When filling out your bracket, don't forget about the Cinderellas

With 126 teams participating in this year’s dodgeball tournament, the winner could come from any walk of campus life. Though athletes have dominated recently, one should never discount the underdog.

Football

As the defending champion, the football team comes into this year’s tournament with high expectations and a quiet confidence. The team begins its quest for a second consecutive championship (and third overall title) against Ed on Campus and is likely to advance.

In the second round, however, it could meet the Black Student Union (BSU), last year’s runner-up. The Tigers should expect a tough game, as the BSU will be seeking revenge for last year’s defeat.

If the gridiron giants top the BSU, their third round could include the USG or the women’s track and field team. Members of the football team, however, do not appear overly concerned about these potential opponents.

“Taking the title last year was a cakewalk,” sophomore linebacker Scott Britton said, “and this year shouldn’t be any different.”

Junior defensive lineman and tri-captain Matt Koch, noted that baseball, water polo and other sports with balls are the greatest potential threats to a repeat of last year’s success. He did not mention any possible threat from student government or from girls who run quickly or jump far.

It is worth noting that this year’s team is markedly different from last year’s champions. Not only did the team lose many of last year’s players, but it is also coming off a 3-4 regular season in the Ivy League. Contrastingly, last year’s team went 6-1 and won the Ivy League championship before dominating Princeton’s dodgeball scene.

Cap & Gown Club

If the football team hopes to repeat as champions, it will likely have to get past Cap & Gown, a perennial contender for the championship trophy. Richard Andrews ’09 described his team as “the traditional powerhouse of the dodgeball tournament,” and the team will be looking to reinforce this claim in this year’s event.

“Mere winning is unacceptable,” Andrews said. “Our opponents should be prepared to be demoralized, broken and shocked.”

In this vein, Cap has compared dodgeball to an act of warfare.

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“No prisoners, no excuses, no member left behind,” Andrews said of his club’s strategy.

But if it hopes to advance through the bracket and actually win the tournament, it will need to be on top of its games. In its first game, Cap will face off against a Prospect Avenue rival, Cloister Inn. The winner will take on Terrace F. Club, with the winner of that matchup meeting Whitman or Forbes college in round three.

Riflery

Like Cap & Gown, the riflery team is approaching the dodgeball tournament as a challenge comparable to warfare. This parallel seems to suggest that the riflery team has an advantage. After all, its sport includes activities that are necessary to being a soldier.

Nonetheless, dodgeball rules prohibit the use of gun violence, and opponents must be eliminated through activities related to the actual balls. Zeb Blackwell ’09, a member of the team, is still very confident that his team’s gun-related prowess will translate into dodgeball success.

“We know how to aim things,” Blackwell said.

Riflery is competing in the division for small teams and will face off against Princeton University Ballet in the first round. Blackwell is extremely confident in his team’s chances in that game.

“We’re gonna crush them, we’re gonna smack them around,” Blackwell said. “They may be all graceful, but they don’t know how to aim things.”

If the team defeats PUBallet, it will face either the Press Club or Princeton Frosh Lightweight Crew in the second round.

Center for Jewish Life

For the first time, the Center for Jewish Life (CJL) will not face a religious group to begin the tournament. In the first round, the CJL will take on the club lacrosse team, unlike the previous two years when it faced the Muslim Students Association and the Manna Christian Fellowship.

When asked about his team’s chances of advancing, captain Greg Burnham ’09 replied that “I can’t say I know much about the lacrosse situation at Princeton, but we’ve got some surprisingly athletic guys at the CJL.”

In the second round, the CJL could face contenders like the men’s basketball team. Nonetheless, he insists that his team has at least a fighting chance against them.

“Big players are big targets,” Burnham said. “And don’t forget that it’s Passover this week, so if there’s any time when divine intervention is going to help us, it’s right now.”