Compubookie: SDC beats Fringe for win
Greetings Buggy lovers, over-zealous alumni, and Tartan readers.
Another year of Sweepstakes is rapidly approaching with 11 teams competing for the top spots. Carnival is less than a week away, just in time for my yearly predictions. With strong freerolls from the top-tier organizations, this race will prove to be both exciting and close. Given the conditions of the Chute, expect the hay bales to make plenty of friends come race day with the potential for a shake up at the top.
Starting with the women’s heats: Look for Fringe’s B team to come in at sixth place due to their technical expertise and slower pushers. SDC C will come in at fifth to be the lowest placing team for them. With strong pusher depth and equally strong buggies, they should find themselves in the second day. SDC B will edge out their C team competitors to place fourth. With the speed coming out of PiKA, Fringe, and SDC expect a close race at the top. PiKA’s slow push team from last year makes it an easy pick as the worst of the three. Fringe A will edge out PiKA but lose to the dynasty that SDC has on the women’s side. With nearly ten seconds over the competition last year, expect SDC to once again hoist the women’s trophy.
Moving over to the men’s side, I predict an extremely close race at the top with the top three teams rolling faster than years past. Starting from the bottom, PiKA’s abysmal performance last year as an organization will see the B team drop down to a speed just fast enough to make it to Day 2. CIA will finally find themselves in Day 2 with their new buggy and their motivated team. Fringe B, along with PiKA B, heads the list of disappointments as they will roll themselves into eighth place. Spirit A’s strong push team will land them in seventh place as long as the buggy can make it through the Chute. SDC C will be the first C team to ever break the 2:10 barrier as they prove to embarrass another A team this year. SigEp A will again roll strong with a powerful push team but will not make it into the upper echelon due to weak mechanics. The last four spots will be owned by SDC, Fringe, and PiKA again. PiKA A will look to redeem themselves this year and improve on their womanly slow time from last year. SDC B will break the B team record again a third year in a row and be the first B team to reach the 2:06–2:07 range. The top two teams will break away and make this a two-horse race for the top. Look for Fringe A to improve their team record from last year with a new buggy and Beta pushers. Finally, SDC A will take back the cup with the expected chip on their shoulder.
That’s it for me this year. My bets are on SDC to sweep the races and Fringe and PiKA to make things interesting. I will be there of course, but you’ll never see me.
SDC: FMB’s #1 fan
Fringe: Winners in 2001, 2010*
Spirit: You spin me right round, baby, right round.
Sig Ep: Is pushing buggy the only time you get behind a girl?
PiKA: If SDC builds a four-wheeler, will you copy that too?
Sig Nu: Buggy is their second favorite thing to roll.
AEPi: Robobuggy — Favorite to win in the non-competitive category.
Kap Sig: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
SAE: Slow Ass Engineering.
CIA: Ascending to the top 10 this year.
Pioneers: Discovering new ways to lose year in and year out.
Beta: Fringe’s new pledge class.
Predictions:
Men’s: SDC A; Fringe A; SDC B; PiKA A; Sig Ep A; SDC C; Spirit A; Fringe B; CIA A; PiKA B
Women’s: SDC A; Fringe A; PiKA A; SDC B; SDC C; Fringe B