Paintball team competes for national title

A select group of Liberty University students were “aiming” at a national title this weekend. Liberty’s paintball team competed in the National Collegiate Paintball Association Tournament April 9-11 in Lakeland, Fla.

In the first round of competition on Friday, the Flames defeated the University of Florida Gators. On Saturday, they beat West Virginia and Purdue. The Flames lost to Drexel University in the semi-final round on Sunday. Drexel went on to win the championship game.

Coach Todd Hoglund, who is in his second year coaching at LU, said the team has improved greatly since Liberty recently installed two permanent turf paintball fields on campus.

“We’re building a program that has a lot to offer. Only a handful of schools actually have fields on campus, and none of them are even close to the quality of ours,” Hoglund said.

• Liberty Paintball started in 2005 and is just one facet of Liberty’s Club Sports Department. For more information about Liberty Paintball, go to www.lupaintball.com.