WFTDA Preview: (23) Brew City @ Fort Wayne

By Justice Feelgood Marshall, Last updated Sat Jan 9 2010 4:54pm

FORT WAYNE, IN -- The long road to the fall's WFTDA tournament season begins anew this weekend with the first WFTDA-sanctioned bout of 2010, as Milwaukee's BrewCity Bruisers head down to Indiana to take on North Central rival Fort Wayne. In an undercard bout, the Fort Wayne B-team battles one of Windy City's home teams, The Fury, in a bout that'll see both the return of one of Windy City's most illustrious players and the debut of a big-name transfer.

This bout will be covered LIVE on DNN by Justice Feelgood Marshall and Val Capone. Livestream generously provided by Fort Wayne Derby Girls. Coverage begins on Saturday, January 9 at 5:30 pm Eastern with FWDG S.W.A.T. Team vs WCR The Fury, followed by Fort Wayne vs. BrewCity at 7:15 Eastern.

BrewCity is officially ranked at #6 in the North Central region and unofficially ranked #23rd in the nation in DNN's Power Rankings. They established a 6-4 record through 2009, and also picked up a reputation for playing in some real nailbiters, with 5 of those bouts being decided by 15 or fewer points. Fittingly enough, their last bout of 2009, as they faced off against Burning River in a consolation match at North Central Regionals, was the biggest heart-stopper of them all. BCB somehow put together a 30 point comeback in the last 4 jams of regulation to tie the bout with 0:00 on the clock ... and then took the overtime jam to win 126-116.

The Milwaukee league continues to roll out a remarkably stable and experienced all-star roster, with 9 of their players having been on the team since its 2007 debut (and a 10th, Carrie A. HackSAW, an experienced transfer from Madison.) Cookie Ciano returns to the roster after taking 2009 off from all-star action. There's one rookie debuting in the form of Skittle -- and it's not just her first all-star bout but her first bout ever.

Fort Wayne's WFTDA campaign in 2009 was a rough one. It started 3-0 with wins over eventual tourney qualifiers No Coast, Burning River and Nashville, but they proceeded to lose six out of their next seven games, including 5 losses in a row to close the season. Their 107-71 loss to Grand Raggidy at June's ECE was a fatal blow to their hopes for qualify for the 2009 NC Regionals, as they ended up ranked at #13 in their region and missed the cutoff by three teams. They've not played a sanctioned bout since August 1 of last year, where Arch Rival handed them a 72 point loss, 119-47.

This is the second official meeting between BrewCity and Fort Wayne -- the first, in May 2008, was a close and remarkably low-scoring affair that went to BrewCity, 63-55.

Before the main event, Windy City local team The Fury engages in some rare interleague play as they go up against Fort Wayne's B-squad, the S.W.A.T. team. This one is particularly notable for the presence of two of the Fury's players: Kola Loka plays her first public bout since helping lead Windy City to their second-place finish at the 2008 WFTDA Championship, and Jackie Daniels, formerly of Grand Raggidy, plays her first game as a member of the WCR league.

Anna "Killy" Krajcik 1 // Becky the Butcher 99 // Betty Clobber 425 // Carrie A. HackSAW 24 // Cookie Ciano K8 // Fidela Castrate 44 // High D. Voltage 60kV // Milwaukee's Breast 34A // Moby Nipps 68 // Rejected Seoul 78 // Rhoda Ruin 37 // Roadie Foster 27 // Servin' Justice 02 // Skittle 5

Dodger L. Bows B-52 // Enya Grave 6ft Under // Go Go Beware 10 // Kona Krusher 721 // Majestic 105 // Minx 3 // Miss Jane RedRum sk8 // Pink PAINTher 30 // Pushy Cat 69 / RIPtide 4 // Ruby Killer 33 // Sugar Guns 8 // Sweet Avenger 87 // Cutter 88