As the first week of competition wraps up for our players, we look back on how this affects each team's season. With most teams participating in the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC), they competed in two to three placement matches each. 

Our Counter-Strike 2 team, one of the newest to New Haven's program, faced Marietta College, winning 1-0 in their first match of the season. Their next two games against the University of Louisville and Elon University both ended in unfortunate losses; however, the team still remains in good spirits after their placement into Division 4. They have been endlessly running drills, practicing for hours on end, so we greatly look forward to watching their season.

Despite a new captaincy, the Varsity League of Legends team started out strong. After securing a win against Mount Vernon Nazarene University, they continued through the winner's portion of the bracket. Their next match was against New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, where they quickly won 1-0. Their performance earned them a place in Division 7.

After most of the Varsity Marvel Rivals team retired from the game after last semester, the remaining members combined with our Junior Varsity team. Together, they faced Robert Morris University, suffering an unfortunate 0-2 loss. However, they secured a win against Temple University. The team got placed in Division 4 and is excited to begin their season this week. As well as participating in the regular season for NECC, they are also participating in NECC's Project 1, a division specifically for NCAA Division I schools. Put up against a top team, they faced a rough loss against the University of Florida, but they look forward to learning from the experience.

Similar to the Marvel Rivals team, the Rainbow 6 Siege Varsity team also faced an unfortunate loss after their Captain took leave to enlist in the United States Marine Corp. Despite a setback, the team is passionate and ready to take on a challenge. Although they lost both matches against Lackawanna College and the University of Central Florida, landing them in Division 3, they are not letting that discourage them.

Our Rocket League team is one of our most consistent and veteran teams at the University of New Haven, participating in multiple leagues. However, this week their matches consisted of the NECC regular season and Project 1 matches. On Wednesday, they played their placement matches, winning 3-0 against Marist University. Their next two matches against Southwestern Oklahoma State University and the University of Nebraska - Omaha resulted in a 0-3 loss and a 1-3 loss, respectively. This performance placed them in Division 5. Their Project 1 match against the University of Michigan also resulted in a 0-4 loss, but their spirits are still high.

Super Smash Bros were next to complete their placement matches with a very similar roster to last semester. They first went up against Ashland University, winning 1-0 and sending them up to the winners' bracket. Their next match was against Dalhousie University, ending in a surprising upset with the University of New Haven winning 1-0. After a surprising win, the SSBU team was ecstatic and ready to start their season with a Division 2 placement.

Finally, on Friday, both our Varsity and Junior Varsity Overwatch 2 teams had their placement matches. With both teams having won the playoffs last semester in Division 3 and Division 6, respectively, they were pitted against some difficult teams, despite some drastic roster changes. The Varsity team went up against Temple University and Boston University, both previously Division 2 teams. Both matches were 0-2, but they were still placed into Division 2. The Junior Varsity team first went up against the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, winning 2-0. Next, they went up against West Virginia University Institute of Technology, losing 0-2. However, they took another win against the Université de Montréal, securing them a spot in Division 7.

With many wins and many losses, all of our teams are very excited to begin their seasons. VALORANT and Apex Legends will start later in the season as other leagues begin their tournaments. It may be a difficult semester for many of our teams, but if anyone can succeed with this much pressure on their shoulders, it is the University of New Haven. Good luck, Chargers!