Team Spotlight: Bowling Green State University
World Cup VI's Cinderella Story undoubtedly belongs to No. 21 Bowling Green State University Quidditch (Bowling Green, OH), who, after entering bracket play as the 31st seed, shocked the quidditch community by making it to the Final Four.
Photos by Tim Adkins
Alexis Moody, BGSU Class of 2012, founded the team in September 2010. In 2009, Moody first learned about quidditch when she watched a commercial for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which featured No. 7 Emerson College (Boston, Mass.) and Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT) playing the sport. She then found the college quidditch website and was intrigued by the rules. Moody wanted to start a quidditch team at BGSU, but because of the summer break and her job, she couldn't create the team right away. “At the time, I was heavily involved with my university's club dodgeball team, and in the spring I received a spot in the Disney College Program so I thought, ‘Surely someone else will start it, and when I come back I can play,”' Moody recalled. “Unfortunately, I had to end my time at Disney early, and when I returned to school in the fall of 2010, I promptly gathered all of my friends and we started playing quidditch!” After only three weeks of practicing, they traveled to Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI) for their first official match. It was difficult for the team to find hoops and other equipment, including jerseys.
The BGSU squad consists of a lot of very committed players. “Everyone on the team works their absolute hardest and cares about the team growing and improving together,” said Head Captain Katie Milligan. “As far as team involvement outside of practice goes, chaser Amanda Beaver led fundraising this semester, helping us raise enough money for hotels and travel while in Florida.” Milligan also attributed a lot of behind-the-scenes work to her co-captains Daugherty and Samantha Elgin.
Beater Chad Brown noted that they have partnered up with another BGSU organization, the Marauders, a Harry Potter fan club on campus:“They are very supportive of us and we are very supportive of them. The team and the club have a great brother/sister relationship.”
In addition to their on-campus involvement, many BGSU players are also active in the quidditch community. Daugherty and Milligan travel extensively as head referees, while Meredith Taylor and Evan Adkins also attend many tournaments in a non-playing capacity. Milligan explained, “Taylor enjoys scouting and learning about other teams in order to find ways to improve our own. She also goes out of her way to take statistics from old games. Adkins will travel whenever he can to snitch and meet new players from around the country.” In addition, Milligan mentioned that there are numerous snitches on the team, and many players attend fantasy tournaments nationwide.
After finishing second at the Midwestern Regional Championship this year, the team looked forward to a number of aspects of the World Cup. Daugherty was excited for the opportunity to showcase the team's talent, and in the process prove their detractors wrong. Chaser Meredith Taylor was excited for the off-the-pitch elements of the World Cup: "I was looking forward to warm weather! Also, spending time with my closest friends, away from school and homework, and playing the sport we love in Florida."
Bowling Green State went 2-2 in pool play with wins over Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK) and Paris Phénix (Paris, FR.), and losses to the University of California Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA) and the University of Rochester (Rochester, NY). In bracket play, BGSU started the day with a play-in game victory over Tennessee Technological University (Cookeville, TN) 130*-100. The team then had another close win in the Round of 32 against the University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL), winning again by a snitch snatch, 80*-50. This led to a match with the University of Maryland (College Park, MD) in the Sweet Sixteen, with another win decided by the snitch, 90*-60. The victory sent BGSU to the Elite Eight against the Lost Boys (Lomita, CA). In a long back-and-forth contest that saw both teams stay within snitch range for the entire game, BGSU came out victorious 230*-210. In the Final Four, however, the team's streak came to an end against eventual-champion University of Texas-Austin (Austin, TX), when their seeker made a suicide snitch catch to end the game, with a final score of 140-50*.
The match against the Lost Boys drew particular attention from the crowd because it was such a close game for so long. Taylor summarized her reaction: “[During the game against the Lost Boys] I looked up at the stands and all the teams from the Midwest and probably some others were all doing the corn symbol with their arms. It was so incredible to have the support of the teams from our region. Because they were there cheering us on, I felt like I could play forever. The exhaustion and fatigue just disappeared.”
Competing in the World Cup was very exciting for the seasoned players and newcomers alike. Taylor explained, ”It was actually really hard to believe that we were beating these top-seeded teams. What made it real was all the congratulations we received from other players after the games.” She continued, “Even though [there] was a heat index of 90, I didn't want to take my long-sleeved black jersey off because I wanted to wear the name Bowling Green with pride.”Milligan reflected on what it felt like to make it to the final four: “We may have had a rough start to the tournament, but we knew what we were capable of; we just needed to show it. All 21 of our players came out 100% on Sunday and left nothing behind.” She continued, “They played with and for each other. To be able to see the hard work every single player has put in this year pay off like it did was amazing.”
With an outstanding performance at the World Cup, Milligan is looking forward to BGSU becoming a more competitive team next season. “Now that [the] World Cup is over, I am already looking forward to next season. Most of the team is returning, so there is nothing to do but continue to grow and improve. I am excited to begin,” Milligan stated. “As far as long-term goals go, I am hoping to prove ourselves a little more in tournaments next year. Now that my team knows exactly what they are capable of, I know they will be able to keep showing it. Maybe next year we'll be able to make it to the finals.”