UCLA hosts third annual Quidditch Western Cup, falls to USC in finals
Third-year theater student and Keeper Jacob Tieman fights off a player from The Lost Boys during the Quidditch Western Cup held at UCLA’s Intramural Field this weekend. USC defeated UCLA in the finals to take home first-place honors.
By Jacob Ruffman
March 12, 2012 12:53 a.m.
Everyone gasped as August Luhrs took flight with a broom between his legs.
Luhrs, a first-year student at USC, had lifted off the ground and looked as though he was suspended in mid-air, ready to fly. Unfortunately for Luhrs, gravity kicked in and brought him back to Earth.
Luhrs and his 6-foot-1-inch, 200-pound frame slammed into the ground after being upended by third-year psychobiology student Missy Sponagle during the final match of the two-day, third annual Quidditch Western Cup, which was held at UCLA.
Sponagle, one of the starting Chasers for the UCLA Quidditch team, checks in at around 5 feet 2 inches and 125 pounds.
“I knew he was going to get the ball, so I decided I was going to go for his legs,” Sponagle said with a smirk. “He was going to go down somehow, whether I was going to get hurt or not. That’s Quidditch.”
It was this attitude that took Sponagle and the Bruins all the way to the finals of the 19-team tournament, which featured some of the top Quidditch teams west of the Mississippi River.
“We’re really proud of everything. This tournament had the same number of teams as the third World Cup, held two years ago,” said third-year Design | Media Arts student Tom Marks, who was one of the founders of UCLA Quidditch.
“Also, we had a ton of great people out here enjoying themselves and competing at a high level, which is really what mattered most.”
The event itself brought in more than 1,000 spectators and provided the UCLA campus with a lively and entertaining affair over the weekend.
“It was really awesome that UCLA was able to host this big of an event,” said Alex Benepe, who was one of the original founders of Quidditch and is now the CEO of the International Quidditch Association.
“I saw a lot of families and kids come out to the campus, and I feel like it gives UCLA a positive reputation in (the) community.”
No. 13 UCLA was the highest-ranked team in the field going into the tournament and the team lived up to the billing by making it to the finals.
As if the script was written in advance, rivals UCLA and USC were the last two teams standing after a long day of pool play on Saturday and then a double-elimination bracket on Sunday for the rights to be crowned Western Cup champions.
UCLA jumped out to a nice lead early on with goals from Sponagle and two Keepers, third-year theater student Jake Tieman and third-year mechanical engineering student Alex Browne, to put UCLA up 40-10. USC was able to inch back and keep the score close at 60-40 before USC’s Seeker was able to capture the Snitch, granting the Trojans 30 points and a 70-60 victory.
“We have a pretty good strategy in place, because we’ve played USC so many times in the past, but they did a great job executing … and you have to give them props for that,” Browne said.
Although the Bruins were unable to come away with a tournament victory, they considered the weekend to be an overwhelming success as a whole.
“This whole thing started at UCLA three years ago with, like, six people and a deflated volleyball,” third-year Beater and psychology student Asher Abramson said.
“To have it progress into something like this is amazing. It’s great for the campus, it’s great for the sport, and it’s something that people will want to check out more which is fantastic because nothing really compares to Quidditch.”
