Geiger makes cornhole history in Tulsa

For the second straight year, Dorchester’s Maggie Geiger stood alone at the top of the women’s cornhole world, earning the women’s title at the American Cornhole Organization’s World Championships held in Tulsa, Okla between July 21-26. The victory was her third title overall and her second in a row, the first women’s player to ever claim back-to-back titles, and despite that previous success, her most recent tournament win was a little surprising to the repeat champ.

“I was definitely the most unprepared for this tournament as any that I have ever gone to,” Geiger said with a laugh. “I have four kids and the three boys are all in baseball, so my summer consists of running to games and practices and I don’t get much time for myself to practice.”

“I know that I have these titles, but I always feel like I go into these tournaments as an underdog,” she added. “I watch all these other players who play in leagues, who play every weekend, who are always at these big tournaments. Playing in tournaments is a different mentality than playing in the backyard, and these women get that all the time. They’re always in that zone and I don’t have that.”

While she perhaps was not as well practiced as in the past, the lack of expectations perhaps helped in the long run.

“I actually set a goal to just get top-10 in women’s,” Geiger said. “I wasn’t really expecting to win, so I was just very relaxed and there wasn’t any pressure. And I honestly think that’s a huge thing [in this sport], if you can just stay relaxed when you are throwing.”

Regardless of how she felt going into the tournament, once play began, Geiger appeared to lock in. She battled her way through a tough women’s bracket to reach the finals once again, this time facing off against Kelsie Turner, who had already earned some accolades heading into the match. Turner was in the two-player playoff for the Women’s Player of the Year earlier in the week and won the Co-ed Doubles tournament the day before. It was a rematch between the two women who had met earlier in the tournament, and while Geiger had won that match, she had to mount an incredible rally to do so, coming back after being down 20-6.

Knowing her opponent would likely be looking to make up for her previous loss and that Turner would be tough to deal with, Geiger went into the championship final with extra focus.

“I thought she would be out for vengeance because I shouldn’t have won that last game,” Geiger said. “So I knew she was going to come out firing and I think just having that in my head, that she was going to come out not missing, it made me have to concentrate harder.”

No massive comeback was necessary in the title match, however, as Geiger was able to break out of a deadlocked early game with a few huge rounds in a row, eventually winning the final 21-2. While she jumped out to a huge lead over Turner, Geiger knew that she could not let up.

“I just kept in my head that since I came back from that game 20-6, that when I actually started scoring points at the end, I needed to keep my head in the game,” she said. “She could have come back just as easily. But I was very locked in, could block everything out around me, and zone in on the boards.”

In addition to taking first in the women’s individual tournament, Geiger also placed second with her partner, Josefina Ernsberger, who she met playing in these tournaments, in the women’s doubles tournament. The pair only lost to one team all tournament, the duo of McKenna Kopp and Kim Jackson dealing them both their single defeat in the bracket play and topping them in the finals. She also competed in the Co-Ed Doubles tournament.

With many of these tournaments being played back-toback, having the mental and physical fortitude to keep up one’s consistency over the week is a big difference maker.

“It takes a lot out of a person,” Geiger said. “You can definitely tell, and I feel that’s what separates people from winning or not winning is the people who have that endurance and can stay mentally focused throughout the week.”

There are some notable differences playing doubles compared to singles as well. Teammates share the same bags, and with different players using bags designed around their style of play, this can lead to some necessary adjustments. Geiger noted that because her team elected to play with Ernsberger’s bags, there was a bit of a learning curve as she adjusted.

However, having a teammate to lean on when the pressure is on is a benefit, especially when they work well together, which Geiger said was a definite plus playing with her new teammate.

“Neither of us gets too worked up if someone gives up a lot of points,” she said. “We both just know we have to work it back. There were games prior to the championship that we were down quite a bit, and we slowly worked our way back up and won. So I think that having good meshing personalities makes a big difference.”

On top of her back-to-back titles and a second place finish in the women’s doubles tourney, Geiger also now holds the record for most wins at Worlds for women as well, adding another accolade to the list of achievements.

“I never really expected this,” Geiger said of her accomplishments. “Now that I have it, it’s a hard thing to wrap my head around. It felt good though, it’s a big accomplishment.”