By Derby News Network, Last updated Wed Sep 15 2010 10:06pm

WFTDA Sanctioned | General Interleague | Banked Track

WFTDA Sanctioned

2010 WFTDA North Central Playoffs -- As expected, top seed Windy City rolled to a second victory in the regional playoffs, but their road there wasn't as smooth as it was last year. After knocking off 9 seed Naptown 177-85 in the quarterfinals, they went back and forth for nearly the whole bout with 4 seed Cincinnati before finally taking over in the last 15 minutes to win 172-147.

In the tournament final, Windy City faced an unexpected opponent in 7 seed Minnesota, who had shocked both 2 seed Detroit (118-99) and 3 seed Madison (119-107) with big second-half comebacks in each game. Though Windy City solidly defeated Minnesota 132-82, Minnesota will be advancing to the WFTDA Championships for the first time.

Third place went to Madison, who fended off a strong challenge from Cincinnati, 165-143. Madison will also advance to the November 5-7 WFTDA Championship tournament in Chicago, IL.

9 seed Naptown and 10 seed Omaha improved their standings after the consolation bouts, finishing 6th and 9th respectively, while 2 seed Detroit (5th place), 6 seed North Star (7th place), 5 seed Brewcity (8th place) and 8 seed Arch Rival (last place) all slipped a little bit. -- Justice Feelgood Marshall

Full DNN recaps

Dutchland 158, Providence 85 -- Fans were given a preview Saturday night of Game #1 of WFTDA’s East Region Tournament, Derby in the Burbs, as Dutchland hosted Providence for WFTDA sanctioned action.  The game was scheduled prior to the teams securing consecutive WFTDA East Region ranking spots with Dutchland at #9 and Providence at #8.  In the end, Dutchland achieved a rankings upset, beating Providence 158-85.

Providence took an early lead with jammer Craisy Dukes going 5-0 over Dutchland’s Skid Ho. Sukkubus Strixe, a recent transfer from Lehigh Valley, took the star for Dutchland next and managed to squeeze out 5 points before being sent to the box on a major track cut. Strong defense from the Dutchland pack held Providence’s Jetta Von Diesel to 2 points. 

Over the next several jams, Providence maintained the lead with Dutchland hovering behind. In jam 7, Dutchland’s Nash Villain was able to shut out Baby Fighterfly of Providence 10-0, putting Dutchland in the lead 26-23. Over the next 4 jams, Providence put 5 more points on the board, thanks to a single grand slam by Baby Fighterfly, while Dutchland tacked on another 22 including 14 points by White Thrash in jam 12, leaving the score 48-28.  Unfortunately, Providence captain and key blocker Hot Sauce sustained an ankle injury in jam 12 and did not return to the game.  Over the 5 remaining jams of the period, Dutchland continued to build their lead, going 19-8 over Providence. The halftime score stood at 67-36.

Dutchland picked up where they left off in period 2 with Skid Ho grabbing 5-0 over Providence’s Leonardo DeCapitator followed by Sukkubus Strixe’s 13-4 over Jetta Von Diesel. Strixe then returned in jam 5 to lay down 14-2 over Von Diesel. Providence gained some momentum while Nash Villain was boxed in jams 6 and 7 with Ruca A. Salt grabbing 12 and Sweet Tease 10, but Nash was sprung from the box and picked up an impressive 15 points leaving the score 125-70.

Over the next 6 jams, Providence jammers were shut out, with the exception of Craisy Dukes. She grabbed 4 points before being sent to the box for an IP major after removing her mouthguard on the track; a second devastating IP major was then assigned when she removed her helmet prior to entering the box.  Dutchland was up 146-74 by that point, and the final few jams played out evenly for a 158-85 final in Dutchland’s favor.

MVP’s were Craisy Dukes for Providence and Spinal Snap for Dutchland. -- Josie Cuervo