Preview

Maryland Favorite at Turtle Cup IV

by Erik Morlock | September 25, 2014

University of Maryland (UMD) tournaments always bring in quality teams, and Turtle Cup IV is no exception. With the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship just over a month away (the weekend of Nov. 1-2), Turtle Cup IV will provide a first look at much of the region. UMD is the clear favorite, and this tournament will also showcase other USQ World Cup contenders.

Format: Turtle Cup IV has teams split up into three pools, with five teams in each pool. The top three teams in each pool advance with the best fourth place finisher advancing as well to create a total of 10 teams competing in bracket play.

Pool A

Teams: Villanova Community Quidditch, University of Richmond Spiders, Syracuse University, George Mason University (GMU), Wizengamot Quidditch of VCU (VCU)

Villanova and Richmond are the two favorites in this pool; however, the fight for third place should be intense. Syracuse was the only World Cup VII qualifier of the remaining three teams, but GMU has improved steadily since it started competing unofficially last year. Meanwhile, VCU looks to relive the glory days of its World Cup VI qualification with the return of Darren Creary, who is coming off an injury. His size and outstanding mid-to-long range shots can be deadly, which will certainly boost VCU’s offense. Unfortunately, based on VCU’s performance last season during Creary’s absence, the team likely won’t offer enough support to escape this group. The young GMU team has grown exponentially since this time last year. If it has kept up its rate of improvement, I could see keeper Ryan Martin leading GMU over a potentially unprepared Syracuse team. Ultimately, it is hard to vote against a team with World Cup experience this early in the season, so I expect Syracuse to slip into the third place spot after escaping a tough challenge from GMU.

Villanova has been unable to get back to its spot at the top of the region after its victory over Maryland two years ago in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship finals. Its WCVII performance was stopped by Ohio State University in the Round of 32, a seemingly early exit for the back-to-back regional finalists. Villanova has dominated in the region and struggled outside of the Mid-Atlantic, which has led some to question the talent of Mid-Atlantic squads outside of College Park, Maryland. Richmond has had a seemingly opposite couple of years, squeaking into WCVI qualification but improving significantly to easily obtain a WCVII bid. Richmond got knocked out by Ohio State at WCVII by a slightly larger margin in the play-in round. Although Richmond boasts successful recruiting this year, it has large shoes to fill with the loss of speedy chaser Paco Darcey. Nonetheless, Richmond’s superiority comes from an incredible ability to keep bludger control and use bludgers efficiently. If it is able to do so against Villanova, there is definitely a chance for an upset, though I expect to see Villanova win this group while being led by star seeker Dan Takaki. Villanova may not be where it was two years ago, but it is still a premier team in the Mid-Atlantic and should be able to hang on to the top spot in this pool.

Pool B

Teams: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC), University of Rochester Thestrals, New York University Nundu (NYU), Rutgers Nearly Headless Knights, Capital Madness

Pool B is the Pool of Death at Turtle Cup IV. All of these teams are incredibly talented, but UNC is likely to come out on top in this pool. The lucky fourth place team that will advance to bracket play will probably come from this high-quality group. After an incredibly strong showing at WCVII and the addition of former Virginia Tech keeper Andrew McGregor, there is little evidence that UNC will slow down. Its victory at Minerva Cup in Greensboro, North Carolina two weeks ago demonstrated the team’s solid physicality complementing the athleticism that allowed UNC to pound through opponents and not waste offensive opportunities it created. Squads resembling UNC have also fared well in College Park, as the Max Miceli-led NOTUNC team upset Maryland last year. Rochester will likely finish second in the pool on the back of talisman Devin Sandon. Its WCVII performance proves it is a capable squad, and although the losses of Patrick Callanan and Kyle Sanson will hurt the team, it shouldn’t be enough to set Rochester back. NYU should edge Capital Madness out because of the uncertainty surrounding this new Washington community team. Capital Madness shows strong chaser lines under the leadership of the very capable Steve Minnich, but it is possible the team may have lost too much of its ability after the NYDC Capitalists’ split. When combined with the challenges of forming a new team, this will likely hurt Capital Madness. The cohesiveness of UNC, Rochester, and NYU will probably get the best of Capital Madness at Turtle Cup IV, but I expect tremendous improvement to come quickly. Rutgers will not make much of a splash in this extremely difficult pool, though the team cannot be overlooked as it was extended a WCVII bid that it was unable to accept.

Pool C

Teams: Maryland Quidditch, Appalachian Apparators, Virginia Quidditch Club (UVA), Lock Haven University (LHU), Philadelphia Honey Badgers

Maryland will likely walk into bracket play at the top of this pool. The Philadelphia Honey Badgers have steadily worked to improve over the last few seasons. However, based on early season scrimmage losses to Capital Madness and GMU as well as a 3-8 record last season, they will struggle in this pool. The Honey Badgers’ dedication and continued commitment will show in upcoming seasons if they are able to keep going strong. LHU was defeated by the University of Virginia at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship last season in a beyond snitch-range game, and LHU is undoubtedly looking for revenge. UVA’s slow pace makes it easy for stronger teams to last potentially longer than they should; this was especially evident after UVA’s unofficial loss to the College of Charleston at Minerva Cup. Looking toward the second place in this group, it should come down to a snitch-range game between Appalachian and UVA. All of the various official and unofficial matches between the two teams were in snitch range, and I don’t think either team has created an edge over the other for this weekend to be any different. Appalachian's speed and technicality can exploit UVA’s vulnerable defense as long as Appalachian is able to keep its composure late into the game, which it struggled to do in the final of Minerva Cup against UNC Chapel Hill. Both teams have had strong recruiting backed by solid leadership, and both teams look to move up in the Mid-Atlantic and will likely have an opportunity to do so here.

Bracket

I expect to see UMD, Villanova, UNC, and Rochester in the semifinal. The notable absentee, many would say, is Richmond. Though it was strong last season, I worry that it is too dependent on its beaters to have continued success, especially against the increasing physicality of teams in the Mid-Atlantic. I expect to see a showdown between UMD and Villanova in the finals, a rematch of the last few Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship matches. UMD will likely be too physical and too strong all-around for the smaller and more technical Villanova to keep up, though I don’t expect UMD to walk away effortlessly with the championship.