EIGHTEEN TEAMS EARN TOC BIDS TO START OFF 2017 SEASON AT WINTER NATIONALS

Nov. 1, 2016

FT. MYERS, CAPE CORAL & NAPLES, FL – The 2016 Winter National Championships, held in the Sunshine State and sponsored by Adidas and , marks the first Tournament of Champions (TOC) qualifier of the new season.

The 2016 edition of the Winter Nationals, the largest SSUSA tournament east of the Mississippi River, saw 127 teams compete across 14 divisions. Three complexes hosted the tournament, as Lee County Sports Complex (Ft. Myers), North Collier Regional Park (Naples) and Northwest Sports Complex (Cape Coral) were all used during the six-day championship event.

"Lee County would once again like to thank all the teams that came down to Southwest Florida for the SSUSA Winter Nationals," said Jeff Mielke, Executive Director of Lee County Sports Development. "This event has long stood as a model partnership between a national sports organization and a community, and we hope everyone had a great time enjoying our facilities, beaches and tropical destination.  We look forward to many more years of hosting this prestigious event and thank SSUSA for trusting this important tournament to us."

The Men’s 65 through 85 age divisions started off the tournament, Nov. 1-3.

The seven-team 65-Platinum division was split into Major Plus (three teams) and Major (four teams) following seeding play.

Hamel Builders/Superior Senior Softball (VA), the top seed in the Major Plus division after going 3-0 in seeding play, cruised through bracket play with a pair of wins over Hollis Appraisals (FL). Beef O’Brady’s Southern Trace (FL) was the third-place finisher.

In the Major division, No. 2 seed High Street Bucs (MD) defeated No. 1 seed Handeland Flooring (WI), 20-12 in the championship game. After dropping their first game, 21-20, against Jersey Masters Blue (NJ), Handeland won back-to-back games in the elimination side of the bracket to reach the championship game.  Jersey Masters Blue finished in third place.

The largest division of the first session came in the 20-team 65-AAA division, which saw No. 7 seed Acousti (FL) go 5-0 in bracket play, capped off with a 22-11 win over No. 9 seed Vios Sports (CT) in the championship game. No. 12 seed Northern Virginia Force finished in third place.

In the five-team 65-AA division, No. 4 seed Action Auto Parts 65’s (RI) double-dipped Jersey Masters 65 Red (NJ) in the championship (17-14) and “if” game (18-15). Southern Tier Express 65 (NY) finished in third place.

The four-team 70-Platinum division was split into a pair of best two-out-of-three game series in the Major Plus and Major divisions after seeding games.

Venom (FL) swept TB Financial Group (FL) to win the Major Plus division, while Bostonian 70’s (MA) and Windsor Chiefs (Ontario, Canada) traded wins in the their first two games, before Bostonian 70’s won the third and final game 15-14 to win the Major division.

In the 16-team 70-AAA division, No. 3 seed Boca 70’s/Steve Levin’s Old School (FL) went 5-0 in bracket play, defeating No. 9 seed Jersey Masters (NJ) in the championship game.  No. 4 seed Sun Country Cleaners (FL) finished in third place.

In the five-team 75-Major division, Pompano Beach Bums (FL) went 4-0 in seeding play to earn the top seed in the bracket. The team would go on to win the championship defeating New York Statesmen, before downing ProHealth Care in the championship game.

In the eight-team 75-AAA division, No. 2 seed Senior Red Birds (MO) double-dipped No. 5 seed Long Island Jaguars (NY), winning the championship game (21-15), as well as the “if” game (19-18). The LI Jaguars defeated the Senior Red Birds 11-8 earlier in the bracket to knock the team down into the elimination bracket. No. 3 seed Monkey Joe’s Big Nut Company (NJ) finished third in the bracket.

In the five-team 80/85 Gold division, top seed Florida Investment Properties won the championship with its victory over BackOffice Associates (MA) 21-15 in the final.

The tournament continued, Nov. 4 – 6, with the Men’s 40 through the 60 age divisions. A key highlight of the Winter Nationals was the homerun derby that was held during the second session. “Curtis Wilson (aka "The Wolf") from the Suncoast Adidas 40’s team won the homerun derby on Friday afternoon. He's also a pretty good pitcher and umpire,” said Tim McElroy, SSUSA Regional Director. “Dave Reed, who will turn 70 this year, also had a nice showing in the derby. Very impressive!”

The nine-team 40/50/55 Platinum division was divided into the 40/50 Platinum division (three teams) and the 50/55 Platinum division (six teams) following seeding.

Top seed Suncoast Adidas (FL) defeated Miami Power-Blitz/One Payment/Euler-Hermes 15-10 in the championship game of 40/50 Platinum division, while No. 2 seed Florida Automated Shade 55 won the 50/55 Platinum division defeating top seed Miami Power 15-12 in the championship game. Good Times (FL) finished in third place.

In the seven-team 50-AAA division, No. 5 seed Central Penn Caveman Softball (PA) ran through the bracket, going 4-0 en route to capturing the championship with its 16-7 win over No. 4 seed No Shows (FL) in the final. No Shows lost to Central Penn Caveman earlier in the bracket in their opening game, 24-18, and rattled off four straight wins in the elimination side of the bracket to reach the championship game and set up the re-match. Maryland Cougars finished in third place.

Another seven-team division, the 55-Major division, saw No. 2 seed Team Impact (FL) go 4-0 in bracket play, including a 24-17 victory over No. 6 seed Six Pac 55’s (KY) in the championship game. Top seed Sneaky Pete Sports (MD) finished in third place. The division featured balanced play throughout during seeding games, as all seven teams posted a 1-1 record.

In the five-team 55-AAA division, top seed Ballbusters (FL) won five straight games, including double-dipping No. 2 seed Harford County LV (MD) 15-14 (championship game) and 13-8 (“if” game). Ballbusters dropped their first game in the bracket 28-14 to No. 4 seed Team Illinois, before going on their title run. Team Illinois would go on to finish in third place.

The eight-team 60-Platinum division was split out into 60 Major Plus (two teams) and 60 Major (six teams) after seeding play.

The 60-Major Plus division was decided by a best two-out-of-three game series, as Hollis Appraisals (FL) swept Team Florida by scores of 10-5 and 11-10 to win the championship.

In the 60-Major division, No. 2 seed High Street Bucs (MD) bounced back from its loss in the championship game 19-18 to No.3 seed Clean Planet/A Special Taste (MI), to win the “if” game, 21-12. After losing its first game in the bracket, Clean Planet came back to win four straight games, including their win in the championship game, before losing the “if” game. Top seed Golden Vipers (MI) finished third.

In the largest division of the Winter Nationals, the 21-team 60-AAA division, No. 11 seed Long Island Jaguars 60’s (NY) overcame a loss in the championship game against top seed, Slug-A-Bug (FL), 18-16, winning the “if” game, 23-9. Slug-A-Bug had won five straight games to come out of the elimination side of the bracket, before forcing the “if” game. No. 8 seed Spanky’s Gang (FL) finished in third place.

“The fields in Ft. Myers are great and players get to compete against teams they don’t usually see during the season, which makes this such a big tournament (127 teams),” said Cal Allison, SSUSA National Director. “We received some nice comments from teams and our directors did a great job covering the three complexes. Also, the people at Lee County and Adidas were super to work with.”