A come-from-behind snitch grab allowed Virginia Tech to edge the University of Maryland in the finals of this weekend’s Turtle Cup, hosted by UMD on their campus in the city of College Park.

University of Maryland competes in the Turtle Cup. || Photo by Charlene Mallory

Though a light drizzle moved in later in the day, teams from eight schools cast their Impervius Charms and each played at least four matches in pursuit of the championship.

“It was fantastic to see so many teams at the tournament!” said tournament director and UMD Quidditch vice president Sarah Woolsey. “It was interesting to be able to see each team play many times.”

In addition to the Hokies and the Terrapins, teams at the Cup included Christopher Newport, James Madison, Johns Hopkins, and Virginia Commonwealth universities, as well as the University of Richmond and Stony Brook University’s Department of Homeland Sorcery team, the latter of which were making their tournament debut.

Though every team in attendance had a blast, highlights of the Turtle Cup included the trophies for the top finishers — hardware that Borgin and Burke would have died to get their hands on.

For second place, a handmade replica quidditch ball chest, complete with quaffle and bludgers, and, for first, a one and-a-half foot tall snitch trophy made of glass.

An undermanned but stout-of-heart Christopher Newport won the tournament’s sportsmanship award, perhaps incongruously represented by a horcrux — specifically, Tom Riddle’s diary containing Dobby’s sock.

The glass trophy was by far the most delicate snitch in attendance on Sunday, as its human counterparts did their best to hurl, dodge, and shoot Silly String at each team’s seeker. One snitch had even more tricks up his sleeve — literally, as he grabbed a spectator’s discarded umbrella and hid it in his sweatshirt until accosted by a seeker, at which point he pulled it out and brandished it in a manner that would make even Hagrid proud.

The run-up to the final match was intense, with both semifinal games going into overtime and ending on a snitch grab — in the case of the Virginia Tech/Richmond game, almost instantaneously, but not so for the UMD/Johns Hopkins match, in which the chasers traded points and the seekers lunges at the snitch before Maryland finally snatched victory.

“I think that the tournament as a whole could only have improved upon by accessing a weather machine,” noted JHU beater Audrey Zeldin. But weather aside, each team at the Turtle Cup played their hearts out and had a shell of a good time.

The full score report for the Turtle Cup may be found at MuggleNet’s Snitch Center.