Villanova is good. Nova was dominant throughout the tournament with their fast high powered offense lead by Zach D'Amico. D'Amico was the first line of defense against opposing chasers and kept chasers with the quaffle away from the keeper zone. Nova's keeper was also dangerous. A "power keeper" that reminded me of ASU's Willie Jackson, he would take the ball up the court like a point guard then either score or dump it off to D'Amico or one of Vllanova's other talented chasers behind the net. To stop Villanova, one must stop their passing game. I heard D'Amico yelling from the sidelines, "Let's go back to what we are good at, passing!" Fast, one handed, broomless drills run before the game seemed very effective and I would guess that they practice that drill often. Lastly, Villanova has new uniforms and they are awesome.
The New York teams could be a threat to the Boston 4 at the Northeast Regionals next month. Vassar, Stony Brook, Hofstra, and CUNY (not to mention the Badassilisks, who won NY's first tournament) can beat anyone of the major Boston teams. Hofstra is a scoring machine. They won their quarterfinal 190*-0 (I can't remember the team they beat but 190*-0 is impressive no matter who it is) Very athletic, Hofstra will get the quaffle behind the hoops and slam it in with authority. Stony Brook could also knock off a NE favorite. They played from about 40 behind Villanova for the entire game, which is more than most teams could do. A snatch and one more goal would have sent them to overtime. Lastly, Vassar is always there. Their beating core led by Peter Lee and seekers make up for weak chasing with excellent defense and clutch snatches. On twitter, Olympians Brad Armentor (LSU) and James Hicks (UMD) were remarking on the talent of Peter Lee. Hicks- "I just witnessed the best beater I've ever seen today. Plays for @VassarQuidditch." Armentor- "He impressed me at World Cup 5... Wonder if he's gotten better." Hicks-"YES!"
Those Guys... Those Guys were a "mercenary" team of the Chestnut Hill lacrosse team. They had no idea about the rules. Refs were constantly sending them to the penalty box and they were essentially winning by brute strength. I understand some Merc teams, but I think you should have to have prior experience to be on a Merc team. Thankfully, Those Guys lost in the Semifinals to Nova.
Whimsy-ness. LoveCup2012 was definitely more whimsy that LoveCup2011. The absence of serious teams such as Penn State, Pitt, or Maryland really hurt the tournament. The Brotherly Love Cup takes place at the same time and with a Harry Potter Festival in the town of Chestnut Hill. Seeing old people in death eater costumes and little kids dressed in their Harry Potter Halloween costumes kind of hurt the competitive atmosphere. Also, playing Harry Potter Showtunes didn't help. Oh, and the field size was way to small.
Overall, LoveCup2012 was fun though. It was my first Quidditch Tournament of the year and every time I go I am reminded why I love quidditch.
"Seeing old people in death eater costumes and little kids dressed in their Harry Potter Halloween costumes kind of hurt the competitive atmosphere." My family and I come to Chestnut Hill every year for the tournament and festival, wear our costumes, and cheer on the teams. We support quidditch in many way and it has been very sad to see the judgmental attitude of insecure people who don't think the sport will be taken "seriously" if there isn't a movement to conform to the "real sport" ideal of some narrow view of what that can and can not consist of. My hope is that more welcoming inclusive views will begin to prevail. After all this is 2014 groups of people who were once discriminated against are now demanding the equality and tolerance that should never have been with held. Surely Quidditch a game conceived by a woman, refined by open minded college students of Middlebury College and championed by people overcoming stigma of all kind with the title 9 3/4 rule is above making anyone feel unwelcome for supporting quidditch however they may choose to dress. Wisconsin sports fans wear foam wedges of cheese on their heads and it only serves to enhance everyones experience. Adults dressing as Wizards in no way keep an athlete from doing their best on the field. Quidditch 4ever peace from the Quidwitch.
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