Recap
Sunday Snitch: Turtle Power
After a one-year hiatus where I worked with Jack McGovern on the Weekend that Was, the Sunday Snitch is back to recap what happened this past week.
After a one-year hiatus where I worked with Jack McGovern on the Weekend that Was, the Sunday Snitch is back to recap what happened this past week.
Heroes in a Half Shell
The University of Maryland (UMD) easily took home the Turtle Cup IV Championship, disposing of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) in the finals 150*-60. UMD dominated pool play, surrendering just a single goal in four pool games; however, the offense severely underperformed. UMD is returning with nearly its entire lineup from last year (there were only three new players on its roster at Turtle Cup), and that existing chemistry should have carried the team to goals galore this early in the season. Still, it’s hard to fault a team that went undefeated and largely unchallenged. In the semifinals, UMD beat a solid Villanova Community Quidditch squad that it faced in last year’s Regional Championship final 160*-30.
The top teams in the Mid-Atlantic were at Turtle Cup, and it’s increasingly transparent that none of them can hold a candle to this year’s Maryland team. UMD proved itself against the best in its region and will get a chance to face the Northeast’s top teams at the Oktoberfest Invitational on Oct. 11. Tufts University, the Warriors, Emerson College, and Q.C. Boston: The Massacre should be a step up from Turtle Cup’s competition, but if UMD can handle those teams, it could easily enter the USQ World Cup undefeated. The key for Maryland will be continuing to challenge itself to avoid complacency and with Team USA selection Harry Greenhouse on board after missing World Cup VII due to injury, it's tough to see this year's UMD squad letting up.
L-S-Who?
The interesting thing about a sport primarily contested among college teams is that the roster turns over every four years (roughly). Five months ago, Louisiana State University (LSU) knocked off the Lost Boys en route to a Sweet Sixteen appearance at WCVII. At the Crawfish Classic in New Orleans, LSU went 2-1, beating the University of Southern Mississippi and Loyola University (the tournament champions) while losing to Tulane University, a team it went 3-0 against last year with all three victories outside of snitch range. The story on LSU’s drop is simple; most of the team graduated or otherwise became too busy to play. Chaser Brad Armentor and beaters Jason Winn, Daniel DePaula, Melissa White, and Sarah Kneiling are all no longer playing for LSU. With so many key cogs, particularly on the beater line, not returning, LSU—one of the oldest and most storied programs in the Southwest, with those five players being core reasons for that—will have to rebuild and train a completely new group of beaters. LSU still has a talented roster, and players such as Cole Travis, Charlton Tramel, and JD Rasco need to take on a larger role for the team to have success this year.
While LSU has been the top team in its state, Loyola may have finally grabbed that mantle. Etefia Umana is one of the top players in the Southwest and will lead the Loyola quaffle line. At beater, Loyola features former Emersonian CJ Junior and veteran Tad Walters. On top of the obvious talent Loyola possesses, it has done an outstanding job recruiting this season. While qualifying for USQ World Cup out of the Southwest will not be an easy task, Loyola is certainly a sleeper that could get there with the right development. The 3rd Annual Diamond Cup on Oct. 11 is a tournament to watch because it could show us how far Loyola has progressed and how much work still needs to be done.
Pool of Madness?
In his Turtle Cup Preview, Erik Morlock dubbed Pool B the Pool of Death, and it was easy to see why. UNC, Rutgers University, New York University Nundu (NYU), and the University of Rochester Thestrals all qualified for WCVII (although Rutgers was unable to attend), while Capital Madness retains many of the players from last year’s NYDC Capitalists who also qualified. UNC topped the pool on the back of a showy offense featuring dual weapons Max Miceli, a stalwart of UNC last season, and Andrew McGregor, newly arrived from Virginia Tech. Beater Kyle Bullins and chaser Emma Troxler are also key to UNC’s success. Rutgers was perhaps a surprise second place finisher, led by chaser/keeper Chisa Egbelu and Juan Arencibia. Rutgers looked very much like a team that could challenge for a berth in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship finals. The team also played without seeker Sam Afflu, but missing players was an overall theme in this pool.
NYU and Rochester both underperformed this tournament given the teams’ reputations, but that was hardly without reason. Rochester brought nine rookie quaffle players to the tournament and competed without Devin Sandon, leading beater Alexander Venuti, and nearly all of its veteran quaffle players. NYU had difficulty coping with injuries at the outset, as quaffle players David Tian and Simon Wu were both unavailable due to injury, while Adnan Zarif and Nadev Friedman-Grunstein were injured early in the tournament. Despite all of its injuries, NYU advanced to bracket play and gave runner-up UNC all it could handle in the quarterfinals, eventually falling 130*-100.
As for Capital Madness, the team is still new and trying to develop chemistry, but an 0-4 performance is a rough start for the upstarts.
Who’s Number 2?
The race for second in the Mid-Atlantic is up for grabs. UNC, Rutgers, Villanova, and Richmond all made compelling cases that they have what it takes at Turtle Cup. Penn State University, despite missing beater Scott Axel in the fall, also can’t be counted out.
Villanova is the two-time finalist and reached the semifinals at Turtle Cup before succumbing to UMD. For Villanova, the key will be defense and seeking. The team has one of the best seekers in the region in Dan Takaki, and Villanova has a system that works. Anthony Cerone and Mathew Barrett looked strong at beater and led a capable defensive line. In its five games prior to facing UMD in the semifinals, Villanova surrendered no more than five goals in a single game and caught four of five SWIMs (the one exception was against George Mason University [GMU], where GMU caught in regulation but Villanova caught in overtime). Villanova needs its defense and seeking to be strong, as its offense struggled all day.
UNC looked the opposite of Villanova, scoring early and often but hemorrhaging points left and right. Until it faced UMD in the finals, UNC scored a minimum of ten goals in each of its matches. Miceli and McGregor lead a dangerous offense that can score at will. While UNC outpaced many of its rivals in the battle for regional supremacy (behind UMD), it’ll be interesting to see if it can maintain that same offensive output once others in the region have a chance to adjust. It would seem that to be true contenders, UNC will have to up its game on defense.
Richmond suffered a pair of setbacks at Turtle Cup: a blowout loss at the hands of UNC and a narrow 60*-50 defeat from Villanova. Jeremy Day and Brendan “Bo” O’Connor led a potent offensive line from the keeper spot, but Richmond seemed to have issues with the quality of its depth. This seems very much fixable because unlike Villanova and UNC, it is more of a personnel struggle than a systemic issue with the team. Richmond has always been known for its talented beaters, and if it has its quaffle game in order, it could be a very dangerous team in the region.
In my mind, Rutgers was the surprise performer of Turtle Cup. After a season in which it barely qualified for World Cup, Rutgers topped Rochester, NYU, and Capital Madness in pool play. Although it fell to both Richmond and UNC outside of snitch range, the team behind Chisa Egbelu and company has a lot of potential. If its current rise is any indication, it could definitely make a Cinderella run to the finals at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship.
Jack McGovern contributed reporting
