Mid-Atlantic Coaches Poll

Over the next week, the Quidditch Post will release the results of our Coaches polls. Coaches or captains from every team were invited to vote or designate someone from their team to vote for the top teams in their region (one vote per team). The number of selections voters were asked to make depended on the number of teams in the region.

The Mid-Atlantic voters were asked to pick their top 10 teams from the fall season. Thirteen voters participated in the poll. Points were allocated in the following manner: ten points for a first place vote, nine points for a second place vote, eight points for a third place vote, etc. The votes have been tabulated and listed below in order of total votes. The number in parentheses indicates how many first place votes a team received.

MA Coaches Poll Results

1. Maryland Quidditch – (13) 130
2. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Quidditch (UNC) – 117
3. Villanova Community Quidditch – 101
4. University of Richmond Spiders – 90
5. Penn State University Nittany Lions – 75
6. Appalachian Apparators Quidditch – 55.5
7. Capital Madness Quidditch Club – 55
8. Virginia Quidditch Club (UVA) – 40
9. George Mason University – 20.5
10. Tie: Rutgers Nearly Headless Knights and Wizengamot Quidditch of VCU – 14

Also Receiving Votes: Q.C. Pittsburgh – 3

Voters Explain Their Decisions

“Some thoughts on my top 10: Maryland is the definite No. 1, and UNC is the definite No. 2. You could make the case for a couple of teams outside of the top 10 to be in, particularly Pittsburgh and Rutgers. Ultimately, though, I went with the World Cup qualifiers.”

“Rutgers will have a chance to move up, but the fact that Rutgers only had 13 [players at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship] influenced me since the tournament they had 13 for was incredibly important, and if they could only get 13 for that, it worries me about their attendance for other ones. George Mason played really well at regionals, playing with fire and heart, which is why I gave it No. 9. The team played like it had something to prove; let’s see if the team can keep it up. The reason Pittsburgh doesn't make my list is that it is amazing if you give it hope, but if you put it away early, its play is lackluster, which gives it too much of an inconsistent nature to break the top 10.”

“Given the teams that attended regionals and the way injuries went (because depth matters in long tournaments), I think 8 or 9 out of 10 of them were truly the 10 best, but there are a handful of teams that would've gotten bids if the bracket fell in a more favorable manner.”

Observations

Maryland was unanimously voted the top team with the team it beat in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship, UNC, unanimously second. The Mid-Atlantic is the only region where all voters agreed on the top two teams and the order of those teams. Voters also seemed to agree that semifinalists Villanova and Richmond were the third and fourth best teams. Villanova received 11 out of 13 third place votes, while Richmond received 8 out of 13 fourth place votes. Voters did not have a clear vision of the No. 5-10 teams. No team received more than 5 votes for any 5-10 slot. Most voters thought that Penn State, Capital Madness, and Appalachian made up the next tier. Those three teams received 10 votes each in the 5-7 slots (Penn State edged the other two in the rankings by virtue of 3 fourth place votes). One voter could not decide between George Mason and Appalachian and ranked them equally hence the decimals. Rutgers and UVA were the two toughest teams for our voters to understand. With 10 spots at World Cup, many voters seem inclined to pick the region’s qualifiers; however, many thought Rutgers was a better team undone by tough matchups and low numbers. UVA befuddled voters with a ranking as high as fourth and one voter omitting the team entirely. Voters seemed to feel that UVA was a talented team but that its results this year did not mesh with its abilities.