2011 Virginia Regional @VCU

[wilsonmw04]

We had a great time over the past three days. This is the first time we have had a robot that consistently preformed to our design criteria. I have to give my team high marks their performance. We didn't place as high as we would have liked, but ehhh... who really cares?

On a slightly different note: my team was thoroughly impressed with 1676. They are truly a class act. Congrats to 1086 for yet another Chairman's win. You all are one of the elite teams in FIRST. Watch out for them in St. Louis!

[nahstobor]

I'd like to give a shout out to team 2363, triple helix, that program sure has developed fast since 2008. They've had some rough years, especially in 2009, at both of your regional events, you had the most underrated robot, you all should have been picked at both of your events. But now in 2011, they have come full circle. Congrats on your Palmetto win and finalists appearance at VCU. If it wasn't for those New Jersey teams you would have two blue banners going into the championship . 2363 is the best robot coming out of Virginia this year, look out for them at championships.

[JesseK]

There was an interesting pool of robots left to pick from when the alliance selections came back up to the #1 seed! Basically we chose a strategy to beat the 25/1676 alliance, which could have made it had the 3rd robot worked properly in the second Finals match. Any one of 3 things could have swung that match our way. No, we didn't know that we were being 'starved' of squares -- we still had 2 (3?) full logos, heh. Ah well. It was quite a fun time. I'm certain that same exact strategy will work well for us in St. Louis given the caliber of teams that will be there.

Congrats to 25/1676/1522. It was a well-deserved win.

MANY thanks to our alliance partners 2363 and 540. The tenacity of 2363's pit crew can't be emphasized enough; their whole team is a well-oiled machine and is a force to be reckoned with at champs.

Major congrats to 1086 on CA -- you guys definitely deserve it!

[delsaner]

Wow, what an incredible competition. This may have been one of the greatest competitions we have been to, we certainly had a lot of fun. We were constantly on the edge of our seats watching our team, because we knew we were going up against an alliance that had incredible skill, and we were nervous about what the outcome would be. ALL of you preformed phenomenally and you should be proud of yourselves for what happened.

25 and 1522- We greatly appreciate you both for helping/leading us to victory. This was without a doubt a group effort, and we could not have done it without you two.

2363- Once I discovered you won the Palmetto regional, I started to worry. I always remember your team, and how much far you guys appear to have come. You make yourselves noticable, both on the field with your robot and off the field, in the stands, cheering and spinning your cloth. Your team never ceases to amaze me, and I am looking forward to seeing you all in St. Louis.

1086- Congratulations on winning RCA. From my knowledge and seeing your Chairmans video, you guys definitely deserve it. I am excited to see 1086 coming to St. Louis.

1885- I am glad to hear you are going to St. Louis. You guys deserve to have a spot on a Championship field. Best of luck to you all during St. louis.

[mwilbur]

Originally Posted by nahstobor

I'd like to give a shout out to team 2363, triple helix, that program sure has developed fast since 2008. They've had some rough years, especially in 2009, at both of your regional events, you had the most underrated robot, you all should have been picked at both of your events. But now in 2011, they have come full circle. Congrats on your Palmetto win and finalists appearance at VCU. If it wasn't for those New Jersey teams you would have two blue banners going into the championship . 2363 is the best robot coming out of Virginia this year, look out for them at championships.

Thanks for the kind words! Our team has worked really hard to pull ourselves up the learning curve as quickly as possible. While we still have a way to go, it's been nice to be recognized as much as we have been the last few weeks. We seriously felt like rock stars at Palmetto, and we made so many new friends. It all still seems like a dream in so many ways. Our tally over the last two weeks:

Palmetto Regional Winners
Palmetto Regional Engineering Excellence Award
Virginia Regional Finalists
Virginia Regional Woodie Flowers Award
Virginia Regional Industrial Design Award
Virginia Regional Dean's List Award (Michael Snider)

Not a bad couple of weeks and our first trip to the Championship awaits! What more could we ask for??

[mwilbur]

We'd like to post a word of thanks to team 1885 and team 540 for the great effort in the elimination matches. We are particularly grateful to 1885 for sticking with us when it looked like our robot was suddenly down for the count following the quarterfinal matches. I was absolutely amazed that we were able to get it repaired as quickly as we did. Talk about willing something back together!! It was fun playing with you guys. Maybe we can catch up at the Championship.

To teams 25, 1676, and 1522 -- you guys were great together. The comebacks in the quarterfinals and the semifinals seemed to give you a level of confidence that couldn't be undone, and our alliance just didn't play our best at the most critical of times. You guys definitely deserved the win. Best of luck to you guys in St. Louis!

Team 3625 -- We are so excited for you that you won the Rookie All-Star Award! It was fun working with you guys and we hope you're able to make it to the Championship!

To team 11, MORT -- we really have enjoyed interacting with you both at Palmetto and at Virginia, and we can't thank you enough for scooping up all of our pit equipment and carrying it to our pit for us! Sorry that it didn't work out that we could team up in the elimination matches. That would have really been fun. We look forward to seeing you guys again in St. Louis. And congratulations on the Engineering Excellence Award. It is much deserved!


To teams 122, 384, and 2068, thanks for cheering for us. It's great to have you guys as our friends.

[Akash Rastogi]

As happy as I was to see Jersey come home with a blue banner, I can't help but feel bad for 11. 2nd seed alliance yet again, and yet again bad luck.

Keep your heads up guys.