GCU Roundnet wrapped up its season with near-clean sweep of the podium at the USA Roundnet Phoenix Sectionals tournament in Tempe. Lopes' Brady Martin and Max Shoemaker placed first, while Jaren Hori and Ryan McCargar placed second and earned premier status.

Pool Play

Pool play allowed each of the 18 pairs in the Open/Contender division to play five matches and earn their seed in the afternoon bracket. Martin and Shoemaker placed first in their pool while Hori and McCargar did the same, each earning a bye in the bracket play round of 32.

"This was the first time Jaren and I had competed together in a tournament," said McCargar. "Like me, he's super competitive and we got off to a nice start with some good chemistry."

Bracket Play

For the Lopes' duo of Hori and McCargar, it was a straight path up the bracket, beating "Pollos Hermanos" (an ASU pairing), "Mamba" (which featured a representative for Taiwan at Roundnet Worlds), and "PSR Yes-Hit-Zone" to make their way to the championship round. Their dance partner in the final match? A familiar pairing in purple: Martin and Shoemaker.

"For me, it was funny, because Brady [Martin] is my roommate and Max [Shoemaker] is my usual tournament partner," said McCargar. "It created an extra layer of competition in the finals for sure."

The duo of Martin and Shoemaker came out on top, winning the tournament with two straight games after dropping the first of the match to Hori and McCargar.

In most tournaments, the top team in the contender division earns themselves USAR "Premier" status for the win, a title that gives them access to the top division of the USAR National Series and other, more competitive sanctioned events. Due to Shoemaker already possessing active status, his pairing was ineligible to receive the nomination, so status was granted to the runners-up in Hori and McCargar (who had earned status as a senior in high school and lost it in 2024).

"I had been a premier player before, so it wasn't the biggest deal, but it was my highlight of the weekend to see Jaren earn status for the first time," said McCargar. "Unless someone earns status over the summer he'll go into next year as the club's only premier player as a sophomore, and that's really impressive."

For McCargar, who has been with the club in various leadership roles for the last four years, USAR Phoenix Sectionals marked the end of a long journey.

"GCU Roundnet has been one of the best communities of people I have had the pleasure of being a part of," said McCargar. "It was great to end my last season in this way and I'm so grateful to end my college journey with such a unique and special group of people. I can't wait to see the club keep growing after I'm gone."