The Daily Snitch--Pool 5
Today's Daily Snitch will look at Pool 5. Any questions about how teams will fare, email editorial@internationalquidditch.org.
Photo by Deanna Edmunds
Teams
No. 3 University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
No. 22 Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, OH)
No. 41 University of Rochester (Rochester, NY)
No. 54 Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK)
No. 78 Paris Phénix (Paris, FR)
How They Got Here
No. 3 UCLA qualified for the World Cup when it won the Western Regional Championship at Western Cup IV. UCLA went a perfect 6-0 at the tournament, defeating Lost Boys (Lomita, CA) in the finals, 130*-60. UCLA showed its dominance from the get-go, posting a 3-0 record and +680 point differential in pool play, that saw the Bruins surrender just a pair of goals in the three matches. UCLA had no difficulty disposing of Santa Barbara Blacktips (Santa Barbara, CA) 160-50* in the quarterfinals, or University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA), 140*-30 in the semifinals. No. 22 Bowling Green reached the World Cup at the Midwestern Regional Championship, where they finished in second place. BGSU went through pool play with a 4-0 record, earning the top seed in bracket play, before turning it over to their fantastic defense. In the quarterfinals, they defeated the Ohio State University (Columbus, OH) 40*-10, and in the semifinals they overtook Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI) 110*-30. Ultimately, BGSU fell to Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI) 170*-90 in the regional championship game.No. 41 University of Rochester (Rochester, NY) earned a spot at the World Cup through their efforts at the North Eastern Regional Championship. Rochester went 3-1 in pool play, earning the number five seed, but were upset by Boston Riot (Boston, MA) 50*-40 in the round of 16. Two wins in the consolation bracket, 100*-40 over Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), and 110*-40 against University of Syracuse (Syracuse, NY) were enough for Rochester to advance to Kissimmee.
No. 54 Oklahoma State University finished third in their pool, and sat 11th overall after pool play, but still managed to cement their spot at the World Cup with a solid run in bracket play. After a 200*-40 loss to the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR) sent them to the consolation bracket, Oklahoma State won twice to reach the World Cup. Clutch seeking did it for Oklahoma State as they beat Denver Dementors (Denver, CO) 90*-30 and Sam Houston State University (Huntsville, TX) 70*-30 to reach the World Cup. In the consolation finals, Oklahoma State fell to Roadrunner Quidditch 200*-140.No. 78 Paris Phénix was the very first team to qualify for the World Cup when they won the European Regional Championship. They finished 5-0 at the tournament with a +450 point differential (more than double their next closest competitor). A 50*-20 win over cross-town rivals Paris Frogs was their closest match of the tournament. Defense was key for the Phénix as they allowed no more than two goals in any one match.
Outlook
I have complete confidence that UCLA will top this pool. After their dominant showing at Western Cup IV, where they beat a number of teams: Lost Boys, and USC to name two, that could easily finish in the top-three of this pool, I don't see UCLA having much trouble. In general, UCLA boasts all the tools required to be a contender. They are an experienced group with talent across the board. They've shown an ability to beat good teams, and to beat bad teams by large margins (which could be very useful in grabbing a high seed). They also have some of the best inter-regional experience, having played No. 2 University of Texas (Austin, TX), and No. 11 University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL).
My biggest fear with UCLA is their seeking. They're 14-3 overall, but only 1-2 in games decided by a snitch catch: the losses were to USC 100*-80 and Miami 110*-90, with the win over the University of Texas 90*-40. What UCLA has shown is amazing skills at the beater and chaser position, which means the 10 minute seeker floor should play right into their hands, and allow them time to build a big enough lead that seeking might not matter. I haven't yet discussed UCLA relative to their Pool 5 competition, which is simply because I don't believe any team in the pool is a match for the Bruins.
If there is a squad that has any hopes of hanging with UCLA in the pool, it's Bowling Green State. Their showing at the Midwestern Regional Championship was impressive, but as I've said previously, I'm not very high on the Midwest as a region. I think Bowling Green State falls into the long list of good but not great teams from that region. Outside of their play at Midwest Regionals, they've lost to Ball State University (Muncie, IN), and Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI) this spring, neither of which gives me confidence they can beat UCLA. Still, I believe they are talented enough to handle the rest of this pool with no real trouble.
Rochester is a team capable of some good wins, and boast a 17-9 record. However their record against World Cup foes has been just 5-6 (note: this includes Carleton University (Ottawa, ON) who qualified but will not be attending), with three of those wins over Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY), and the other two are over SUNY Geneseo (Geneseo, NY), and Macaulay Honors College (New York, NY). Rochester is an experienced team with a lot of gameplay under their belt, but they haven't shown ability to beat top-level teams. This makes an upset over either Bowling Green State or UCLA improbable. Still, based on their experience compared to their other two World Cup foes, I have to give Rochester the edge to advance.
Oklahoma State has played very few games against top-level teams. Outside of the Southwestern Regional Championship, they are 1-3 against World Cup bound foes, with one win and one loss against the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR) and two to the University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS). In fact, if we include the Southwestern Regional Championship, Oklahoma State drops to 1-7 against World Cup bound teams. It's tough to view them as a legitimate threat to advance, when they're only win against a World Cup team is against a squad they've played thrice and been outscored by 160 points in aggregate against. Rochester is an experienced squad, they've played 11 games against World Cup qualifiers, and have played in the two previous World Cups. I think this experience will give them the edge over Oklahoma State.
There is one more team to consider: the Paris Phénix. Unfortunately, I have never seen them play, nor have they played any team I'm familiar with, so I really can't judge the Phénix. My gut tells me that at this point European quidditch lags far behind the American brand, and that the Phénix will be overmatched. I could be wrong, but for now, given the information I have, Phénix will be go winless.
Prediction
UCLA 4-0 (Eliminated in Final Four)
Bowling Green State 3-1 (Eliminated in Round of 16)
Rochester 2-2 (Eliminated in Round of 36)
Oklahoma State 1-3 (Eliminated in Group)
Paris Phénix 0-4 (Eliminated in Group)
Best GamesBowling Green State def. Rochester 130*-30
Rochester def. Oklahoma State 150*-70