at the NCAA Division II championship to finish among the nation's final six teams.
Reaves named national softball Player of Year
ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ senior center fielder Sydnee Reaves has been named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II Player of the Year.