After Modest Showing in NY, "A" Team Looks to Postseason
In New York City, at the season's marquee tournament, MMT's A Team went 10-10 this past weekend to finish the invitational season at 27-27-2. The ninth place finish at NYU's Downtown Invitational put the Miami squad squarely in the middle of what was the most competitive field of teams at any tournament this season.
It was a modest, all too-typical showing for an all-senior A Team that boasts two All-American competitors and two of the best coaches in AMTA, Dan Haughey and Neal Schuett. All year long, the team has struggled to play at the level it knows it's capable. In nearly every round, regardless of the competitor's strength, the A team has either won by a few points or lost by a few points. This tournament proved no exception.
After taking four of five ballots from Furman University in round one, Miami would drop four of five to the tournament's champions NYU, then three of five to Northwestern before taking three of five from Columbia. Never losing a ballot by more than seven points and dropping all of their lost ballots by an average of 2.5 points, the A Team will need to consider a way to differentiate themselves from the competition.
"The NYU round was our best round even though we dropped four," said A Team attorney Allie Pickerill. "We barely lost those ballots and so it's a matter of tightening up our performance because we know we have the intangibles to take us to another level."
Alex Block was named as one of ten outstanding attorneys at the competition, his fourth award of the season. Deb O'Neal was named as one of ten outstanding witnesses.
The A Team will now shift focus to the postseason where they will look to win Miami's second National Championship. First, the team must earn a bid out of Regionals to the Championship Series in Hamilton, OH where they will compete for a spot at Nationals. Miami's Regional will be held February 14-16 in Washington, PA.
SUMMARY
A Team:
Record: 10-10 | CS: Unavailable | OCS: Unavailable | PD: Unavailable | Team #: 992
Coaches: Dan Haughey, Neal Schuett
Competitors: Alex Block, Allie Pickerill, Brad Ouambo, Brandon Patterson, Claire Meikle, David Payne, Deb O'Neal, Dylan Grafe, Lauren Yates, Zowoi Malakpa
Outstanding Attorneys:
Outstanding Witnesses :
Tab summary unavailable.