Show Me Showdown: More Missouri Bids

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first of two weekends of qualifiers took place in Kansas City last weekend. Some Missouri and Kansas City Metro-based teams went home with new shiny bids or upgrades! Here we go!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>15 Open</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With a runner-up finish, [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 15 Elite navigated through some tough battles to earn their bid in the top division. They went 6-3 on the weekend, including two huge wins in gold pool play and avenging an earlier loss to Nebraska Premier. [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']'], who was defeated by [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] in that gold pool finished in third and upgraded their National bid, going 5-3. Grabbing the last bid with all remaining third-place teams owning Open bids was [program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='PVA' last=''] 15 Elite out of Kansas City. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>15 USA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>816 Mavs 15-1 entered the tournament with an American bid and left with the USA after a fourth-place finish, going 6-3. [player_tooltip player_id='396499' first='Kinley' last='Gillihan'], a St. Michae's product we saw this fall has been a key contributor to this team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 Open</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We knew it was bound to come but [program_tooltip program_id='515466' first='Pohaku' last=''] 16-1 finally captured their Open bid after a third-place showing. They won their first 7 seven matches before falling short in their final two. Ray Pec's Miranda Como and Park Hill's [player_tooltip player_id='222072' first='Brooke' last='Brown'] represent Missouri on this Kansas-based team's roster. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 USA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Invasion 16-1 had a strong weekend, not losing a match until the championship and bringing another bid to Missouri. They swept through the competition and didn't see a third set until the semifinal match. Lee's Summit North product [player_tooltip player_id='357615' first='Piper' last='Bahr'] continued her strong spring terminating on the pin.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 Liberty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='PVA' last=''] 16 Elite went undefeated and was the champion of the Liberty division. [player_tooltip player_id='261298' first='Francesca' last='Brewster'] of St. Teresa's is one of the defensive standouts on this team. The last two matches of the tournament went to third sets where [program_tooltip program_id='428892' first='PVA' last=''] was able to pull out those wins with 15-13 and 17-15 wins. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>17 USA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A fourth-place finish was just enough for 816 Mavvs 17-1 to snatch a bid in the USA division. They went 5-3 over the weekend, led in part by Truman's OH [player_tooltip player_id='219786' first='Jayden' last='Herl'] and Lathrop's MB [player_tooltip player_id='223890' first='Avery' last='Patton']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->