Recap
Sunday Snitch: Midwest Mayhem
The Sunday Snitch is back this week to recap a coronation in the South and mayhem in the Midwest.
The Finest Coronation
The South has historically been a region represented at the top by two or three teams. The University of Miami has won the South Regional Championship since basically forever, while the University of Florida (UF) established itself on the national scene at World Cup V when it reached the finals. This year though, the region is dominated by just a single team that is the unquestioned favorite to take the regional title: Florida’s Finest. This past weekend at the Canes Classic, Florida’s Finest knocked off UF 150*-20 in pool play and Miami 240*-150. While both teams are capable of an upset, if the early season results are any indication, Florida’s Finest is the clear favorite to take home the regional title.
Midwest Mayhem
My thoughts on trying to understand what is happening at the top of the Midwest can be summarized in one word that isn’t really a word: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I frankly have no idea what to make of the top of the region.
Ohio State University was the consensus preseason favorite, and it was easy to see why with boatloads of talent returning from an Elite Eight team. After falling 50*-40 to Ball State University at Tournament of the Stars 2 (TotS2) in the semifinals, Ohio State rebounded this week with a strong performance at the Nittany Invitational, easily defeating Q.C. Pittsburgh, the University of Virginia, and Penn State University. Admittedly, three wins over teams in the third tier or lower of the Mid-Atlantic isn’t much to write home about, but it was still a strong performance from Ohio State. Unfortunately, we were deprived of the opportunity to see Ohio State potentially taking on a pair of stronger Northeast teams—Rochester Institute of Technology and the Warriors—by the cancellation of bracket play due to poor weather.
Bowling Green State University (BGSU) rebounded from its finals defeat to Ball State at TotS2 with a 160*-40 win in the championship match at the Ball Brothers Brawl. BGSU was kept in snitch range twice, by Tennessee Tech University in the quarterfinals and by Marquette University in pool play. Ball State was knocked off once in pool play, falling to Miami University of Ohio in a game where Ball State did not have star beater Trevor Campbell. In the semifinals, Ball State knocked off top-seeded University of Michigan 70*-60.
Elsewhere in the Midwest, the University of Kansas defeated the University of Minnesota in the Third Annual Kansas Cup finals. Minnesota deserves credit for making the seven-hour trek to Kansas for the tournament. Both teams fared well against World Cup VII qualifiers from the Southwest, going a combined 4-1 against Oklahoma State University and the University of Arkansas with three of those matches being decided outside of snitch range.
So in conclusion, I have no idea who belongs atop the Midwest. Kansas has looked strong in its only tournament going undefeated against three WCVII qualifiers. Ball State has won a tournament and advanced to the finals of another but has gotten blown out and also has the worst loss (to a not bad Miami team) of all the contenders. Ohio State and BGSU both lost head-to-head matches to Ball State but may have righted the ship with BGSU handily defeating Ball State in a rematch. The University of Michigan earned the top-seed in its 2014-15 debut before falling on a snitch catch to Ball State.
As I said before: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
