Northeast Coaches Poll Oct. 30 2015

One coach, captain, or designee from each USQ official team in the Northeast was asked to rank the Top 10 teams in their region. Points were allocated in the following manner: 10 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.

Photo Credit: Sofia de la Vega Photography

Northeast

Rank	Team	Points	Change
1	Quidditch Club Boston (QCB) (13)	130
2	Rochester United (RU)	114
3	New York Quidditch Club (NYQC)	91
4	RPI Remembralls (RPI)	74	+3
5	Tufts University Tufflepuffs	73	-1
T-6	Boston University Quidditch (BU)	72
T-6	The Warriors	69	-1
8	Emerson College Quidditch (ECQ)	23	+1
9	RIT Dark Marks	22	+1
10	Hofstra University Flying Dutchmen	15	-2

Others Receiving Votes: University of Rochester Thestrals (11), Harvard Horntails (6), University of Massachusetts Amherst Crabs (3), Macaulay Honors College Marauders (2), the Rogues (2).

Voters: Curtis Stoychoff (BU), Griffin Conlogue (ECQ), Sam Nielson (RPI), Alex Linde (The Warriors), Steven Ficurilli (Macaulay), Anonymous (Harvard), Jayke Archibald (QCB), Kyle Carey (NYQC), Keegan Remy-Miller (Brandeis), Max Curran (Stony Brook), Josh Hintz (Syracuse), Shane Hurlbert (RU), Mackey Howe (Skidmore)

Representatives from other teams were contacted, but did not respond by the deadline. If your team did not vote and would like to participate in subsequent polls, please contact the Quidditch Post.

Notes: Fourteen votes were cast. One was rejected for lack of impartiality

Voters Explain Their Choices:

Anonymous Voter 1

1. QCB is by far the strongest and deepest team in the region. Even though it carries a few players that are below average, the team is usually so far out of range by the time seekers see the field that it doesn't matter. QCB’s elite beating puts the team a step above.

2. Rochester United is a very strong team, but by the end of Oktoberfest, the entire roster was so fatigued that it could only rely on Hurlbert and Devin Sandon. The team’s beating game appears average, but Josh Kramer will improve it. RU has the second most firepower in the Northeast on its roster.

3. NYQC is still a Top 3 team, until its Kyle Jeon-less roster shows otherwise. Zack Gindes is extremely underrated, and the team’s beater corps is still top-notch, even after losing Jeon to QCB via a transfer.

4. Tufts has a lot of talent but not enough cohesion or experience to push to the top. The team is still trying to figure everything out and may convince a few past players to come back. David Stack’s return would keep the team in this position should he attend the regional championship.

5. BU has a lot of talent but still lacks the experience to pull an upset over the top teams. The team was missing big pieces at Oktoberfest and still had a strong showing. BU is not quite a top team, but its tough two-male beating attack puts it at fifth in the region.

6. The Warriors have a great roster but never can really get the big wins. On paper, they look like the second-best team in the Northeast, but on the field they are a step behind. The Beloff brothers – Sean and Michael – looked elite while playing for University of Miami at Oktoberfest, so not having them play for the Warriors is a huge loss for this year’s team.

7. RPI’s strength comes down to two players: Mario Nasta and Teddy Costa. The rest of the team is competent and talented, but the two of them bring high-level beating and chasing, respectively. Without them, the Remembralls wouldn't be a team that could qualify for US Quidditch Cup 9. With them, they should be a lock.

8. Emerson hasn't beaten anyone strong so far this season, but plans to bring a more complete roster to regionals. The team’s snitch range defeat to BU and 40-50 score against Rochester United at the 11-minute mark should give a little more confidence to the young roster.

9. Hofstra has strong personnel, but doesn’t always approach gameplay with a strong or focused game plan. The team’s strong keepers and chasers can keep it in games with top teams, but a perceived lack of organization and strategy should also keep it from blowing away lower-ranked teams.

10. Harvard is a strong unit, but has struggled to have a competent offense since Jon Jackson’s departure from the program. The Horntails also have some talented young players who should grow into their roles more, making them a strong team heading into the second half of the season if they can lock up a US Quidditch Cup 9 bid.

Anonymous Voter 2

1. QCB is the best in the Northeast, for obvious reasons. The team is undefeated, has great depth at most – if not all – positions, and has the best starting six in the region.

2. Rochester United is second because of talent; it should be able to go up 40 or 50 on the teams ranked right behind it.

3. BU was ranked third because of athleticism. This team beat Tufts this season and has kept in range every time the teams have faced off; a month later, BU will be able to go out of range against Tufts.

4. Tufts is in the fourth spot because of its experience and strategy. Tufts has managed to win most of its games without Stack, and its only out-of-range losses came against QCB and Maryland.

5. RPI comes next because it has some star players, namely Costa and Nasta.

6. The Warriors are in sixth place because they are a talented team, but they have been beaten by RPI this year and don’t have many games notched so far.

7. NYQC, even without Jeon, should be a lock to qualify for US Quidditch Cup 9. Without Jeon, it has tumbled a few spots in rankings, but athleticism and experience will keep NYQC close with high-level competition.

8. RIT’s physicality and experience put it in the Top 10. RIT beat University of Rochester, so RIT is above the Thestrals.

9. University of Rochester has plenty of experience and a solid program to build from. Haven't seen either RIT or University of Rochester play this year, so RIT has the edge because of their one head-to-head game.

10. Emerson has too much experience and is too big of a program for me to take it out of my Top 10, even after its poor performance at Oktoberfest. All of the team’s in-region losses came from teams ranked above it.

Anonymous Voter 3

1. QCB is the dominant team in the Northeast, hands down. With a seeker like Harry Greenhouse and beaters like Max Havlin  playing for QCB,  the only way anyone can beat this team is by getting out of snitch range, and that's not happening.

2. NYQC would be the dominant team without QCB in the mix. Dylan Meehan and Kyle Carey are some of the top players in the Northeast.

3. RPI’s Costa and Nasta make great leaders for a great team that has proven successful already this year. RPI is right up there with the best of them.

4. Rochester United is a great team, but not as good as the three listed above.

5. Boston University is always a top contender. Playing in the Boston area, the team is used to competing with the best teams in the Northeast and will definitely make a huge splash.

6. Tufts, even without Ethan Sturm, is a great team. Tufts’ female chasers are still the best in the Northeast and will prove difficult for any team to contend with.

7. Ranked University of Rochester seventh because the team will be playing on home turf, and it is a consistently strong team.

8. The RIT Dark Marks are consistently strong like Rochester, even if both are weakened by the creation of RU.

9. The Warriors are playing without some of their best players. Their beating core is weak, and if the Warriors are using Taylor Crawford as a beater, they are weakening their chaser game tremendously. While the Warriors’ offense is lacking, their defense is very strong, and Michael Parada will create opportunities for his team. They'll make it, but not easily.

10. Contrary to their record, Macaulay is a strong team. Its roster for tournaments thus far has been mostly inexperienced rookies, and their core chaser lines have never played together in a tournament this season. Macaulay's defensive tackling and physicality are up there with the best Northeast teams, and its beating core of Luke Espina and Jennifer Freund will upset many teams, while Zachary Diemer and Christopher Pinto lead the offense.