The Daily Snitch--Pool 3
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of the IQA.
Today's Daily Snitch will look at Pool 3. Any questions about how teams will fare, email editorial@internationalquidditch.org.
Photo by Deanna Edmunds
Teams
No. 1 Texas A&M University (College Station, TX)
No. 20 University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)
No. 35 Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)
No. 50 New York University (New York, NY)
No. 67 Fleming College (Peterborough, ON)
How They Got Here
No. 1 Texas A&M qualified for the World Cup when they reached the semifinals of the Southwest Regional Championship. A&M went 2-0 in pool play, earning the fourth seed entering bracket play. In the first round of the bracket, Texas A&M defeated Roadrunner Quidditch (San Antonio, TX) 170*-30 to easily secure a spot at the World Cup. A 140-90* quarterfinal victory over Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA), sent A&M to the semifinals where they faced a surprising upset 140*^-110 by a Baylor University (Waco, TX) squad.
No. 20 Michigan qualified for the World Cup by going 4-0 in their pool at the Midwestern Regional Championship. The only team to ever beat Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT) at a World Cup kept all of their pool matches out of snitch range, racking up a +390 point differential in their four matches. Their performance in pool play catapulted them to the quarterfinals and into a bout against rivals Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI). Although they performed well in pool play, Michigan was unable to sneak by the Spartan Spitfires, falling 90*-80 in the quarterfinals.
No. 35 Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) earned their spot at the World Cup by beating Edinboro University (Edinboro, PA) at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. Johns Hopkins earned the fifth see entering bracket play after posting a 4-1 record in pool play. This led them to a best-of-three against the No. 12 seed Edinboro. Hopkins came into the series with a 170*-40 victory in hand from pool play, and thus needed only one victory over Edinboro to qualify. They got that win in their next match, 100^-70*. Hopkins could not advance farther as Penn State cut them down 80*-40 in the quarterfinals.
No. 50 New York University reached the World Cup with a quarterfinal berth at the North Eastern Regional Championship. A 3-1 record in pool play earned NYU the eighth seed in bracket play. In the round of 16 they handled Syracuse University 110-50*, before bowing out in the quarterfinals with a 60*-30 loss to Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY).
No. 67 Fleming College claimed one of the three Eastern Canadian spots, after a sixth place finish at that regional championship.
Outlook
Texas A&M is the obvious favorite in this pool, having lost just once all year. The only loss the Aggies suffered was to a Baylor team that pulled the snitch in both regulation and overtime. None of these teams are as good as Baylor, and consequently I don't expect any of them to challenge Texas A&M.Michigan has played in two tournaments this spring, going 5-1 at the Glass City Invitational with victories over World Cup-bound squads: Ohio State University (Columbus, OH), Central Michigan University (Mount Pleasant, MI), and Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN). Michigan's lone loss at the tournament came in the championship game to familiar foes, the same Michigan State squad that ousted them from the Midwestern Regional Championship. At the Spartan Quidditch Bonanza hosted by Michigan State this past weekend, Michigan fell once to Central Michigan and Michigan State, while also beating Central Michigan. Unlike the three lower-ranked squads in this pool, Michigan has shown an ability to consistently beat World Cup-caliber competition, and while they don't have much of a chance against A&M, Michigan should handle the rest of their competition.
The third advancing spot will likely come down to Hopkins and NYU. While those two squads have not faced off this year, their close proximity (less than a four-hour drive apart) does mean they have numerous mutual opponents that can be used to compare them. This spring, both have played Hofstra, with Hopkins facing them at the Shell Shocking Spectacular hosted by the University of Maryland (College Park, MD). NYU faced Hofstra at the Big Apple Quidditch Conference tournament, hosted by Hofstra. In those matches, Hopkins fell 90*-40, while NYU lost 140*-20. NYU also faced Hofstra at the Empire Classic, also hosted by Hofstra, suffering a narrow 70*-40 defeat. Both teams also faced the New York Badassilisks (New York, NY), matches each squad won by 50. In the fall, Hopkins lost to Penn State, 80*-40, while NYU fell to them this spring 50*-0.
The results indicate that these two teams are very evenly matched, and I think this game will come down to a snitch catch. Who catches that snitch is tough to say, since neither side has faced off often against an equally talented foe. My gut tells me that Hopkins is a little bit better, but it is also worth noting that NYU has played many more games this spring and may come into the matchup a bit more battle-tested. In the end, I'm going to pick Hopkins as the third team to advance.
There is nothing to indicate that Fleming has a chance to unseat any of these teams, as they really haven't succeeded against any groups with similar talent.
Prediction
Texas A&M 4-0 (Runner-up)
Michigan 3-1 (Eliminated in Round of 32)
Johns Hopkins 2-2 (Eliminated in Round of 32)
NYU 1-3 (Eliminated in Group)
Fleming 0-4 (Eliminated in Group)
Best Games
Johns Hopkins def. NYU 70*-30
Texas A&M def. Michigan 160*-70
