Howard County National Qualifier Preview
By Brandon Borges
Introduction
This weekend, Howard County will host the biggest National Qualifier of the season, and outside of USQ Cup, likely the largest college tournament of the year. 13 teams will battle for six bids for a chance to play in Sacramento. Pool A features Rutgers as they fend off challengers in the rising Brandeis, the electric CWRUcio, the physical Brown Bears and the feisty Vermont. Pool B will see UVA continue to build momentum toward a championship run as they battle against veteran RPI, division opponent QC Pitt and last year’s Division Two champions Middlebury. Lastly, Pool C looks to have the best pool game of the day as MQC rivals Boston University and Harvard square off, while Emerson and Triangle United look to score an upset victory. A tournament of this magnitude is an opportunity for programs to make statements, and quadball fans are excited to see who will do so.
Pool A
Rutgers
Coming in at No. 6 on FastBreak News’s January College Rankings, Rutgers is the favorite to snag the first seed from Pool A, a field with no other ranked teams. The team is going to look to get the sour taste of two losses to UVA at Oktoberfest out of their mouths. They’ll do so with a squad based on punishing slower offenses with excellent beating and turning those turnovers into quality transition offense, lead by the quick and elusive Jalen Brooks and offensive field general Manvi Kona. The two Scarlet Knight chasers have also been the cornerstone of a very successful set offense that Rutgers has employed, with crisp passing that compresses opposing defenses and allows for promising rookie talents like David Chang to make incisive cuts for goals.
Of course, Rutgers’s system is based on incredible beater play from star Joe Colantuono. Colantuono is a sniper beater that has stopped a number of opposing offenses with decisive throws that can quell any type of momentum a team could try to muster, especially when those offenses try to play from the wings. Backed by Justin Mok and other Rutgers beaters who stick to hoops and preserve control while still remaining active to ward off drivers, there can be stretches of five minutes or more where Rutgers does not allow the opposing team to really play quadball, forced into turnovers and running transition defenses that get punished by Brooks and Kona.
Rutgers has only lost to one team this season, the No. 1-ranked UVA. This bodes well for the Scarlet Knights to make it far in this National Qualifier and perhaps get a rematch with UVA later in the tournament. However, Rutgers and its fans should not look too far past the teams in their pool if they hope to make a deep run and secure a bid for Nationals. Tommy Nickles, a key rookie contributor for Rutgers this season, does not look to be rostered for this tournament. And while Rutgers' more veteran squad was able to take advantage of some rebuilding squads this season, those same teams, such as Brandeis and Brown, looked to have improved quite a bit since December. With a key ceiling-raiser in Nickles not available and a more competitive and varied field in Howard County, the Scarlet Knights will need to do more than just rest on their strategic laurels if they wish to make good on their desires of a deep qualifier run.
CWRUcio Quadball
Out of the Rust Belt League of the Midwest, Case Western enters this National Qualifier as the only team based outside of the App-5 and MQC. Of all the teams at this tournament, the Cleveland-based squad has only played one: QC Pittsburgh. With most teams familiar with one another to this point, CWRUcio will serve as an interesting wild card within its pool and the tournament at large.
Even if many teams have not played against Case Western, head coaches should be familiar with the offensive juggernaut, Titus Chan. Chan, a USNTDA standout, has scored in every way imaginable, be it with his legs in transition, his shooting, or his maneuverability within the keeper zone for fierce dunks. Chan can even slot in at the beater position to switch up his team’s approach with aggressive pressure near the half line. Normally, a chaser that is as dominant as Chan would stay at chaser. However, Chan is flanked by strong chaser talent, including the solid off-ball offensive threat in Jun Kim and the defensive stalwart in Vivian Cox.
CWRUcio has just two losses on the season, a solid record heading into this National Qualifier. But a number of those wins have been by two or less goals. Glass half empty, it could mean that Case Western is not as good as their record, as their score differential indicates they are more of an average team that has gotten a luckier bounce toward the end of games. Those familiar with CWRUcio, however, know that the team deserves more respect than that; the squad perseveres and claims close games because of their mettle. They would correctly point out that Case can rely on Chan and company to deliver goals in the clutch by finding even the tiniest window to score and capitalizing on it, a talent that few college teams reliably have. CWRUcio will have its hands full in pool play, as they face several balanced teams that can employ a variety of strategies to slow down Chan and company, powered by top-end beater talent. Traveling a long way into unfamiliar territory, CWRUcio’s chances for a bid will rely on how fresh they can keep their top line and how well they can adapt to the MQC playstyle and tempo.
Brown Bears Quadball
After a successful season last year featuring quality wins at 2025’s Howard County National Qualifier, punctuated by victories over Boston University and Emerson, the Brown Bears are having somewhat of a down year record-wise. Though the roster has plenty of talent, Brown has only claimed two wins this year, an unofficial victory against the University of Vermont and a win in October against Emerson. This record, however, may speak more to the quality of teams Brown has faced within the MQC. The Brown Bears have battled Harvard, Boston University and RPI, and the point differentials of those games have never been full-on blowouts. As such, many might underrate the Brown Bears, as they have worked to transition their younger players to replace the talent that graduated last season.
Through the tough games, chaser/seeker Karsten Assoua has been a constant threat. Assoua is a physical driver and dunker, and has worked hard over the course of this season to become a better organizer of the offense. Speedster Atman Shah, off-ball cutter Jiang Yu, powerful driver Stephen Ogunbiyi and sharpshooter Sam Marcus all benefit when the focus of the defense is to contain Assoua. At beater, Grace Hong has shone as consistent and mission-focused alongside Jocelyn and Meredith Chang. The unit preserves control and slowly compresses opposing defenses, focused on punishing overextensions rather than going on the attack. This approach has paid off during the flag runner period, where the Brown beaters can form a wall around the flag, allowing Assoua to be one of the most dangerous seekers in the game.
Brown will face familiar opponents this weekend, having played three teams in their pool during the fall semester. Those teams, along with CWRU, feature beaters willing to force issues by throwing at offenses still setting up. Brown will need to adapt to that speed this weekend if they hope to secure a bid. What helps Brown is their physicality, a trait that can rattle teams with on-paper talent not prepared to go blow-for-blow. Brown has some of the tools necessary to grab upsets like last year. But more than ever, it will come down to execution.
University of Vermont
With a couple of wins under their belt this season, the University of Vermont has again proven that it can deliver surprise punches to teams not prepared to absorb them. Abby Rainey and Max Remes form a more-than-solid beater pair that can win exchanges and shut down offenses early if teams come out lackadaisical. This can often be the case for games earlier in the day and for high-stakes National Qualifier games.
In the chaser game, Vermont keeps it simple. Jack Wright and Jack Fortin are two key offensive engines, able to win one-on-ones and force opposing defenses to adjust. The open space allows cutters such as Kellie Brunner and Sky Thompson to find spots and catch passes for easy dunks. This gives Vermont an easy formula to start games, and it can force good teams who start slow to catch themselves and lock in, lest Vermont give them a fight the whole game.
The issues come for Vermont as the game progresses. Vermont has trouble keeping their tempo for a full game, outside of wins over Middlebury this season. Vermont did give Brown and even Boston University problems during the MQC Opener back in September, but this may speak to the other concern. Of the teams in their pool, Vermont has played the fewest games this season, by a good margin, except for Rutgers, who have proven they can compete with top-level teams. Vermont will have to get back into game speed over the course of the long weekend tournament if they want to secure a bid.
Brandeis
Earlier this season, Brandeis was a team in rebuild mode. After a significant portion of their roster graduated, they brought in a number of rookies and asked them to play heavy minutes. Also, the Judges elevated the returning players to starter roles, and the team proceeded to play 13 games, focusing on its young talent. That work to improve has paid dividends, as Brandeis scored a major victory over the Harvard Horntails at the MQC Meet 6 in November, a team that had previously beaten Brandeis 160-65 at the MQC Opener in September.
The work starts with the talent that has risen to the occasion. Ryan Callaghan, Matan Schwartz and Oren Weinstein have all stepped into the limelight as the stars of the young squad. Schwartz in particular has grown into one of the best utility players in the sport, with the athleticism to drive and throw down powerful dunks at chaser, shoot out and land beats behind hoops at beater and catch a number of flags for the Judges at seeker. A lot of the credit goes to Brandeis’s development program, as while the team has certainly accrued some talent, the growth in their players from one year to the next has been second to none. Brandeis’s rookies have also begun to turn the experience they got early in the season into tangible success. Golan Altman-Shafer has bolstered the offense as an off-ball chaser able to pick spots and find good matchups, while Unique Zhang and Alex Gornish have stepped into the Brandeis beater rotation as key contributors.
Brandeis is talented, energetic, and well-coached, putting them in a good position to claim one of the six bids this weekend. Even so, the stakes mean that the younger squad will have to compete in more physically demanding and competitive games. The coaching staff and captains will have to make sure spirits are high to get the most out of a team that has shown massive growth in a short time.
Pool B
UVA
Ranked No. 1 for every FastBreak News poll so far, UVA has been close to being the prohibitive favorite to win the USQ Cup this season. Now, in the biggest tournament of the year to date, the Cavaliers will get the chance to showcase why they have been pegged as the cream of the college crop. The team has talent and energy at every position, to the point that it is difficult to identify a single overwhelming reason for their success. Nathan Jun’s offensive wizardry is well-documented, while Rylan Moraes, John Evans and Sabrina Berry have grown into quality chasers in their own right. Joey Beh has become the leader of a beater unit that plays with the edge that Beh exudes throughout the game. Rookies Khamari Parker, Tristan Schneider and Elizabeth Reinhardt play with veteran presence and poise, bringing their own new dimension to the unit. In particular, the power of Parker and the defense of Reinhardt are at levels that few other college players can match. Top to bottom, this UVA squad is athletic, competitive and well-coached, and no matter the unit on the field, the Cavaliers are fielding six or seven players that are amongst the best in the country.
Now, UVA is not going into this tournament with all of their top-level talent. Notably absent is Rhett Krovitz, who has an argument as the best beater in college quadball. Beh and company are talented, but they’ll need to work in lockstep with their chasers to maintain the excellence UVA has demonstrated on the pitch. Chantal Siodlarz does not appear to be available this semester, leaving big shoes for Reinhardt and Ava Foulk to fill, not only this tournament, but also UVA’s predicted championship run in April.
UVA is not the only ranked team at this tournament. Rutgers, Harvard and Boston University would all love to upset the Cavaliers, and will likely play their most intense quadball of the season in an effort to do so. The No. 1 rank in the league begets the proverbial target on the back, and UVA will wear it for the duration of the tournament. Though if there is any program that would love to get teams at their best, it is UVA, a team that plays with a swagger backed by talent and discipline.
RPI
RPI comes into this tournament as a veteran squad poised to earn a Division One bid to the USQ Cup. Teeming with quality, they’ve had a small roster for all of the tournaments they competed in this season, but they have come close to upsetting top-level MQC teams, such as Harvard and Boston University, with a balanced playstyle.
Ben Fawthrop has grown into a great distributor of the quadball, feeding off-ball threats Justine Cross and Aidan Whitaker on cuts and drives to the wings for scoring opportunities. Sam Kudarauskas comes off the sideline as a physical defender and tackler, adding some edge to the team. Focused and unselfish, RPI has attracted a fandom this season and is a talented team to root for. It will be interesting to see how that style of play and fan support travel as the team heads to Howard County.
The biggest concern for this weekend is the relatively small roster. RPI has three games in pool play, and to nab a bid, they will likely need to play and win two more games. A tournament away from their home conference will mean a longer trip, another factor that can wear on teams like RPI. To that end, they’re made up of great veteran players who can keep cooler heads under adverse circumstances, be it low numbers or long travel. RPI will certainly be a team to watch for a run this tournament, and a lot of people will be rooting for them to do it.
Quadball Club at Pitt
QC Pitt comes into this National Qualifier as a dark horse. The team has not played a ton of games this season, but they do have a quality win over a solid team. A victory over CWRUcio is nothing to scoff at, and QC Pitt split the two-game series with Case Western back in October, with the loss coming down to a classic golden goal finish.
Pitt has a notable size advantage over most at the chaser position that has given them an offensive punch. Led by Jackson Neofes, who has grown into a reliable shooter and fastbreak threat, the team can punish defenses not well-equipped to make contact with drivers. Emily Pekich and Christian Marinescu join Neofes as good finishers at the hoops, able to muscle the quadball over and through hoop defenders. The team’s chasers are also very capable defensively. The shot-swatting Varun Krishna and the point defender Jim Karas force teams to develop their offenses, needing to score from a variety of areas to prevent Pitt from making a chaser stop and running in transition.
Pitt has a tough road this tournament. UVA and RPI are teams willing to match QC Pitt’s physicality, and Middlebury has the pedigree to snag a potential win. To improve their chances at a bid, QC Pitt will need to pick their spots in their games. They have a number of solid chasers, so the team can make some quick rotations and keep up their energetic, physical style of play to wear down a team like RPI. If you believe in Pitt, their RPI game is a must-watch, as the squad can put themselves on the map this season with a victory. Likewise, if you have not watched QC Pitt this season, they will surprise you as a team willing to put it all on the line for victory.
Middlebury
A far cry from their Division Two championship at USQ Cup 2025, this season’s Middlebury team is still finding themselves. With several players stepping into the starting line-up or otherwise receiving a major uptick in minutes from last year, the team has yet to earn a win this season. However, with a more complete roster for this tournament, Middlebury has a chance to grab a win and regain some momentum for the program.
One bright spot for the team is that players have delivered solid performances in spite of the results. Sadie Sadler, Kate Petty and Kathryn Barbara have each had solid games through the season so far. Unfortunately, the team will be missing keeper Henry Buetens for the tournament, a player who has helped organize the offense on the field and scored a number of goals for the team. It will be on Sadler and Petty to shoulder even more of the load on the pitch.
It should not be all doom and gloom heading into this National Qualifier. While not in their pool, Middlebury may be able to face Vermont or Emerson later on in the tournament, teams that they have come close to defeating before. While it has been a tough season so far for Middlebury Quadball, a win or two is not out of the realm of possibility, and that could do well for the team as they enter the second half of the season.
Pool C
Boston University
Though early-season losses stymied expectations some, Boston University has caught fire late in the fall semester to re-emerge as a major player in college quadball. Victories over early-season darling Harvard Horntails and a vastly improved Brandeis have given BU a good deal of momentum heading into Howard County. Now ranked No. 7 in the latest FastBreak News Rankings, BU has the opportunity to claim a bid to Sacramento, and potentially upend Rutgers and UVA to win a tournament championship and earn a good deal of hype.
That said, BU is entering Howard County without several players who fueled its success. Evan Sciarabba, Henry Dinges, Will White and Jun Shin are just some of the key pieces of BU’s program that are not listed on the roster for this tournament. Filling in for that talent is a difficult task, one that will likely fall to the feet of Zachary Donofrio, BU’s superstar seeker. Donofrio is having a fantastic season so far, scoring at will even when teams know he is coming, and has been able to count on teammates like Zo Bonnier and HB Bielawa to organize the offense and allow him to attack from every which direction on the pitch. However, without Sciarabba and Dinges, Donofrio will have to keep that excellence up for very long stretches of the tournament. And with Harvard in their pool, BU will need to lock into a new rhythm quicker than the other championship contenders, missing pieces at this tournament. Will White was a boon for BU when he re-entered the beater rotation late in the fall semester. Luckily for the team, Molly French and Martin Meinert have played as a crisp pair all season and are well-equipped to battle the Horntails. Also, Ian Cargile has at times been plugged in as a sparkplug beater with some success, though with the chasers BU is missing, the team may look to keep Cargile in the chaser game.
Boston is entering this tournament with high expectations, regardless of the roster that BU brings. Those expectations are warranted, as Donofrio, French and company have been great this season. But to make a deep run this tournament, the team will need to not only dig deep mentally, they will need support from their role players. Morgan Oakes, Aidan Hyer and Sam Finkenberg have all given quality minutes this season in their respective positions, and at times this weekend, the pressure will be on them to make critical plays. With a great coaching staff around them, and with the stars that have shown out this season for BU, expect them to do so en route to secure a bid for BU and then some.
Harvard Horntails
A fantastic opening to the season had quadball abuzz about the Harvard Horntails. Those expectations have quelled some, as Oktoberfest and MQC Meet 6 saw Harvard take some losses to quality teams. Now, with Boston University in their pool and bids hanging in the balance, it is put up or shut up time for Harvard. With 13 teams in attendance for the tournament, the Horntails are on the shortlist for teams that can win this tournament and take home a bid and momentum in preparation for the USQ Cup in Sacramento.
Several Horntails this season have stood out as stars in the college quadball game. Jason Wang has become a premier defensive beater, with a wicked arm and high quadball IQ that has stymied offenses all season. His pairing with David Chen has been tough to go against because they will hound you from behind the half-line. Wang and Chen’s prowess is only aided further by the rise of chaser Elisa See, who has become a cornerstone of the Horntail offense. See has incredible shooting talent that forces hoop defenders to play honestly, and that has allowed See to hit Lucy Duncan and Bruce Lowmanstone with crisp passes close to hoops. Duncan and Lowmanstone, in turn, have become quality finishers, with Lowmanstone already being a rangy hoop defender himself who locks down the middle hoop for the Horntails.
Bad news, Harvard will be missing key defender and physical tackler Mac Mertens for this tournament. Good news, the hole he leaves on the roster will likely be filled by more time for Toby Cheetham, a rookie who has slotted in perfectly for the Horntails as a powerful driver and quick defender. Cheetham will be key for Harvard in Howard County as a starter who can set the tempo for the team, as they will battle BU early on Saturday. While Harvard has slid some in the FastBreak News Rankings, expect that slide to reverse if the Horntails can knock off BU in pool play. The team has championship pedigree, world-renowned coaching and a large roster, all boons for a major tournament. The Harvard Horntails are primed to make it far in this National qualifier. The only question is how far.
Emerson
Emerson’s big three in Amiri Rivera-Sillah, Ryan Leary and Megan Brown have their work cut out for them to start their weekend at Howard County. A tough pool that features BU and Harvard, two of the best teams in the MQC, spells a hard first day for Emerson, and the path to a bid goes through those two behemoths. Emerson, to this point, has fielded a very young team, with rookies taking major minutes at a variety of positions. While this has translated to a few wins for the program, iron sharpens iron, and that experience should look to serve Emerson as they head into this National Qualifier.
Rivera-Sillah has been a one-person army for all of Emerson’s games. Scoring, passing, hitting, blocking, Rivera-Sillah has done it all for the team, and even when teams are screaming themselves hoarse telling their players to key in on them, Rivera-Sillah’s athleticism has blown by any and all defenders that have tried to stop them. Rivera-Sillah’s chaser running mate, Leary, is no slouch in her own right. Leary has focused their efforts on organizing the team on the pitch, but when they play within themselves, they are a knock-down shooter that can force defenders to play at hoops and allow Rivera-Sillah to roam around the opposing hoops freely. At beater, Megan Brown has been a stalwart, keeping control for large swaths of the game. Giving Rivera-Sillah and Leary constant one-dodgeball defenses to attack is a great approach, and Emerson has done that consistently this season. Lastly, at seeker, Wilbur Mcgeown has been money, catching a number of flags that have kept Emerson competitive late in games.
What Emerson needs to count on is for more of the younger players to follow in the footsteps of McGeown and rise to the occasion on the pitch. A two-day quadball tournament means that a top-heavy squad like Emerson is going to struggle more than other teams, and as such, the young talent will be looked to. Emerson has the stars needed to compete. Now, it needs the squad.
Triangle United
Triangle United is a young squad looking to prove themselves at Howard County this weekend. The team nabbed a victory over QC Pitt at the App 5 Championships in November, but will face stiff competition in a difficult pool that features BU, Harvard and Emerson. What Triangle United gives in spades is effort; all members of the team are constantly on the move and ready to make plays. However, if they want to translate that effort into success, they will need to make their opponents feel it.
Beater Matthew Jones has been a cornerstone for Triangle United this season. Athletic and high-effort, they fit the mold of the aggressive engage-beater that quadball teams in the Carolinas base their offensive attack around. Supporting them in the beater game is rookie Jayson Snoddy, who already impacts games with their quick reflexes and fast hands. Chase Bonnie Hernandez is a great stabilizing presence, steadying the young players on the pitch and giving Jack Weinard and Michael Smith a quality off-ball option as they initiate the offense.
In particular, Triangle United’s game against Emerson will be a good barometer for the Carolina squad. A fellow young team with a similar win total on the season means a victory in pool play for either will give them some momentum for the rest of the weekend. Triangle United can turn games into sprints, and when they dictate the tempo, they can go on some scoring runs in games. For this National Qualifier, however, if they wish to secure a bid, they will need to force that issue.
