This summer, Team 357 had a non-stop, hard working off-season to-do list, a list that included training a new drive team to replace the graduating seniors. The new drive team had quite a road ahead of them. The first off-season stop for the team was the Battle O’ Baltimore competition in Baltimore, Maryland. Twenty-four teams came ready to compete, and 357 were one of them. With two brand new drive teams, a well-oiled robot and an enthusiastic cheering squad in stands, Team 357 was ready to go. Since there were only 24 teams, everyone made it into eliminations. Team 357 headed in with teams 25 and 1748, and after a set of long and grueling matches, Team 357 and their alliance emerged victorious. During the awards ceremony that afternoon, Team 357 was given not one, but two awards, including one for the our innovative mecanum wheel system, Jester
The second off-season event Team 357's calendar was the Duel On The Delaware competition hosted by teams 365 and 316. With one win under their belt during the summer, the team entered the gymnasium at Salem Community College with an air of confidence. Everything was going smoothly in the morning, and the team entered alliance selection ranked fifth with a record of 4-1, and exited with teams 84 and 1647. The team sailed through quarterfinals with two straight wins, but caught a snag in the semi-finals and was eliminated. And despite their loss, the team did not hang their heads, but continued to watch and cheer with the best of them. Both days were long, grueling for everyone involved, but were exciting and suspense filled, and the team cannot wait until the 2009 season.
Article by Tim McGovern
Posted on 2008-10-16
