The Waynesburg University Esports team completed its first week of action in the National Esports Collegiate Conference play. The Yellow Jackets have five different games inside the National Esports Collegiate Conference. Each game is played in a different division.

Valorant finished placement matches in Division IX. Waynesburg University had a strong opening win in week one defeating Curry College 2-0 in a best of three matchups, winning each map 13-4 to sweep Curry.

“I thought the team played well despite having only three returning players, two seniors and one junior. One senior was out so three other freshmen had to take part in the match,” head coach Chris Davis said. “They’ve practiced really well together in the past week. We believe we have a starting five that works well with each other.”

“I want to highlight Emalee Wallace, who had the most kills during the two games, at 37, and Bobby Ballentyne for his ace in map two on Lotus.” 

Senior captain Felicia Duffy felt that it wasn’t perfect and there is still room for improvement despite the massive win in week one. 

“I plan to work on a little more with the team to play a bit more cohesively. A lot of the round fights feel like purely an aim duel, whereas there are utility and teammates that exist for a reason to help us get advantage.”

Duffey added that he hopes the gameplay will run better for the team. 

“I do have faith it will be smoother in the future. We have played a scrimmage match in the meantime, and things are already looking better.” Duffy said.

Meanwhile, Overwatch took a massive step up, after their Division IX National Championship a semester ago, Waynesburg was promoted to Division VIII for this 2025 fall season. 

“Moving up a division is going to be a good challenge for us, for sure. I’d say we’ll feel the growing pains much earlier in the season.” Head coach Tim Nielsen said. “The tougher competition will help us improve at a faster rate, so it’s an overall positive for the team.”

Their first match was a tight one but a big win to keep their unbeaten streak alive. The Yellow Jackets Overwatch team hasn’t lost in over 300 days, last falling in NECC playoffs in Nov. 2024. Overwatch is played as a best of five maps, Waynesburg took the opener over Arcadia 3-1. 

Marvel Rivals is a brand-new game, the game was released in North America on Dec. 6, 2024. This fall semester is the very first season of Marvel Rivals Esports competition. Waynesburg started off finishing in Division VIII in Marvel Rivals after the placement matches last week. Their first game was a wild one. Waynesburg University beat the University of Southern Indiana 3-0. 

“I really loved how our team played. We have seven players on our team, and we feel we can compete this year even though we have a very young group and little experience in this game. Marvel Rivals is basically Valorant, with Marvel characters,” head coach of Marvel Rivals Vince Wise said. 

Wise later added the team’s performance was pleasant to see. 

“The first two maps in the match against USI were huge victories, our team rocked it and played great.” 

The Esports team carries through competition throughout next week, for specific times make sure to go to Waynesburgsports.com/esports for more details.