The Sam Houston State quidditch team is preparing for the two-day Quidditch Nationals in Kissimmee, FL starting April 8. SHSU is set to faceoff against top teams in the country from the Southwest region including the University of Texas, Baylor and Texas A&M.
“We still have a lot of work to do if we want to take the title,” sophomore Travis Ward said. “We have been competing against some of the best teams all year here in the Southwest. There are a few teams that are going to be challenging for us in the completion, but we are not too worried about it. If we play our best and play our game, we will do good.”
The competition includes the top 60 teams in the nation from eight different regions: the Northwest, West, Midwest, Southwest, Great Lakes, South, Mid Atlantic and Northeast regions.
The Bearkats have appeared at the national stage for the last four years, so the team plans to use previous experience in order to make a deep run at the Quidditch Nationals.
“With the experience, it gives us some advantage,” junior Saraah Doverspike said. “We know what the competition is like and that just means that we know what we need to bring, how we need to play and how well we need to play. There are a lot of expectations since our team is new, but our leaders are looking to lead us into nationals.”
One team that is a big threat in the tournament is QC Boston. The team consists of veteran players that have graduated college and still compete.
“One of the best teams out there is a community team from Boston,” Ward said. “A community team is basically all the best players who graduated. They can go on and keep playing quidditch after they get out of college. As you can imagine, they are the best players and since they keep on playing, they can only get better. QC Boston is looking to take the title this year, along with other community teams in Los Angles.”
Although the competition is tough, that is not going to stop the Kats from playing their best.
“Since we are part of the top sixty teams in the United States, the competition is going to be tough,” junior Hayley Rutledge said. “Our team is known for playing with our hearts. In our pool, we are looking to play against the Los Angeles Gambits. We played them last year and they are a top competitor in their region. We have a history with them.”
SHSU begins quidditch action on April 8 in Kissimmee, FL.
