Esports wins Sun Conference Championship Saturday

NEW ORLEANS – The Wolf Pack Esports program played five matches during the course of the week, taking part in Smash Bros. matches in Sun Conference and NACE competition. Loyola started by beating Texas A&M Texarkana in a two-set Sun Conference match. The Maroon and Gold participated in two NACE matches on Tuesday, dropping contests to Texas A&M San Antonio (2-1) and Kansas (2-0). Loyola ended the week as Sun Conference Champions with a win over Keiser (Fla.) to earn the Wolf Pack's first championship in Sun Conference play.

With Sun Conference play complete, the Wolf Pack will continue NACE competition with matches against St. Cloud State (Minn.) and Bellevue (Neb.) on Tuesday, Mar. 18, and Thursday, Mar. 20, respectively. Both contests are set to start at 7:30 p.m.

On Saturday, Mar. 1, Loyola competed in the first Fortnite competition in program history, competing in the Playfly College Esports Fortnite Duos Event. Emily Thompson, Akinseye Quinones, and Justin Henshaw represented the Wolf Pack well by earning seventh place among 49 teams, reaching a total of 49 points in six matches. Loyola collected 15 points for eliminations while bringing in 34 placement points in the event.

After earning a bye and an undefeated record in Sun Conference play, Loyola began the postseason in the semifinals with a 2-0 win over St. Thomas (Fla.). The Wolf Pack finished the week with a win over Keiser (Fla.) in the Sun Conference Grand Finals to earn the first Smash Bros. Sun Conference Championship in program history. After finishing as the runner-up in the 2024 season, Loyola ended the 2025 campaign with a perfect 8-0 record, defeating the Keiser Seahawks, the champions of the 2024 Sun Conference season.

On Monday, Malachi Lee swept the first crew battle in Loyola's match against Texas A&M Texarkana, taking down Incineroar (3-0), Falco (3-0), Cloud (3-1), and Sonic (3-0). After Lily Neeley picked up a win as Ganondorf, Samuel Spiegel's R.O.B. defeated TAMUT's final three fighters to secure the win, 1-0, 3-0, and 3-2.

Against St. Thomas (Fla.), Anthony Nodolski's Olimar beat Mewtwo (3-1) and Byleth (3-1), just before Lee's Kazuya defeated the final two fighters to win set one of the semifinals. With Rosalina & Luma, Nathan Long got three straight wins over Ridley (3-2), Toon Link (3-0), and Lucas (3-0) to take a big lead in the second crew battle. Nodolski closed out the semifinals as Jigglypuff, taking Byleth's last stock to send the Pack to the Grand Finals.

Spiegel began the Grand Finals as Roy, beating Link (3-1) and Captain Falcon (3-0). After Keiser's Zelda defeated Spiegel, Lee's Terry entered the fight to get the win, 3-1. Nodolski's Olimar ended the set with a win over Keiser's Hero (2-2) to give Loyola a lead. Nodolski started the second crew battle with a win, just before falling to Hero in the second fight. Spiegel returned to the match to defeat Hero, then fell to Zelda, 2-1. After Lee eliminated Zelda, he left Keiser's final fighter, Captain Falcon, with one stock. Long closed things out by taking Keiser's final stock and cementing Loyola as Sun Conference Champions.

Sun Conference - Texas A&M Texarkana Results

First Crew Battle:

Mii Gunner (Malachi Lee) def. Incineroar (TAMUT), 3-0
Mii Gunner (Malachi Lee) def. Falco (TAMUT), 3-0
Mii Gunner (Malachi Lee) def. Cloud (TAMUT), 3-1
Mii Gunner (Malachi Lee) def. Sonic (TAMUT), 3-0
Loyola leads match, 1-0

Second Crew Battle:

Ganondorf (Lily Neeley) def. Little Mac (TAMUT), 3-2
Isabelle (TAMUT) def. Ganondorf (Lily Neeley), 1-2
R.O.B. (Samuel Spiegel) def. Isabelle (TAMUT), 1-0
R.O.B. (Samuel Spiegel) def. Cloud (TAMUT), 3-0
R.O.B. (Samuel Spiegel) def. Sephiroth (TAMUT), 3-2
Loyola wins match, 2-0

Sun Conference Semifinals - St. Thomas Results

First Crew Battle:

Kirby (Anthony Nodolski) def. Mewtwo (STU), 3-1
Kirby (Anthony Nodolski) def. Byleth (STU), 3-1
Lucas (STU) def. Kirby (Anthony Nodolski), 1-0
Kazuya (Malachi Lee) def. Lucas (STU), 3-1
Kazuya (Malachi Lee) def. Sephiroth (STU), 3-0
Loyola leads match, 1-0

Second Crew Battle:

Rosalina & Luma (Nathan Long) def. Ridley (STU), 3-2
Rosalina & Luma (Nathan Long) def. Toon Link (STU), 3-0
Rosalina & Luma (Nathan Long) def. Lucas (STU), 3-0
Byleth (STU) def. Rosalina & Luma (Nathan Long), 1-1
Byleth (STU) def. Donkey Kong (Lily Neeley), 3-1
Jigglypuff (Anthony Nodolski) def. Byleth (STU), 1-0
Loyola wins match, 2-0

Sun Conference Grand Finals - Keiser Results

First Crew Battle:

Roy (Samuel Spiegel) def. Link (KU), 3-1
Roy (Samuel Spiegel) def. Captain Falcon (KU), 3-0
Zelda (KU) def. Roy (Samuel Spiegel), 2-0
Zelda (KU) def. Rosalina & Luma (Nathan Long), 3-0
Terry (Malachi Lee) def. Zelda (KU), 3-1
Hero (KU) def. Terry (Malachi Lee), 2-1
Olimar (Anthony Nodolski) def. Hero (KU), 2-2
Loyola leads match, 1-0

Second Crew Battle:

Olimar (Anthony Nodolski) def. Link (KU), 3-2
Hero (KU) def. Olimar (Anthony Nodolski), 1-1
Roy (Samuel Spiegel) def. Hero (KU), 2-1
Zelda (KU) def. Roy (Samuel Spiegel), 2-1
Terry (Malachi Lee) def. Zelda (KU), 2-1
Captain Falcon (KU) def. Terry (Malachi Lee), 2-2
Rosalina & Luma (Nathan Long) def. Captain Falcon (KU), 1-1
Loyola wins match, 2-0

NACE - Texas A&M San Antonio Results

First Crew Battle:

Cloud (TAMUSA) def. Mii Gunner (Malachi Lee), 3-1
Cloud (TAMUSA) def. Roy (Samuel Spiegel), 3-0
Cloud (TAMUSA) def. Lucina (Lily Neeley), 3-1
Cloud (TAMUSA) def. Olimar (Anthony Nodolski), 3-0
TAMUSA leads match, 1-0

Second Crew Battle:

Roy (Samuel Spiegel) def. Captain Falcon (TAMUSA), 3-1
Pac-Man (TAMUSA) def. Roy (Samuel Spiegel), 2-2
Terry (Malachi Lee) def. Pac-Man (TAMUSA), 1-0
Ice Climbers (TAMUSA) def. Terry (Malachi Lee), 3-1
Olimar (Anthony Nodolski) def. Ice Climbers (TAMUSA), 2-2
Palutena (TAMUSA) def. Olimar (Anthony Nodolski), 1-1
Lucina (Lily Neeley) def. Palutena (TAMUSA), 2-2
Loyola ties match, 1-1

Third Crew Battle:

Palutena (TAMUSA) def. Roy (Samuel Spiegel), 3-2
Olimar (Anthony Nodolski) def. Palutena (TAMUSA), 1-2
Captain Falcon (TAMUSA) def. Olimar (Anthony Nodolski), 1-1
Terry (Malachi Lee) def. Captain Falcon (TAMUSA), 2-2
Ice Climbers (TAMUSA) def. Terry (Malachi Lee), 1-0
Ice Climbers (TAMUSA) def. Lucina (Lily Neeley), 3-0
TAMUSA wins match, 2-1

NACE - Kansas Results

First Crew Battle:

Pokémon Trainer (KU) def. Loyola
Pokémon Trainer (KU) def. Loyola
Pokémon Trainer (KU) def. Loyola, 3-2
Terry (Malachi Lee) def. Pokémon Trainer (KU), 1-0
Terry (Malachi Lee) def. Luigi (KU), 3-0
Olimar (KU) def. Terry (Malachi Lee), 3-2
Kansas leads match, 1-0

Second Crew Battle:

Daisy (KU) def. Roy (Samuel Spiegel), 3-2
Terry (Malachi Lee) def. Daisy (KU), 1-1
Olimar (KU) def. Terry (Malachi Lee), 2-0
Olimar (KU) def. Olimar (Anthony Nodolski), 3-2
Lucina (Lily Neeley) def. Olimar (KU), 1-2
Dr. Mario (KU) def. Lucina (Lily Neeley), 1-0
Kansas wins match, 2-0