The Monday Snitch--March 11
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are...
Spring Breakout
Recap: No. 21 University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS) took home the tournament title, defeating No. 47 University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN) in the championship match, 90*-40. This tournament marked the first action of the spring for the two squads, both of whom will be traveling to the World Cup in a month.
Kansas reached the finals with a semifinals win over a mercenary team composed of players from Ohio, and a quarterfinal victory over the hosts ranked No. 81. Minnesota earned their way to the finals with wins over No. 115 Illinois State University (Normal, IL) and No. 146 Webster University (St. Louis, MO) in the semifinals and finals respectively.
Normally we would look at the teams that are rising and falling as a result of this tournament. Based on their performances, I don't think any team either boosted or hurt their stocks, but to keep with Monday Snitch tradition, we will still name a rising and falling team. Minnesota, who reached the semifinals of World Cup V, fell to Kansas on a snitch grab, while both teams made it to the finals as expected. The third World Cup qualifier, Illinois State, ranked lower than both Kansas and Minnesota, fell in the semifinals. I consider Kansas and Minnesota to be fairly even teams, so by virtue of Kansas's victory and Minnesota's defeat (although it was only by a snitch grab), we will go with:
Rising: Kansas
Declining: Minnesota
