close and with some hope of a comeback thanks to a tenacious defensive effort against the Nightmare’s powerful Chasers.  Of particular note was the physical play of Chaser Tyler Poole who dropped several players throughout the game. The final score of the first game was 120*-30 UNH.

 

 

 

The three other Saturday games were against World Cup teams and went similarly for the Ashwinders, with final scores of 200*-10 Rochester, 210*-0 Massacre, and 170*-10 Hofstra.  At this point in their development, India Point was frankly outmatched for the Quidditch powerhouses though an incredible effort against Hofstra kept the score to 70-10 for an incredibly long time and the final score would have been more on this order had Hofstra not engaged in defensive Seeking.

 

The Ashwinders played three consolation games on Sunday.  In the first game against Grove City, the Ashwinders came out with renewed determination to prove their capabilities.  The Ashwinders had their best offensive game of the tournament with production from many of their Quaffle-players: Jeremy Work (3), Jack Martin, Nick O’Mara, Derik Wagner, and Joy Yamaguchi.  Just when it looked like India Point was going to pull away, Grove City picked up their production and tied the game 60-60. The game ended shortly afterward when Seeker Jeffrey Blum caught the Snitch, ending the close game with a score of 100*-60 IPA.

 

The next game was against a fellow SNEQC team in the Brandeis Wizengamot. Although both teams had to deal with playing in incredibly muddy conditions, the Ashwinders could not maintain their momentum from earlier that morning but Brandeis was able to generate many fast breaks and scored ample goals to pull them out of Snitch range.  On the other side of the pitch, IPA had difficulty breaking through their set defense.  Despite this dichotomy, the Ashwinders held on long enough that a Max Rosenwasser Snitch grab would have put the game to overtime at 40-40.  The catch was ruled no good however and Brandeis was able to run up the score and their Seeker also succeeded in catching the Snitch, leaving the final score 110*-10 Brandeis.

 

In the final game of the day, IPA faced off against Clark. Once again, both teams had more success in preventing the other from scoring than in racking up goals themselves due to phenomenal Beater play.  The Ashwinder’s Beaters had their best game ever, completely neutralizing Clark advances with timely Beats.  Due to a lack of female subs and two days of their most intense Quidditch ever, India Point was exhausted all tournament but never more so than this game.  IPA was able to generate many scoring chances but had difficulty in finishing perhaps in part because of fatigue.  During a stoppage of play,   Yamaguchi was gasping for air and pleading for a substitution after spending another overly lengthy shift.  Once play started up again however, she was compelled to follow the play and scored the team’s lone goal.  Seeker Jack Martin got in a lot of time as Chaser as well, proving to be invaluable due to his speed and nearly making several goals himself.  Only minutes after running onto the pitch as Seeker, Max Rosenwasser caught the Snitch, ending the game with a score of 40*-30 IPA.

 

Even though the Ashwinders didn’t do well on Saturday, they emerged from the tournament with a newfound understanding of their future competitive environment.  With so many rookies, including Chasers Joy Yamaguchi, Tyler Poole, and David Reich, Beaters Will Orton, Keepers Nick O’Mara and Amanda Richards, and Seekers Jack Martin and Max Rosenwasser, the team only has room to grow.  

 

The team can be proud of itself for the tenacity with which it played in the tournament despite the factors working against them.  They played Rochester, Massacre, and Hofstra just as tough as UNH or Clark and come away with a better grasp of what it takes to be a top team.  Of particular note are Beater Amanda Lepelstat, Keeper Amanda Richards, and Yamaguchi, who played astronomical minutes for the team to stay in compliance with gender ratio.  Thank you to Boston and Hofstra for relaxing the rule for their games.

 

Now the Ashwinders will take this experience and use it to get better for SNEQC Cup 2014 and Regionals next year.  This process will start sooner rather than later for the Ashwinders play against the Whomping Wellesleys on Sunday.  Brooms up is at 1:00 pm.