Over a thousand Harry Potter fans descended on Kissimmee, Fla., for the Quidditch World Cup VI on April 14 and 15. The annual World Cup, hosted by the International Quidditch Association, draws teams from around the world to compete for Quidditch glory. NYU’s very own Nundu Quidditch team made it to the World Cup playoffs.
CAS senior Bryan Hall is one of the founders of Quidditch at NYU and serves as co-captain and president of the Nundu team.
“It is sad to know that this is my last cup competing in my NYU purple, but the journey that this club has endured from creation to World Cup VI has been an amazing ride,” Hall said.
The NYU Nundu Quidditch team has had a long journey to the World Cup stage. At the IQA Northeast Regional Tournament last November, teams competed for a spot at the World Cup. NYU was one of 11 teams out of 24 to qualify for the competition in Florida from the Northeast.
“Competing at the World Cup has been amazing,” Hall said. “It’s a grueling process that involves little to no sleep [and] two intense days of game play.”
The first match for NYU was against No. 1 seed Texas A&M University. NYU lost 140-50. Next up was Fleming College from Ontario, Canada, which NYU easily defeated 200-20.
The third game of the day was a grueling match against the Johns Hopkins Hallows, who are of the same caliber as NYU. At the end of the 30-minute match, the Nundu team had secured their second victory 200-130. NYU seeker Ryan Blewett, a Tisch junior, caught the Snitch in the Hopkins game, possibly due to his superstition of only wearing one shin guard to each game.
“The one shin guard is a bit of a good luck charm. Left shin always,” Blewett said.
The final match of the day was against the University of Michigan. The close match ended 120-110, bringing the Nundus’ record to 2-2. NYU was able to advance to the second day of competition.
On Sunday, NYU competed in the round of 32. NYU, seeded 27, was eliminated from the playoffs in the first game against the No. 6 Los Angeles community team Lost Boys.
“Our losses were to top-ranked teams, and given a different team up on the second day, we could’ve advanced further than we did,” Blewett said. “There’s no shame in losing if we feel we went as hard as we could.”
The Division II final was between No. 3 Loyola and No.1 Sam Houston State University, with SHSU capturing the victory by catching the Snitch. The final score was 110-70. Division I culminated in a final matchup between No. 1 University of California, Los Angeles and No. 2 University of Texas at Austin. The Texas team is now the new Quidditch world champion.
Despite the outcome, Hall has seen a great deal of growth in the Nundu team. “I see the depth that is forming within our team, and I can’t wait to see what they can do with another year of practice under their belt,” Hall said.
Mary Jane Dumankaya is sports editor. Email her at [email protected].
A version of this article appeared in the Monday, April 15 print edition. Mary Jane Dumankaya is sports editor. Email her at [email protected]