By Justice Feelgood Marshall, Last updated Tue Nov 10 2009 7:35pm

Philly | Gotham | Boston | Windy City | Madison | Detroit | Texas | Kansas City | Houston | Oly | Rocky Mountain | Denver

Rocky Mountain (#2 West)

First bout: vs. Houston, 5:15pm Friday

2009 WFTDA record: 5-4

2009 biggest win: 187-14 over Omaha, June 6

2009 biggest loss: 179-93 to Duke City, February 22 (Four Corner Feud)

2009 closest bout: 122-107 victory over Denver, October 3 (Western Regionals)

2009 background: Rocky Mountain is most assuredly the biggest surprise guest at Nationals this year, as they opened up 0-3 for the year with losses to Duke City, Pikes Peak and Boston and only picked up two wins by defeating a couple of teams who did not qualify for the 10 team regional tournaments, Omaha and Sacred City. However, a timely influx of seasoned talent in DeRanged, Psycho Babble and Ecko Girl from nearby Pikes Peak helped give Rocky Mountain a new dimension just in time for Western Regionals -- and they became the lowest seed to ever advance from Regionals, bucking their #8 seed to upset both #3 seed Rose City and #2 seed Denver and finish second to Oly.

Tournament history: Rocky Mountain was the definition of a middle-of-the-pack team in 2007 and 2008 Western Regionals. They entered 2007 as the 9 seed, and lost to #8 Duke City in the first round; in 2008, they came in as the #6 seed and survived a round before getting solidly bounced by Texas. This is their first Nationals berth.

Lowdown: Rocky Mountain long had a reputation for being mostly defensively-minded and relying on a grinding game to eventually let the remarkable endurance of a short jammer rotation win the day; for the last two tournament cycles, Frida Beater and She Who Cannot Be Named handled the lion's share of the jamming duties. With the addition of De Ranged as a go-to jammer and Psycho deployed mostly in the pack, Rocky's game has gotten quite a bit more dynamic. Frida is showing she's remarkably dangerous as a blocker and the Pikes Peak transfers have brought their signature jammer defense skills with them, allowing RMRG to stall off the line and often pick the moment when their jammers will make their initial dive into the pack.

Players to watch: Somewhat overlooked in DeRanged's star turn at Westerns was the emergence of explosive new addition Whipity Pow, a small but gutsy jammer always scrambling to find a lane. Veteran Anne Shank, long primarily used as a blocker, was a surprise force with the star, marrying speed and determination in equal amounts to power her way through to daylight.

Blockers Catholic Cruel Girl and Assaultin' Pepa both had standout tournaments in the pack, consistently sending opposing jammers flying into the corners. Still, though, it's hard to understate the impact that DeRanged has on the team -- and on whichever jammer is unlucky to line up against her, as De loves to mess with her opposing number from the second whistle all the way to the end of the jam.

Road to the championship: Rocky Mountain is the seeding favorite in their matchup with Houston, and if RMRG gets past them they'll have their work cut out for them when they go up against Eastern Region champs Philly. An upset win there would pit Rocky Mountain against Texas, Madison or Boston in the final four. (Rocky Mountain and Denver are on opposite sides of the bracket, so a rematch of their chaotic, instantly infamous clash at Western Regionals will only happen if they both reach the championship.)

Roster: Edie I Mean 97 // Tia Juana Pistola Colt .45 // Ecko 1972 // Red Die 40 // BatAss 100% // Anne Shank 13 // Annia LateHer 57 // Assaultin' Pepa 86 // Winona Fighter 8 // She Who Cannot Be Named 88 // Frida Beater 18-3-202 // DeRanged 27 // Catholic Cruel Girl 3 // Whipity Pow 52 // Annsanity 96 // Flame n Fury 811 // Green Venom 127 // Ho J. Simpson 32 // Psycho Babble 21 // RoboFlow 10