Preview

West Wednesday: Arizona

by Chris Lock | September 24, 2014

After the West Region’s dismal Sunday performance at World Cup VII, many players and teams are hoping to set the record straight this season. The region will boast a completely different look this year as many players have transferred, and new ambitious teams are joining the competition. Last season featured one juggernaut team, a surplus of World Cup bids, and a fall West Regional Championship that arguably established the West’s World Cup slots too early. The end result was that teams in the West didn’t have as much reason to train throughout the entire season, and the effects were apparent in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The West Regional Championship tournament this season will be in February, and the competition for World Cup VIII bids will be fierce.

Each team will be discussed in five installments of sub-areas within the region (Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles, Northern California, Arizona, and Utah). This week: a talented sleeper waiting in the wings for its shot at glory, an emerging community team looking to threaten the status quo, a once proud champion trying to extend its glory years, and an athletic bunch looking to prove last year was not a fluke.

NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY NARWHALS

2013-14 Finish: World Cup, Round of 48
Key Departures: Duncan Lewis, Cooper Davis
Key Returners/Recruits: April Gonzales, Porter Marsh, Steven Gruenewald, Greg Leininger
Strengths: Physicality, Female beaters, Seeking
Weaknesses: Offense, Card frequency
Star Wars Character: “NAU is probably best described as Han Solo. We're scruffy and badass, and have no fear about taking the first shot.” Gabby Hooper (chaser)

Northern Arizona University just finished its first tournament of the season at the Crimson Cup in Utah where it took second place after finishing 4-3. NAU was undefeated against out-of-region teams, but, alarmingly, lost all its matches against West Region opponents. Still, Narwhal fans need not hit the panic button: NAU sent only a handful of its veteran players to Crimson Cup so the performance was not an entirely accurate measure of the upcoming season. The fact that NAU advanced to the finals at Crimson Cup in spite of its low numbers is promising.

Spectators can expect to see NAU’s complete lineup when it hosts the Lumberjack Invitational on Oct. 18. Its notable losses include last year’s captain, Cooper Davis, and keeper Duncan Lewis. It will also lose musclebound chaser Nate Cortazzo, but since he was injured most of the 2013-14 season it’s hard to consider him a major loss. NAU will return all of its notable beaters, including April Gonzales, one of the best female beaters in the West Region over the past season. Madi Douglass, Justin Regan, and utility player Steven Gruenewald will also form part of an experienced, strategically sound, physical beater rotation. Luke Sanchez, Nate Olsen, and Greg Leininger will all help NAU establish a strong defense with their physical play. Of course, NAU’s greatest weapon is star seeker Porter Marsh. If the game is close, NAU beaters have perfected the art of giving Marsh the best chance to catch the snitch, which he does frequently.

Perhaps due to its unique warm-ups featuring a 1990s boom box, NAU always plays with a high adrenaline level. However, sometimes its intimidating physicality makes the team a target for yellow cards and power plays. NAU has an effective defensive strategy where a female chaser plays point defense, freeing larger male players to physically mark passing options and make unexpected hits on developing drives. Gabby Hooper, a returning junior, has already established competence in this strategy and could be headed for a breakout season. Additionally, Justine Heisley-Taylor established herself as a physical chaser with a lot potential in her quidditch debut at Crimson Cup. Overall, NAU looks to be a competitive and well-rounded team. However, while it specializes in capitalizing on open drives and rarely shies away from physicality, the Narwhals lack offensive star power and will be at a disadvantage against some of the more elite teams in that regard. Still, this team has the potential to make a run at the West Regional Championship.

Will they qualify for World Cup?

Yes. NAU is a solid team and should have no trouble qualifying.

ARIZONA QUIDDITCH CLUB

2013-14 Finish: N/A
Key Departures: N/A
Key Returners/Recruits: Duncan Lewis, Ethan Kapke, Amanda Nagy
Strengths: Starting chaser line
Weaknesses: Depth
Star Wars Character: “Darth Nihilus because he could single handedly devastate an entire planet by sucking out its Force energy, thus killing every inhabitant including jedi. So yea we are him because we can do that.” – Cooper Davis (captain)

Cooper Davis, former NAU captain, has created the first Arizona community team, Arizona Quidditch Club (AZQC,)for the 2014-15 season. From what we know, AZQC’s roster indicates that the team has the potential to be very successful, provided it is able to hang on to its recruits. Keeper Duncan Lewis will build on an impressive rookie season at NAU, Ethan Kapke will add speed, and Austen Shipley and Nate Cortazzo will provide physicality.

“Cortazzo is coming back from a major injury that had him locked up in the weight room and not on the pitch,” Davis said. “He will hopefully come back stronger and more hungry than ever.” If West Fantasy serves as any indication, opponents should not underestimate Cortazzo.

Davis will transition to beater to pair with Amanda Nagy, perhaps the most surprising pickup for AZQC. The team will emphasize a beater strategy that focuses more on positioning and physicality than actual throwing as many successful teams have done. Davis began his conversion at West Fantasy, but as his team did not qualify for bracket play the verdict is still out on whether or not he will become a successful beater this season.

AZQC has a lot of potential this upcoming season. The team benefits from being a community team that can recruit many out-of-area players. However, while many top-notch players are joining AZQC, distance will prevent them from consistently practicing with each other. Furthermore, not much is known about the team’s depth. While there are a few competent substitutes, most of the team’s backup players remain unknown. As Davis captains the team, we can expect a club that will play aggressively.

Between Davis’ captaining and the incoming talent, AZQC should be competitive but its exact level of play will remain unclear until the Lumberjack Invitational.

Will they qualify for World Cup?

Looking at the named recruits, it’s hard to imagine this team falling short of qualification. Still, their inability to have consistent practices and depth issues make it a stretch to predict a deep Western Regional Championship run for this team, at least at the moment.

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

2013-14 Finish: Round of 48, World Cup
Key Departures: Duston Mazzella, Ethan Kapke, Wesley Rose
Key Returners/Recruits: Josh Mattison, Kaylee Buchholtz, Julea Shaw
Strengths: beating, seeking
Weaknesses: chaser line
Star Wars Character: “I could say something cliché like Han Solo because we shoot first. Wait, we said the same thing? It’s destiny!” – Buchholtz and Kyle Steeno (leadership) at separate times

Arguably one of the most successful programs in the short history of the West Region, Arizona State University (ASU) finds itself in a rebuilding phase. The franchise that won the first two Western Cups has exited the era of Alex Makk and Willie Jackson. Additionally, many of the talented players that helped guide the team to the West Regional Championship finals last season have left the team. Renowned beater Duston Mazella and athletic keeper Wesley Rose left upon graduating, while physical veteran Austen Shipley and star chaser Ethan Kapke also opted to join AZQC.

The Sun Devils return a very talented beater rotation. With the departure of Mazzella, Josh Mattison is clearly the best beater in Arizona. Mattison can singlehandedly control a pitch with his physicality, bludger velocity, and strategic instincts. Mattison’s true talents weren’t exposed until the 2013-14 season where he received much more playing time and thrived in the rotation with Mazzella. Kaylee Buchholtz is arguably the most underrated female beater in the region, but she can throw a bludger just as hard, fast, and accurately as any other female beater in the West outside of Team USA’s Kyrie Timbrook. Julea Shaw will also make a notable contribution to ASU’s beater game. Shaw is quick on her feet and can cover a lot of ground, and she skillfully clears out passing options. In 2012-13 Buchholtz and Shaw often held their own when they paired together in a four male quaffle player line, so ASU is essentially returning three starting beaters to its rotation this season. The female beaters’ noticeable weakness is physicality, but Mattison can provide a pitch-worth of brutality to compensate. Daniel Martin, a returning player from last season, will be converting to beater this season so the first two lines of ASU’s beater rotation will have plenty of quidditch experience, which is good because it is a difficult position to master. Many other teams in the “rebuilding phase” have a less positive outlook because they need to train new beaters, but ASU simply has to find some new athletic chasers who can use previous sporting experience and/or intuition to pick up the quaffle game quickly.

In addition to the returning beaters, ASU is also returning some established seekers and promising chasers. Notably, Kyle Steeno is lanky seeker whose long arms and diving ability will make him a threat in snitch range games. Additionally, ASU is discontinuing its practice of having multiple pure seekers by training such players to become utility athletes. Tori Kaiser, who is transitioning to chaser, had a promising beginning at West Fantasy. Kaiser was tackling new rugby players at ASU’s tryouts, so she’ll certainly bring the trademark Arizona physicality.

Although ASU is rebuilding, its stable beater group gives the Sun Devils a true shot at remaining competitive while they educate and train new recruits. While ASU may start weaker than in previous seasons, it would not be farfetched to see it become a top-tier team again by February.

Will they qualify for World Cup?

Chasers are easier to find and train than beaters. While the current ASU roster would not be a guarantee to qualify at the West Regional Championship, it should be able to put together a decent chaser line by February. Ultimately, it’s hard to imagine a regional tournament where ASU doesn’t qualify.

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

2013-14 Finish: Qualified for World Cup, did not attend
Key Departures: Savio Vu, Emily Rodela, Alex Valles
Key Returners/Recruits: Jack Bass, Mark Stethem
Strengths: Aggressive chasers, defense
Weaknesses: Inconsistent official game experience
Star Wars Character: “Jawa since we assemble a whole bunch of nonsensical pieces and make them work together better than new.” – Tayler Dykes (captain)

Much like last season, the University of Arizona (UA) enter the 2014-15 season as a giant unknown. In 2013-14, the Wildcats decided to entered the Western Regional Championship at the very last minute which made opponents and spectators alike skeptical of their qualification chances. However, UA brought an extremely athletic, if inexperienced, lineup to the tournament and made huge waves by earning one of the 11 World Cup bids. Unfortunately, UA was unable to attend World Cup, and the only other tournament they were able to attend was the Boise State hosted Brooms on the Blue last April. As a result, there is really not a whole information about UA to analyze.

Jack Bass will likely be one of the team’s top quaffle players, as the chaser/keeper has been since UA formed in 2012-13, while Mark Stethem will likely replace Savio Vu as the Wildcats’ top beater. Still, the inconsistent organization of the team last year brings doubts about how cohesive and strategically sound the players will be without as much game experience as other teams had last season. Captain Tayler Dykes is hopeful UA will overcome last year’s hurdles: “This year will be different . We are more organized and are finally starting to form a solid base of dedicated people which makes a huge difference. We are definitely traveling for tournaments and hosting our own,” said Dykes.

Will they qualify for World Cup?

Last season the Wildcats didn’t seem likely to qualify, but they did. The Western Region seems to be top heavy, so there’s a chance that another athletic Wildcat lineup could surprise opponents in February. Due to their inconsistent attendance at tournaments last season, UA should be rusty and isn’t a preseason favorite to qualify. Still, they should be more unified and stable by February, so they could surprise the West again and qualify for the second straight year.

WEST POWER RANKINGS

1. The Lost Boys (0-0) unchanged.

2. Los Angeles Gambits (5-0) unchanged. The Gambits managed to win a tournament without female subs or Ren Bettendorf. It’s early, but you can feel comfortable with the hype.

3. Silicon Valley Skrewts (0-0) unchanged.

4. UCLA (0-0) unchanged.

5. Utah Crimson Elite (2-2) plus one spot; A head-to-head win puts Utah ahead of NAU, but two out of region losses raise warning flags for the young team.

6. NAU (4-3) minus one spot; Currently 0-3 against other West opponents but a runner-up finish at Crimson Cup is a promising indication of its recruits

7. AZQC (0-0) unchanged.

8. ASU (0-0) unchanged.

9.Santa Barbara Blacktips (0-0) plus one spot; Santa Barbara rises after Thundercat Quidditch elects not to field a team for the 2014-15 season.

10. USC (0-0) previously unlisted; Veterans and promising recruits will help USC still be at least a mid-tier team despite heavy losses.