The Monday Snitch-- World Cup Pools Edition
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are...
Photo by Kat Ignatova
Best Matchup
No. 5 Boston University (Boston, MA) vs. No. 23 Villanova University (Villanova, PA): This game will be a treat. Although not terribly far from one another and therefore not necessarily exclusive to the World Cup, this should be one of the best games of the whole tournament. It's rare to see two regional champions face off in pool play, but that's exactly what we'll get when the Northeast Regional Champion faces the Mid-Atlantic Regional Champion. Villanova probably deserved a Pot 1 spot, had they not suffered a series of defeats without some of their top players. This matchup should be an absolute dandy.
Matchup I'm Most Looking Forward To
No. 4 University of Maryland (College Park, MD) vs. No. 27 Lost Boys (Lomita, CA): The beauty of the World Cup is it brings teams together from all across the planet. I'm excited to see what this game has to offer. Maryland has been among the top ranked teams all year with an impressive smattering of tournament wins. The Lost Boys are barely a year old, and have just emerged as a power with their recent championship berth at Western Cup. These two runner ups from their respective regions meet from across the country and have vastly different roles--community vs. collegiate--but nonetheless should produce an exciting matchup that we couldn't see anywhere else.
Pool of Death
Pool 12. From top to bottom this is by far the toughest group. No. 11 University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL) is one of the best teams out there, which they proved by dominating the Southern Regional Championship at the beginning of this month. They will be joined by No. 26 Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ), No. 34 Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA), No. 51 Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN), and No. 66 University of Massachusetts (Amherst, MA). Arizona State, LSU and Purdue have all proven themselves with solid performances at regionals. Purdue advanced to the quarterfinals at the Midwestern Regional Championship, while Arizona State advanced to the quarterfinals at the Western Cup. LSU similarly made the quarterfinals at Southwestern Regional Championships. All the teams have past World Cup experience with Purdue being the defending Division II champions. LSU, ASU and Miami also all feature members of last summer's Team USA in Brad Armentor (LSU), Sarah Kneilling (LSU), Melissa White (LSU), Willie Jackson (ASU), Sean Pagoada (Miami), and Matt Ziff (Miami).
Worst Pool
Pool 2. Each team selected into this pool was among the worst in their respective pots. No. 12 Silicon Valley Skrewts (Mountain View, CA) are near the bottom of the Pot 1 teams with nary a strong win to their names. No. 25 Penn State University (University Park, PA) may well be the third best team in the Mid-Atlantic, which has proven itself to be largely a two team region. They recently traveled to New York for the Big Apple Quidditch Conference where they defeated two Pot 4 teams and lost to Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY), a Pot 1 team, in a match that was not within snitch range. No. 38 Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY) has not shown any ability to beat higher ranked teams. No. 44 University of Florida (Gainesville, FL) is a talented team fresh off a championship appearance, but have not shown the same skill this year that took them into the finals at World Cup V. As for No. 83 Loyola University Chicago (Chicago, IL), they were the last team to get a bid to the World Cup, only earning a spot after other teams dropped out.
Best Draw
No. 3 University of California Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA): Plain and simple, I don't think there's a squad in Pool 5 that can hold a torch to the Bruins. They should have no problem cruising through this group and setting themselves up with a high seed in bracket play.
Worst Draw
No. 18 University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA): I think USC is a strong team, even with all of their injuries. This pool, though, will do them no favors. No. 7 Emerson College (Boston, MA), No. 30 University of South Florida (Tampa, FL), and No. 44 University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN) will all give them tough games, and on their day, No. 69 Roadrunner Quidditch (San Antonio, TX) can be a formidable foe.
Most Unpredictable Pool
Pool 9: I have no idea what will happen in this group. No. 39 Tennessee Tech University (Cookeville, TN) is a relative unknown after coming out of nowhere to make the finals at the Southern Regional Championship. No. 65 QC Carolinas (Winston Salem, NC) might be even tougher to read, after being thrown together this year to compete at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals. Both teams are very much unknown. No. 17 Ball State University (Muncie, IN) and No. 9 Hofstra University (Hemsptead, NY) are both strong squads, but how will they do against these other unknowns? No. 80 Silver Phoenixes (College Station, TX) are also a strong squad, but a bit of a wild card.
Update: A previous version omitted Sean Pagoada from the list of Team USA players competing in Pool 12. We regret this error.
