The Monday Snitch--May 6
The views expressed in this column are those of the author only and do not reflect the views of the IQA.
A snitch takes down Stanford seeker David Saltzman. Photo by Kat Ignatova/IQA Photo Editor.
Cinco de Mayo Cup
Going 6-0 overall, the mercenary team White Shafts won the second annual Cinco de Mayo Cup, hosted by Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA). The White Shafts scored an average of 123 points a game thanks to players like the Lost Boys' (Lomita, CA) Tony Rodriguez and Steve DiCarlo and the University of California Los Angeles' (Los Angeles, CA) Vanessa Goh. The Cup's final pitted the high flying White Shafts against the hosts. The White Shafts led for the entire game, but for a period of time, Stanford was able to keep the White Shafts' advantage at 40. Stanford captain Natalie Stottler, explained, "We had a couple opportunities to get back in snitch range when the White Shafts were hurrying to get beaters back [on defense] that we failed to capitalize on, unfortunately, and we bled a couple points in the meantime, before Steve DiCarlo did his thing and caught the snitch." The DiCarlo snatch gave the White Shafts a 120*-20 victory.
The White Shafts' Steve DiCarlo flashes a thumbs up after his succesful snitch catch against Stanford in the final game. Teammate Amanda Nagy looks on. Photo by Kat Ignatova/IQA Photo Editor.
SJSU chasers attempt to block the White Shafts' keeper. Photo by Kat Ignatova/IQA Photo Editor.
To get to the finals, Stanford went 2-2 during Saturday's pool play, then defeated newcomers Sierra College (Rocklin, CA) in the semifinals. Sierra, who also went 2-2 in pool play, had lots of athletic talent but were newer to the strategic elements of quidditch.
Stanford player Dylan Liu and Sierra College chaser. Photo by Kat Ignatova/IQA Photo Editor.
The Silicon Valley Skrewts (Mountain View, CA) did not bring their tournament team to the Cinco de Mayo Cup. The Skrewts were missing most of their starters and their 1-3 record reflected that. San Jose State (San Jose, CA) also went 1-3 in pool play, and were joined by mercenaries for their semifinal game against the White Shafts.
Skrewts chaser Ra Hopkins faces off against SJSU chaser Christina Sturken. Photo by JH Photography.
All games were unofficial. Also a tournament organizer, Stottler said, "The tournament atmosphere was generally pretty relaxed. Since this was after World Cup, everyone was playing for love of the sport."
The White Shafts huddle before their final game. Photo by Kean Goh.
