[emmell]

I also just got home from the 3.5 hour drive from Columbia. I can't stop smiling. It was a great regional and we are very thrilled about the win.

Thanks to the Golden Flashes (1319) and Burning Magnetos (342) for being such great alliance partners. We really appreciate the pick and we knew we had a great chance at winning it all. However, when we saw the #1 seed score so many, so fast, we were a little scared. Congrats to 1251, 1646, and 1758 for being so great in competition and so wonderful after the match. I'm sorry we're not going to see 1646 in Atlanta because their bot is truly remarkable. You all should be very proud.

Another shout out to The Junkyard Robo's (2237) for winning Rookie All Stars. We were paired with you several times on Friday and loved winning 2 out of 3 with you in those early matches. Good luck in Atlanta.

Congrats to M'Aiken Magic (1102) for winning Chairman's. We like seeing you each year at Peachtree and were proud to be on your alliance there. We wish your teacher/mentor all the best and to get better soon. We'll see you again in Atlanta.

Thanks to the Forsyth Alliance (1746) and the representatives from Team Soup (1848) who cheered us on and to all the other folks from Georgia who watched the webcast and IM-ed us during the day. We loved having you in our corner and appreciated all the support.

And finally, a big thanks to our Coach, Tom Bishop. Two weeks ago at Peachtree, after our valiant run on the last day, he thought that we had a chance to do better at Palmetto. So he got us in on a late registration. I thought we had a chance, but I had no idea how wonderful it was to come out on top. Tom: Thanks for believing in us and helping make it real.

Good luck to all at Championships. We look forward to you hosting you in our fair city. Go FIRST!!!

Mannie