The Daily Snitch--Pool 7
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are...
Today's Daily Snitch will look at Pool 7. Any questions about how teams will fare, email editorial@internationalquidditch.org.
Photo by Deanna Edmunds
Teams
No. 14 Texas State University (San Marcos, TX)
No. 24 Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)
No. 32 University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA)
No. 42 SUNY Geneseo (Geneseo, NY)
No. 168 University of Toronto (Toronto, ON)
How They Got Here
No. 14 Texas State earned a trip to the World Cup at the Southwestern Regional Championship, where they eventually lost in the semifinals. Texas State topped its pool with a 3-0 record, and easily defeated the Denver Dementors (Denver, CO) in the Round of 16 160-70* to qualify for the World Cup. In the quarterfinals, Texas State took out the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR) 90*-30, before being ultimately knocked out by the University of Texas (Austin, TX) 210*-30.
No. 24 Michigan State's 3-0 record in pool play at the Midwestern Regional Championship was enough to qualify them for the World Cup. A dramatic 90*-80 victory over the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) sent Michigan State to the semifinals, where they were upended by Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, OH) 110*-30.
No. 32 Pitt likewise qualified for the World Cup by topping their pool at the regional championship. Pitt earned the third seed with a 5-0 pool record, and, like their previously mentioned competitors in Pool 7, were knocked out in the semifinals. Pitt beat Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA) 150-80* in the quarterfinals, but then lost to the University of Maryland (College Park, MD) 150*-80.
No. 42 SUNY Geneseo (Geneseo, NY) earned a World Cup berth with their performance at the North Eastern Regional Championship. Geneseo earned the seventh seed with a 3-1 record in their pool, and defeated Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY) 100*-70 in the Round of 16 to reach the World Cup. Tufts University knocked Geneseo out of the regional tournament 170*-40 in the quarterfinal round.
No. 168 University of Toronto was granted one of the three Eastern Canadian slots after teams that placed ahead of them elected not to attend.
Outlook
This should be one of the more wide open pools. I think Texas State, Michigan State, and Pitt all have legitimate chances to take the top spot, and I could conceivably see any of those teams plus SUNY Geneseo reaching the bracket. Texas State is the top seed in this pool, but I'm skeptical of them as a unit. They are very clearly a top five team in the best region (I don't think anyone can really argue at this point whether or not the Southwest is the best region), but as far as good wins go, Texas State doesn't really have any. Their losses aren't really bad, excepting the previously mentioned 210*-30 loss to Texas, they fell 50*-0 to Texas A&M University (College Station, TX) and 110*-70 to Baylor University (Waco, TX). However even their wins over mediocre teams haven't been that impressive, with the margin exceeding 100 just once: 140*-10 over the Denver Dementors. Basically Texas State beats the teams they should beat and loses to the teams that are better than them. However, they have yet to play a team that's even with them; that changes here as Michigan State, Pitt and arguably Geneseo are all better than any team they've yet to beat. Texas State is the team I'm most eager to see play since I have little perception of their ability.
Texas State is not the only team in this pool that is an expert at winning close games, Michigan State has made a habit of it this spring. In their first four games of 2013 against World Cup-bound competition, Michigan State has had all of their matches decided by snitch catches. In those games, they are 3-1, including a 2-0 record in overtime. Both Texas State and Michigan State have had excellent performances from their seekers, which should make a game between these two particularly exciting, and these contests could very easily decide the pool.
Pitt has shown themselves to be a very good team this year boasting a 16-0 record in games that were not against the University of Maryland. Overall, they are 16-3 on the year, with a 5-3 record against World Cup squads. They seem to fly a bit under the radar compared to Maryland and Villanova University (Villanova, PA) in the Mid-Atlantic, but Pitt is just two years removed from a third-place World Cup finish. They have all the tools needed to be successful at the World Cup and I would not be surprised to see them make a strong run. I foresee them being very dangerous both within this pool and in the bracket.
Geneseo is a stronger team than they are generally given credit for, having both experience and skill; however, I just can't see them beating any of the three previously mentioned teams. They've faced talented teams before, losing 120-70* to Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY) and 170*-40 to Tufts University (Medford, MA). I think the other three teams in this pool resemble those two squads, and therefore ultimately Geneseo will likely not be able to compete.
Toronto is quite frankly, not a very good team. They went 0-2 with a -260 point differential at the Canadian Cup, and will not be a threat at the World Cup.
Prediction
Texas State 3-1 (Eliminated in Round of 16)
Michigan State 3-1 (Eliminated in Round of 32)
Pitt 3-1 (Eliminated in Round of 32)
SUNY Geneseo 1-3 (Eliminated in Group)
Toronto 0-4 (Eliminated in Group)
Best Games
Michigan State def. Texas State 110^-70*
Texas State def. Pitt 110*-40
Pitt def. Michigan State 130*-70
Pitt def. SUNY Geneseo 70*-10
