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