10 Impressive Fantasy Performances: Kedzie Teller

Photo by Amanda Salvucci

4. After a year away from competitive quidditch, Kedzie Teller wowed everyone at THE Fantasy and Northeast Fantasy. Impressing with his speed, strength and explosiveness, he rocketed into top player in the league discussion. To reiterate, Teller didn't play in 2012-13, but all of the sudden, people in #IQAForums have agreed that Teller is one of the top 12 players in the IQA to build a team around. That's impressive. His leadership skills and his ability to make chasers around him better, solidifies his place on that elite list.

Photo by Lauren Carter

Teller's passing is superb and crisp, even at the high speeds that he normally plays at. Playing alongside Simon Arends and Craig Garrison at THE Fantasy, Teller displayed his ability to make instant chemistry and connect with Arends and Garrison for goals. With David Foxx at Northeast Fantasy, Teller proved to be good partner (despite the difference in playing styles) for the giant Emerson keeper. Teller is especially dangerous from the wings and behind the hoops. After receiving a pass, he explodes towards the hoops, spinning and juking past defenders.

Photo by Michael E. Mason/IQA Staff

Much like its founder, QC Boston: The Massacre is hyped coming into this season. The Massacre are Northeast Regional favorites in a region that's going to be MUCH harder than people think. While Ben Nadeau, Zach D'Amico and Jayke Archibald are quick and talented ball handlers, they are not as big as Teller's THE Fantasy Tournament teammates Arends and Garrison. QCB's staunchest competition comes from Teller's Northeast Fantasy teammate David Foxx followed closely by Teller's alma mater, BU. Depending on recruiting, Teller might be relied upon to defend much larger players at the point and success up front leads to a solid defense. Offensively, QCB's hype is deserved, but I think they could run into problems on defense, especially with only one beater determined (Bobby O'Neill) and only one big player (Dan Miller). After tryouts, the Massacre could easily become a runaway regional victor, but I'm not sure who else they are going to pick up. Whether QCB wins Northeast by a landslide depends on whether they fill their roster just to have 21 or whether they keep adding well-known, top-notch players.

Defense of the Gender Rule

I've never really commented on the issue that divides so many in the quidditch community and blows up weekly on Facebook threads. The Gender Rule is so tricky to talk about because although most people have a clear idea of which side they are on, it's hard to defend your position. I see pluses on both sides, but one side, I believe, is better for quidditch in the long term if we want to stay a co-ed sport. I'm in favor of keeping the "two-minimum" rule.

I think there are flaws with the "two-minimum" rule, and I can see why people say that the rule does not promote equality by mandating that at least two players of each gender are on the pitch constantly. In my opinion, it's unfair that players who aren't as good as others get more playing time because of their gender. Consider these three teams, though.

Team A: Plays in a world without the gender rule but consistently plays with males and females on the pitch. Most of the time, Team A plays with 4 males and 2 females.
Team B: Plays in a world with the gender rule and therefore is required to have a minimum of two players of each gender on the pitch. Team B always plays with 4 males and 2 females.
Team C: Plays in a world without the gender rule and plays with zero or one female on the pitch. 75% of the time, Team C plays with 5 males and 1 female and 25% of the time, Team C plays with 6 males.

I believe Team A is the best at promoting gender equality and Team C is the worst. Team B is not perfect (see above), but does a better job at promoting gender equality than Team C--especially to outsiders. I strongly believe that if the "two minimum" rule was scrapped, a majority of teams would play a majority of their time with one or zero female players on the pitch. There would be Team As, but they would be outnumbered with Team Cs. I think it's best for quidditch if every team is a Team B.

Three Reasons Why the Gender Rule Must Stay

Imagine how teams that play all-male or 5:1 lineups (due to a lack of good female players) would get criticized! Teams would get reputations as being "sexist" when really, they are just playing their best players. The last thing that needs to be added to Facebook arguments is sexist team-witch hunts and accusations. Spectators would wonder why one team played co-ed and the other played all male. Potential female recruits could be drawn away from quidditch by a team's lack of female players on the roster. Without realizing that the team really is committed to playing the best players regardless of gender, both spectators and recruits would draw conclusions about certain teams.

Doing away with the gender rule is supposed to take the spotlight off gender, when really it would add attention to the gender of players. Consider this. Teams tend to try to matchup with their opposition, especially on defense. If one team played with 6 males, the other would be tempted to do the same. I'm not saying they would switch, but if a 4:2 team was losing to a 6:0 team, someone on the 4:2 team would be thinking, "would we matchup better with the other team if we also played 6:0?" This is not even mentioning fanbases. Fans would look for the easiest answer to why their teams was not winning. Sometimes, the fans would conclude it was the gender of their players.

Gameplay and rules would change due to bigger, stronger, faster players. Tackling and contact rules the IQA has developed are meant to protect smaller players, who are predominantly women. Smaller female players who couldn't hit and tackle would not play anymore just because they were required to. Seemingly, there would be no one to protect. People would protest for two handed tackling, other advanced forms of contact and padding. By Rulebook 10 or so, these demands would be met. Quidditch would become much rougher and players would play more recklessly. Bad injuries would be more common. Quidditch is not and it should never be football or rugby nor should it be basketball or soccer. I think right now, teams like Texas and UCLA (that play in a world with the gender rule) find the perfect medium that makes quidditch sustainable.

10 Impressive Fantasy Performances: Peter Lee

Photo by Kat Ignatova/IQA Staff

3. Vassar beater Peter Lee fell off the map when Vassar failed to qualify for World Cup VI. A Firemercs 2 MVP performance later and Lee is right back in the conversation of top beaters in the sport: where he should be. Peter Lee dominates the field with his quickness. He is able to neutralize any player on the opposing team, chaser, beater or seeker. Lee has incredible field awareness and a great strategic mind, allowing him to keep bludger control. He can play offensively, clearing out defenders for the point guard, then quickly retreating to avoid losing his bludger. At Firemercs 2, he worked terrifically with Duston Mazzella to allow Red's offense to run smoothly. GM and keeper Tony Rodrgiuez wasn't pestered by defenders and so his passes were more precise and he had more space to drive in. The Red beating core performance allowed their quaffle players to conserve energy for an Overtime finals game. Lee was a game changer at Firemercs and deserved the MVP.

Photo by Michael E. Mason/IQA Staff

Peter Lee is heading into his senior year at Vassar. The Butterbeer Brooers will be competing in regionals this year with hopes of qualifying for World Cup VII. In the large Northeast Region, Vassar should be able to qualify for World Cup on the back of Peter Lee's beating. No beater in the Northeast compares to Lee right now and as long as he has a decent partner, Vassar can dominate bludger control. With the loss of keeper Nathan Hoston, Lee will need to step up even more to help the offense and defense function.  I'm not sure if Vassar will be able to grind out tough, physical elimination games, but I could see them winning a pool. I know that doesn't make sense, but whenever I've seen Vassar, they always perform better when there is less pressure--pool play.

10 Impressive Fantasy Performances: Colby Soden

Photo by Lauren Carter

2. Colby Soden lead his Orange Team to the Midwest Fantasy Championship and electrified his team's offense at THE Fantasy and Northeast Fantasy. Colby Soden's teams consistently had high-powered offenses, with accurate passing and smart penetration. While Soden is a fantastic, agile ball handler with good decision making, it's his ability to develop chemistry and mesh with others that made his fantasy performance impressive.

At THE Fantasy Tournament, Lime Green displayed a balanced offense emphasizing teamwork and off ball chasing. Soden fit right in, working terrifically with Hank Dugie (who stepped into the point guard role) and Katelynn Kazane. On Day Two, Lime Green was devasted by injuries and family emergencies, but had nothing gone wrong, Lime Green might have been victorious.

Soden played fantastically with BGSU's Daniel Daugherty and Meredith Taylor at Northeast Fantasy. Going 4-2 overall, the Pink Team was carried by Daugherty, Soden and Taylor's ability to spread the pitch. With more open space, the three Midwesterners were able to use their speed and agility to drive, juke and score. Always finding the open chaser, Pink scored easily most of the time.

With Orange at Midwest Fantasy, Soden drafted Kansas teammmates Wil Kenney and Grant Daigle. The Kansas trio lost their first game of the day but rebounded, going undefeated the rest of the tournament. They were not over-powering and they lacked star scorers, but with outstanding teamwork, Soden, Kenney and Daigle were able to be very successful. 

Photo by Madeline Finn

This is kind of how I see Kansas playing out in 2013-14. Leadership from Soden, combined with an athletic chaser core, will be able to make up for the losses of Connor Drake, Hai Nguyen and Ronell Sharp. Able to roll out several top chaser lines, Kansas should be able to run shorter shifts, conserving their players' energy. Spreading the pitch will be vital to their success, because they aren't as big as some of their Midwest rivals. In addition, Soden's success with Daniel Daugherty shows that he may be the perfect partner for keeper Jordan Callison in a dual point guard system. His quickness and Callison's strength and height could give Kansas a very dynamic and hard to defend offense.

Overall, Colby Soden looks to be a great captain and a very reliable multi-role chaser. Kansas surprised a lot of people with their trip to the Elite Eight at WCVI. If the pieces fall into place, Soden has the ability to take his team to new heights: a final four appearance at World Cup VII.

10 Impressive Fantasy Performances: Aryan Ghoddossy

With fantasy season coming to an end, I wanted to look at 10 players that shone in fantasy tournaments and what this coming season will look like for them. This is not a list of the ten "best" fantasy performances although many of the players I hi light would be on that list. I will highlight one or two players a day

Photo by Lauren Carter

1. Aryan Ghoddossy starred for the Red Team in THE Fantasy Tournament and earned the tournament MVP award. Ghoddossy proved at THE Fantasy, that as well as being a top off ball chaser, he could run an offense from the point. With good field vision, decision making, and execution, he kept Red's offense crisp and precise. Often delegated to cover to opposition's best player, Ghoddossy played smothering defense. Finally, Ghoddossy showed that he was dangerous weapon at seeker. With a low center of gravity and great arm strength, he out-grappled many of the Southwest's best snitches and caught the tournament winning snitch.

Photo by Lauren Carter

Although there is a lot of secrecy surrounding the future of Texas Quidditch and the creation of Lone Star QC, I expect Ghoddossy to return to Texas Quidditch. With 11 players graduating, UT is sure to be a completely different team. Ghoddossy has not graduated, and barring the possibility that he would switch to the hyped community team, he will take on a much bigger role on the pitch for the Longhorns in 2013-14. He will be relied on most as a defender, point defending in big games, where a disruptive presence at the front will be (and has always been) a vital part of UT's strategy. Ghoddossy also is sure to work his way into the Texas seeking rotation and get more opportunities to play as the point guard. He makes the people he plays with looks better and always plays with intensity.

Photo by Lauren Carter

Check out this MuggleNet World Cup video. The reporter, who is surrounded by the entire UT team, asks how many players are graduating. A bunch of players put their hands up and someone mumbles eleven. Then, the reporter says, "What a way to go out! Quidditch World Cup Champions. Make sure you get good replacements..."

I might be over analyzing this cable-TV style, but at that moment, Kody Marshall looks and smiles at Aryan Ghoddossy and puts his arm around him. Ghoddossy is ready to lead the defending champs.

Photo by Lauren Carter

Northeast Fantasy Scores

Scores from Quidditch Scores

Pool 1

Pink (Samy) 3-1

Blue (Zach) 3-1

Purple (Ethan) 2-2

Green (Patrick) 1-3

Grey (John) 1-3

Purple (Ethan) 90* - Pink (Samy) 80

Blue (Zach) 150* - Green (Patrick) 30

Grey (John) 110* - Purple (Ethan) 70

Pink (Samy) 130* - Green (Patrick) 20

Blue (Zach) 140* - Grey (John) 20

Purple (Ethan) 80* - Green (Patrick) 30

Pink (Samy) 140* - Blue (Zach) 110

Green (Patrick) 130* - Grey (John) 70

Blue (Zach) 190* - Purple (Ethan) 80

Pink (Samy) 90* - Grey (John) 30

Pool 2

Plum (Ricky) 4-0

Glitter (Ben) 3-1

Red Wedding (Clay) 1-3

Orange (Shenuque) 1-3

Grey (Dante) 1-3

Plum (Ricky) 100* - Glitter (Ben) 30

Orange (Shenuque) 70* - Grey (Dante) 60

Plum (Ricky) 150? - Red Wedding (Clay) 80*

Glitter (Ben) 140* - Orange (Shenuque) 70

Grey (Dante) 70* - Red Wedding (Clay) 60

Plum (Ricky) 110* - Orange (Shenuque) 30

Glitter (Ben) 160* - Grey (Dante) 70

Red Wedding (Clay) 110* - Orange (Shenuque) 70

Plum (Ricky) 140* - Grey (Dante) 40

Glitter (Ben) 90* - Red Wedding (Clay) 80

Pool 3

Orange (Yada) 4-0

Black (Augie) 3-1

Blue (Jamie) 1-3

White (Sean) 1-3

Neon (Jayke) 1-3

White (Sean) 170* - Blue (Jamie) 90

Orange (Yada) 100* - Black (Augustine) 50

Blue (Jamie) 80* - Neon (Jayke) 70

Black (Augustine) 150 - White (Sean) 110*

Orange (Yada) 100*? - Neon (Jayke) 80

Black (Augustine) 180* - Blue (Jamie) 80

Orange (Yada) 90* - White (Sean) 40

Black (Augustine) 210* - Neon (Jayke) 140

Orange (Yada) 120* - Blue (Jamie) 50

Neon (Jayke) 60* - White (Sean) 20

Standing

(1) Plum (Ricky)

(2) Orange (Yada)

(3) Pink (Samy)

(4) Blue (Zach)

(5) Black (Augustine)

(6) Glitter (Ben)

Playoffs

Play in

(4) Blue (Zach) 60* - (5) Black (Augustine) 50

(3) Pink (Samy) - (6) Glitter (Ben)

Semi Finals

(1) Plum (Ricky) 100* - (4) Blue (Zach) 70

(2) Orange (Yada) - (3) Pink (Samy)

Final

(2) Orange (Yada) 150* - (1) Plum (Ricky) 140

Northeast Fantasy Prediction

A quick prediction on tomorrow's Northeast Fantasy Tournament. For an outstanding, thorough, preview, check out Jayke Archibald's 3-part series on the IQA site.

Pool 1
Pink (Mousa) 4-0
Blue (D'Amico) 3-1
Purple (Sturm) 2-2
Gray (Glynn) 1-3
Green (Sheehy) 0-4

I think the beater combination of Kara Levis and Samy Mousa can be really strong for Pink. Star chaser Dan Daugherty is surrounded by offensive weapons like Colby Soden, Dan Hanson and Meredith Taylor. Daugherty will be more comfortable alongside these other players and won't feel pressure to carry the team and force shots. Blue will advance on the backs of Sandon, D'Amico and Havlin and Purple won't have the quaffle play to make Billy Greco's snatches matter.

Pool 2
Red (Dockery) 4-0
White (Nadeau) 3-1
Orange (Tissera) 2-2
Purple (Nelson) 1-3
Gray (Close) 0-4

David Foxx and Kedzie Teller are scoring machines. No one in pool two is going to be able to stop a driving Foxx or keep up with Teller in a man-defense. White may get steamrolled by Foxx and Red due to lack of size, but will defeat their other pool two foes with outstanding depth and smarts at all positions. Orange has strong players in Jason Rosenberg and Chad Brown but neither is supported well enough to beat Red or White.

Pool 3
Black (Monroe) 4-0
Orange (Parada) 2-2
Baby Blue (Lafrance) 2-2
Neon Green (Archibald) 2-2
White (Beloff) 0-4

With THE Fantasy MVP Aryan Ghoddosay, Slipstream, Barricade and the Professor, Black is stacked at all positions. They have the best starting 7 in the tournament and will likely be conserving energy for bracket play. Orange, Baby Blue and Neon Green will tie at 2-2 with each team winning one game and losing one game in the round robin. Orange's chasers: James Hicks, Michael Parada, Patrick Rardin and Alex Linde will clash with Baby Blue's aggressive beaters: Alex Leitch and Kyrie Timbrook. Neon Green's experienced leaders Jayke Archibald and Katie Milligan will try to lead their team through these tough games. White gets screwed in this pool. In any other pool, the combination of chasers Sarah Holub and Sean Beloff would earn them a bracket play spot, but not in the pool of death. Any team playing White is definitely on upset alert though.

Standings after Bracket Play
1) Black (Monroe)
2) Pink (Mousa
3) Red (Dockery)
4) Orange (Parada)
5) Blue (D'Amico)
6) White (Nadeau)