LAST CALL IN THE WEST…WHO WILL ADVANCE TO CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND?
Drivers in the greater Wichita area will be greeted with Kaiju-sized Amy-David-Wenzhang-Tyrese-Nikhil billboards this week, leading up to the final regular season competition for the West Division teams. Where our Shockers be at? Get your tickets HERE.
April 1, 2024. Although we find it hard to believe the West Division finale can match the level of glorious insanity that we experienced in Lawrenceville, NJ a couple weekends ago, the conditions for just such a thing are certainly in place. A mere 5 points separate the division-leading Bay Area Blasters from the hard charging Portland Paddlers, who in turn must keep a close eye on the rearview mirror for a playoff-or-bust Texas Smash, just 11 points away. The Seattle Spinners find themselves with a riverboat gambler’s chance, still mathematically in play at 27 points out of a playoff spot.
Bay Area and Portland are in the pole position to join Carolina and Princeton at Championship Weekend, with Texas lurking and Seattle with an outside shot.
The rosters are set and both Bay Area and Portland seem to be taking no chances, coming with their optimal lineups. Texas is at near full strength, with the exception of Yoan Rebetez’s absence, replaced by FA Nishant Lebaka. Unfortunately for Seattle, they will be without the services of superkid Aditya Sareen, with Paul Qi answering the call of duty in his stead.
Bay Area: Ma Jinbao, Tao Wenzhang, Lashin Elsayed, Senura Silva, Lily Zhang, Alexis Douin
Portland : Kou Lei, Jiwei Xia, Jonatan McDonald, Tyrese Knight, Rachel Sung, Isaac Vila
Texas: Hiromitsu Kasahara, Nandan Naresh, David McBeath, Amy Wang, Darry Tsao, Nishant Lebaka (FA)
Seattle: Nikhil Kumar, Olajide Omotayo, Johan Hagberg, Andrew Cao, Paul Qi, Fabiola Diaz
And while we have largely gotten out of the predictions business, it bears repeating here that Bay Area and Portland are coming with their optimal lineups while Texas and Seattle are both missing key contributors. With the finish line in sight, every tiny advantage/disadvantage will be magnified, and so Coaches Maggie Tian and Christian Lillieroos must be feeling good about their chances. Another hugely important development here is that McBeath, after playing every single event to date in the A/B position, is now ranked 3rd on Texas by USATT rating and therefore must play in the C/D position whenever Kasahara and Naresh are also both playing. This creates a fascinating situation in which Naresh will play up while McBeath will play down…is that an advantage or disadvantage for Texas? Minimally, it gives Coach Jörg Bitzigeio (hopefully the organic version with amino acids and DNA versus the printed circuitry boards and memory chip version we saw in Seattle last month) a more difficult job with regard to roster implementation. And it all begins right away at 4pm on Friday afternoon with a critical matchup between his Smash and the team they’re chasing, Portland…in a matchup somewhat eerily reminiscent of the Friday Florida-Princeton matchup in Lawrenceville; a lot of the drama of this coming weekend may well be decided immediately…so don’t blink or you’ll miss it! If the final event of the Eastern Division regular season is any indication, Wichita should be a nail-biting extravaganza of MLTT drama as these teams battle each other one last time to snatch that golden ring for a playoff spot in Chicago. As always, the incredible action with matching production value and fantastic commentary can be seen here.
Since we mentioned golden rings, we would be remiss not to mention that the Western Division proudly boasts all three US women’s 2024 Olympians in Lily Zhang, Amy Wang and Rachel Sung, as well as Nikhil Kumar who has qualified for the final stage of olympic qualifications (along with Kanak Jha) for the Americas. Say what you will about the Beasts in the East, but the olympic flame burns brightly in the MLTT West Division!
