posted Nov 18th, 2011 - The NSL-TV coverage of the USPA Nationals 2011 continues with the Top 5 videos of Rounds 7 and 8, plus the extended leaderboard with the point deductions.

Round 7 was the last round on the first day of the competition, and Round 8 opened the second day. Arizona Airspeed mastered the 3-block sequence of Round 7 like a champion with a clean 21-pointer and won another round. Perris Fury finished the day with a devastating 4-point loss to both the Golden Knights Gold and SDC Rhythm XP after having just caught up with Rhythm in Round 6. The Golden Knights maintained a 1-point distance to Rhythm and the necessary striking distance at the end of the first day.

The cards were on the table for the three rounds on the second day. Fury had to go for all or nothing, the Golden Knights could continue putting pressure on Rhythm, and the youngsters had to deal with the unusual situation at the beginning of the second day.

USPA Nationals 2011		Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA/Open Class	M,5,13	21,14,22	12,20,D	11,Q,16	O,C,10,K	P,L,19,8	18,6,2	15,9,G	7,F,17	A,B,N,J,3	Total	Avg
1	USA Arizona Airspeed	25	19	19 (-1)	22 (-1)	26 (-1)	24	21	26	31	30	243	24.3
2	USA Golden Knights Gold	18 (-1)	17	18	21	24	23	19	21 (-1)	29	28	218	21.8
3	USA Perris Fury	20 (-2)	17	16 (-2)	21	26	22 (-1)	15 (-2)	21 (-2)	29	29	216	21.6
4	SDC Rhythm XP	22	17	18	21	24	20 (-1)	19	22 (-1)	26	26	215	21.5
5	USA Paraclete XP4	21	16	16	20	23	19 (-2)	17	22	26	28	208	20.8

Rhythm did very well on Tuesday morning, even though all three top contenders for medals behind Airspeed lost points in their different efforts to do what they had to do. Not much changed in Round 8, and Rhythm even added one point to the lead over Golden Knights and Fury in the battle for the 2nd place.

Airspeed did not even look behind and performed on a different level. The 26-pointer outscored all other top teams by far. Rhythm and Fury both came to the completion of the 23rd point in working time but had to swallow the penalties. The 23-pointers were still three points behind the Airspeed pace, even without the point deductions.

Rhythm had convinced the opponents and the audience at this point in time that the underdog has become the desired and planned part of top 4way competition in the USA and probably soon in the world, as the upcoming Dubai Championship 2011 may show. The last two rounds of the competition threw Rhythm back into 4th place, however, the statement was already made.

Click on the banner for 4on4 tunnel camp information

The young team still has a big decision to make very soon. The NSL News reported that Center Inside Rob Radez is leaving the team. It will be very important for Rhythm to find an adequate replacement, and the choices are limited on the performance level that the tream has lifted itself up to.

Rob Radez will fly the Center Inside slot in Dubai, and Rhythm is preparing the tryout for his slot in the meantime. There are quite a few candidates who have shown their interest, and the selection event will take place on December 16th at the Paraclete windtunnel.

The NSL News reported the last Rhythm tryout live from Paraclete when Thiago Gomes won the Tail slot over Nick Grillet and Samer Haija. It was obviously a great choice made in December 2009, and the NSL News will travel once again to North Carolina and cover the next Rhythm tryout. It will be even tougher for the candidates this time, as the Rhythm standards have gone up even higher.