Snohomish County National Qualifier Preview
By Jack Levy
Introduction
As we enter the final week of National Qualifiers, two club competitive bids are up for grabs on the West Coast. For the second time this season, USQ is returning to Snohomish, Wash., this time with a jam-packed qualifier. Unlike collegiate bids, winning a club championship at qualifiers guarantees a team will be a pot one team for the USQ Cup pool draw. A handful of the teams this weekend would benefit immensely from a pot one draw, on top of having this year's USQ Cup in their region. With seven teams competing for two remaining bids, a pot one seed for pool play in Placer Valley and in-state rivalries, there is a lot on the line.
Bay Area Bakers
The Bay Area Bakers are looking to rise to a challenging qualifier like a sourdough starter. While they may be the Breakers’ second team, they are loaded with talent. Veteran Shirley Lu will lead the squad this Saturday. Expect to see her wearing different headbands throughout the weekend. Coach Duran Allison is another veteran looking to bring experience to this new team. An exciting addition to the Breakers’ roster is Nick Arceci. The Michigan graduate is speedy and can play at multiple positions. While taking one of the two bids is a tall order for the Bakers, all eyes will be on their game against the Second Stars. It should be one of the highlights from the weekend as Quadball fans tune in to see some of the new additions on the West Coast.
Bay Area Breakers
The Bay Area Breakers are looking to defend their qualifier title this weekend, after taking home the trophy last year, but it will be no easy task. The Lost Boys have stacked up and are ready to take back the California crown, and the out-of-region Texas Copperheads are looking to earn a D1 bid this weekend. Luckily for the Breakers, they too have increased depth.
One of their biggest pickups this season is chaser Dara Gaueman, the Cal grad and former Boom Train player should be one of the top scorers this weekend. Also look for Aakash Srinivasan, now in his second club season, to take a big leap for the program. In the beating game, Thomas Chang-Davidson, Harry Dill, Maxine Gutierrez and Lorena Medrano will log heavy minutes and look for dodgeball control to make sure the team can play at the pace they want. The Breakers have the pieces to return home with their tickets punched to nationals, and maintain dominance in the region, but it will certainly be no easy task with a couple of heavyweights in their way.
Lost Boys Q.C.
The Lost Boys are heading up to Snohomish with one goal in mind, to reestablish themselves as the top team in the region. Last year in the championship game, the Bay Area Breakers walked away from Placer Valley with a narrow victory over the Lost Boys, 155-130. It was a tight game throughout and one of the most exciting all season. This weekend, the Lost Boys have a chance to take back the regional title. The team is led by coaches Jess Sangria and German Barrios, who have been preparing for this qualifier all year.
Some stars to look out for are Anna Dannecker in the chasing game and Christian Krieger in the beating game. Expect the two of them to consistently log heavy minutes in crunch time moments. The team also picked up Will Spencer, who played for University of Texas last season in college. The depth is there for the Lost Boys, and they are one of the favorites to walk away with a bid this weekend. But the team has larger goals; leave Washington with a trophy, prove they can take down out-of-regions threats like the Copperheads, and defeat their in-state rivals in the Breakers.
Seattle Sirens
As the home team, Seattle is looking to make a statement in this qualifier. At the end of last season, the Sirens won the club open division. The squad is looking to carry their dominance in the open division to the competitive qualifier. They might not boast as many wins at qualifiers as the Breakers and Lost Boys programs, but Seattle can push any team here to a close game. Leading the charge is Natalie Slotter. The long-time Siren can compete with anyone in the region, and is extremely familiar with anyone she will be going up against this weekend. The squad also boasts beater Joe Blanchard, who’s bringing years of experience from the Midwest. Formerly a Minneapolis Monarch, Blanchard is great at generating turnovers. Look for Stottler and Blanchard to start for the team. Expect the Sirens to play late on Sunday, and defend their club open title in April.
Second Stars
While they have second in the name, the Second Stars is not a team to skip over. The Lost Boys’ number two squad has been a force to be reckoned with all season long. The group were runners up at H2O5, where they split games against Breakers and beat the Vipers by five points in a nail-biter. This team is full of young players to watch, including a couple of Emerson products who graduated last year. Daniel Baradat and Adrian Manansala are looking to bring over their experience from the MQC this weekend. Expect an electric matchup against the Bay Area Bakers, as the two B-teams will face off. Don’t sleep on this crew entering Washington on Saturday. Viewers should look forward to seeing the next big names in the West wearing teal this weekend.
Silicon Valley Vipers
The Silicon Valley Vipers are returning back to the West Qualifier. After playing at Midwest Qualifier in 2025, the Vipers are looking to take down some of their rivals close to home. That starts with the Second Stars, who narrowly edged them out in February at H2O5. With qualifiers being a much larger stage, the Vipers are ready to avenge their five-point loss. Many of the players are coming back from a 2025 season where they merged with the Atlantic Dragons at nationals, including Kelly Casey, Michael Goldman and Sam Fischgrund. Expect the Vipers to challenge teams on Saturday and Sunday.
Texas Copperheads
The Texas Copperheads are traveling all the way to Washington to be the only out of region team in Snohomish. The Copperheads not only want to secure their D1 bid after falling short at the Garland Qualifier, but they want to walk away with a trophy and a guaranteed pot one seed. When talking about the Copperheads, it’s hard not to start with Hayden Boyes, who has looked all the parts of a complete chaser throughout the season. His field-vision, scoring ability and defensive presence is at the top of the league. Expect Boyes to continue to dominate, like he has all year long. The roster may be missing Mallory Hughes, a major part of the Copperheads chaser corps, but the team is still surrounded by strong pieces. Sarah Stewart has seen a major minutes increase this season and did an excellent job scoring at Space City and the Southwest Qualifier. Also look for Billy Nellums to be one of the top scorers on the weekend.
The Copperheads are returning familiar names at beater, but one of the larger pickups they’ve gotten this season is former ASU player Tanner Boneheimer. Notably, Boneheimer will be without his beater partner Bryanna Mclaughlin who played for Copperheads at Space City. It will be interesting to see how coach Brandon Kubena will adjust beater pairs at a pivotal point in the Copperheads’ season. The Copperheads have surprised teams all year, including taking a game off Reign QC and Boom Train in the past two months. With nationals seeding on the line, look for Copperheads to be competitive throughout the weekend.
