Dust Devil 2006: Round Robin recap
(crossposted from my forum post at www.ratcityrollergirls.com)
FANTASTIC performance tonight Edit/Delete this post Reply with quote
Folks, let me tell you: While the action has been fabulous throughout the day, there have been only two big surprises here in Tucson:
1) The relatively inexperienced Bay Area Derby Girls played extremely strong and smart derby, holding strongly favored Arizona Roller Derby to a tie and advancing to single-elimination play;
2) Your RAT CITY ROLLERGIRLS blew the DOORS off their pool, racking up a higher average point spread than any other teams save Texas and Tucson. Even their loss to Tucson was an extremely strong performance, allowing only an 11-point margin for a team that beat its other opponents by 40 or more. Everyone here expected RCRG to be competitive, but no one would've predicted this degree of domination.
Looking forward:
Saturday is going to be a very exciting day. RCRG is an extreme favorite to defeat Sin City, which made it out of their pool by the skin of their teeth with a record of 1 and 3 (only edging out two other 1 - 3 teams due to better average point spread). That's a damned shame, because the Neander Dolls are a charming group and I hate to see them eliminated, but, ya crush who ya gotta.
In the likely event of a victory against SCRG, 4th-seeded Arizona Roller Derby from Phoenix would be next. Having watched all of today's action, I have to say I feel really good about this matchup. Arizona is a strong, experienced team, but the did not dominate their opposition quite the way Texas and Tucson did. They demonstrated real vulnerability in their matches against Madison and the upstart B.A.D.Girls. They are not invincible, but they will surely benefit from their first-round bye.
RCRG has one other advantage no other road team has approached: a large and vocal cheering section! There are several dozen fans in the Rat Pack, and we generated every bit as much noise as the hometown fans could muster for their team. No one else comes close. The "6th chick" has truly been in play! We're all stocking up on lozenges to try to hang onto our voices for more.
On a side note, the Tucson skater who was carried out and taken to the hospital was Tombstone Teri, a longtime skater here who is talented and popular. No word yet on her condition, but it's true that she stuck her arm straight up to give a thumbs-up as she was carried out. Derby girls are TOUGH.
I'll try to post updates as promptly as I can tomorrow. Stay tuned, and stay excited! We sure are here!
FANTASTIC performance tonight Edit/Delete this post Reply with quote
Folks, let me tell you: While the action has been fabulous throughout the day, there have been only two big surprises here in Tucson:
1) The relatively inexperienced Bay Area Derby Girls played extremely strong and smart derby, holding strongly favored Arizona Roller Derby to a tie and advancing to single-elimination play;
2) Your RAT CITY ROLLERGIRLS blew the DOORS off their pool, racking up a higher average point spread than any other teams save Texas and Tucson. Even their loss to Tucson was an extremely strong performance, allowing only an 11-point margin for a team that beat its other opponents by 40 or more. Everyone here expected RCRG to be competitive, but no one would've predicted this degree of domination.
Looking forward:
Saturday is going to be a very exciting day. RCRG is an extreme favorite to defeat Sin City, which made it out of their pool by the skin of their teeth with a record of 1 and 3 (only edging out two other 1 - 3 teams due to better average point spread). That's a damned shame, because the Neander Dolls are a charming group and I hate to see them eliminated, but, ya crush who ya gotta.
In the likely event of a victory against SCRG, 4th-seeded Arizona Roller Derby from Phoenix would be next. Having watched all of today's action, I have to say I feel really good about this matchup. Arizona is a strong, experienced team, but the did not dominate their opposition quite the way Texas and Tucson did. They demonstrated real vulnerability in their matches against Madison and the upstart B.A.D.Girls. They are not invincible, but they will surely benefit from their first-round bye.
RCRG has one other advantage no other road team has approached: a large and vocal cheering section! There are several dozen fans in the Rat Pack, and we generated every bit as much noise as the hometown fans could muster for their team. No one else comes close. The "6th chick" has truly been in play! We're all stocking up on lozenges to try to hang onto our voices for more.
On a side note, the Tucson skater who was carried out and taken to the hospital was Tombstone Teri, a longtime skater here who is talented and popular. No word yet on her condition, but it's true that she stuck her arm straight up to give a thumbs-up as she was carried out. Derby girls are TOUGH.
I'll try to post updates as promptly as I can tomorrow. Stay tuned, and stay excited! We sure are here!