Preview
Sweep Across the South Part Three
As the season begins, let's Sweep Across the South and learn about the region in the upcoming season. Next up: the Competitors, Participants, and Recruiters
The teams of the South are divided into five categories: the Contenders—made up of the top-tier teams in the region; the Challengers—teams that can knock off the Contenders on any given day, but haven’t yet reached the level or consistency of title contenders; the Competitors—middle of the pack squads; the Participants—the bottom tier of the region; and the Recruiters—the region’s dark horses that could surprise some teams.
The Competitors
This group of teams is the middle-tier of play. Unlike the preceding tier, this group is fairly consistent. However, these teams are generally considered middle of the pack when it comes to regional standings, or considered the baseline to which everyone else is compared against. These teams may pull an upset on the upper-middle tier, but they lack the “star-power” to do it consistently.
Tennessee Technological University Golden Eagles
Tennessee Technological University (TTU) is an aggressive team that proved to be an extremely tenacious opponent during last year’s South Regional Championship. However, with virtually all of its female chasers graduating as well as its top beaters, TTU has a lot to prove this season.
Strengths
It Ain’t Pretty
TTU forgoes most offensive strategy, preferring to bring the quaffle up and scoring any way it can. Far from being ineffective, the Golden Eagles manage to score in ways most defenses have trouble adjusting to. Defensively, TTU is extremely scrappy, gang-tackling and stopping the drive by any means necessary.
Goliath Wins
The Golden Eagles have quite a bit of size on average, with most of the male players being fairly large. Look for them to bully their opponents through driving and passing lanes and wear down the other teams through attrition.
Weaknesses
Fool me Once, Shame on you.. Fool me twice…
The reason Tennessee Tech is able to pull off very clutch goals when its offense breaks down is by necessity. TTU lacked beater depth last year, and its offense had to adjust to its strengths as a result. What holds TTU back against elite teams is the fact that TTU relies on individual players instead of a system. Its quaffle players are impressive, but the team would move up a whole tier (or even two) if and when it acquires beater depth.
Hey, New Guy. Don’t Mess Up.
TTU is lacking serious depth at both beater positions and female chaser. It will rely on its male chasers as a crutch for most of the season until it can start getting experience to all of its lines.
Conclusions
TTU has lost quite a bit of momentum from last year. With the loss of most of their beaters and female chasers, the Golden Eagles have their work cut out for them.
Rollins College
Rollins College has picked up some former players from the Goonies this year. Rollins is a program best known for beating USF in Swamp Cup. The Goonies are the remaining core players of Eastern Florida State College (EFSC) after their quidditch club was removed from campus.
Strengths
Lines for Days
Rollins had a great recruiting summer and, in addition, picked up the remnants of EFSC. There is a large surplus of players, and only the best from each squad will see playing time.
Best of Both Worlds
Rollins lost a large amount of beaters over the summer, and the Goonies have the personnel to fill the gap left by their departure. The Goonies also supplement the seeker lineup with several players.
Weaknesses
You Aren’t My Supervisor!
The advantage of picking up a group of players from another team is that the best of both teams will outshine the best of one. However, the bad part about picking up those same players is that players who formerly held leadership roles on one team may overstep their bounds and undermine the current leadership.
The Best and the Brightest of the Bottom of the Barrel
While composed of a few average and above-average players, Rollins has yet to have the truly elite player—its version of Sean Pagoada, Sean Beloff, or Dre Clements. While possessing a significant amount of drive and can-do attitude, Rollins lacks those elite players who would propel its organization into higher tiers.
Impact Players
Matthew Weber- The do-it-all utility player formerly from the Goonies, Weber is a potent force wherever he is on the field. He is an intelligent beater and an athletic chaser, having jumped through the hoops several times.
Amy Sullivan- A good chaser and a better seeker, Sullivan leads Rollins in snitch catches. Her most notable snitch catch was against Jack “Bane” Harver at the South Regional Championship.
Jonathan Nettles- Younger brother to Rollins captain Stephen Nettles, Jonathan Nettles led Rollins in scoring last year, as well as having had an impressive summer fantasy showing.
Conclusion
Rollins has a few more good players and a few more new recruits. Look for Rollins to do a little better this year with some consistent showings at tournaments.
Florida International University Panthers
Florida International University (FIU) was a surprising opponent for Florida teams to play against this past year. For much of the year, FIU could not field enough members and combined itself with other small teams. However, in the last months of the season, a full squad of FIU Panthers played surprisingly close and tenacious games against top- and middle-tier teams.
FIU could not be reached for comment on its 2014-15 squad prior to publication. The team is scheduled to make its debut at the ‘Canes Classic’ on Oct. 4.
The Participants
This group of teams is the bottom-tier of the South. These teams neither have an identity, a large degree of athletic talent, nor the numbers to fill a roster consistently. They all have the potential to upset the middle-tiers at any given tournament but lack the athleticism or numbers to pull it off regularly. Some of these teams with the smaller numbers will merge with each other for tournaments. Expect an upset of the middle-tier here and there.
University of South Carolina Gamecocks
University of South Carolina qualified for World Cup VII in its home state, but were a controversial qualifier. This year, the Gamecocks have returned with a chip on their shoulder and much to prove.
University of Southern Mississippi
University of Southern Mississippi (USM) failed to qualify for World Cup last year. This year, they are scheduled to compete against the Southwest and may become better through a trial by fire.
University of Southern Alabama
University of Southern Alabama (USA) could not compete at last year’s South Regional Championship. USA had a poor showing at last year’s Renegade Cup. It could hardly field a team last year, and this year, it is the general consensus among captains in the South that USA will not improve.
Florida Atlantic University
The Owls struggled to field a team last year and often had to combine with other teams. There’s no sign of this changing for the 2014-15 season.
The Recruiters
This final group of teams has gained a significant amount of recruits to supplement a small corps of veterans. These are the dark horses of the region. Realistically, expect their skill range to be from the middle-tier to the bottom-tier. These teams are generally building for the upcoming years and have yet to hit their stride.
Florida State University Seminoles
After lacking the numbers to field a team for last year’s regional championship, Florida State University (FSU) is back with an army of fresh faces and a desire to prove itself. Returning are a handful of players led by Gina Mendicino.
Strengths
I am Spartacus
There is a surplus of males and females for every position, so any injuries sustained will not affect overall depth. The team as a whole will be able to truly compete with a full roster, and individuals will be able to showcase their abilities without having to worry about becoming gassed, like the previous 14-person squad.
Competition Breeds Excellence
Having to compete for a spot constantly forces players to improve, or risk being cut from the roster. The virtue of having so many new players is the sense of urgency and competitiveness that will keep FSU from getting complacent at any point in the year.
Weaknesses
How do I Quidditch?
With only a handful of returners, FSU has its work cut out for it. The learning curve is steep, especially when players are unable to get as much one-on-one attention as they need. However, this drastically will become less of an issue as FSU attends more tournaments.
Conclusion
FSU has a large amount of potential to revive its program, making it bigger and better than before. However, FSU will struggle to find an identity until it is able to get experience. Realistically, it might sneak one out against one of the middle-tier teams. This year is the preview; next year is the one to watch.
Quotes
“What we thought was going to be a hit-or-miss rebuilding year is starting to turn into a competitive team. We have a lot of new talent this year, and we're looking forward to seeing what we can do in competitive play." - Gina Mendicino
Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles
Long plagued by a small roster, Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) returns this year with more Eagles. FGCU is aiming for consistently solid appearances this year.
Strengths
First and Only
FGCU’s one shining strength was its chaser-heavy offense. It often lived and died by its chaser performances. FGCU’s first line, which was often its only line, consistently put out respectable showings against all levels of opponents. During Swamp Cup, the Eagles held University of Miami closer than every other opponent outside of bracket play while only having two to three subs the entire tournament.
Girls! Girls! Girls!
Last year, the Eagles had barely enough female players to satisfy Title 9 3/4. This year, FGCU will have several more substitution choices to add to its arsenal.
Weaknesses
Wait, I’m Allowed to Do That?
FGCU will be giving many fresh faces playing time, and the learning curve will be steep. The Eagles have their work cut out for them to get everyone up to speed.
You With the Face! Do the Thing With the Bludger!
The lack of substitutes last year was not limited to chasers. The beaters suffered just as bad, if not worse than the chasers. The new influx of recruits will dilute the experience at first, but in time they will get better.
Conclusion
Florida Gulf Coast was one of those teams where you could never truly get a feel for its talent level as a team because it could never field a full squad. There were a few games last year where it held its own against the elite teams in the South for a fraction of the game, but the lack of depth made holding onto this advantage impossible. With new players this year, expect a slow start early on, but the squad has potential as the season progresses. The program at FGCU looks to have room to grow in the next few years.
Quotes
“The Eagles have a good set of wings things year, so I'd look out for wings up.” -Ebli De La Rosa Jr.
City of Palms Quidditch Club
Founded this year by Tyler Goss (formerly of the University of South Florida) and Jacob Barrett (formerly of FGCU), the City of Palms QC is a community team based in Fort Myers, Florida. The team’s veteran players consists of Goss, Barrett , and several Cape Coral High School quidditch players.
As with any new team, attendance and recruitment is paramount. However, Goss’ recruitment efforts at USF were impressive. In fact, the current leadership of USF quidditch was recruited by Goss. City of Palms QC is expected to have a full roster, with athletic talent promised, but yet to be debuted. This team is truly a wild card; it could fizzle out this year, or be a force to be reckoned with in years to come.
