Orange Team Takes Second Mid-Atlantic Fantasy
The following opinions are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IQA.
Over the weekend, the newly-formed Carolinas Quidditch Conference, in conjunction with the IQA Mid-Atlantic region, hosted the second of two Mid-Atlantic Regional Fantasy Tournaments. This tournament took place at Brookshire Park in scenic Boone, North Carolina, home of Appalachian State University.
The tournament was a rousing success, drawing players from four different regions and more teams than can reasonably be counted. The highest attendance of players came from the Mid-Atlantic region, but the South made a notable appearance as well, making a greater showing here than at their own regional fantasy the weekend before.
Featuring ten teams vying for the title, it was Michael Malakoff's Iron Nitrogen Xenon (Orange Fe-N-Xes) who came out on top 150*-110 over Sarah McGowan's Team Tie-Dye after a long game as the sun set behind the mountains. Malakoff put together a strong team which predominantly consisted of players from Florida and was almost unbeatable during the day.
Malakoff's squad fell just once on the day, to this author's Never Nudes in pool play 110^*-90. The Never Nudes' didn't falter in their aggressive play during their game against Malakoff's Fe-N-Xes. The game itself went into overtime when Mary Pazyant scored a goal, right as CJ Yunger (Virginia Tech) caught the snitch, resulting in a tie. In overtime it was the heroics of Yunger's excellent snatching that proved to be the deciding factor in handing the Fe-N-Xes their only loss of the day.
As predicted, the Never Nudes were an offensive force. The Never Nudes opened up the tournament with a convincing win over Jeff Lusk's John Hammonds (Red Team). Fighting hard against the Fe-N-Xes in their second match, and dispatching the Aloha Snitches in their final game of pool play. The Never Nudes were undefeated in pool play, and earned the number one seed on points differential, but fell in the quarterfinals on a snitch snatch to Brendon Frisella's Heisenburgs; their only loss of the day.
Frisella's Heisenburgs (Black Team) were a surprise of the day. Led by their captain, the Heisenburgs faced one of the toughest schedules of the day and were forced to play four consecutive games. It was the surefire seeking of the captain which earned them a hard-fought-for spot in the semi-finals. Tired legs finally lost out against Malakoff's Orange knocking them out of the tournament 190*-100 in the semifinals.
Led by former VCU seeker Tim Suddeth, the Pink Pygmy Puffs (Pink Team) had the potential to get to the finals. The injuries of several key players -- including leading keeper Sam Rosenburg -- hindered the Pygmy Puffs' chances of victory. Ultimately, this was a sad result for an otherwise well-constructed team.
Kyle Carpenter's Green Team had an impressive showing, going 3-0 and missing first place only on points differential. Led by the famed pink-haired snitch from World Cup VI, his strong beating game coupled with strong chasers Rebecca McLaughlin, Dean Hoff, and Tyler Walker for a formidable lineup. Other teams found it difficult to stay in control of the games against this well assembled group. Unfortunately, playing back to back games at the end proved too much, and the number two seed also fell in the quarterfinals.
Joshua Beckman's Whitest QuidKids You Know (White Team), Nick Battelini's Aloha Snitches (Team Hawaiian Shirt), and Jeff Lusk's John Hammonds (Red Team) found difficulty winning. Beckman's Quidkids were forced to rely too heavily on the chasing prowess of Jody Louis, lacking heavily in the beating game. The Hammonds, despite being led by the strong keeping corps of Lusk and James Hicks, could not stop the goals from passing through their hoops. Battelini's Alohas were plagued by captaincy problems that killed any burgeoning chemistry on the team.
One thing that can be said for this tournament is the South region made an impressive showing, keeping up with Mid-Atlantic teams. Along with Carpenter and Malakoff's South heavy teams, Daniel Brys' Monstars (Purple), a team which was constructed largely from leftovers from the draft night was able to come together and give an impressive showing. Brys drafted heavily from his home school of Tennessee Tech; this surprise South region World Cup qualifier showed a little muscle pushing their way into the semi-finals, falling to Team Tie-Dye 70-60* on some questionable scorekeeping and refereeing.
As predicted, Team Tie Dye, led by QC Carolinas Keeper Steve Minnich and former Maryland Beater Sarah Woolsey, found their way into the finals. Captain Sarah McGowan drafted heavily from the Mid-Atlantic, relying heavily on the versatility of Minnich to close games. When he went down in the finals, much to his own frustration, no one was able to close despite several good chances to win it all.
On the whole, the day turned into a highly enjoyable event. The tournament was well-organized by tournament director and regional director Alex Krall, along with Carolinas Conference Commissioner Jeffrey Lusk, and Nathan Love. Special thanks to Sara Hallbick of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington for her scheduling aid, as well as the Town of Boone for being a superb host.
Play-In Round:7. Purple def. 10. Red 90*-40
8. Black def. 9. Aloha 90*-50
Quarterfinals:
8. Black def. 1. Blue 80*-70
4. Orange def. 5. Pink 90*-10
3. Tie-Dye def. 6. White 100*-40
7. Purple def. 2. Green 80*-60
Semifinals:
4. Orange def. 8. Black 190*-100
3. Tie-Dye def. 7. Purple 70-60*
Finals:
4. Orange def. 3. Tie-Dye 150*-110
For more in-depth analysis of the tournament, check back at this space in the coming days.