WWS Feature Preview: #1 Oly vs #6 Philly

By Justice Feelgood Marshall, Last updated Wed Feb 24 2010 10:43am

BREMERTON, WA -- In a battle of the current and the most recent #1 ranked teams in the nation, the Philly Rollergirls travel cross-country this weekend to take on the 2009 WFTDA champions, Oly Rollers. It's the marquee bout of the 21-bout Wild West Showdown event, hosted by Bremerton's Slaughter Country Roller Vixens.

This bout will be covered live on DNN by Justice Feelgood Marshall and Val Capone; bout begins at 5pm Pacific (8pm Eastern) on Saturday, February 27. Full live coverage of the Wild West Showdown is presented by Fast Girl Skates.

Philly is officially ranked #2 in the WFTDA Eastern Region and sits at #6 nationally via DNN's unofficial Power Rankings, but they were only one jam away from a top-five ranking at least. At the 2009 Nationals, they came in as one of the favorites to go all the way, as they were coming off a dramatic win over 2008 champs Gotham in the championship bout of the Eastern Regional tournament. At Nationals, though, they started slow against upstart Rocky Mountain but got it together enough to be leading going into the final jam of regulation; unfortunately for them, a RMRG 4-0 with no time left on the clock tied the game, and they lost the overtime jam as well to get eliminated from their own tournament after just one bout.

That showing dropped Philly from the DNN #1 ranking they held at the time down to #6, but that September defeat of Gotham demonstrated that they're capable of triumphing over any team in the sport when they're on. That win over Gotham stopped an 18-game winning streak for the New York team, so Philly's unlikely to be fazed much by Oly's current 11-0 WFTDA winning streak (potentially 12-0, as Oly's going up against Rose City on Friday night before this bout.)

The Philly lineup looks to have kept all of the primary elements of their impressive 9-2 run in 2009, but they've also gained one of the sport's most experienced veterans by picking up esteemed jammer Fortune as a transfer from Rat City. That move gives the already dynamic Philly jammer lineup yet another facet, with Fortune's lanky style complementing physical jammers Shenita Stretcher and Teflon Donna and speedsters Mo Pain and Persephone. Tall and dangerous Summer Assault also returns to the Philly league after two years in Seattle.

Oly, for their part, has little left to prove after silencing doubters all through 2009 with their undefeated run to the championship in their rookie WFTDA season. They knocked off both the 2008 champions Gotham and the 2006 champions Texas, handing the sport founders their most lopsided loss ever in the finals. For Oly, it's now it's all about defending the turf they've staked out as the most athletic team in the sport. A notable addition to their roster this year is ex-Rat City skater Rettig to Rumble, which now gives Oly 5 skaters from Rat City's 2007 rise to #1 in the nation: D-Bomb, Deadly Aim, Femme Fatale and Blonde 'n Bitchin.

The Olympia team has built their success on much more than just transfers, though: Atomatrix won the 2009 DNN Reader's Poll for MVP and Heffer took the WFTDA award for Nationals MVP. Along with B Tease N, Tannibal Lector and Blonde 'n Bitchin, Oly's built a stable of jammers perhaps unmatched in derby for their combination of speed and strength, and feature a hard-hitting but still very nimble pack keyed by D-Bomb and Sassy.

2 Sassy // 2TON Heffer // II Scara II Death // O3 Atomatrix // 4x4 Wheel-Her // 5 B Tease N // 007 Rabbit KiX // 8 D-Bomb // 9 Tannibal Lector // 18 Femme Fatale // 22 Riot Girl // 27 Trickk Tracy // 28 Blonde an' Bitchin // 29 Rettig to Rumble // 41 Deadly Aim // 815 Halle Scerry // 911 Intended Anger // SPOONFUL Mary Stoppins //TK0 Punchin' Judy

06 Violet Temper // 8 Mo Pain // 11 Ivana Rock // 13 Wendy Whiplash // 15 Persephone //18 Gefilte Fists // 22 Elle Viento // 60 Summer Assault // 67 Dara Licks // 77 Dotti Horror // 85 Teflon Donna // 99 Miss Fortune // 305 Shenita Stretcher // 668 Olivia Face // 714 Robin Drugstores // 911 Nina Knockout // 933 Ginger Vitis // 527 Heavy Flo // 1972 Gloria Grindem // AK47 Euro Thrash