Monday Snitch: July 29

by JackthePhan | July 29, 2013

This past weekend featured fantasy tournaments in Austin, TX and The Hamptons, NY. At THE Fantasy Tournament, the Red Team took down all comers, while Phoenix Army captured the Champagne Cup.

Photo by Michael E. Mason/IQA Staff.

THE Fantasy Tournament--Austin, TX

THE Fantasy Tournament, the most hyped-up tournament of the summer, was won by the Red Team. Drafted by Texas Quidditch President Becky Schmader, previews noted that Red was largely composed of players from the University of Texas (Austin, TX) system. "It was definitely not my intention to get most of my players from UT/[Austin Quidditch]; it just sort of happened that way," Schamder said. "From the beginning I knew I wanted to get a really strong chaser lineup, and more importantly, I wanted chasers that I knew could play great defense and so I got that with Kenny Chilton, Aryan Ghoddossy, and Cody Tadlock." Schmader noted that she got two of her biggest targets, Ghoddossy and Tadlock, at a really good price, leaving room in the budget for other top players like beaters Michael Mohlman and Nick Semon.

Red went 1-3 on Day One but improved as the day went on."At the end of the day, the team was definitely starting to click more," said Schmader. "Beaters were getting more aggressive, chasers were making better offensive plays."

The improvement carried over to Day Two. Wins over the Baylor-heavy Blue Team and the Orange Team trio of Simon Arends, Kedzie Teller, and Craig Garrison gave the Red Team momentum. In the semifinals, Red met Forest Green, who struggled on Day One but surged through the bracket thanks to Keir Rudolph's seeking performance. The Fantasy GMs had agreed that Rudolph, a replacement player, would not be allowed to play seeker. All replacement players would have to play the position of the player they were replacing. Things went according to plan on Day One, but on Day Two, an on-site EMT said players needed more resting time after seeing several exhausted players. The tournament directors made the decision that replacements were allowed to play their natural positions.

The Red Team, who seemed to avoid the controversy of the decision throughout the tournament, dodged having to handle Keir Rudolph, as they caught the snitch off-pitch. Red advanced to the finals on a three-game winning streak.

The Burgundy Team struggled terribly on Day One, going 0-4. Burgundy beater and new Southwest Regional Director Chandler Smith stated, "After doing so poorly, our mindset was less about winning but more about having fun as a team for one last game."

Adjusting to the rule change, Kifer Gregorie stepped in to play chaser and seeker and Chris Seto switched to beater. With Seto added to the beating depth charts, Burgundy switched to a two male beater set for bracket play. The beaters did an outstanding job of keeping bludger control, and Burgundy's defense became very stout. Gregorie sized up the point, star chaser Drew Wasikowski guarded the opposition's best off-ball chasers, and beaters like Seto and Smith shut down the middle of the pitch.

Five-seed Pink Team, four-seed Teal Team, and top-seed Grey Team were defeated by the new-look Burgundy in bracket play. Burgundy's tight defense minimized the offensive firepower of Pink's Kody Marshall, Stephen Bell, and Colin Capello, and Kifer Gregorie caught the snitch to give his team their first victory. Burgundy won two more games in a similar fashion, beating Teal and Grey with great defense and Kifer Gregorie snatches. Like the Red Team, Burgundy advanced to the finals on a three-game winning streak.

With both teams playing their best quidditch yet, something would have to give between Red and Burgundy. The teams played evenly from brooms up, with Burgundy's defense giving them a slight advantage. "Our defense was at its peak during the finals," Smith said, "but we couldn't capitalize enough on offense to pull out of snitch range."

With the snitch on the field and the game on the line, the Red Team's Aryan Ghoddossy was alone with the snitch. Occupied on defense, Burgundy's beaters couldn't get to the powerful Ghoddossy before he secured the 30 points and the win.

Neither Red nor Burgundy were favorites going into THE Fantasy Tournament. Many of the favorites excelled in expected areas, but weaknesses plagued them. The Black Team had one of the toughest defenses in the tournament but failed to score enough. With Marshall, Bell, and Cappello, the Pink Team racked up tons of points but was let down by their beating and seeking.

The decision to loosen the position restrictions on replacement players benefited the Purple, Blue, Burgundy, Forest Green, and Orange Teams, but hurt teams like Grey and White. It was especially frustrating for Lime Green, who were decimated by injuries and family emergencies on Day One, and ended up being eliminated on a snatch by replacement player Keir Rudolph. A GM who wished to remain anonymous said that he/she had talked to the other GMs and that "the general sentiment (among GMs) was that the thing was unfair and they are unhappy."

The Red Team, who did not have any replacement players, improved vastly from Day One to Day Two. They meshed perfectly and eased into a rhythm in bracket play. Chasers were passing accurately and moving well, and beaters went into lockdown mode on defense. Aryan Ghoddossy went toe-to-toe with the other teams' stars, using physicality to deter them on defense and powering through them on offense. Ultimately, Ghoddossy snatched victory in the tournament final.

Champagne Cup--The Hamptons, NY

Phoenix Army defeated Leopard Army at the Champagne Cup, seven days before the more competitive Northeast Fantasy Tournament. Michael Parada played exceptionally well, scoring and distributing from the keeper position and making key snatches. Phoenix Army was strong all around with balanced offensive play flowing through Yada, consistent bludger control held by beaters like future-NYDC Capitalist teammates Amanda Dallas and Robby May, and good seeking from Parada and Kyle Sanson.

Leopard Army surged into the finals with a tough, physical chaser defense, an overall outstanding beating performance from Heather Knoch, and a perfect, five-for-five seeker in Adam Robillard. Ethan Sturm and Devin Sandon were racking up points offensively, passing terrifically and working together like experienced teammates. Left with only five quaffle players for the finals, Leopard Army didn't have enough left in the tank. Fatigued and depleted, they tried to slow the pace of the game. Disrupting their rhythm, Leopard Army struggled to score and failed to catch the snitch. "Adam (Robillard) just didn't have the energy left to make the catch," said Sturm, "and I don't blame him one bit."

Dragon Army, a strong team headlined by a Rochester-area chasing core, Penn State's Jason Rosenberg and beater Alex Leitch, won their pool over eventual champions Phoenix Army. But, winless Tiger Army, a team that had been robbed in several snitch range games, knocked out Dragon in the quarterfinals, ending their tournament abruptly.

The eight teams competing in the Hamptons turned out to be pretty even. Underrated teams overachieved. No team was an easy win.