Preview
West Wednesday: Greater Los Angeles
The Greater Los Angeles area features several recently established teams that have all shown promise throughout their short histories.
After the West Region’s dismal 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). The Greater Los Angeles area features several recently established teams that have all shown promise throughout their short histories. Additionally, the area should see at least one new team and two previously established clubs becoming official teams after a one-year hiatus.
SANTA BARBARA BLACKTIPS
2013-14 Finish: Round of 48, World Cup
Key Departures: Ren Bettendorf (C/K), Andy Abayan (B), Chris Lock (K/C/S)
Key Returners/Recruits: Ben Harding (C/K), Cy Torrey (B), Justin Fernandez (S/C/K)
Strengths: Male starters
Weaknesses: Beaters, depth
Star Wars Character: “Padme, because we’re a good-looking bunch” – Ben Harding (Captain)
After a disappointing snitch range loss in bracket play at World Cup VII, the Blacktips suffered heavy player losses and a leadership turnover. The team thrived in the second half of the season by utilizing its “OT3” strategy where it placed three tall and athletic players on the field as male chasers. However, Santa Barbara will have to completely overhaul its strategy after losing Ren Bettendorf to the Los Angeles Gambits and Chris Lock to the Silicon Valley Skrewts. Even more damaging, the Blacktips lost almost all of their beaters. None of the female beaters from last year’s squad are currently planning on traveling with the team, hard-throwing dodgeball player turned beater Brian Vampola has not decided if he will be playing due to health issues, Cy Torrey is moving to Los Angeles come winter (his status with the team at that point remains unknown), and superstar Andy Abayan will be retiring after a brief but memorable stint with the Blacktips. The team has no choice but to recruit and train new beaters which, unfortunately for the Blacktips, is the hardest position to learn. Santa Barbara also experienced heavy losses to its female chasing corps; Yaneli Gutierrez is expected to sit out the 2014-15 season, and captain Kelsey Allen cannot play for six months due to injury.
However, while the Blacktips are going to look drastically different this season, they have some strong returning players who will help the squad remain competitive. Ben Harding just finished his phenomenal rookie year and will return to the team as a captain. Harding will switch to keeper, which will require him to adjust to a more featured role in the team's offense while becoming comfortable in a new position defensively. Torrey became an excellent beater by the end of his rookie year and will be rejoining the Blacktips for at least the first half of the season. Austin Goodheart is finally joining the team after being unable to play due to being an NCAA track athlete. Goodheart is a very speedy chaser, and he displayed natural seeking talent at the West Fantasy Tournament. Seeker/chaser Justin Fernandez seems poised to have a breakout season, and though he is a player of lesser renown, Fernandez has the potential to become an impressive offensive weapon and a scrappy defender with his speed and athleticism. While the Blacktips may have trouble competing with the better teams in the West Region, their starting lineup should be strong enough to stay competitive against many of the mid-tier teams.
Will they qualify for World Cup?
The Blacktips are rebuilding, but they have an outside shot at contending for a World Cup berth much like in their inaugural season. Santa Barbara has always enjoyed successful recruiting and should make a competitive attempt, but smart money says the Blacktips won’t find the blood in the water this year.
RIVERSIDE QUIDDITCH
2013-14 Finish: Consolation Bracket, West Regional Championship
Key Departures: Alyssa Burton (B/C), Andy Carlson (K)
Key Returners/Recruits: Tye Rush (C/S/B), Ricky Pasquier (B)
Strengths: Experienced corps, passing
Weaknesses: Defense, Size
Star Wars Character: “Ewoks because my team and I are not as big as the other teams and their players. Also, we’re usually underdogs.” – Ricky Pasquier (Beater)
Riverside Quidditch was founded two seasons ago and has been building a strategically-focused team ever since. Riverside has retained many of the same players since its first year and has performed well in some very close matches against upper-tier teams, including the Silicon Valley Skrewts on two occasions last season.
Captain Tye Rush is the heart and soul of Riverside Quidditch. Rush is a star chaser who has slowly been expanding his game to include seeking. He commonly turns in standout performances and has received MVP votes at fantasy tournaments. When he’s on the field, Riverside is always a scoring threat. Ricky Pasquier, a third-year male beater, will be crucial to Riverside’s success as he will be its strongest returning beater. Pasquier has always had the throwing strength and physicality to become a talented beater; however, he would at times struggle with strategy and decision-making. He has recently shown growth in both areas with a breakout performance at West Fantasy, and he is set for a very strong season at Riverside. Pasquier’s improvement this season could push Riverside from pretender to contender. Riverside developed a strong passing-oriented offense that will capitalize against teams not appropriately marking all players with defenders. However, Riverside might struggle defensively. While speed and strategy can compensate for size on offense, Riverside’s lack of size hurts its defense once an opponent breaks through its beaters. Michael Logue, Riverside’s 6’7” keeper, is crucial as a last line of defense.
Riverside will attend the West Regional Championship in February with the hope of converting three seasons of hard work and program building into a World Cup spot. However, Rush is remaining grounded and knows his focus is on the future of quidditch at Riverside.
“I’m looking to build a program, not a team,” he said. “My focus isn’t on winning; it’s on getting new players immersed in the community enough to where they want to dedicate time improving and building a base.”
Will they qualify for World Cup?
Riverside certainly has a realistic chance at qualifying this season. It could place seventh or eighth at the West Regional Championship as its corps gains strength and other teams lose players. There are at least six teams that should be outside of Riverside’s competitive reach, barring star recruits, so several deserving teams will contend for the last group of spots. I don’t think it’s quite Riverside’s year to shine yet, and it’ll narrowly miss a World Cup berth. However, enough training and practice could prove me and any other doubters wrong.
THE LONG BEACH FUNKY QUAFFLES
2013-14 Finish: Round of 48, World Cup
Key Departures: Andrew Murray (C), Alex Richardson (C/S), Kyle Epsteen (C/B/S/K)
Key Returners/Recruits: Alex Pisaño (C), Anthony Hawkins (C/K), Michael Aguilera (B)
Strengths: Physicality
Weaknesses: Depth, chasing, seeking
Star Wars Character: “Wicket, because we don’t let our size limit us” – Alex Pisaño (female chaser)
The Long Beach Funky Quaffles (LBFQ) enjoyed an extremely successful first season in which they managed to qualify for the World Cup by beating the Silicon Valley Skrewts in overtime during bracket play at the West Regional Championship. At World Cup, LBFQ made an unexpectedly strong appearance, where it made it to bracket play but lost in overtime in the Round of 48. The 2014-15 season was full of hope and possibility for quidditch’s spunky darling, but organizational issues and infighting doomed the squad before the season even began. Immediately after World Cup, several important players on LBFQ’s squad pledged allegiance to the Los Angeles Gambits. Now, the Long Beach Funky Quaffles will have to rely on recruiting if the club is to remain relevant.
“The Funky Quaffles were built in the course of a year,” said LBFQ chaser Alex Pisaño. “We’re hoping we can do that again.”
If last season is any indication, LBFQ shouldn’t have too much trouble recruiting fresh talent to fill its depth chart, but the need to do so could be construed as a sign for concern this early in the season. Recruiting started in the spring when several new players joined LBFQ at Beachside Brawl where the squad finished 3-1. One of the new recruits is Samanda Sweet, a beater who previously captained the Long Beach Wonderbolts high school team and attended West Fantasy. She’s currently tasked with replacing the Gambits’ Tanna Helm, who formerly started at beater for LBFQ. Hannah Moroz is transitioning from beater to chaser, where she has already shown some natural intuition. If her chasing success continues, Moroz could add some much needed depth to LBFQ’s chaser line. Although Pisaño oscillated between being a competent and top-tier chaser last season and Anthony Hawkins provided a physical presence at keeper all year, LBFQ still lacks some chaser talent. Veterans Michael Aguilera and Justin Madriaga will likely be valuable assets in the beater sphere, but Aguilera’s recurring knee problems could become a major issue. Overall, LBFQ’s veterans will undoubtedly exhibit their trademark defensive physicality.
“We have the luxury of having a late [Regional Championship],” Pisaño said. “It will give us time to drill in the basics and condition our recruits.”
Will they qualify for World Cup?
While it would be unwise to rule out a team that plans to recruit aggressively, it would be less wise to assume that such a team will earn a berth. However, spectators should still look forward to competitive matches with nearby opponents Santa Barbara and Riverside.
IRVINE QUIDDITCH
While there isn’t much to analyze about Anteater Quidditch, it is worth noting that this will be the team’s first official season after originating last season as an unofficial team. James Luby’s (formerly UCLA) squad attended the Gold Medal Invitational in February where the new players gained invaluable experience. While the team will surely look a bit different this September, Irvine possessed a few promising players at Gold Medal, including a tall and quick keeper. Luby seemed to be the strongest player on the squad last spring, but Irvine may have picked up some notable recruits since then. It is probably safe to say that Anteater Quidditch won’t be contending for the West Regional Championship title or even a World Cup berth, but it will be interesting to see how the team sets itself up for the 2015-16 season. As Long Beach proved last year, and Santa Barbara the year prior, new teams can make a strong impact in their inaugural season, so there is always a chance that Irvine Quidditch could turn into an unexpected contender.
OXY DOXIES
The Oxy Doxies (Occidental College’s team) were an official team for the 2012-13 season. After a one-year hiatus, the team plans to reestablish official membership for the 2014-15 season. Oxy has never been a very competitive team, but it was able to beat some of the lower-tier West Region teams in the 2012-13 season. While it won’t be a favorite to qualify for World Cup, it might surprise some people this season.
CLAREMONT COLLEGES DIRIGIBLE PLUMS
Like the Oxy Doxies, the Claremont Colleges Dirigible Plums plan to regain USQ membership after a one-year hiatus. Claremont struggled in 2012-13 largely due to its small roster size. While Claremont featured a couple of talented players, it had less than 10 players on its roster at its own invitational and barely enough male players to field a team with substitutes. Despite that, Claremont was certainly one of the “fun-loving” teams that seems to be a rarity in today’s game. Its decision to become an official team may indicate that interest in quidditch has grown at Claremont, and it might be able to fill out a larger roster for the 2014-15 season.
