Championship Predictions 2011: Newton

[Looking Forward]

Newton won last year and won in Rack'n'Roll. And the three teams Newton sends to Einstein will have answered any questions about themselves, and should be a strong contender to take gold. But exactly who emerges is wide open. As with any division, seeding and scouting will be huge factors in who emerges victorious. Ultimately, the team that steps up and plays to their potential is going to get to Einstein.

PREDICTIONS:
TIPS:
With three regionals under their belt, 2415 won't need home field advantage to reach the eliminations at Championship. Especially when they won two of those events. They're an incredibly efficient scoring machine and can fill up half the rack if left to their own devices. It remains to be seen if they've already peaked or if there's some more potential in their machine, but the WiredCats are certainly going to be a factor on Newton.

27's potentiometer issues might have cost them MSC, but I trust that RUSH will be back with a vengeance. A very effective and efficient scorer with good driving, the Clarkston, Michigan team is going to be on one of the top four or five alliances on Newton.

At times, the Bomb Squad looked better than either 148 or 118 at Alamo. They aren't as "silky smooth" as some of the other elite teams, but 16 can put up points and hang with some of the toughest teams in FIRST. They didn't grab a medal in Midwest to accompany their gold from week 1 in Texas, but don't let that fool you into thinking they're a cut behind. They aren't going to carry an alliance in this field, but their odds aren't bad.

842 is already in the Hall of Fame, but they just earned their first regional victory as the #1 seed in Arizona. Their scoring mechanism is far from a typical arm, with an elegant linkage that kept them within the more conservative size constraints from early in the build season. They don't have the practice that other teams do, with only one regional played this season, nor have they been put through the grinder at an event like Midwest. But they could be a solid member of a lower seeded alliance.

The GM Spartonics had cooled off somewhat since their collaboration with 1114 and their three regional victories in 2006. But 1503 is back up with two regional victories in 2011 and a simple, yet effective, slot-loading scoring machine. They're as reliable as anyone. But their lack of floor loading will be put to a test like never before, and definitely will change how their elimination alliance approaches the game. Will their limitations cost them, or can they continue to rack up the gold medals?

DARK HORSE:
The Swartdogs lost only one match all year, compiling a 31-1 record in route to two regional victories. 525 can score twice in autonomous, and don't stop scoring once the drivers take over. Kansas City and 10,000 Lakes aren't the most famous events in the FRC landscape, but that doesn't mean 525 can't have success in St. Louis. They should find their way onto one of the 6-8 alliances.

SLEEPER:
1730 has performed really well, but there's some room to take it up another notch. They have a regional victory and a trip to the finals already, but now they want to add a third medal to their collection. If they play well they could sneak their way into the first round and possible pull off an upset or two, but a selection in the later portion of the draft seems like the most likely result.

LOCKS:
Their machine is a work of art and they've done everything they've been challenged to do at both of their events. But can 148 reach Einstein? Since their meteoric rise to the ranks of the FRC elite in 2007, the Robowranglers' only trip to the big stage was seconds away from being left out of the eliminations entirely. They allied with one of their biggest challengers as members of the #1 alliance both times, and neither of their events will come close to being as good of a test as Newton will. But this machine has the upside to win it all and the Robowranglers have practiced and refined their bot as well as anyone in FIRST.

This team has more questions than I'm usually comfortable with putting as a lock. But the Thunder Chickens have shown dominance both inside and outside of Michigan. They fact that they haven't seeded lower than 2nd, including a 1st seed at MSC, says just as much about 217 as their early exits in Troy and Ypsilanti. When they're on their game, it will be hard for anyone to stop them from reaching Einstein for the fifth time since 2005. If they don't play well, they could face a repeat of their quarter-final exit in 2007.

Just like 27, who looks an awfully lot like 233 in a different motif, Pink had issues with their potentiometers in DC. That caused their autonomous to become their weakness during their run to winning the regional. But now, there's a video of them scoring not one, not two, but three ubertubes in autonomous. So if Roccobot can keep hanging 5+ tubes and winning minibot races while bringing their new autonomous into play, it will be shocking to see them go down before the finals.

[Tom Ore]

Typo: our record is 31-1

[Robby Unruh]

I'm really hoping 148 makes it on to Einstein this year.
Pink's three-tube autonomous seemed like a practice-only kind of thing. It doesn't seem like we're going to be seeing it at the champs, but if we do, hey, there's something for the record books.
217's been laying low this year, I haven't really heard much from them, just from all of their fans. I can't really say how I think they will do at champs, but I can only hope they can live up to the rest of Newton. (which I'm sure won't be a problem!)

Overall, Newton this year is shaping up as an awesome contender for Galileo on Einstein.