80 in 80: Indiana University

• As part of our efforts to preview all 80 teams competing in USQ World Cup 8, the Quidditch Post is chatting with representatives from each team. Today we spoke with Corey Cockrum, captain of Indiana University Midnight Snipes Quidditch.
  
  

  Photo by Bree Kirchner
  

  
  
• QP: All right. First off, this is the first time that Indiana has qualified for World Cup. How does it feel?
• Corey: It feels amazing. We only had five returning players last year, so we were not the best. Nobody knew what was going on, and nobody had a clear strategy for how to get better. We only won one game out of the 19 that we played, which was extremely frustrating. This year, we had all returning players and three or four very athletic recruits. The majority of our team was so used to losing by large numbers that even the idea of being a bubble team for World Cup was crazy. We knew going into the regional championship that we had a chance to get to World Cup. For the returning players, we were so excited because NOBODY—not even ourselves—thought at the end of last year that we would even be close to getting a bid. Now we have one, which is pretty mind blowing to a lot of people.
  
  
• QP: I have to be honest, I was among the people who were shocked at Indiana claiming a bid. Yet, here you are, so a huge congratulations to you guys. What goals does the team have heading into World Cup?
• Corey: Thanks, and I think that our main goal as a team going to World Cup is to try to get to Day Two. I think a lot of that is going to depend on how the pools get drawn.
  
  
• QP: What players do you think will be most important in helping your team get to Day Two?
• Corey: Daniel Pearcy is our keeper and one of the top scorers, but he has been injured off and on all season. He will be a big part of our success. Matt Pesch, who is the new beater captain, will also need to get the beaters into shape and fine-tune some of our strategy. He is probably the most important player on the team because he can play every position very well. He just recently transitioned from starting keeper to beater, but has since become probably one of the best beaters on the team. Lastly, we need to work on defense. The thing that will hurt us is that our top scorer, Will Edwards, is going to be at a lacrosse tournament, so that is going to be what we have to try to make up for going into World Cup.
  
  
• QP: Would you say that you're trying to make defense your team's biggest strength, due to your leading scorer missing World Cup?
• Corey: I think we need to hold teams to about 30 points less than we are right now to remain competitive in games, but I wouldn’t say that it is our biggest strength. To be honest, I think our biggest strength is going to be our physicality. We are a very drive it to the hoops team, and we score the majority of our points that way. If we can continue to be successful at that and continue to improve in defense, I think we have a solid chance winning a few games at World Cup.
  
  
• QP: That's a good sign that you are able to admit your team's strengths and weaknesses. Anyhow, thank you for your time, and good luck in the spring semester!