There was nothing in the sky on Saturday morning that indicated that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening on Randall’s Island in New York City. However, the strange, the comical and the magical came to life in a small stretch of land where the 2011 Quidditich World Cup, the fifth such event, would be played.

“It’s really awesome that to see [the crowds] find out more about the sport,” said junior Gabe Albright of Emerson College, who volunteered to be a snitch for the cup. As opposed to it being a ball as in the Harry Potter books, the snitch is a person in this version of the game.

Stony Brook University was on of approximately 100 schools or organizations who fielded a team for the weekend.

It was the second world cup that Stony Brook had attended, and the players were determined to show how much their university has grown in the past decade or so.

“We have to prove to ourselves and everyone else that we belong here,” said Daniel Ahmadizadeh, the captain of the team.

Just like Stony Brook Athletics, the quidditch team has been trying to alert the country to the presence of this university and that it is a force to be reckoned with. Currently, according to the International Quidditch Association (IQA), Stony Brook is ranked 46th amongst 103 universities.

On the first day, Stony Brook won one of its three matches. The first two contests were dropped to Michigan State University and Villanova University. Under the light, the team won its third game against Virginia Tech University.

“Honestly, it was exactly what I thought it would be,” Ahmadizadeh said, who indicated that he knew that the team would have to undergo some growing pains before it could compete with top teams.

The day could have began a lot better. Its first match occurred at 10 a.m. against Michigan State, whom the IQA ranked 15th. Stony Brook managed to keep the match close early, parrying its opponent to the point where the score stood 30-30.

But then Michigan State blew it open and finished its effort by capturing the snitch, which awards the capturing team an automatic 30 points. Stony Brook lost 140-70.

The match against Villanova was far more brief. It was a close and physical match. Once again, the score stood at 30-30 before Stony Brook’s opponent’s caught fire. Villanova scored two more goals before it caught the snitch. and would be victorious, winning 80-30.

However, the late match was where Stony Brook came alive. The team scored the first 50 points. Stony Brook would get 130 points, more than the first two games combined, compared to Virginia Tech’s 60.

Tech caught the snitch, but the extra points were not enough to give it the victory.

But the successful run was not meant to last. Stony Brook would lose its final match of the cup against the University of Minnesota. It lost the game 50-40 on Sunday morning.

However, even though the team didn’t come out with its optimal result, the experience of being there and representing Stony Brook was fantastic all the same.

“I think it’s crazy,” said seeker Thomas Potter, who ironically shares the same surname as J.K Rowling’s fictional protagonist. “I love it. I feel at home here.”