New Eighth Man Rankings

1	Texas A&M (7)	195	T-3
2	University of Southern California (2)	181	1
3	Villanova University	172	2
4	University of Maryland	165	T-3
5	University of Miami (1)	164	5
6	University of Texas-Austin	152	6
7	Boston University	135	T-12
8	Marquette University	130	9
9	University of California-Los Angeles	120	7
10	Emerson College	91	T-12
11	Louisiana State University	90	8
12	Baylor University	89	11
13	Ball State University	86	10
14	Bowling Green State University	64	UR
15	Hofstra University	42	UR
16	University of South Florida	40	T-15
17	Penn State University	36	T-15
T-18	University of Michigan	24	14
T-18	University of Pittsburgh	24	19
20	Tufts University	22	UR

Other receiving votes: McGill University 20, Michigan State University 17, University of Kansas 14, Florida Gulf Coast University 8, University of Minnesota 6, Ringling College of Art and Design 5, University of Florida 4,  Ohio State University 3, University of Newcastle (Australia) 1

A surprise edition of the Eighth Man Rankings! Thoughts:
Boston makes big jump. Boston, boosted by their win at NERC jumps to 7 past Marquette, a team that won the Midwest Cup and came in second at the Collegiate Cup behind the number one team.
Texas is still ranked 6th after a WxSW win.
LSU missed out on a big fall, falling from 8 to 11 while Kansas fell out of the rankings. I don't get why LSU didn't fall behind Baylor though because Baylor beat the Tigers at the Collegiate Cup.
Everything else looks good. BGSU jumped all the way to 13 (maybe a little high) after a second place finish at the Midwest Cup, Hofstra and Tufts joined as a result of semifinal runs at NERC. McGill still sits at the 21 spot even though they won the Canadian Cup.
For the first time, Middlebury is undisputedly not number 1. MiddQuid received no votes.

With these thoughts, I understand that the Eighth Man doesn't have a final say and that they simply add the votes of the voters, but some of these things just seem odd.

2nd Week of Rankings Reshuffling

Because the Eighth Man only produces rankings once a month, I like to project how their voting will change in the weeks during the month. I've added results from the Midwest Cup, Canadian Cup, West by Southwest, Collegiate Cup and Northeast Cup to the existing November edition of the Eighth Man's rankings to project a realistic weekly rankings. Here is November 3!

After 3 exciting tournaments this past weekend, two of them being regionals, the Eighth Man's Rankings will have to be reshuffled. I'm not sure if the Eighth Man will continue to only produce rankings at the beginning of each month, but I project what results would look like if they voted now. Here is my projection.
1. Texas A&M
2. USC
3. Texas
4. Villanova
5. Maryland
6. Marquette
7. Miami
8. Boston
9. Baylor
10. Ball State
11. UCLA
12. Emerson
13. South Florida
14. Penn State
15. LSU
16. McGill
17. Pittsburgh
18. Bowling Green State
19. Hofstra
20. Tufts

I have A&M jumping into first because, with the Collegiate Cup victory, they've asserted themselves as the best from the IQA strongest region- the Southwest. USC, Texas, Villanova and Maryland follow with impressive showing at the Collegiate Cup boosting Marquette to 6 and Baylor to 9 with Boston sandwiched in between at 8. The jump from 13 to 7 is credited to BU's dominance at NERC, defeating Emerson 150*-80. Because of these jumps, Miami falls to 9 and Ball State to 10. UCLA, Emerson, USF and Penn State come next followed by LSU, a huge disappointment at the Collegiate Cup. The rest of the rankings remain unchanged except that Hofstra and Tufts jump Michigan State and Michigan based on their NERC performance.

Boston wins NERC

Boston University defeated Emerson College in the finals of the Northeast Regional 150*-80. BU put on a great display of spread offense and fantastic passing while tiring Emerson with solid beating. After a fierce comeback from Emerson that knotted the game at 80, BU fought back to a 120-80 lead after several miscatches of snitch (and UMD star seeker) Harry Greenhouse. BU finally legally caught the snitch and won the NERC. Boston University is in my opinion the strongest team from the Northeast. Their ability to pass and play quickly is similar to Texas' with less agression. Unlike Emerson, I consider BU a World Cup title contender despite their 12th ranking because of their well-oiled offense. Other regions may laugh at the Northeast becuase of the region's lack of physicality, but BU will be able to out-smart and out-play World Cup favorites come April.

Collegiate Cup Champions Are...Texas A&M!!

As I predicted Texas A&M, Baylor, Marquette and LSU have made it to the seminfianls at the first Collegiate Cup. LSU will play their tormentor, Texas A&M and Marquette, the only non-Southwest team left will play Baylor.

Texas A&M has beaten LSU 120*-40 to advance to the Collegiate Cup finals.

For Marquette, it took two snatches by Alex Busbee to send them to the finals over a highly talented Baylor team. The final score was 140^*-120 with the overtime snatch coming with 5 seconds left in the game according to the twitter account of Baylor player Mark Willard.

MARQUETTE AND A&M IN THE FINALS OF THE FIRST COLLEGIATE CUP!!!!


TEXAS A&M wins the first Collegiate Cup after two yellow cards and a snatch. The final score was 180*-40. The best of the Southwest destroyed the Midwest Champs coupled with UT's performance at WxSW shows that the Southwest is the strongest region in the IQA. Congrats to A&M! They have been waiting for a big title like this for a while.

Bracket Play at NERC

In the early morning play in round, featuring teams ranked from 13-20 aft Saturday's pool play, UMass, Stony Brook, Green Mountain, and Hrvard advanced eliminating Vermont, New Haven, CAMPS, and the New York Badassilisks from World Cup contention.

With 16 teams left, no team was at risk for elimination from the World Cup in the Round of 16, but losing would put any team in a difficult situation (the single elimination consolation bracket) and eliminate them from NERC championship contention. So far, RIT, D2 runners up, have lost to upstart CUNY Macaulay while SUNY Geneseo has thrown original team Vassar into the consolation bracket. In addition, the Boston Riot snatched a victory from Rochester and NYU blew out Syracuse. Boston has clinched a WC6 spot after a surprisingly close game against UMass. Shortly after BU's win over UMass, Emerson and Tufts qualifies for World Cup Six too with routs over Green Mountain and Stony Brook. Over half an hour later though, Boston team Hrvard was beaten by Hofstra,who gained a spot at the World Cup.
CUNY Macaulay 80*-RIT 30
SUNY Geneseo 100*-Vassar 70
Boston Riot 50*-Rochester 40
NYU 110-Syracuse 50*
Boston 70*-UMass 30
Emerson 160*-Green Mountain 0
Tufts 120*-Stony Brook 20
Hofstra 130*-Harvard 10


In the Quarterfinals, all of the favorites won, but some had easier games that others. Boston and Emerson are on pace to meet in the finals with 160-40* and 160-60* wins over Macaulay and the Boston Riot (Emerson's second team) respectively. Hofstra needed a snatch to advance past the surprise of the tournament, NYU and Tufts blew out Geneseo 170*-40 in the twitter-advertised Battle for Tobey. ??
Boston 160-Mcaulay 40*
Emerson 160-Boston Riot 60*
Tufts 170*-Geneseo 40
Hofstra 60*-NYU 30

With the seminfianls set, consolation play for the last three World Cup spots began. Two historic teams, Vassar and Harvard were eliminated by UMass and Rochester respectively. Stony Brook,(along with Vassar) plagued by a terribly difficult pool play group landed in these games after getting a bad seed. Stony Brook lost to RIT 70*-10. Finally, in a thriller, Syracuse caught the snitch in overtime to avenge Green Mountain's comeback snatch in regulation to win 140^-120*.
UMass 80*-Vassar 40
Rochester 100*-Harvard 40
RIT 70*-Stony Brook 10
Syracuse 150^-Green Mountain 130*

In the second round of consolation, Rochester and RIT clinched berths representing the Snowbelt Conference while UMass and Syracuse were forced to play for the 11th spot. UMass won, preventing an upstate NY sweep, 120*-40.
Rochester 110*-Syracuse 40
RIT 40*-UMass 20
UMass 120*-Syracuse 40

The seminfianls featured the undisputed 4 best teams in the Northeast, Boston, Tufts, Emerson, and Hofstra. Tufts, unbanked by the Eighth Man had been especially impressive up to their game against Boston, winning by similar margins as BU and Emerson. However, those two teams were destined to meet in the final and they took care of business.
Boston 160*-Tufts 40
Emerson 50*-Hofstra 20

The End of An Era

For five years, from Battell Beach, the birthplace of Quidditch to a magical last stand under the lights of Icahn Stadium, Middlebury has always been the champs. Remember the festive atmosphere at the first three World Cups, beneath the green mountains of Vermont or the quick, agile play at Dewitt Clinton Park that led to complete dominance. Remember the big bad Middlebury, that spurred a nation wide campaign to "Beat Middlebury" or just physically wear them down so the next team could do the honor. What did Middlebury ever do to be hated though? Quidditch is the culture at Middlebury. Students play quidditch for tens of intramural teams to have fun. Throughout the past two years, Middlebury has seen the quidditch world changing around them and instead of bending into an ultra-competitive, physical squad, from a big university, Middlebury opted to stay hidden, rarely playing at tournaments outside of the World Cup.
As the quidditch community changed around them, Middlebury didn't. Yet, unreasonable hate was thrown at Middlebury for being good. It especially bugs me when somewhat of a Cinderella run at World Cup Five, was tarnished by accusations of a conspiracy with the IQA. Yes, they were down 40-0 against Marquette until the game was called, but any sane person knows that the IQA and Middlebury aren't in "conspiracy cahoots." The only Middlebury alum at the IQA is Benepe himself. After that, Middlebury pulled off a win against Boston on a snatch after a miracle comeback. Defeating powerhouse UCLA, and matching the Bruins competitiveness put the small college under the lights at the largest World Cup in history against heavy favorites Texas A&M. Yet again, Middlebury pulled a come-from-behind snatch against the Southwest powerhouse. Finally, Middlebury met Florida, another underdog in the final. In the matchup of underdogs, Middlebury let a lead slip away after star chaser Phil Palmer had to be carried off in his final game, but miraculously Middlebury pulled the snitchsock for one final shining moment.
The Quidditch World looked on resentfully as the champs celebrated for a fifth time. However, now, that is all over. Middlebury will not even play at the Sixth Quidditch World Cup. After five years, quidditch is headed in a completely different direction. The first World Cup in a place where Alex Benepe is not currently living is another sign that Middlebury's influence is fading. Hopefully though, Middlebury's contributions will not be forgotten or unappreciated. Middlebury was the perfect balance of whimsical and competition during its regin as World Champs. At World Cup Four, I remember the valiant efforts of teams like Pitt, Michigan State, and Tufts to dethrone Middlebury. And, ironically, the original losers, Vassar, did the duty of denying Middlebury a Sixth World Cup championship at the qualifying stage at NERC. I can only hope that someday, we will see Middlebury revive and win a World Cup again, becuase they are such a positive proponent of balance in the Quidditch World. To finish off, I would like to say two things. 1) to any team that thought Middlebury got an unfair advantage from the IQA, I hope you see that they got dealt a pool of death today at NERC. 2) Thank you to Middlebury Quidditch for giving us the sport we love.

Collegiate Cup Scores and Standings

Pool 1
Baylor 5-0 +200
LSU 3-1 +260
Kansas 2-2 +190
Silver Phoenix 2-3 +90
Missouri 1-3 -170
Webster 0-4 -700

LSU 160*-Webster 10
Baylor 80*-Missouri 20
Silver Phoenix 80*-Kansas 60
LSU 100*-Missouri 20
Baylor 120-Silver Phoenix 70*
Kansas 340*-Webster 40
Kansas 90-Missouri 50*
Silver Phoenix 200*-Webster 10
Baylor 90*-LSU 60
Baylor 130-Webster 70
Missouri 80^*-Silver Phoenix 70
Baylor 160*-Kansas 30
LSU 110-Silver Phoenix 50*

Pool 2
Texas A&M 4-0 +580
Marquette 3-1  +170
Wichita State 1-2 -80
Crimson Warhawks 1-2 -150
KC Krakens 0-4 -450

Texas A&M 200*-Crimson Warhawks 20
Wichita State 100*-KC Krakens 10
Texas A&M 180*-KC Krakens 20
Marquette 90*-Crimson Warhawks 20
Texas A&M 160*-Wichita State 30
Marquette 210*-KC Krakens 40
Texas A&M 200*-Marquette 90
Crimson Warhawks 80*-KC Krakens 50
Marquette 80-Wichita State 40*


Quarterfinals
Baylor 150* vs. Silver Phoenix 70
Texas A&M 100* vs. Missouri 0
Marquette 70*-CrimsonWarhawks 30
LSU 80*-Kansas 60

Standings and Scores from NERC

Pool 1
Emerson 3-0 +250
Vassar 2-1 +10
Stony Brook 1-2 -130
Middlebury 0-3 -150

Stony Brook 90*-Middlebury 30
Vassar 90-Stony Brook 50*
Emerson 80-Middlebury 30*
Emerson 110*-Vassar 40
Emerson 130*-Stony Brook 0
Vassar 60*-Middlebury 20

Pool 2
Geneseo 4-0 +240
Hofstra 3-1 +390
Macaulay 2-2 +160
Vermont 1-3 -240
Rhode Island 0-4 -550

Geneseo 80-Vermont 40*
Hofstra 170-Macaulay 70*
Vermont 80*-Rhode Island 20
Geneseo 70*-Macaulay 60
Geneseo 120*-Hofstra 70
Macaulay 160*-Rhode Island 0
Geneseo 160*-Rhode Island 20
Hofstra 150*-Vermont 0
Hofstra 190-Rhode Island 30*
Macaulay 140*-Vermont 30

Pool 3
Green Mountain 1-3 -20
Rochester 3-1 +170
Syracuse 3-1 +30
CAMPS 2-2 -30
New Haven 1-3 -150

Rochester 120-New Haven 50*
Syracuse 100^*-New Haven 60
Rochester 120-CAMPS 40*
Syracuse 90*-CAMPS 40
CAMPS 120*-New Haven 40
Green Mountain 100*-Rochester 40
Rochester 110*-Syracuse 30
CAMPS 80*-Green Mountain 60
New Haven 120^-Green Mountain 80*
Syracuse 70*-Green Mountain 50

Pool 4
Boston 4-0 +410
RIT 3-1 +220
Boston Riot 2-2 +30
New York Badassilisks 1-3 -110
RPI 0-4 -550

RIT 160*-RPI 30
Boston Riot 80*-New York Badassilisks 0
Boston 160*-New York Badassilisks 20
Boston Riot 150*-RPI 0
Boston 180*-RPI 40
RIT 160*-Boston Riot 60
Boston 110*-Boston Riot 10
RIT 60*-New York Badassilisks 40
NewYork Badassilisks 160*-RPI 30
Boston 110*-RIT 80

Pool 5
Tufts 4-0 +290
NYU 3-1 +60
UMass 2-2 -50
Harvard 1-3 -40
Brandeis 0-4 -320

Harvard 110-Brandeis 40*
NYU 120-UMass 70*
Tufts 100-Brandeis 30*
NYU 100*-Harvard 90
NYU 130-Brandeis 60*
UMass 100^-Harvard 70*
Tufts 100*-NYU 30
Tufts 120*-Harvard 50
UMass 150-Brandeis 100*
Tufts 160*-UMass 80

David Gutierrez: Collegiate Cup and NCBA

For the 100th post ever here on Death Eater Plot, I interviewed David Gutierrez, a founder and president of the NCBA on the eve of the first Collegiate Cup. My original interview with David on the founding of the NCBA brought over 500 viewers to my site and was the largest ammount of traffic I've ever had on this blog. I asked David about a variety of subjects including the future of the NCBA and Collegiate Cup predictions. Enjoy!

How has your vision for the NCBA changed since its founding in the Spring?

I can’t say too much at this time, but I can tell you our views have drastically changed in regards to our business stance and the overall direction we want to take with quidditch. I think our prerogatives have shifted from focusing on expanding organized conference competitions to something…greater. Keep an eye and ear out the next few weeks, you’ll hopefully see what I am talking about (if you don’t its likely because Thanksgiving and Christmas have slowed our productivity down a bit :D) . The things we want to do in the coming year can largely be considered ambitious and will benefit the quidditch realm in North America as a whole should teams be able to keep up financially and politically with what we bring to the table. However this will have to be a Board decision so there will be some politics to come into play before anything is for sure. 

The majority of NCBA teams are in the Southwest or Midwest. Has the NCBA looked into expanding into different regions of the country? If so, where and what teams are targets?

This is something I can at least say I’ve been keen on keeping in mind throughout this year (and thank you to the eighthman website for making this so much easier!). It is definitely true that our membership largely exists in the Midwest and Southwest. However, both regions still have room to grow in. We’re open to expanding into other territories but we typically only expand when we can set up a Conference of at least four active and reliable members. If we cannot find at least four active members, the conference would not be able to have a basic conference tournament or lengthy quidditch season that would be exciting or diverse enough for the schools involved.

If we had the arbitrary choice however, I would pick the Atlantic and Western Regions.

I think the Atlantic schools are quickly becoming the United States’ underdogs.  They’re competitive growth has been remarkable over the past few years and the sheer number of participants at this year’s Regional shows they have grown both in quantity and quality. I think Maryland and Villanova are out for blood this year in hopes of representing their region in this year’s World Cup among at least the Elite 8.

After traveling to the Western Cup, I really wish I could see the California schools (and of course my old pals in the Crimson Fliers) compete more. Also, the schools involved in the region would make any collegiate sports fan peek with interest. UCLA and USC have come to develop top notch programs. Recently UCLA traded wins with the University of Texas which is no small feat and USC brought down the Florida Quidditch giant Miami University earlier in the Fall. These events have shown that the Western teams will be not be lagging behind in the competitiveness of the rest of the IQA regions in this year’s World Cup.

What are some of the successes the NCBA has experienced during its first season?

We had a few goals that we successfully met. For our membership we had the goal of having two conferences totaling 16 teams. We ended up with three conferences at a total of about 22 teams.

We are also hosting our first tournament: The Collegiate Cup. This was our original idea of a national tournament to bring together the regions of our domain in one competition. All three Conferences are represented at this year’s Collegiate Cup so our goal has largely been met.

What can be improved upon?

One thing was a personal mistake of mine: I put too much faith in teams’ ability to travel and ability to make commitments. I was too lenient with fee deadlines and giving teams too much time to make a commitment to the Collegiate Cup. One definite improvement is we will have to be stricter with tournament deadlines and show much less leeway for teams struggling to financially and politically come together. 

Will the NCBA follow the IQA's Rulebook Six and/or enact additional rule changes at the Collegiate Cup?

The rules will be the same as IQA Six. Our members would like their matches to count towards World Cup so we nixed the idea of using our rules alterations.

How will the Collegiate Cup be different from the IQA World Cup or an IQA Regional?

It will be smaller in scale than the World Cup in all senses. We set a maximum goal of hosting 24 teams knowing full well we would end up with much less than that this year. Our finances are also put into athletic needs for tournaments such as lining fields, water, referees, and tournament rewards. We avoid the entertainment expenses and expenses that are more geared towards spectators.

The tournament is aimed to be different from IQA regionals by targeting teams from multiple regions and not featuring only competitors from one region.

Why was Kansas City chosen as the host of the Collegiate Cup?

It was reasonably central to all three of our conferences and the City of Olathe had expressed interest in hosting the tournament. They played a huge role in gathering together the resources in order for this tournament to take place. We are in gratitude to the Conventions Bureau of Olathe for all the hard work they’ve put in that is giving us such a solid start to our first year of operation. 

What are your predictions for the Collegiate Cup?

Always a great question haha. It is likely going to be Texas A&M University, Marquette University, Louisiana State University, and Baylor University in the Final 4. As for who will be in the final and come away with the first annual Collegiate Cup rings…LSU vs A&M in the final with A&M coming away with it by a snitch catch.  The match up of A&M vs LSU is always inevitable it seems when these two teams compete in the same tournament and the games between these two teams are never decided until the snitch is caught. 

NCBA Collegiate Cup Preview

This weekend, the NCBA will host its first Collegiate Cup in Olathe, Kansas. All qualified teams have played in a conference tournament and were seeded on the basis of their performance at the conference championship. Two pools of six teams will play a round robin on Saturday and on Sunday, single elimination will go from 8:00 to 1:00.
Pool 1
LSU 5-0
Baylor 4-1
Kansas 3-2
Silver Phoenixes 2-3
Missouri 1-4
Webster State 0-5
LSU, led by Brad Armentor, has been knocked out of tournament after tournament by Texas A&M. LSU should take care of Baylor as long as they keep the game out of snitch range and injured Kansas will fall to the Tigers too. Baylor's offense performed extremely well against Texas, but LSU runs a slower, power offense that will be harder to counter for the fast, agile and skinny Baylor Bears. that being said, I have Baylor ahead of Kansas at 4-1 simply because the physicality of the Southwest will hurt Kansas, who played this past weekend at the Midwest Cup. Kansas was described by Eighth Man writer Curtis Taylor as being "beaten down" and even though Hai Ngyuen and Ronnel Sharp played fantastically at the Midwest tournament, seeker Aaron Pope failed to catch the snitch in every game that it mattered in. Pope and Joel Havercamp went a combined 1/6 on snatches at the Midwest tournament. Kansas should be on upset alert against Civil War foes Missorui and the also physical Silver Phoenix.

Pool 2
Texas A&M 5-0
Marquette 4-1
Crimson Warhawks 3-2
Loyola-NO 2-3
KC Krakens 1-4
Wichita State 0-5
Coming off their victory at the Midwest Regional Championship, Marquette should be cockiest than ever. Their self-described "air of superiority" (Curtis Taylor) will not, however matchup with the hard hitting Texas A&M. Marquette plays similarly to Texas with fast, agile, chasers, however they do not have the experience with Southwest physicality. If Chaser Bobby Roth can keep the Golden Eagles in the game, standout seeker Alex Busbee might be able to snatch a win, but A&M led by Drew Wasikowski, Reed Duncan and Becca DuPont are just too high scoring. The Crimson Warhawks in some ways had a better tournament that KU's first teams at the Midwest Cup, impressively challenging Minnesota for a World Cup spot. The momentum should carry the Warhawks past Loyola, KC and Wichita State for third place in Pool 2.

Seeding After Day 1
1 Texas A&M
2 LSU
3 Marquette
4 Baylor
5 Kansas
6 Crimson Warhawks
7 Silver Phoenix
8 Loyola-NO
9 KC Krakens
10 Missouri
11 Wichita State
12 Webster

Bracket Play
Bracket play should be rather calm (no upsets) up until the Quarterfinals. Kansas having played already will face a huge challenge in a well-rested Baylor. With Kansas eliminated, the semifinal Matchups should be Texas A&M vs. Baylor and LSU vs. Marquette. This is when all havoc breaks lose. Baylor, quick and agile will face Texas A&M in a rematch of the Diamond Cup finals. In that game, Baylor was exhausted from a long game with World Cup favorites UT and still was able to hold A&M within 10 points at the time of the snatch. I predict that Baylor, coming off an impressive, but less-tiring win against Kansas, will knockoff the #3 team in the nation. Secondly, I predict that Marquette, will beat LSU. Roth and female chaser Cecilia Ware will counter Armentor and the game will come down to the snatch. The Golden Eagles, sporting some of the most expensive uniforms in the sport, have the advantage at seeker with Alex Busbee. In a surprise Baylor vs. Marquette final, both teams seem very evenly matched. The quaffle game for both teams is quick and are hitting, but again, Marquette has the advantage at seeker. Busbee will pull the snatch to avenge their 40-10 lead over Middlebury that was called off at the a World Cup to become the first Collegiate Cup champions.

Really?!

Middlebury

Stony Brook

Vassar 

Emerson

Ithaca

Geneseo

Vermont

Hofstra

Macaulay

Rhode Island

New Haven

Syracuse

Rochester

CAMPS

Green Mountain

Boston Riot

RPI

Boston

RIT

New York Badassilisks

NYU

Brandeis

Harvard

Tufts

UMass

What the hell??!!!!!! How are Middlebury, Vassar, Emerson and Stony Brook in the same pool. On a list of the top teams in the Northeast, I would say #1 Middlebury, #2 Boston, #3 Emerson, #4 Vassar, #5 Hofstra and #6 Stony Brook. How can a pool be so stacked?? The pools were made based on the IQA rankings and I think that says two things. One, human polls such as the Eighth Man's rankings should be at least used to separate the top teams from playing together in a tournament. Two, Middlebury needs to start trying outside of the World Cup. What got them into this mess is that they sent a D squad like team to a tournamnet and in that tournament, they lost to McGill's second team.  Now, playing in a tournament where the last place team in each pool will not have a chance to qualify for the World Cup and the fourth place team has a tough road, Middlebury is in trouble if they don't send their World Cup squad. Hopefully, since Middlebury is normally winning World Cups at this time of year, they are ready and prepared. If not, Middlebury quidditch might not even qualify for the World Cup. But, if they are ready and they are the Middlebury that we are used to or even better, the Quidditch world is in for a treat.

Rankings Reshuffling

After 3 exciting tournaments this past weekend, two of them being regionals, the Eighth Man's Rankings will have to be reshuffled. I'm not sure if the Eighth Man will continue to only produce rankings at the beginning of each month, but I project what results would look like if they voted now. Here is my projection.
1. USC
2. Texas
3. Villanova
4. Texas A&M
5. Maryland
6. Miami
7. Marquette
8. LSU
9. Ball State
10. UCLA
11. Baylor
12. Boston
13. Emerson
14. South Florida
15. Penn State
16. McGill
17. Pittsburgh
18. Bowling Green State
19. Michigan State
20. Michigan
21. McGill
22. Middlebury
23. Hofstra
24. Tufts
25. Florida Gulf Coast

Texas and Marquette Notch Victories

West by Southwest
Texas defeats UCLA convincingly 180-100*. After being outscored in the quaffle game yesterday by 20 points, Texas' offense came alive and outscored UCLA 180-70 in the quaffle game. A very impressive result from the Longhorns will put them right back at the top of World Cup favorite dissicussion and will probably catapult them back to the top of the Eighth Man's Rankings.

Midwest Cup
Ball State, Marquette, Bowling Green State, Michigan, and Michigan State got byes into the quarterfinals and to the World Cup. 10 other teams went to the knockout round. Here are the knockout round results.
Kansas 110-Loyola 30*
Minnesota 90*-Crimson Warhawks 10
Ohio State 120*-Miami 50
Illinois State 100^*-Central Michigan 90
Purdue over Eastern Michigan
Favorites Ball State and Marquette advanced to the Semifinals, while other favorite Kansas lost again to Purdue. Bowling Green steamrolled their way into the semifinals and past a tired Michigan State team to the finals. (The Spartans had just defeated Michigan in a hard fought rivalry game) Marquette defeated Ball State 140*-120 in the other semifinal showing that Ball State can hang around with high-scoring offenses. In the final, a 35 minute game, Marquette's offense shined in a 170*-90 win over Bowling Green State, the Cinderella of the Midwest Cup.

Canadian Cup
McGill and Ottawa have qualifies for World Cup Six while Carleton and Queen's will duel it out for the final spot. Carleton's productive offense jumped out to a 30 point lead in the third place game, but Queen's' seeker, who propelled QC into the semifinals, caught the snitch to send the game into Overtime. The final asserted McGill's dominance in Canada with a 90*-10 victory over Ottawa.

Midwest Cup Day 1

Day 1 at the Midwest Regional provided much excitement, but nothing was more surprising than Kansas' two losses in pool play. Kansas will need three out of four wins tomorrow to advance to the World Cup. Other favorites, such as Ball State, Marquette, and Michigan looked solid with Michigan State clinching the first Midwest World Cup spot and Bowling Green State taking an impressive win over Kansas. Most teams still have one game to play tomorrow, and I'm here to guide you through what will happen, the knockout round Matchups, and teams most likely to clinch World Cup spots by winning their groups.
Pool 1
Ball State 3-0 +420
Central Michigan 1-1 +210
Grand Valley State 1-1 +180
Miami 1-1 -50
St. Mary's 0-3 -760
Ball State looks very strong and has already taken care of Miami and Central Michigan. The 2 and 3 spots will go to either CMU, GVSU, or Miami. Grand Valley State has a difficult schedule tomorrow: they have to play Ball State and Central Michigan. If GVSU can limit the point differential against BSU or beat Central Michigan, they will advance to the knockout round. But, if Miami can beat Central Michigan and run up the score against St. Mary's, they might also be able to fight back from a -50 point differential. Central Michigan plays GVSU and Miami tomorrow and wins against those teams will seal the deal. I don't think GVSU can beat BSU or Central Michigan and Miami has a sure win against St. Mary's so.... I expect Ball State to take the automatic World Cup qualification spot and Central Michigan and Miami to move to the knockout round.

Pool 2
Marquette 2-0 +200
Loyola-Chicago 1-0 +10
Eastern Michigan 1-2 -30
IUSB 0-2 -180
Marquette will take the automatic qualifying spot to the World Cup and Loyola Chicago will beat IUSB (but lose to Marquette) for a 2-1 record and the 2nd spot in the pool. Eastern Michigan, with their 1-2 record will grab the 3 spot.

Pool 3
Bowling Green State 3-0 +350
Kansas 1-2 +50
Southern Illinois 1-1 -50
Purdue 1-1 -60
Dennison 0-2 -270
BGSU, having got Kansas and Purdue out of the way, will run the table and, unexpectedly take the World Cup spot. Kansas will beat cellar-dwellers Dennison and take the 2 spot. Purdue and Southern Illinois will face off in a go-to-the-knockout-round elimination game and Purdue will win. Purdue has had much more experience against the best of the Midwest this year and experience is very valuable in tense, game deciding moments- just ask Middlebury.

Pool 4
Michigan 3-0 +300
Crimson Warhawks 2-1 +90
Minnesota 2-1 +140
Toledo 0-3 -300
Indiana 0-2 -230
Michigan will clinch the automatic World Cup spot after a blowout of Toledo and the Crimson Warhawks and Minnesota will duel it out over 2nd place but the loser is almost guaranteed to get third. However, Warhawks-Golden Gophers could show if either team is a championship contender or a knockout round elimination. Both teams have similar styles of play too-scrappiness and defense, so the game will probably come down to the snatch. I predict a Minnesota win, 100*-50.

Pool 5
Michigan State 3-0 +150
Ohio State 1-1 +20
Missouri 0-1 -50
Illinois State 0-2 -140
Michigan State became the first Midwestern team to qualify for World Cup Six today with a victory over Illinois State. The Spartans won't play until late tomorrow afternoon and by then, they will be rusty compared to a knockout round winner. For the 2nd and 3rd spots in this pool Ohio State will likely take the number two spot unless they lose to Missouri and Missouri beats Illinois State, in which case OSU would still advance to the knockout round. For Illinois State to advance, they need to beat Missouri and Missouri needs to beat Ohio State. I predict that the Ohio State will win out and Missouri will eliminate Illinois State to go to the Knockout Round.

UCLA beats Texas at WXSW

West by Southwest hasn't had too many surprises, until now. UCLA beat Texas 90*-40. Before the snatch, UCLA out scored Texas 60-40. A low scoring game is good for UCLA and it shows that they are retaining Bludger control.
Otherwise, NAU is dissociating so far, with losses to UT and the Western Merc team. The Narwals just narrowly escaped another loss to Austin QC 40*-30.
Western Merc team looks really good and will probably come in third. Overall, UCLA looks really good and will be the favorites going into Sunday.

Current Standings
UCLA 5-0 +370
Texas 3-1 +320
Western Mercs 4-1 +230
NAU 2-2 -190
Northern Colorado 1-4 -290
Austin QC 1-4 -220
Southwestern Mercs 0-4 -220

Midwest Cup Scores

This will be updated tomorrow with Sunday's scores.
Pool 1
Ball State 4-0 +500
Central Michigan 2-1 +270
Grand Valley State 1-2 +120
Miami 2-1 +170
St. Mary's 0-4 -980

Ball State 140-Miami 50*
GVSU 230*-St. Mary's 10
Ball State 240*-Central Michigan 150
Miami 100*-GVSU 60
Central Michigan 310*-St. Mary's 10
Ball State 240*-St. Mary's 0
Miami 220*-St. Mary's 0
Central Michigan 70*-GVSU 10

Pool 2
Marquette 2-0 +200
Loyola-Chicago 1-0 +10
Eastern Michigan 1-2 -30
IUSB 0-2 -180

Marquette 80-IUSB 30*
Loyola-Chicago 50*-Eastern Michigan 40
Eastern Michigan 160*-IUSB 30
Marquette 170*-Eastern Michigan 20

Pool 3
Bowling Green State 4-0 +510
Purdue 2-1 +60
Kansas 1-2 +50
Southern Illinois 1-2 -210
Dennison 0-3 -390

Purdue 40*-Kansas 30
BGSU 280*-Dennison 20
Kansas 120-Southern Illinois 40*
BGSU 170-Purdue 100*
Southern Illinois 120^-Dennison 90*
BGSU 90*-Kansas 70
BGSU 160*-Southern Illinois 0
Purdue 150-Dennison 30*


Pool 4
Michigan 4-0 +390
Crimson Warhawks 3-1 +100
Minnesota 2-2 +130
Toledo 0-4 -310
Indiana 1-3 -310

Michigan 180*-Toledo 0
Crimson Warhawks 140*-Indiana 0
Michigan 90*-Minnesota 50
Crimson Warhawks 70-Toledo 40*
Minnesota 120*-Indiana 30
Michigan 90*-Crimson Warhawks 10
Minnesota 100*-Toledo 10
Indiana 80*-Toledo 70
Crimson Warahwks 70*-Minnesota 60
Michigan Indiana

Pool 5
Michigan State 3-0 +150
Ohio State 1-1 +20
Missouri 0-2 -90
Illinois State 1-2 -100

Michigan State 110-Missouri 60*
Michigan State 60*-Ohio State 30
Ohio State 50*-Illinois State 0
Michigan State 140*-Illinois State 50
Illinois State 60*-Missouri 20

Midwest Cup Predictions

Since the tournament has already started, I'm just going to throw out some standings.
Pool 1
Ball State 4-0
Central Michigan 3-1
Miami 2-3
Grand Valley State 1-4
St. Mary's 0-5

Pool 2
Marquette 5-0
Loyola-Chicago 4-1
IUSB 1-4
Eastern Michigan 1-4
Michigan Tech 1-4

Pool 3
Kansas 4-1
Bowling Green State 4-1
Purdue 4-1
Dennison 1-4
Southern Illinois 0-5

Pool 4
Michigan 5-0
Crimson Warhawks 4-1
Minnesota 3-2
Indiana 1-4
Toledo 0-5

Pool 5
Michigan State 4-1
Ohio State 4-1
Missouri 3-2
Illinois State 3-2
Southern Indiana 0-5


Ball State, Marquette, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State qualify for World Cup.

Knockout Round Teams
Ohio State, Missouri, Crimson Warhawks, Minnesota, Purdue, Bowling Green State, Loyola-Chicago, IUSB, Central Michigan, Miami

Knockout Round Winners
Ohio State, Crimson Warhawks, Minnesota, Purdue, Central Michigan

West by Southwest Predictions

UCLA, NAU, and Texas are obviously the favorites this weekend in Albuquerque for the first West by Southwest Showcase. Regional mercenary teams from both regions will be interesting in analyzing player talents but until names of players are released, I can't predict how the Merc teams will pan out. Texas will eager to avenge its loss to Baylor and move back to the top of the rankings. So will UCLA. Texas has hopefully had a chance to recover from crippling injuries including beater Jacob Adlis suffered at the Diamond Cup. And if Adlis is healthy, he will be instrumental in fighting for Bludger control against UCLA's Asher Abramson. Abramson has a cannon and will fire from any spot on the pitch. A chasing core led by Missy Sponagle and Vanessa Goh will be a challenge to Texas, but I don't think that Missy and Vanessa can match the physicality of many Southwest teams. If UCLA can't dominate Bludger control, the games between UCLA and UT will not even be close. Augustine Monroe and Kody Marshall will run up the score while keeping the hoops guarded. NAU could also beat Texas. Eric Andres is the kind of power chaser seen in the Southwest. If tackles aren't executed properly, Andres could run through the Texas chasers. Fortunately for UT, tackling is one of their strengths and NAU isn't as deep as the other Southwest teams. Texas has more talent in my opinion. If a lucky snitch grab or talented Merc team can knock UT off, denying them their first tournament win of the year, I won't necessarily be surprised, but betting against Texas isn't smart right now.

Review of Vassar's Butterbeer Classic

This article was written by Jared of the Badassilisks. Jared is a friend of Death Eater Plot andhisreport from the cup was so well written, that I asked him if I could publish it the way it is. Enjoy!

Vassar v UMass            120* - 100 

UMass showed up with 7 players   After playing their own tournament the day before.  UMass played Vassar tight actually taking the lead in the beginning of the match. Vassar fought back to 90 points when Matt Zeltzer made a clutch snitch grab to net Vassar the win.

Marist v Badassalisks    0 - 110* 

Kudos to Marist. Chestnut Hill couldn't make it so Matt convinced their new sister school to come play some of their first matches. A lot of new teams shy away from that level of competition at first bit Marist showed up with 7 players ready for action. Over the course of the tournament each team lent them subs to help them learn.  The Badassilisks used this opportunity to play non tournament players and to shake the rust off being inactive for two weeks.

Vassar v Marist              40 - 60* 

This game was played by players from all three teams including Vassar helping Marist vs. Vassar.

UMass v Badassalisks  40 - 100* 

UMass is a class act. They are great Quidditch players and sportsmen. They also know how to have fun.  Before the game they took their warmup laps like King Arthur in Monty Python and the quest for the Holy Grail complete with coconuts.  They all  had a cavalier Renaissance Faire kind of tone throughout the day even during their games.  This game started much like the Vassar game where UMass jumped out to a decent lead.  Then both teams dug in defensively and neither team scored for 8 minutes during a 24 minute match.The Badassilisks started to catch back up and took the lead.  New seeker Seth Marcus caught

 the snitch to end the game.

Marist v UMass              0 - 70* 

Marist bolstered by players from the Badassilisks and Vassar played against UMass who decided to all play different positions on the pitch.  The change showed UMass sportsmanship in playing a new and less competitive team.  The score showed their versatility as players.  

Vassar v Badassalisks   60* - 20 

We knew we were in for a game when we walked into this tournament.  We beat Vassar at our tournament a few weeks ago and they wanted what I call Quappy(Happy) Vengeance.  The game was tight.  Both teams giving very little so each goal was earned.  In the end Matthew Zeltzer proved that he is one of the best seekers in the game and made the grab for Vassar. 

Playoffs
Badassalisks v Marist    140* - 20 

Marist got two Vassar alums to play for them.  Keeper Nathan Hoston and beater Molly St.Clair brought experience to the Marist squad.  Sadly for Marist it got cold and the only way we could stay warm was to play hard.  Seth Marcus got his second snitch grab of the day.  

Vassar v UMass             60* - 0

With the Badassilisks in the final Vassar and UMass both knew they were in for a fight.  I'm not sure that this game was played for fun but it sure looked like it. Vassar decided to rest most of their starters including Peter Lee and UMass played the positions they played during the Marist game. A snitch grab by UMass would have thrown the game into a tiebreaker but Matthew Zeltzer made another snitch grab ending the game.

UMass v Marist              140* - 20 

The Third place match was easily dominated by UMass.  Not going to lie I was in my teammates car warming up for the final during this match.

Badassalisks v Vassar   30 - 90* 

With both teams rested properly this game was a lot like the first game of the day. Strong defense on both sides. Goals coming from good passes or hard work around each hoop. Peter Lee was everywhere distracting beaters making beats and acting like a 250lb fullback leading his backs into the endzone.  The Badassilisks kept Vassar's chasers outside and really defended the hoops well.  Our strong keeping tandem of Vassar alum David Bridgman-Packer and Virginia Tech's Robby May not only made key stops but they anchored the offense.  The one thing that I love about my team is that we get stronger the longer the game goes on and we were making a comeback. I just scored a goal that brought us within snitch catch range when Matt Zeltzer ended the game.  

At the end of the tournament all the teams had a big group hug in the middle of the pitch.  Awards were given out and we all went to eat with Vassar in their dining hall.  Every team left with full bellies and some new friends.  

Villanova wins Mid Atlantic Regional!!

At 18 minutes into the game, right after the snitch had returned to the pitch, Billy Greco snatched the snitch while Maryland was subbing Greenhouse in. Villanova, then down 20 to powerhouse Maryland, took the win and Mid Atlantic Championship with a 60*-50 win.

Day 1 at MARC

Day 1 at Mid Atlantics featured many hard fought games and when the dust finally cleared in Roanoke, Virginia, 4 undefeated teams stood a top the Standings. Big days from Maryland, Villanova, Pittsburgh and Johns Hopkins have landed them at the top of their groups.

Pool 1
Villanova 3-0
Penn State 3-1
Virginia 2-1
Steel City 1-2
Carnegie Mellon 1-3
UNC-Greensboro 0-3
Philadelphia 0-0
Villanova looked very sharp today, beating Penn State and Virginia, their toughest competition in the pool. Nova should breeze through pool play tomorrow and earn the Pool's top seed. Penn State has also played well. Penn State was only losing by 30 when Billy Greco caught the snitch to give Nova the win and putting 80 points on the board against Zach D'Amico and Villanova's stifling defense is no easy feat. Virginia has a lot to prove tomorrow. If they can keep up with Michael Parada and Penn State, they become MARC title contenders. But a bad loss to Villanova (160*-20) raises doubts about UVA's ability. Otherwise, Steel City QC has played well and might grab the 4 spot since, apparently, the Philadelphia Honey Badgers could make it.

Pool 2
Maryland 4-0
VCU 3-1
QC Carolinas 3-1
Virginia Tech 2-2
Lock Haven 2-2
Kutztown 0-4
Franklin and Marshall 0-4
Maryland at 4-0 is no surprise, but it should be noted that their games against VCU and Virginia Tech were more even than scores indicate. (100*-30 against VCU and 150*-50 against VT) VCU has played exceptionally and with games already played against Maryland and Virginia Tech, expect them to finish at 5-1 after Pool Play, and will grab the Wild Card automatic qualifying bye. Virginia Tech's offense has been performing poorly scoring 20, 30, 50 and 90 points before the snatch. Tech will either finish 3rd or 4th in the group based on its game against QC Carolinas. QCC has beaten up on Lock Haven, Kutztown, and Franklin and Marshall (110, 210 and 190 points respectively) but gotten beat up by VCU 110*-10. A disappointing day from my dark horse pick, F&M has them all but eliminated.

Pool 3
Pittsburgh 3-0
Johns Hopkins 3-0
Richmond 2-2
Edinboro 1-2
Duke 1-2
Christopher Newport 0-4
Lafayette 0-0

Pittsburgh and Johns Hopkins lead this group after Day 1 so their matchup on Day 2 is by far the most intruging of the morning. The winner gets an automatic bye into the World Cup while the loser will have to fight for its World Cup bid. Out of the 1-2 teams, both Richmond and Duke have lost to Pitt and JHop so they will not have to face an undefeated team tomorrow. Edinboro however has lost to Richmond and JHop, so they still have to play Pitt, a game they almost certainly will lose. Expect Duke and UR to advance to the next round as long as Duke doesn't lose to both Richmond and Edinboro. Lafayette has been absent too. 

Death Eater Plot's Projected Standings after Day 2 Pool Play

1. Maryland 6-0

2. Villanova 5-0

3. Pittsburgh 5-0

4. VCU 5-1

5. Penn State 4-1

6. Johns Hopkins 4-1

7. Richmond 3-2

8. Virginia 3-2

9. Virginia Tech 3-2

10. QC Carolina 3-3

11. Duke 2-3

12. Steel City QC 2-3

Mid Atlantic Regional Predictions

Here are my predictions for the knockout round at Mid Atlantics. 12 teams out of the 21 in pools of 7 will qualify for the knockout round. The top 4 (3 group winners and a wild card) will automatically qualify for the World Cup and advance to the Regional Semifinals.
Automatic Qualifiers
Maryland
Villanova
Pittsburgh
Penn State

The next eight teams will qualify for the World Cup knockout round. Paired 1-8, 2-7, etc. by seeding, teams will play in a best of three series to go to Orlando this spring. If the teams already played in pool play, that game counts towards the best of three series.
Knockout Round Participants
Virginia Tech
Virginia 
Duke
Johns Hopkins
Franklin and Marshall
Richmond
VCU
Philadelphia Honey Badgers

Knockout Round Series
Virginia Tech vs. Philadelphia HB

Virginia vs. VCU

Duke vs. Richmond

Johns Hopkins vs. Franklin and Marshall

The winners of the knockout round games will advance to the Mid Atlantic Quarterfinals in addition to making the World Cup.
Quarterfinals
Maryland 170*-Johns Hopkins 50
Penn State 60-Virginia Tech 70*
Pittsburgh 60-Virginia 90*
Villanova 120*-Duke 70
Semifinals
Maryland 130*-Virginia Tech 100
Virginia 20-Villanova 110*
Finals
Maryland 170-Villanova 140*