What an amazing time at Philly! After getting to the semifinals at the New York Regional, 2 Train Robotics went all the way at the Philadelphia Regional, becoming 2009 Philadelphia Regional Champions.
The 2 Train started out its qualification matches strongly with two wins and a tie going up against 1923, who is being coached by an old 2 Train mentor, Wayne Penn. We lost our fourth qualification match and won our fifth when we were partnered up with 1923. Then came another loss and some damage to our lower belt system. After some quick repairs, our luck turned: a win with Miss Daisy (Team 341), a win against MOE (Team 365), and a win on our final qualification match. Ranked #10 with a record of 6-2-1 at the end of qualifications, we were anticipating being picked to be on an alliance by the top 8 in the eliminations.
During alliance selection, we became captain of Alliance 6 after a few of the original alliance captains were picked by the other captains. 2 Train chose MOE (Team 365, 2008 Philadelphia Regional Champions) and Robbe Xtreme (Team 56, 2009 New York Regional Champions) as alliance partners. In the quarterfinals, we beat Alliance 3, winning both matches. In the semifinals, we defeated Alliance 2 with two wins and a loss (due to a 10-point penalty). In the finals, we beat Alliance 1, comprised of the top 2 seeded teams (103, 1153) and 708, in two intense matches.
None of the teams on the winning alliance were ranked in the top 8: 2 Train ranked 10th, Robbe Xtreme 25th, and MOE 33rd at the end of qualifications. Our superior teamwork brought us to victory against mighty opponents such as 103, 1153, 816, and 1923, just to name a few.
Thanks to all the students for scouting, dancing, and manning the pit area! Special thanks also go to mentors, teachers, and sponsors. This was a well-deserved win; our previous regional wins were in Pittsburgh and NYC in 2006.
We now have four weeks to prepare for the FRC Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, which will be held April 16-18 at the Georgia Dome.