2005 ACF Nationals
| 2005 ACF Nationals | |
|---|---|
| Edited by | Andrew Yaphe |
| Champion | Michigan A |
| Runner-up | Chicago |
| Third | Berkeley |
| Fourth | Princeton |
| High scorer | Matt Weiner, VCU |
| Site | Northwestern |
| Field | |
| Stats | |
The 2005 ACF Nationals was won by Michigan A, consisting of Zeke Berdichevsky, Adam Kemezis, Matt Lafer, and Leo Wolpert. The tournament was held at Northwestern and was edited by Andrew Yaphe.
Tournament results
Michigan A beat Chicago A twice in an advantaged final to win the tournament with a 13-1 record, averaging a tournament-best 290.8 points per game and 14.37 points per bonus. Chicago's consisted of Subash Maddipoti, Seth Teitler, Selene Koo, and Susan Ferrari, and they finished with a 12-2 record, 281.2 points per game, and 13.34 points per bonus. Berkeley finished third with a 10-2 record, while the Chris Frankel-led Springfield Clown College made its first and only appearance at ACF, going 7-5 and beating Texas A&M head-to-head to break the tie for 4th place. TAMU placed fifth, while 6-6 VCU placed sixth and 5-7 Harvard finished seventh, rounding out the top bracket.
Individual results
The top five scorers at the tournament were Matt Weiner of VCU, Subash Maddipoti of Chicago A, Seth Kendall of Kentucky, Fred Bush of Rochester, and Jason Keller of Rutgers, in that order. Weiner led the field with 71.67 points per game.
The leading scorer for the championship Michigan A team was Zeke Berdichevsky, who finished ninth overall with 42.92 points per game. Zeke's teammates Adam Kemezis, Matt Lafer, and Leo Wolpert converted 32.08, 21.25, and 15 points per game, respectively. Before the playoff games, Michigan had answered 150 tossups, one fewer than Chicago A.
Difficulty
The 2005 ACF Nationals set was regarded for years as one of the most difficult sets, if not the most difficult set, ever produced for collegiate competition; as is shown in the stats, no team even reached 15 points per bonus. A semi-frequent joke claims that the tournament was "so hard it killed the Pope" (who died on the same day). [1]