Shenandoah junior Dylan Lewis ’22 practices Madden two hours a day. Come April 24, all that time spent behind the controller will pay off.
Lewis has advanced to the National Association of Collegiate Esports’ (NACE) National Championships on April 24 — the first time a Shenandoah University student has advanced to a national championship competition in esports. NACE is made up of about 210 schools.
This is our first national championship in esports!
Lewis has been playing Madden since he was about 6 years old, but this is his first year playing competitively. In the regular season, Lewis went 5-1. In the postseason, Lewis is 3-0.
Lewis, who is the president of the student esports business club on campus known as the Esports Experience for Professionals (EXP), said advancing to the championship game means a lot to him.
Overall, I just had to overcome nerves and get comfortable and I knew I wouldn’t be beat. I’d say just how far I’ve come mentally with handling big games when the pressure’s on is really big for me. I’d also say that being really good and performing given the college student workload, along with being the president of EXP and active in other school organizations, shows me that maybe I have a future in this game and that if I keep grinding and focusing that good things will happen. SU has helped me by always having my back and just letting me do my thing with Madden.”
Dylan Lewis ’22 | Esports Management & Sport Management Double Major
The National Championship is a best-of-three match. The first player to win two games will be the national champion. Lewis will be competing against a competitor from Boise State University.
We are excited to see Dylan compete in the Shenandoah University esports program’s first national championship. We have seen a lot of success this year across our different teams, but Dylan has shown why he is considered one of the top Madden players in college. I can’t think of a better representative to be the program’s first player to reach this stage. Dylan is not only an extremely skilled Madden competitor, but he is one of our top esports academic students. Dylan exemplifies how Shenandoah esports truly goes beyond gaming.”
Joey Gawrysiak, Ph.D. | Director of Esports
Attend the Watch Party!
There will be a watch party event held at Shenandoah’s esports arena on April 24, with limited capacity and COVID-19 protocols in place. The national championship can also be viewed on the Shenandoah Esports Twitch channel at www.twitch.tv/shenandoahesports.
