Where the Elite East Region Stands
Written by Tyler Greer, Edited by Dan Levine
With the final round in each region before Nationals upon us, The Dodgeball Tribune will weigh in on Elite Dodgeball’s regions and what to look forward to (Thank you Rolena Thomassin for creating the Standings). It’s going to be an exciting four weeks!
Two and then the Rest
Like the Elite North Region, Anarchy and Team Awesome both won one of the first two rounds, setting up a Round 3 rubber match. In Round 1, with an ailing Anarchy, Team Awesome came back from a 1–3 deficit behind big plays from Drew and Matt Giovinco, Frankie Giannetto and the two newbies to the team, Chris Wheeler and Andy Smith. In Round 2, a healthy Anarchy squad with Mike McGee back in the mix, crushed Team Awesome 4–2 in the championship in a dominant performance behind big plays from Andrew Zappala, Billy Schmitt and Michael Caterino. If a third rematch occurs, expect Team Awesome to put up a much better fight, though I see Anarchy taking the series.
Impact is your third place team as of now, but an early showdown with Anarchy or Team Awesome, could potentially catapult them to second with their three young hotshots Jeff Giovinco, Matt Levine and Kyle Sander. Of course, the outcomes of their matchups against those top teams could also knock them out of the Top 4 entirely, as we just saw with Kraken in the North with an first round exit in elimination.
The fourth spot is up for grabs as the Tigers have 9 points, with All-Star hopeful Tyler Alcantara leading the way, while ARKM and Klutch Mode are just a point behind and chomping at the bit to make the Top 4. Other teams that could surprise? How about last season’s Series champ GOAT? They can squeak in, as could Kill the Comp who are as raw as they are full of talent.
Predictions: I think Anarchy takes the series, with Team Awesome and Impact staying two and three. ARKM will take fourth behind their own All-Star hopeful in Eduardo Osorio.
The Women’s Division
It’s no wonder Royale won both rounds this season given they boast the two best female catchers in the East in Michelle Radley and Jenny Hodge. Their catching alone has been game-changing and could be considered the main reason for their success. Sami Barrett, Emily Hotz and Megan Fricker have had some big throws as well.
Clash took the runner-up spot each round and is their clear rival. Although the point totals make their odds of winning the series very slim, Marcy Grimmond and Tasha Mabin (their top two players) along with Emily Baumgartner, Danielle Zelinsky, and Stephanie Ness should be proud of their consecutive second-place spots. Clash is in a great position to take the last round and fine-tune anything leading up to Nationals.
Precision and Venom have some ground to make up to compete with the top two teams. With Tasha Mabin playing with Clash, Precision has been unable to manage the upsets they put together last year while Venom has struggled with the loss of their captain Ashley Guevara to injury (at least in Round 2). Still, All-Star hopefuls Sam Girardi (who is also acting captain) and Amber DeStevens have kept Precision’s hopes afloat. Even considering the high expectations from the previous year (with their near-East series win), they’re still a very solid team.
Predictions: Royale takes the series, with Clash, Precision, and Venom finishing out the Top 4.
Women’s Foam and Open No-Sting
Like the Elite West, the East was able to add Women’s Foam and Open No-Sting to Round 2. While neither division will take place at Round 3, nor at Nationals, the addition showcases a great step forward in Elite’s development. We’d like to see more expansion of Elite into Canada and using their primary ball type is a definite incentive for more Canadian women to enter the Elite ranks. This is doubly important in the East Region where we would expect to see the most Canadian players participate.
Clash took first place in Women’s Foam, which isn’t much of a surprise for a team comprised of mostly Canadians and two former Team USA foam players in Danielle Zelinsky and Tasha Mabin. Though there wont be a rematch for Clash and Royale this season, foam seems to be here to stay in Elite for the next season.
In the Open No-Sting division, Impact took home first place at Round 2 and though it was a good matchup against Anarchy, if Shawn Wheeler (one of the best no-sting players in the country) didn’t make an East appearence, it could easily have gone the other way. Still, Jeff Giovinco, Matt Levine and Kyle Sander held their own against Mike McGee, Billy Schmitt, and Michael Caterino in Round 2 with Team Awesome giving Anarchy fits in the semifinals before finishing in third place.
Hello, Coed Division
Hello aside, the Coed Division has been pretty unpredictable. Hello has run away with the division, winning both rounds. Any team trying to take the series would need to win Round 3, and have a lot of help from Hello (who would have to lose their first round match). Crazier things have happened in the East with last year’s Round 2 and Round 3 setting the table for GOAT behind collapses from Anarchy and Brick Squad.
Zero and Night Shift have the only chances of bumping off Hello as they are tied for second with 14 points. Zero had an impressive showing in Round 2, making it all the way to the championship (with a little bit of bracket luck as they dodged teams like Team Awesome, Tigers, Woke, and eventual winners Hello), behind clutch play from CJ Berger and Alfred Kwon. Night Shift was the surprise in Round 1 with their runner-up final and finished Round 2 tied for 5th with big plays from Sam Jones and TJ Manning.
Team Awesome is at four, respectively, but separated by only a point from the teams below. A slew of other teams are hoping to jump into the Top 4, including Aftershock and Kill the Comp.
Predictions: Hello takes the series, with some shuffling as Team Awesome takes second, Night Shift in third, and Zero in fourth.
All-Star Predictions
After watching some live streamed footage and talking to a few peers in the region, these players seem to be almost locks to make the men’s All-Star team or should at the very least be in the conversation:
— Drew Giovinco (Team Awesome), Mike McGee (Anarchy), Billy Schmitt (Anarchy) and Jeff Giovinco (Impact). All four are former All-Stars and have shown no signs of slowing down.
— Michael Caterino (Anarchy), Matt Levine (Impact), Chris Wheeler (Team Awesome) and Eduardo Osorio (ARKM) have a claim to an All-Star selection as each have been huge for their teams, making game changing plays and at times carrying their teams.
The East Women’s All-Star team is a little different than what might be expected because some players have to be shifted to the North region (particularly given that Clash is a predominantly Canadian team — see listed All-Stars here for more info). That said there are still some big frontrunners most notably with the following:
— Jenny Hodge (Royale), Michelle Radley (Royale) and Tasha Mabin (Clash) have all impacted their teams immensely and the women’s division in general. Neither team is finishing first or second without their performances.
— Amber DeStevens (Precision), Danielle Zelinsky (Clash), Emily Hotz (Royale), Sam Girardi (Precision) and Sami Barrett (Royale) are definitely in the conversation for All-Star nods as well and they too have come up with big plays throughout this season.
