Root beer pong the newest sport at USD

Oliver Wood

There is a new sport that will be arriving at the University of San Diego this fall. And many students have felt that it should have been instated a long time ago. The time has come for USD, and this fall the inaugural Root Beer Pong Collegiate League will begin its first season at the university.

The RBPCL started in the summer of 2007, when University of New York sophomore John Malowski decided he wanted to explore what kind of following the sports of pong had around college campuses. After numerous tests and visits to college campuses, Malowski realized that this sport could really pick up around the United States, and could also add another new sport to the growing number there already are in college. In 2008, Malowski’s dream came to fruition as he formed the first Root Beer Pong team at University of New York, and was soon followed by over 20 East Coast schools, including Holloway University, Freedom Hall University, and known basketball powerhouse Eastern New Jersey College. The first season saw each team play each other one time for a total of 19 games, with the top 16 teams facing off in a tournament held in the famous Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Malowski said that he hoped to expand the sport to include the South, the Midwest, and also the West Coast by the year 2011.

Well it’s only 2008, but it looks like his league is going to expand a little ahead of schedule. The University of San Diego was one of 20 teams chosen to represent the Western quarter of the RBPCL.

The university has already welcomed its first four scholarship pong players: John Bounty, Mitch Stephenson, Willie Howard and team captain Connor Walters. Walters along with his fellow teammates were sought after by numerous colleges for both their intelligence and their uncanny skills to shoot that little ping pong ball into that 12-ounce red cup.
Walters was the first to sign a letter of intent and was excited for the upcoming inaugural root beer pong season.

“I’m just looking forward to going out there and giving it my best shot, and hopefully we will have the opportunity to play on the grandest RBPCL stage of all, in Madison Square Garden, by the end of the season,” Walters said.

USD is already ranked in the preseason top 25, as the No. 23 ranked team in the country. “This ranking is a testament to the young talent that has chosen to get a great education, and also enjoy all the benefits that the RBPCL has to offer the world. These players have been playing since they were 13 or 14 years old and are now ready for the professional stage,” said head coach and root beer pong veteran C.C. Hammond. Just in case you have been living under a rock, the game has a set of unique rules. You take two official RBPCL balls (similar to ping pong balls), and two water cups to clean them off. Next you take 10 cups and form them into a pyramid on the table. A referee takes two cans of root beer and pours them out evenly in the cups. There is a maximum of three sets to be played, and each player must shoot at least once during a match. A player is allowed to bounce to gain a two-cup swing, or they can make the same cup as their partner before, for a sudden kill shot.

The first game will be this Sunday when the No. 23 USD Toreros will take on the Los Angeles College Porcupines. The first match will feature Walters and Bounty taking on LAC and the following match will feature Stephenson and Howard. If there is a tie after the first two matches, coach Hammond will select two players to play the final game. The season will be a long one for the Toreros with games scheduled against defending national champion Eastern New Jersey College, and Midwest games against Dallas University and Mid-South Tennessee University, which is the leading candidate to get the No. 1 seed in the South bracket. These games look to help the team both grow and challenge their abilites.

As the league continues to grow, many keep wondering if these freshmen will stay at the University of San Diego or if they will go pro next year when the Professional Root Beer Pong Association is formed. These student athletes are serious about their sport, and will look to take home the crown of National Root Beer Pong Champion. On the shoulders of Walters, I am sure a championship will be here soon.