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Fix Your Attitudes – A Plea To Re-Direct Our Anger To The Appropriate Recipient
So, if you’re following this blog, it means you’re a fan of quidditch. Which, in turn, means that you heard all about what happened at this past weekend’s Northwest Regional Championship. There was nationwide controversy, with members of the community from every region voicing their displeasure with the Northwest Region, it’s regional coordinator, the teams, and lambasting them for the decisions that were made. Admittedly, I too was shocked and upset at what transpired. Hell, I refereed at a regional championship that was played on ice earlier this year. I was upset on behalf of the Midwest’s players, for what they had to endure at their regional championship. After a few days of mulling it over, I quickly realized that all of us are directing our anger at the wrong people. This isn’t the Northwest players’ fault. This isn’t the fault of Kym Couch (who had no hand in the decision, as she was serving as a player/coach at the tournament). This is directly the fault of USQ, and that’s where our anger should be directed. That’s where our complaints should be sent.
It’s obvious that there’s a NW bias in USQ. Painfully obvious. Last year, as a new region, they held their regional championship next door to a Seattle Sounders practice. Clint Dempsey was at the NWRC. They had seven teams in attendance, and three of them got bids to USQ World Cup 8. That upset a lot of people in the other regions of USQ, and rightfully so. But, that was not the fault of the Northwest.
Fast forward to this season, where the Northwest has grown, and had nine teams attending the regional championship. Due to only nine teams being in attendance, NWRC was a round-robin tournament, which frankly was the best option for the tournament. However, this smelled rank with NW bias, as the NW was (and will likely stay) the only region to have their regional championship, as well as the Nationals bids, decided via round-robin format. This is not uniformity across regions, as USQ stated was its intention with regional championships this season. But again, this is not the fault of the Northwest.
NWRC this year was marred by the fact that one pitch became unplayable. It rains a lot in Oregon in February, so that makes sense. Due to this, five of the nine teams elected to forego their opportunity at claiming a Nationals bid. This left just four teams to battle it out for three bids, which meant a whopping 75% of NW teams that competed for a bid were going to attend USQ Nationals. And, once again, this was not the fault of the Northwest.
Ladies and gentlemen of the quidditch community, I implore you, direct all of the anger you have towards the Northwest Region, and direct it at USQ. United States Quidditch is failing its player base this season. Whether it be Donte Quinine bolting after 2 months in office, or the fact that gameplay is deciding to ignore regional weather patterns (Come on, you wouldn’t have guessed that it would be rainy in Oregon in February? Or that it would be snowy and icy in Illinois on the last weekend in November? Really?), USQ is not providing the proper services to its players and members that those members and players deserve. The only way to incite change in a system is to speak out against the current system. If you have an issue with something in quidditch, take it up with USQ. Force the organization to take responsibility for its shortcomings. Otherwise, USQ continues on, continually failing its members. It takes community voice to make things right. Don’t blame the Northwest. Blame USQ.
Way-Too-Early USQ Nationals Outlooks
Now that the feelings of being completely burnt out have subsided, it’s time to get this blog back up and running again. I’d like to apologize for having such a lengthy hiatus, without literally any warning, that’s on us. Anyhow, it’s time to take a look at each team that qualified for USQ Nationals from the Great Lakes region, and give some predictions for each of the teams.
Michigan Quidditch Team
The favorites heading into the Great Lakes Regional Championship, Michigan dominantly asserted that it was the best team in the region, bar none. The only team to challenge Michigan the entire weekend was Bowling Green State University in the GLRC Championship match, a match in which Michigan avenged their Tournament Of The Stars semi-final loss to BGSU. Michigan has consistently shown improvement each year, but they always seemed to be dominated by a few big names. This year, Michigan not only has their big name players in Andrew Axtell and Matt Oppenlander, they also have the depth and discipline to make a deep run at Nationals. With other quaffle threats such as Zach Fogel, Bobby Huddleston, Matthew Oates, and the Schepers twins, the Wolverines have plenty of players they can trust to put up points with the quaffle in their hands. Michigan’s beaters show aggression and fearlessness on both halves of the pitch, led by Lisa Lavelanet and Erik Soreide, who are quickly making the case for being one of the top beating duos in the region. Their chasers run an incredibly well-oiled offensive and defensive system that is incredibly disciplined, and set up in such a way that truly makes every quaffle carrier on pitch a legitimate scoring threat. They’ve got the speed, the physicality, the discipline, and most importantly, the hunger that it takes to be a top team come USQ Nationals.
Projection: Elite Eight, or Final Four with a favorable bracket draw
Bowling Green State University
The big misconception around BGSU heading into this season was that their quaffle game would be worse with former captain Daniel Daugherty making the full-time switch to beater. As anyone from around the region can tell you, it seems to have only made BGSU a better team than it was last season. Led offensively by keeper Mike Gallagher, BG’s quaffle game has become more efficient since Daugherty donned the black headband. The BGSU offense is truly versatile, with players being able to both carry the ball up and lead the offense, as well as dropping back behind the hoops as a wing option. Defensively, BG is able to limit scoring opportunities behind the strong point defense of Kendall Kuhn, backed up by its ridiculously deep beating rotations, which features familiar faces such as Max McAdoo, Max Portillo, and Jenna Rindler, as well as some new faces in the aforementioned Daugherty and “Sunshine” Sam Roitblat. BGSU seems to be the perfect embodiment of a team that doesn’t rebuild, but rather just reloads.
Projection: Sweet Sixteen
Ohio State Unversity
Ohio State had a rough start to the season, failing to make bracket play at TOTS, and consistently being outclassed by the top tier teams in the region. The struggles were to be expected as OSU only returned a handful of players from the team that won a regional championship the year prior. However, since the season started, the team has consistently improved, to the point where it was able to fight and claw it’s way to the Final Four at GLRC. The spark that proved to be the catalyst for this improvement was star chaser Jeremy Boettner making the switch to beater during the first 18 minutes of the game. Alongside a truly elite beating partner in Julie Fritz, Boettner’s athleticism allowed him to take to beating rather quickly, and provided a new wrinkle to the Ohio State gameplan that most teams were not prepared for. Coupled with Ohio State’s young new players getting experience, the team continues to improve at a rapid rate. It remains to be seen who will be able to fill the massive void that will be left once Julie Fritz departs*, but for now, the future for Ohio State seems to be pretty bright.
*Fritz graduates in the winter, but her status with the team once she graduates is still up in the air
Projection: Does not qualify for bracket play at Nationals
Lake Effect Maelstrom
When the season began for the Great Lakes Community Quidditch “A” team, it looked much like the beginning to their previous season as Blue Mountain Quidditch Club. All of the talent was there for a top team, but the cohesion just did not exist yet. At GLRC, Maelstrom struggled to shake off the rust and get on the same page early, but once Day 2 rolled around, the community team was rust-free and it showed, with them making it to the Final Four and playing a tight match with BGSU. This team has a ridiculous amount of depth in it’s beater lines, with Chad Brown, Trevor Campbell, Melinda Staup, and Danielle Anderson being led by 2014 Team USA beater, Ashley Calhoun. It’s quaffle carriers have plenty of weapons as well, led by John Gaffigan and Chris Barnard, who provide a perfect parallel of precision passing and shooting and full-power driving. This team will only continue to improve with time, and arguably has a higher ceiling than last year’s BMQC team did.
Projection: Elite Eight (or Final Four with favorable draw)
Ball State University
Ball State may be without players like Trevor Campbell and Melinda Staup, but they are by no means in bad shape. Led by the ridiculously athletic Tyler Walker, Ball State returns much of last year’s team, which boasts a true showstopper at keeper in Blake Fitzgerald, a deceptively good Matthew Brown at chaser, and an experienced, intelligent beater in Erin Moreno. Beyond their “big four”, so to speak, Ball State has the best seeker in the region in Jason Bowling. Walker and Moreno make a great beating duo, however, the players that back them up aren’t especially noteworthy. Ball State features the most depth in their quaffle lines, but even then, outside of a few solid pieces like Nick Kaufman and Jake LeMay, Ball State has yet to truly develop any other weapons outside of its primary ball handlers. That being said, so long as Walker and Bowling are present for the Cardinals, they have the potential to win almost any match.
Projection: Play-In Round
Miami University
After years of saying “this is the year” for Miami, they’ve finally broken emphatically into the top 10 of the region. Despite the departure of Matt Dwyer, Miami’s quaffle carriers have improved under keeper Matt Mignery, who is a very good distributor and on-pitch leader for the team. Also emerging as a true threat this year has been Gracie Rapnicki, who has just continued to rain down points for the RedHawks. Their beaters are led by Braden Grimes and Connor Stonecash, who are both aggressive, tenacious players, which couples well with Krista Siegfried’s more conservative approach to beating. Miami’s beaters could be even better, but the loss of Stephanie Raudenbush and Tina Kinstedt have left a whole that hasn’t quite been filled yet. Miami, like Ohio State, is a team that continues to improve with time, but will be denied a bracket play spot at USQ Nationals.
Projection: Does not make brackets
Michigan State University
The Spartans seem to have all the pieces to be a top-tier team, but have not put them together yet. Their quaffle carriers match up very well with most teams on paper, led by Jacob Heppe, Kyle Judkins, and Ian Hoopingarner, with some deadly threats that post up by the hoops, namely Sara DeLongchamp. Jim Richert has emerged as a clutch seeker for MSU, getting the grab to defeat Lake Effect Tempest in a snitch-range game to qualify for Nationals. The big concern for Michigan State comes down to its beaters. While Brandon Ollio and Jacob Bobeldyk are certainly no slouches, the rest of the beating corps leaves a little to be desired. Frankly speaking, MSU had no business being in a back-and-forth bludger battle with the beaters of Tempest, who, as a whole, are an average at best group. Sarah Walsh has shown great strides, but unless there is some serious improvement among the group as a whole, it will be a case of always the bridesmaid, never the bride for the Spartans.
Projection: Does not make brackets
Ohio University
OU has improved leaps and bounds from last season, frankly speaking. Prior to this year, OU was viewed as a cupcake team by many in the region, and despite picking up a deferred bid to USQ Cup 8, went winless at the event. This time around, led by Ryan Scott and Joe Dent, OU has picked up some athletes and begun molding them into quidditch players. The players I was most impressed by were beater John Williams, who sort of plays like a Tyler Walker-lite, being far and away the best beater on the squad, and Noah Boettner, brother of Ohio State’s Jeremy Boettner. OU’s improvement has been a sight to behold, but they have not yet improved enough to challenge for a bracket play spot at Nationals.
Projection: Does not make brackets
Central Michigan University
The Centaurs fought their way through the consolation bracket at GLRC to take the last bid to Nationals, ousting Indiana University in the process. The CMU quaffle attack revolves around Taylor Felton, who is a superstar in the making, undoubtedly. Unfortunately for the Centaurs’ quaffle attack, that’s where the game-changing players end. While there are undoubtedly solid pieces around Felton, such as Mae Overholt and captain David Weir, there are no truly elite quaffle players on the squad, similar to OU. They all range from good to below-average. The beating game, however, is a different story entirely. Led by Jack Slater and Rebecca Bennett, the CMU beaters are what drive them to the success they have experienced thus far. The beaters open up the lanes to let Felton run the quaffle game, which has been responsible for the majority of CMU’s points. Behind Slater and Bennett are solid pieces such as Matthew Booth and Cameron Kniffen, but, like their quaffle lines, there just is not enough depth for this team to truly make an impact at USQ Nationals.
Projection: Does not make brackets
State of the MLQ North #2
With one matchup left in the MLQ North Division, it’s time give another update on all of the goings-on in the division of MLQ where being the favored team means absolutely nothing. The standings are as follows:
Indianapolis Intensity: 6-3 (Clinched the division)
Rochester Whiteout: 5-4
Cleveland Riff: 3-3
Detroit Innovators: 1-5
The Whiteout had an opportunity to clinch the division this past weekend in Cleveland, but came up short in two snitch-range games, losing the series 1-2. Cleveland was able to string together an impressive performance, and in doing so, clinched the division for the Indianapolis Intensity. The Intensity now look forward to a first round matchup against either the Washington Admirals or the Ottawa Black Bears at the MLQ Championship on August 22nd in Toledo, OH.
After coming incredibly close to beating the Whiteout at home two weeks ago, the Detroit Innovators look ahead to defending their home turf against the Cleveland Riff on August 8th. This, like every matchup so far in the North, has a lot on the line for both teams. Detroit can only get as high as third place in the division, but with a win under their belts, the Innovators are looking to send the rival Riff barreling into the cellar of the North. If the Riff get more than one win in the series, they will take second in the North. In a matchup that should feature the best 21 that each program has to offer, the already existing sports rivalry between Cleveland and Detroit will become even more intense. With no disrespect intended to the Tigers, Indians, Cavs, and Pistons: this will be the most even, most exciting series between a Cleveland and Detroit team.
Anonymous asked: Write up of Great Lakes teams for this season? Lots of graduation and moving around. Also rank them going into the first regional? Thanks!
Write-ups of teams and a pre-regional ranking will come in the lead-up to, and aftermath, of the first Great Lakes tournament this fall, which right now, is looking to be Tournament of the Stars 3 in Columbus, Ohio.
State of the MLQ North
3 weeks into the MLQ season, and one MLQ team’s regular season is already finished. The Indianapolis Intensity are currently in 1st place in the MLQ North at 6-3, after sweeping the Detroit Innovators, taking 2 games against the Cleveland Riff, and dropping two games against the Rochester Whiteout. The MLQ North standings currently look like this:
Indianapolis Intensity: 6-3
Rochester Whiteout: 2-1
Cleveland Riff: 1-2
Detroit Innovators: 0-3
Indy started the season off strong against Detroit, sweeping them, but only after the first game was replayed due to an ineligible player taking the field for Detroit. With Detroit’s win pulled away from them, they were noticeably shaken, and Indy capitalized on the chaos to sweep the Innovators in MLQ’s first series.
Indy then hosted Cleveland, the favorites coming into this MLQ season. Indy’s excellent beating, led by Tyler Walker, allowed Indy to continue it’s undefeated* SWIM record, extending it to 4-0, and beating Cleveland, 2 games to 1.
Finally, Indy traveled to Rochester, losing twice out of range and winning once in range. At this point, the MLQ North is now anybody’s to take (with the exception of Detroit, who, even if they sweep their next two series, can only get second due to the head-to-head series loss to Indianapolis).
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Thus far in the MLQ North, chemistry seems to be the biggest key to success. Indianapolis’ roster is made up of mostly Ball State players or alums, and as such, they have a high level of familiarity with one another, which makes it easier to implement their gameplan to the level it needs to be executed at. The biggest hiccup came against Rochester, a team made up of U-Rochester and RIT players who also have a very high level of familiarity with each other. As evidence by the Whiteout’s two wins out of range, Rochester matched up with the Intensity extremely well, as well as negated the chemistry advantage that Indy enjoyed against the other two teams in the North division.
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For Cleveland, next they host Rochester for a pivotal series with much on the line. Win the series, and there’s a real shot at claiming first place in the North. Lose, and they could end up in the cellar. Will Cleveland claim their (preseason) predicted place of top team in the North? Or will Rochester ride their chemistry to a potential first-place finish?
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No team has more at stake the rest of the season than the Detroit Innovators. Sitting at 0-3, Detroit must play each and every game as if it’s their last. However unlikely it may seem, Detroit has the opportunity to jump from fourth to second place, starting with their trip to Rochester on July 11th. Detroit will benefit from having Matt Oppenlander and Eric Wasser back in the quaffle game, but Rochester’s chemistry could prove to be the difference maker against Detroit as it was for Indy.
Apologies
I, on behalf of the two of us here at QE, would like to apologize for the lack of writing over the past few weeks. Ian is in China for the summer, while I am in Culver, Indiana, at a camp with little to no WiFi, and a schedule packed from 7 am to 10 pm every day. That being said, we will still be attempting to do our best to get new articles out for you to read and discuss. I only have time to get this post out for you, but the next few times I have free time, I will be working on some pieces regarding the MLQ North and how it has shaken out thus far. Thank you for your patience!
-RS
MLQ North Matchup #1: Indianapolis Intensity vs Detroit Innovators
This Saturday evening, in Culver, IN, the very first event of the MLQ season will happen, as the Indianapolis Intensity will host the Detroit Innovators in a 3 game series.
Indianapolis Intensity Projected Starters
Keeper: Blake Fitzgerald
Chasers: Matthew Brown, Kyle Isch, Rebecca Sampson
Beaters: Alex Leitch, Melinda Staup
The Intensity boast a very strong (projected) first line, high in chemistry as it features 4 Ball State Cardinals, plus a high-level quaffle talent in Kyle Isch and a 2014 Team USA Alternate in Alex Leitch. Leitch’s hyper-aggressive beating style, in which he likes to push the pace, should partner well with Melinda’s more conservative approach to the beating game. Leitch is very good at causing chaos on offensive drives, and it will be up to Detroit’s beaters to play smart and stay calm under the constant pressure that will be caused by Indy’s dangerous quaffle players. Keeper Blake Fitzgerald is an excellent distributor, Kyle Isch is incredibly speedy, and Matt Brown is a good driver, which gives Indy’s first line the versatility it needs to succeed against Detroit’s less versatile defenders. However, the pressure is going to be entirely on Indy’s 2nd and 3rd lines to produce. In a series of 3 matches, depth will be incredibly important, and Indy’s depth past the starting line is spotty at best. They have a few good playmakers in Mac Randolph, Anthony Votaw, and Tyler Walker, but Indy will need it’s beaters to play a lights out game to keep it in snitch range for Jason Bowling to work his magic.
Detroit Innovators Projected Starters
Keeper: Ben Ackland
Chasers: Matt Oppenlander, Dylan Schepers, Sara DeLongchamp
Beaters: Ashley Calhoun, Tad Walters
Detroit’s first line is every bit as good, if not better, than Indy’s. The combination of Tad Walters and Ashley Calhoun at beater should be fantastic for Detroit (once they get used to playing with one another), and the high level of familiarity between Oppenlander and Schepers in the quaffle game (in addition to their physicality) should be able to match that of Brown and Fitzgerald. At Midwest Fantasy this past weekend, we saw DeLongchamp and Rebecca Sampson face off several times, and Sampson struggled with keeping DeLongchamp covered for more than a short period of time. Detroit’s depth is comparable to Indy’s in the quaffle game, with bruisers such as David Wilber and Alex Scheer coming off the bench, as well as speedsters like Zach Fogel. It’s in the beating game where this game shifts into Detroit’s favor. Behind Detroit’s starters, they have Brandon Ollio, Zach Schepers, Jim Richert, Lisa Lavelanet, Ryan Sparks, and Kiera Fisher, which compares favorably with Indy’s beater subs. The lack of a true seeker is a bit disconcerting for the Innovators, though the superior beaters should be able to give whoever Detroit has seeking more opportunities at the snitch.
Final Prediction: Detroit wins 2 out of 3 matches, all in snitch range
Anonymous asked: Ryan, doesn't seem like you're so busy with "real life" when you're just sitting around watching Game of Thrones all day everyday. Write some quid analysis on SOMETHING, anything. You two took this blog and need to be held accountable to write quality analysis on a timely basis. Neither of you have done that for is yet.
Well, first of all, that’s not what I do. At all. Have I watched a lot of Game of Thrones over the last week? A season and a half, yeah. For the record, I also put in 40 hours at work last week (it was my final week). My time not spent at work was spent packing and getting ready to move on Friday, as well as getting prepared for my two-month stay at Culver for work this summer. I’ve spent the last 24 hours after getting home from Chicago for Midwest Fantasy looking after my nieces.
So, I apologize that if in the down time I have had, I decided that I wanted to relax and watch some Game of Thrones instead of writing whilst burnt out.
I appreciate your concern though. It truly does mean a lot to me.
If interested, we will have a preview of this weekend’s MLQ series between the Indianapolis Intensity and the Detroit Innovators up later this week.
Anonymous asked: Saying your 100% sure Kody would beat everyone or 90% Changet beats Brooks or Pitts beats Shapiro is just dumb, although i guess you did say predictions are useless, but those percentages are pretty outrageous.
Good! Let the hate flow through you!
I’m 94% sure that predicting day 2 of this tournament is 80% unlikely, and 96% sure that the four teams I named were among the 5 best teams there. I’m also 100% sure that you’re too worked up about this - maybe you should turn your outrage down from the rolling boil of 90% to a nice simmering 20%.
Anonymous asked: Are you doing to do a post fantasy analysis even though there was only one day?
Ok. I’m 100% positive that the champion on day two would have been Kody’s Lime Green team. I’m 90% positive the Final Four would have Augie, Changet, Pitts and Kody.
Predictions are meaningless though, especially from one guy who wrote this in 5 minutes. I had fun at the tournament, I hope everyone else did too!
Anonymous asked: Are you two still using a picture of Luke from like WC V? Come on, I know you're better then that.
Tradition!
Midwest Fantasy Preview
Chi-town. Quidditch. Sixteen teams. 8 world champions. 6 Team USA players (and at least one 2016 Team USA player #PittsforTeamUSA). The beach!
Yeah Ian, we get that you’re excited, especially because you forgot to pay on time and barely made the late additions (ahem, my bad). But, excitement aside, which of the sixteen GM’s assembled a squad good enough to come out on top this weekend?
Let’s get down to the nuts and bolts then. This was a snake-style draft, which, as veteran GMs will acknowledge, basically consists of two parts: the first half, where you scramble to gather a core group of players that can carry your team, and the second half, where you try to nab a couple steals and fill out your depth chart. Doing well in the first half gets you in the conversation, but it’s rare to win a tournament without the adequate depth and a couple steals in the late rounds.
Pool 1:
Navy (Finch): Poor early round chaser picks limit their offensive ceiling. Taylor Zastrow is a great beater in a sparse female beater field, and her along Dan Cull and Phillip Dindal will have to shoulder most of the responsibility for keeping games in range. Blue’s fate rests on the performance of their beating corps and Chris Tyler’s (in round 7, Finch’s best overall value pick) ability to create for himself and others.
Magenta (Changet): I’m not sure if picking three (elite) male beaters - Willroth, Richert and Z. Schepers - in the first half of the draft means that Luke wants to play keeper, or if he’s actually following through with his promise of an “alcohol-friendly” team, but either way, it gives him probably the strongest overall beating corps in the tournament, with Michigan’s Lisa Lavelanet giving him a great female beater as well. If late-round gems like Christin Gostola and Isaak Willard perform well, Luke can walk away with this pool.
Teal (Moorhead): The best female chaser in the draft, a seeker of renown, very solid male quaffle players, and depth at every position save for male beater make this team probably the most balanced in Pool 1. Teal’s success will depend on how well its beaters can handle Changet’s stable of male beaters and Pitts’ male chasers.
Grey (Pitts): Between Heald, Ruland, Peters and Pitts himself, Grey probably has on paper the best male chasers in Pool 1. Their weakness might lie in their female players and their disadvantage in their beater game relative to the rest of their pool.
Pool 2:
Orange (Kleby): A team with a lot of unfamiliar names for yours truly. Axtell and Daigle (as per usual, undervalued in the 7th round) give Kelby a lot of power in the quaffle game that could end up being their main advantage in pool play. Picking up two (three?) time World Champion Shelby Manford in the late additions is a huge boost as well. The onus is on Smith, Patterson, and Moreno to hold the bludger game at least even so the quaffle players can do their work.
Black (Wilber): Lensing and Walters run the show here. If they can dominate control and pace, Black can keep the game in range even against the (apparently) stronger quaffle lines in the rest of their pool (Maroon). Like Pavlovsky for Teal, Drewa is the only primary seeker drafted in the first three rounds in his pool, and he needs to contribute for Black to be successful. Wilber will also at least benefit from (if not absolutely require) a late-round gem who can put up some points in the quaffle game.
Maroon (Shapiro): World Champion and Team USA player Bell is the headliner here, but much of the onus is on Becker and Raudenbush to perform well, especially on the defensive side of the ball, where Shapiro didn’t draft much size and quaffle defending early. The Bell-to-Chris Fisher connection should prove effective, and look for Mansour to excel when she gets good matchups, but fade when facing Black’s Makey or Milligan/Manford from Orange. Someone also needs to be able to catch a snitch here when Bell is tired.
Stanley (Light Blue): Ashley Calhoun. There’s not much else to say about Stanley’s draft choices. Anthony Votaw is a bright spot, and hopefully someone else on the quaffle line can get him the ball early and often.
Pool 3:
Dark Blue (Schepers): A very well done draft by Schepers. Taking Campbell, Oppenlander, Delongchamp, and Bowman early gives him about the strongest all-MW starters in the tournament, and good late picks like Whipple and Marks give him the necessary depth. Picking up John Gaffigan from the late additions is so lucky its almost unfair. Pending on-pitch chemistry and a *slight* lack of female beater depth, Schepers should be on a fast track to a high seed in brackets.
Lime Green (Marshall): Marty (McFly) Bermudez leads the quaffle line here, and combining him with Nguyen, Tran, and Marshall is a good blend of speed and power in the early rounds. Fiebig should match up well against the other male beaters in the pool. With Natalie Gawedzinski dropping out, Lime Green is a little hurting for female quaffle depth. Tyler Walker is a steal in the late rounds, especially if he can put in good minutes at chaser and beater.
Purple (Sparks): Boettner, Sampson and Fitzgerald are a scary combination in the quaffle game, especially if Richards and Sparks can control the bludger game and the pace. Sparks did well in the late rounds too. Kori Marvin and Nate Digmann in particular play at a much higher level than their draft round suggests, and should make some noise. Question marks for this team are at male beater, and female beater depth behind Sparks.
Red (Siwek): Daugherty, as per usual, will be expected to put up the majority of his team’s points, but getting Randolph and Flory involved early is imperative. The beater game has some question marks, although Jake Watson (round 11 and Siwek’s best late round pick on paper) could give them just enough depth to avoid catastrophe in a pool with some very strong male beaters.
Pool 4:
Brown (Monroe): The three-time World Champ’s first four picks: two southwest beaters (Salinas, Bilanoski), a human wrecking ball (Freeman), and a seeker (Brekus). The man knows how to win, especially when you have a quaffle carrier as good as Monroe at the helm. No non-male primary beaters until round 10 means that Monroe will need his female chasers to step up, and Walsh and Pollak fit the bill nicely. Possible question marks are depth and off-ball defense. Picking up an aggressive beater (Lietch) in the late additions plays square into Brown’s strategy.
White (Whiston): Whiston and Anderson will have to control the bludger game against a strong pool of beaters, but as long as they can do so, and keeper Dwyer and accurately distribute the ball, Levis , Kressler and Arends - Arends especially - will be incredibly hard to defend off-ball. Whiston, as is tradition, dipped deep into the lesser-known Kansas/Arkansas/Missouri players for his later picks, so expect some late round gems to shine on White.
Pink (Scheer): Garrison, Fogel, Taylor, and Judkins are a very solid quaffle player core, and Brandon Ollio (consistently underrated at round 7) can provide a dominating presence in the bludger game, but there are some question marks about Scheer’s non-male beater depth that might come back to haunt them when playing Brown or even White.
Green (Eveland): The biggest storyline of the draft had to be “what will Matt do when he’s not the last pick?” Something pretty similar, it seems, grabbing a female beater and a point defender immediately (Dallas and Dugie, respectively), and then filling out his roster with Eveland favorites and defensively-minded players like Wasser and Niebecker, underrated quaffle players like Banaszak and Reed, and filling out his depth with lesser known Ohio players. Look for Green to lose a game in pool play (probably Brown) but make a solid bracket run.
I guess I’ll put my neck on the line with some game predictions too, keeping in mind I have only played with/against about half of the players in attendance:
Slot 1: Gray (Pitts) blows out Navy (Finch), Orange (Kelby) blows out Light Blue (Stanley)
Slot 2: Dark Blue (Schepers) over Red (Siwek), Brown (Monroe) over Green (Eveland)
Slot 3: Magenta (Changet) over Teal (Moorhead), Maroon (Shapiro) over Black (Wilber)
Slot 4: Lime Green (Marshall) over Purple (Sparks), White (Whiston) over Pink (Scheer)
Slot 5: Magenta (Changet) over Gray (Pitts), Black (Wilber) over Light Blue (Stanley)
Slot 6: Lime Green (Marshall) over Red (Siwek), Green (Eveland) over White (Whiston)
Slot 7: Teal (Moorhead) over Navy (Finch), Maroon (Shapiro) over Orange (Kelby)
Slot 8: Dark Blue (Schepers) over Purple (Sparks), Brown (Monroe) over Pink (Scheer)
Slot 9: Magenta (Changet) over Navy (Finch), Black (Wilber) over Orange (Kelby)
Slot 10: Lime Green (Marshall) over Dark Blue (Schepers), Brown (Monroe) over White (Whiston)
Slot 11: Teal (Moorhead) over Gray (Pitts), Maroon (Shapiro) over Light Blue (Stanley)
Slot 12: Purple (Sparks) over Red (Siwek), Green (Eveland) over Pink (Scheer)
That said, predictions are stupid! Let’s just play the quidditch and see what happens.
-IH
Anonymous asked: MWF?
We are doing our best to get something up for you all to read. This is my last week at my current job before moving and starting a new job, so I’m crazy busy right now. At the very latest, we’ll have something up by midnight tomorrow.
-RS
Why did Texas State successfully slow-play LSQC while the Gambits failed to do the same to Texas?
(Given that they both slow-played teams that like to push the pace.)
Texas State dominated LSQC’s beaters *at midfield*, so LSQC couldn’t put enough pressure on midfield passes. Tx. St. would draw LSQC’s beaters too far upfield before mounting a decisive offensive. On the other hand, Texas’s beaters nearly always threw first in beater duels, which limited Gambits’ slow-play gambit.
-IH