The Cavaliers
The 2011 Drum Corps International Tour Monday, June 27 through Sunday, July 3

High score of the week

World Class: Carolina Crown (81.60), July 3, Bristol, RI Open Class: Oregon Crusaders (71.30), July 1, Hillsboro, OR

Storylines to watch

• The Cavaliers was the first corps to break the 80 point mark on Wednesday, June 29 in Mankato, Minn. with an 80.3. Other corps that eclipsed 80 points this past week include Carolina Crown (80.1 on July 1 in Quincy, Mass.), the Cadets (80.6 on July 2 in Seattle, Wash.), and Blue Devils (80.45 on July 3 in Riverside, Calif.). Madison Scouts (78.8 on July 3 in Bristol, R.I.) and Bluecoats (78.5 on July 3 in Cedarburg, Wis.) look to be the next corps on the verge of passing this scoring milestone.

Troopers
• Carolina Crown marked the high score of the week on July 3 in Bristol, R.I. with an 81.6. While the corps hasn't gone head to head with the Cavaliers since June 26 in Lisle, Ill. (where the Green Machine scored 2.9 points ahead), Crown's Bristol score is 1.5 points ahead of the Cavaliers' last recorded score of 80.1 in Michigan City, Ind. on July 2. The two corps will see each other for the first time in almost two weeks on July 8 in Bowling Green, Ohio. • Troopers, who came within two tenths of a point of the Glassmen's score on June 26, finally caught up to the Toledo corps on July 3 in Cedarburg, Wis., tying for third place with a 73.0. • Santa Clara Vanguard and Phantom Regiment continue to finish neck and neck. In their first three meetings this past week, Phantom scored 1.5 ahead of SCV on Tuesday, .45 ahead on Friday, but on Saturday in Walnut, Calif., SCV overtook the Regiment 77.1 to 76.9. After the two corps tied on June 24 in Clovis, Calif, this is the first time Vanguard has scored ahead. Regiment was once again in front of SCV, however, on July 3 in Riverside, Calif. by a scant tenth of a point.

Santa Clara Vanguard
• On July 2 in Walnut, Calif., Santa Clara Vanguard (77.1) scored within 1.45 points of the Blue Devils (78.55) which is as close as the two corps have scored in more than a year when Vanguard came within 1.55 of BD on June 26, 2010 in Stanford, Calif. • Oregon Crusaders' high score of the week for the Open Class of 71.3 on July 1 in Hillsboro, Ore., was .9 over Vanguard Cadets' score of 70.4 on June 28 in Atascadero, Calif. That 71.3, however, is still under Blue Devils B's 73.45 earned on June 26 in Stockton, Calif. It should make for an interesting match up when BDB faces Oregon again on July 30 in Paw Paw, Mich. • The Colts came out strong in their first event of the season on Tuesday, June 28 in Woodbury, Minn., scoring just .5 below the Troopers. The Colts also scored within .7 of the Glassmen on July 1 in Oswego, Ill., though both corps scored 2.5 ahead of the Iowa corps on July 3 in Cedarburg, Wis.

Colts
• Boston Crusaders had finished 4.2 points under the Madison Scouts on June 29 in New York, but narrowed the gap to just 1.3 points below on July 2 in Lynn, Mass. • Spirit of Atlanta has been hanging about two points behind the Boston Crusaders at most recent events, scoring as close as one point behind (72.5 to 71.5) on June 29 in Ft. Edward/Glens Falls, N.Y.

This week's upcoming events

Tuesday, July 5 Dublin, OH Boise, ID Wednesday, July 6 Centerville, OH Salt Lake City, UT Jackson, NJ

Revolution
Thursday, July 7 Akron, OH Friday, July 8 Bowling Green, OH Loveland, CO Saturday, July 9 Madison, WI Denver, CO Fremont, CA Sunday, July 10 Dubuque, IA Pleasant Hill, CA Omaha, NE Photos by Chris Maher, CorpsReps.com.