Saturday was a cold, wet mess. We warmed up enthusiastically and were told that our original field was being moved due to sloping fields and a lot of water traveling underneath. We were relocated without a problem.

Our first game of the tournament was against Davis A, the top seed in our pool. The rain was coming down hard for the entire game and our players soon found themselves very under dressed. We fought hard but lost 4-10.

Our next game under torrential rain and gusty winds was against SLO. Despite our muscles getting colder, we secured the win 13-2 while also buying a new canopy to keep our players dry.

Our next game, in sheets of water, was against Chico State. We found out that even waterproof clothing is not truly waterproof. Our players’ spirits were lifted by the new shelter, but we could not recover in time and lost 1-8.

During our final game against UCLA B, the rain relented and some sunlight came through the clouds. UCLA Midas brought the heat and saved us from “bronchitis” (our cheer to them), but we lost 3-12.

Sunday had much better conditions than the day before, and Berserk was able to warm up and stretch in dry weather. Shortly after warm-ups, however, rain started to fall and we had to scramble to keep our bags and clothing dry! The first game of the day was against UC Berkeley "Cal" B at 9:00am. We started off strong and kept up our spirit throughout the game, ending with a victory, 12-3.

After a short break between matches, UCSD faced off against Sonoma State. As rain intermittently peppered the match, Berserk continued to test out our "zone" defense. Our rookies learned and executed the strategy remarkably well, and we won the game in high spirits after soft cap, 9-4.

Our final game of the tournament began shortly afterwards, against UC Davis B. Fortunately, our energy carried over from the previous games, and we spent our time cheering and screaming from the sidelines in true Berserk fashion. Our strong zone defense and smart decisions in the rainy weather led us to finish the day with our third victory, 13-5.

In the end, the most important takeaway is that Berserk showed their growth since the last tournament - both in our skills as players as well as in our chemistry as teammates.

Article by Sabrina "Shep" Richardson and Mackenzie "Aqua" Wong