The Blue Caller Rivalry Comes to an End

All season I have discussed Wisconsin and their dominance but I really did not understand their team dynamic until I had the chance to talk to some of these guys in person. Jim Foster, Muffin, Shane, Mahowald and the rest of Wisco are not only incredible players but they are actually a great bunch of guys and regardless of what people may think of the Hodags, this is great example of a TEAM and good one at that.

Weather

The weather in Boulder was really erratic. It was hot, windy, cold, rainy, the works. The showcase field was buried inside a collection of burms that really shielded it from the wind coming over the mountains and despite a really powerful crosswind, the game was not adversely affected.

Finals Analysis

Coming into the finals, Wisconsin was clearly the fan favorite. Despite haters throughout the year, most people were pulling for the ‘dags. Muffin had been heckled during the Colorado game but as for the finals, most people wanted to see him and his team do well. I think most people, or at least me, were surprised at how un-douchey Wisconsin was. They are as intense as it gets but like Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, etc… they are really friends first and teammates second. There is a lot of camaraderie among baby blue and it really helped them stick it out and succeed.

As could be expected, Wisconsin came in fired up. They started on offense and quickly asserted themselves as the aggressor. Before Florida could even get into any sort of rhythm, Wisconsin was up 4-1. Kurt was trying to send hucks deep to Brodie but Wisconsin was ready. Shane lined up well on #21 and was never caught out of position. Brodie is an amazing downfield weapon but Shane had the ability to get into position and despite the fact that Brodie reeled in a few huge skies, he also got D’d a fair amount. Putting pressure on him to make a huge play was effective and it kept Florida from scoring.

On the other side of the disc, Wisconsin’s offense was just more fluid. They didn’t rely on a ton of hucks but rather good disc movement between Rebholz, Animal and Muffin. They were very patient and did their best to convert on Florida miscues. In addition, Florida was not playing tight man D in the first half. Underneath cuts came left and right and with Wisconsin’s exceptional throwers and hands, a 70 yard field quickly became 10. Wisconsin had some difficulty on the goal line but their ability to put constant pressure on every Florida player allowed them to correct their mistakes when/if they turned it.

I would like to say that Lokke or Foster or Gaynor had a huge game deep but that just wasn’t the case. Wisconsin spread the disc around a ton and most scores weren’t exactly exciting. Florida converted on a few 50/50 tosses but much like the finals last year, Wisconsin just came out so fired up early and Florida was constantly playing catchup.

Wisconsin took half 8-4 and they knew they had Florida on the ropes. They came out furious in the second half and Florida’s lack of composure was evident right away with a silly turnover on the first throw, which resulted in another break for the Hodags. Florida stepped up on their defense and had huge incut bids from Brodie and Cyle and they tried to go with their zone when they pulled. There was a stretch of 2 points where Florida’s D was exceptional with two stall outs on back-to-back Wisconsin possessions. However, Florida had a few suspect marks from Cole Sullivan and they really did not help themselves by playing overly physical ultimate. It was evident that they were frustrated and couldn’t contain Wisconsin’s flow.

In the end, this game seemed to be textbook Wisconsin. They came out fast and hard in the first half and basically set the tone early. With such a lead to work with there was no pressure on their offense and considering that they were up against a team they absolutely hate, their focus was really an advantage. Florida could have played a great game but Wisconsin was not going to give them any chances. Their defense was top notch and their offense clicked allowing them to collect break after break. This facilitated their second half success because it was all on Florida to D up and get breaks back. Florida had a few hail marries late but at 12-9 Brodie tossed a questionable 50 yard hammer which resulted in another Wisconsin break. I don’t care who you are, at 13-9, the game is over. The last few points were just a formality and Wisconsin claimed their second title in as many years.

Wisconsin/Florida Final Thoughts

I talked with Foster after the game and he told me that intensity was definitely their game plan. Come out with passion and fire and try and put Florida down early. Apparently it was effective. Wisconsin wanted to bring the intensity start to finish and he told me that they kept focus by saying things like “another game to 3, another game to 3”. In looking at the game so few points at a time, Wisconsin’s ability to constantly demoralize Florida was really apparent leaving the Gators with no possibility for a comeback. I also asked Foster what they took from their Centex experience to which he simply replied “motivation”. I can remember thinking in Austin that a quarters exit was definitely better than another tournament win because Wisconsin has a tendency to slip when they aren’t paying attention. Lowly Stanford gave them their closest game of the tournament right out of the gate and considering that Wisconsin had to push right away, their focus never dwindled. A quarters exit in Texas was the reality check they needed and I am sure the Hodag Love movie Muffin and Mahowald are making will articulate that.

As for Florida, they absolutely rolled for most of the year, especially since Centex. Quarters and Semis at Centex were both close games against Wisconsin and Colorado (respectively) but the series was a cakewalk for them. Taking out Georgia in the regional finals 17-5 is not exactly a challenge and I think Florida’s inability to assess their weaknesses hurt them in the end. Their run at Nationals reminds me of Furious back in 2006 when they steam rolled through pool play, power pools, quarters and semis and got beat by Sockeye in the finals. Alternatively, Sockeye had a dogfight with Bravo in Semis giving them the ability to realize where they were vulnerable. I kind of feel bad for Kurt because I know how crushing this weekend was for him but he has a national title, 2 trips to the Finals and more exciting ultimate experience than most players in the country ever dream of. Remember Gators, 99% of the ultimate community sat and watched on Sunday and things could be a lot worse.

I think the epic story of the Blue Caller rivalry has finally reached its climax. In 2006 Wisconsin and Florida were both independent entities with 1 goal in mind, a national title. They met 3 times that year and by Memorial Day, they both knew that the golden disc was going to one or the other. The 2006 Final was one of the better finals I have seen and Florida’s highlight reel offense got the best of Wisconsin’s depth. Much the way Colorado was in 2004 with Beau, they just had a series of offensive weapons that no one knew how to handle.

In 2007 turmoil struck the Gators and Wisconsin took control of the ultimate scene in their slight dip in success. I think the development of Brodie and the return of Cyle really helped Florida get back on top in 2008 and as if it were scripted, these two teams would face off once again. With so many 5th year veterans looking to end their careers with another national title, everything was left on the field. Both sides really gave it all they had and I think Florida’s obvious offensive tendencies allowed Wisconsin to make the adjustments to take them down when it mattered the most. I would like to think that the take home message here is despite personal or the appearance of invincibility, good team ultimate can overcome just about any obstacle.

Completely peripheral to the results of this weekend, both of these teams were exceptional examples of talent and dedication. Whatever you think of these two high profile programs, you have to respect them. In 3 years these teams only have a handful of losses and more wins than any other college program has mustered in a 3 year period. It has been a privilege to see these two teams fight tooth and nail and we as ultimate fans are in their debt. Congratulations on a not only a great season but great careers as college flatballers. Enjoy the time off, you’ve earned it.

Closing Thoughts

As I have already said, 2008 has been such a fantastic season to witness. From Arizona to Michigan to Colorado to Stanford to Tufts to Florida there have been so many stories and it has been so much fun to write about these teams. I will have a second nationals post with some Callahan talk and personal thoughts on how Nationals and 2008 went down. Stay tuned.

just my thoughts

match diesel

Texas, Texas...YEE-HA!!!

A cheer for the Lone Star State, but uttered by the scaley boys from Florida after winning their first Centex, a goal that I am sure Gibson and the rest have had for quite some time.

Quarters

I tried to catch as much action as possible during quarters but I found myself spending most of my time watching Florida/Wisconsin and Michigan/Arizona. The weather was awesome on Saturday with slight winds and temperatures in the low 70s. However, Sunday was WINDY. More or less up wind/down wind and it was a little chilly. Lastly, because of Colorado's and Michigan's success, Stanford's struggles and Wisconsin's loss, the championship bracket was ridiculous. One half was Florida, Colorado, Wisconsin and Pitt (3 teams in semis last year) and the other was UNC, Michigan, Minnesota and Arizona (only 1 nationals team, UNC, that lost in pre-quarters to Carleton). Also, no Northwest representation. HOLY CRAP!!

Florida (14) vs Wisconsin (13)

Reid, who is a FANTASTIC TD by the way, had a great line during this game about Florida. He said playing ultimate at Florida is like High School cross country. If you are not in the top 7 you don't compete and the same is true for the Gators. I don't know how they do it, but for more or less the entire game, their 7 on the line is always the same. Kurt Gibson, Brodie Smith, Cyle Van Auken, Chris Gibson, and Cole Sullivan probably played 97% of the points on Sunday which translates into roughly 75 points after a Saturday of 5 games. My god!

This game was as expected. TONS of calls, really poor spirit and for the most part, frustrating to watch. Muffin and Kurt are such similar entities on their respective teams. They both yell A LOT, they are both rarely happy, they both have spectacular flicks in the wind, and their spirit is so depressing. I think Wisconsin was extremely surprised at their record and were definitely rattled. They were very spiteful towards one another which isn't surprising given the fact that they are an intense team and intensity can turn on you at times. Florida started out on top going up 3-1 and given their recent success against the 'dags, many thought Florida had the game locked up. Wisconsin would rally however and take the lead in the second half. James Foster, who I don't talk about enough, is a great player for Wisconsin. He is tall and experienced and is really good at getting the disc deep after Kurt and Brodie were preoccupied with Shane and Will Lokke. Rebholz is also extremely patient and composed and his handling is a polar opposite from Muffin. The two work well together however and compliment one another well. Will Lokke also had a great game. I really hope he gets the callahan nomination for Wisconsin because he is having a great season. He gets epic layout scores like they were nothing and his defense is impervious top to bottom. His composure is almost scary at times. Wisconsin yells a lot, they are really amped but Will is silent. He comes out of nowhere to make great plays and his playing style is as cold as a Wisconsin winter. Shane also had a great defensive game which I expected, despite some goofy bobbled huck scores caught by a lucky as hell Brodie Smith. I asked him how he pulled in two D'd hucks and he just shrugged, "No idea. I looked down and it was in my hands".

As for Florida, wow, this team will be soo different in 2 years. Gibson's throws in the wind are unreal. His flick is so good, it is scary. He launches hammers full field, he has a 3/4 field up wind flick huck, and his back hand breaks are perfect at ~18 inches off the ground. As for defense, Florida basically stuck with their zone which is probably the best in the country. Like I said before, they really hang out at the double-team threshold and because their team is SO tall, their cup is basically a fortress. Cyle has a great mark and with Cole, Chris, and Brodie in the cup, it is a steel trap. Brodie is 6'4" and looks like an Andean Condor on the field. This forces handlers to go over the top and who better to pick off hammers than the best deep in the country, #20. Kurt's deep D is unreal. I don't know how he doesn't get tired or doesn't get hurt. He throws his body in the air with complete disregard and lands so hard on his hips and his sides that I wonder how he doesn't have internal bleeding.

With so much wind there were a fair amount of turns instead of D's and Wisconsin in this game was not as successful against a great Florida offense, as they were against Colorado in a windy final last May. They had the lead 13-11 (pulling), game to 14. Florida managed to get the down winder and would come back with an upwind break because of a poorly placed Wisconsin throw. On Sunday, an upwind break usually meant another down wind break was coming your way and that basically happened. They tied it at 13's with the upwind break and that was all they needed. They forced Wisconsin to work it up conservatively which is something they don't do well and Florida capitalized. Their game in the wind is really amazing because their offense is so comfortable. Cyle gets open for dump cuts, Kurt is a great handler with superb breaks, Brodie can get wayy up and everyone else just tries not to screw up.

Michigan (15) vs Arizona (10)

I didn't see as much of this game as I wanted, mainly because Michigan was well in control. It was really exciting to see Purcell and Kershner line up on one another. They are both work horses and are both smaller players. At one point Purcell had an awesome layout D only to be outdone by a follow up D by Kershner. Kellen Geselbracht is also a fantastic defender for Sunburn. On the offensive side, Erik Gafni had a great game. He might be the teams' best player. He is so valuable at every stage in the Arizona offense. He had a great hammer to Kershner who may have some of the best hands in the country. Erik also exhibited great leadership calling lines along with Benjamin Gray and did his best to keep Arizona focused. I also think that Arizona may have one of the best handler cores in the country. Chris Shepard is phenomenal. He is tall, he is confident, he has every throw in the book. He and Henry Scharf really do a great job of making Kershner and Gafni look good. I think they sometimes take a few too many chances but I think they have what it takes to make nationals this year.

As for Michigan, Will Neff is a class act. Tiina Booth told me that he made ARHS Varsity as a freshman and was a sophmore captain, unheard of. He also was a major part of the 2003 and 2004 world championship juniors team. I really like watching him play for Michigan. As an elite level player, he could have walked into Michigan and been a big leaguer, but he isn't. Apparently Mo-Hawks are in and he sported one along with every other Michigan player. He is also at the core of their cheering and really exemplifies a truly great leader both on and off the field. Ryan also played a great game. Because he is a lefty, his breaks are really powerful and it keeps teams on their toes. His defense is also top notch and he really is good at getting the disc back when the offense turns it. Another thing that was really awesome about this game is that as far as spirit goes, it was 180 degrees from Wisconsin/Florida. I know that SOTG kind of gets a bad wrap from some people because it appears to be a pansy element to the game. However, the reason spirit is so important is that it takes the place of refs (at least for now). Call after call after call is BORING to watch and it really affects the game in an adverse way. Good spirit allows great D's to NOT be called back, it prevents bogus travel calls from derailing great offensive flow, and it keeps competitors focused on their game instead of how much they hate their opponent. With refs, spirit is out the window for a variety of reasons, both good and bad. But for right now, seeing Will, Ryan and the rest of Michigan as well as Gafni, Kershner, and Arizona play good and clean ultimate is really a beautiful thing.

Semis

Florida (15) vs Colorado (13)

This game had fewer calls than Florida/Wisconsin which was nice. Florida jumped out to an early lead and took half 8-4 which would be all they needed. This game was more or less an up wind/down wind contest and an early up wind break by Florida would lead to a downwind break and Colorado struggled to get those back all game. Colorado's O-line looks good however. Jolian has been much quieter than I thought he would be but he does a good job of setting up Mac Taylor deep and vice versa. Once again, Wicus and Pebbles did a great job of handling the grunt work, especially in such high wind. Catt Wilson also impressed me at one point calling a play off a Florida turn in the endzone. Jolian picked up and instead of walking it up to the line, he just jacked it from inside his own endzone down wind to a streaking Mac Taylor who reeled in a 85 yard back hand bomb. Florida was not happy.

Florida played razor sharp though. Their ability to keep their same 7 on the field is something you don't see much, but if your players can do it, you're in good shape. I wonder what Florida will have once Gibson graduates though, yikes. I also talked to Brodie after the game and he had some interesting things to say. First off, I really like this guy. He is chill, funny, and friendly. He might make some calls or intentional fouls, but I like him off the field a lot. Apparently he had mono after Vegas and has not played since mid-February, which is one of the reasons Florida didn't go to Stanford. He was really stoked for high wind because he said he had no legs what so ever and would be able to rely on his height, jumping ability and throws, rather than speed. Martin Cochran, who is also a really great guy to talk to, covered him for most of this game, but like-wise, his broken foot has kept him from being in top shape. Towards the end of the game, Martin was getting tired and switched to covering Gibson because Kurt had handled mostly in this game. Brodie told me this was a golden opportunity for the gators and twice they switched the Kurt to Brodie flick bomb to Brodie to Kurt flick bomb and without stellar speed, you aren't going to catch Kurt going deep. This sealed the deal for Florida and put them in the Finals.

UNC (13) vs Michigan (12)

This game was a heart breaker to watch. Magnum was up the whole game but UNC was right there with them. An early break allowed Michigan to lead 9-7, but UNC kept going score for score for Michigan in the second half. In watching Michigan both in this game and the Arizona game, it appears their one weakness is weather. They have a huge indoor facility that they practice in so their offense is really good. I think this is why they had success against Wisconsin on Saturday consider the wind wasn't so bad. However, Sunday was not good for the boys in blue and yellow. They seemed to have poor throws in the wind and even Ryan and Will were floating passes. Many passes were caught at full arms length in the air and some would sail over heads and out of bounds. Early in the game, UNC couldn't capitalize on these turns, but later, they played better windy offense and punched in the 2 breaks they needed. Having the ability to practice outdoors seems to be good for Darkside and I think once Michigan is able to get outside, they will be able to improve this part of their game. In addition, I really think that Michigan's depth will be an issue. Like Florida they rely on a small core group of players and in poor weather a lot of their star offensive players have to play D because of turnovers. I think they can beat almost anyone in good weather but if the wind is bad come the series, they might get stuck being #2 behind Illinois out of the Great Lakes. I also wonder how the weather will be in Boulder if/when they make nationals.

As far as UNC goes, they really are not what I was expecting. They play chilly offensive and have athlete after athlete recording D's. I think they were a bit out matched by Stephen Presley (Texas) on Saturday which is why they lost in pool play, but their composed offense was better in the wind than Michigan down to the wire in semis. UNC definitely had a clutch offensive possession late in the game after they had taken the lead. At 12-11, Michigan gained a crucial upwind break and was now pulling on universe point with the wind at their back. They came zone and with Will Neff deep it was almost guaranteed that a turn would come. However, UNC sent a deep cutter to challenge Will and then came back in. Will took a few steps to follow him back in and as he was distracted a second cutter took off for the endzone and a perfectly placed backhand bomb was farther than Will could recover from and UNC reeled in the game winner. Great play on their part.

Finals - Florida (15) vs UNC (7)

The finals was probably the weakest game of the day that I saw and considering the difference in competition from each side of the bracket, a blow out final was eminent even before quarters were played. Florida's upwind offense and zone defense were much more than UNC could handle and despite miscues by Florida in the wind, their defense was suffocating. UNC challenged Kurt many times and every time he would reel in the hammer. I thought a lot about how Beau used to play deep in zone and I think Kurt is far superior. When Beau would play zone he would rely on his legs to get to the right spot. This worked a lot because he is incredibly fast, but sometimes, it just isn't possible with a well placed hammer. The disc is just moving too fast and you can't catch up. Kurt on the other hand plays excellent head as well as body deep D. He loves putting up the hammer when a cup comes his way and therefore is very good at knowing when and where a handler wants to place a hammer when he is playing D. His positioning down field is excellent and he always knows exactly where to be to make a play. He is also very good at knowing his limits and would routinely just barely sky a guy for a disc after a full out sprint to the spot.

This game also had a fair amount of calls and I spent most of it hanging out with my UCSD buddies. I am really jealous of their crowd, the team is so much fun and they have so much potential. I know they beat a burned out Oregon and didn't exactly dominate in their pool, but they look good for the future. Their young talent has yet to gain the experience they need to handle the best in the country but they have several coaches and good youngsters. They also took out Tide pulling upwind on universe and have yet to play Arizona this year. They have as good a chance as any in the shit show that is the Southwest, and I will look forward to seeing how regionals goes.

Closing Thoughts

Skippy runs a great tournament. A line that I heard that really rang true was that at Centex, the B-Bracket is better than most A-brackets out there and I really think Cultimate is the future of college ultimate. Not to say that Nationals isn't up to par, but for teams that want to work out kinks and get the most out of a tournament, there is nothing like Centex. Reid was all over the place with his iPhone and he really knew what he was doing both in tournament organization and getting information from the field to the score reporter. I also got the chance to hang out with Rob some and his contribution to the sport really translates to him in real life. He is really a great guy as is his co-camera man and good friend, Dale. Skizip and the rest of the Texas crowd really made this trip for me again, just like Kaimana. I got my Lone Star jersey which I am wearing as I write this, and I can not thank them enough for taking care of me and showing me a good time.

I also want to thank Ryan Purcell, Martin Cochran, and Brodie Smith for taking the time to talk to me. I really love to talk shop and I have no agenda what so ever. All three were very friendly and made my life easier, thank you so much. Hopefully I can get some more interviews at Nationals. Also, thanks to all the people that came up to me just to tell me they read this stuff. It really means a lot to me and if you ever recognize me at a tournament, don't hesitate to introduce yourself. I love making new friends and I really want to hear input on how to make this sort of ultimate information delivery better.

Lastly, I am really tempted to get some callahan talk out there but I will save that for a future post. I have a ton of thoughts on the subject and hopefully I can get the voters some credible and objective material this year before they vote. Good luck to all teams out there in the series. Stay tuned.

match diesel

Thats why they play the game

I am going be honest. I had almost an entire write up done going into the finals. I started researching Queen City and had updates about TiV through semifinals. I was ready to go, I knew it was gonna be Wisconsin vs Arizona (shocking, I know but I was ready) but I figured the Hodags would take Sunburn 13-6 or something. However, I am getting text updates from my cousin, 5-3 Wisconsin, 10-8 Wisconsin, what the fuck? How is Arizona scoring? Sunburn lost to Claremont in quarters at regionals last year, what the hell am I missing? I dunno whats going on in the desert, but I am gonna find out. I want to write more, but I will save that for later. I will say, though, that like the Patriots, no team is invincible. Go Arizona, please talk to me.

Here is my original writeup. More to follow:

So Trouble in Vegas has come and gone, as has Queen City Tune Up. There were a lot of big winners in Vegas, not mention a few broken hearts. Charlotte also housed the biggest barn burner East of the Mississippi and my NUMP ballot looks like the floor of a Pedro Martinez sponsored cock fight. Here are my thoughts on each tourney.

Trouble In Vegas

First lets start off with the Cultimate extravaganza that has been dubbed the best and worst idea in the history of ultimate. I hear the weather was actually good this year which is nice considering the last two years were like Wyoming in November.

Wisconsin: I thought the 'dags were gonna steam roll folks but they definitely had their pulses raised en route to winning their 2nd tournament. They had close games against CUT (11-9) in semis and Arizona (12-11) in a capped finals that ended with a Sunburn score. I want to draw some conclusions, but like the 6-5 Wisconsin loss to CUT and Texas beating Colorado back in 2006, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Arizona: I get a text Saturday night, "Arizona beats Florida". I know that Sunburn has a few winter wins for the ages. They knocked off the Squids at Santa Barbara a few years back but Florida?!?! They managed to do something that no one has EVER done, beat the Gators in Vegas. The next thing I know Arizona beats Cal and faces Harvard in semis, semis?!?! Ok, Vegas is weird, Arizona wins, good luck against Wisconsin. 23 points later Arizona scores it's 11th goal to end a capped game. 11 on Wisconsin? Oregon got 9 on the Hodags at nationals and a team that has never made nationals gets 11? Are you serious? I have no idea what this result means, but I will say that no one has gotten this close to Wisconsin this year and this really shows that Arizona could be significantly better than just a quarters/semis team at Regionals. My sources say the finals were exceptionally well played on both sides. I think I am one of many that is blown away with this performance and I really hope to see more of Sunburn this year. The Southwest royalty could shift significantly this year and if Arizona can keep it up, they may have a chance to finally play in a game-to-go. I wish I had more information on them, but I'm on it.

CUT: When I asked my buddy JAM (who was there) what he thought of Carleton, he had one word, "Fast". The crafty boys from Minesooota are definitely experienced, polished and on track to challenge the best in the country. It's too bad they got all this World's talent right around the time Wisconsin was on their way to an unprescedented, and un-possible, undefeated season. Tough draw in semis but they really belong this year. Their biggest advantage, their Junior World's talent, is actually 2-fold in the sense that not only are these kids spectacular, but they have all already played together and in analogous systems (ARHS and Paideia). If they can overcome the size barrier by playing crisp, mistake-free ultimate, they can challenge Wisconsin when it matters. Unlike the rest of the country, CUT is unafraid of the baby blue and if they can capitalize on Wisconsin's raw intensity with composed ultimate, they maybe the NY Giants against the NE Patriots this May.

Whitman: I am really glad someone from Washington reads my blog. Here is what Joe's Brother had to say about the Walla Walla Sweets:

Somewhat off the radar, but maybe worth keeping on eye on in 2008 is that the best high school player in the country last year, Jeremy Norden, went to Whitman and claimed a lot of other Juniors players had interest in going there as well. Plus, he said the club gets an enormous amount of support (financially and otherwise) from the school and community. He's good enough by himself to propel a team into the mix. And the RSD chatter supports the rumor that there are other solid HS standouts on the freshman line. No word on their bureaucratic recruiting (they had a paperwork related DQ last year), but if their papers are in order, this team could be THE team on the rise.

They're at TiV this weekend, so by Monday we should have a little more info on them.

Turning heads and making quarters (over Ego no less) was definitely not what I was expecting from this Pool F second seed. They have their work cut out for them and are going to need to keep it up to get out of the Northwest.

Haavard: Aside from the Ivy rivalry, I am really impressed with these these guys. They are the new Brown. Making semis by beating two hot teams in Whitman and Illinois is impressive considering what teams usually make it this far in the desert. Most NE teams play their best in the spring and seeing that Redline is getting big wins (but not against the squids, HA) when they can't even practice outside says a lot. They have stellar freshmen with Andrew Vogt and George Stubbs (injured), but Zirui Song, Dave Roebuck, and Dave Lipson are all superstars. I had the pleasure (sarcasm) of playing against them this past summer/fall when they suited up for New Noise and like Cal, their club experience is really paying off for their program. However, NE teams have a tendency to shuffle around a lot come the series. Harvard definitely has their work cut out for them in a region with the most teams fighting for a spot at nationals (Williams, Brown, Dartmouth, and Harvard) with no clear front runner.

Santa Cruz: Finally, they show up. Despite a slow start they battle back from starting 0-2, and go through UCSD to make quarters. DLK gives me far too many shout outs, but I will say the slugs finally showed why they are in contention to win the Bay Area section and come out of the NW. Vegas is cool because there are 3 days of good ultimate and several teams get a chance to do well. Illinois owned day 1, Santa Cruz had their time to shine on Saturday, and Arizona owned the Lord's day. They beat my Squids (by 1) making quarters, but got stuck with the ravenous wolves (Wisconsin). It would have been cool to see them play any other team because they might have stood a chance. Regardless, they brought themselves back to their status post Sean Ryan and have the knowledge that they can bring it to Stanford and Cal. I feel sorry for LPC because they will have to play one of these teams while the other two duke it out in semis come sectionals.

Illinois: For a team that wanted to break into the elite, they definitely did not disappoint. They managed to knock off 2 juggernaut teams in Oregon and Colorado, on the first day no less. Folks have been talking them up a lot on RSD as of late and I continually understand why. They lost in pre-quarters to Haavard, but this kooky format with 10-8 scores and 80 teams really doesn't blemish Illinois' hopes. They showed that they are #1 in the Great Lakes and have given Ryan Purcell and Will Neff an enemy to fear.

Colorado: I wanted to mention a few words about Mamabird's seemingly poor weekend. It looks like Beau is no longer wearing black and gold considering that he wasn't in Vegas for the first time in 3 years. Martin Cochran was also not in attendance but a broken foot has sidelined him only until March and if he heals alright, #17 and the rest of Colorado will be back for the series. I will say that without Beau their offense is going to have to make some serious adjustments. Jolian can't throw to himself and with Mac Taylor streaking deep as well, their handling responsibilities are going to fall on veterans like Chris Wicus.

Closing Thoughts

TiV is just as crazy as Vegas itself. Arizona 11-10 over Florida, Santa Cruz 11-10 over UCSD, Whitman 10-9 over Ego, Carleton 11-9 over Colorado, all of these scores are close/exciting, but suspect and do not paint a clear picture. There are many more positive things to take away from this than negative, though. Arizona and Harvard need confidence, and their results help them. Florida and Colorado need to know that they have weaknesses and their results help them. Whitman and Santa Cruz need to prove they belong and their results help them. UCSD and Oregon need to know that they can win but also know that they can lose and their results help them. CUT needs to know that they have got the talent and Wisconsin needs to know they can't intimidate their way to another national title and their results help them out.

Queen City Tune Up

Just when I thought I had it all figured out, UNC, Georgia, NC State, and Michigan had to go and screw it all up.

NC State: The biggest winner is obviously the winner. But damn it, where the hell did they come from?!?! They weren't at Warm Up. I didn't write about them. What the hell?!?! They played spectacular and hats off to them. They really have dropped below radar since finishing 5/8 at nationals in 2004 but they could be back in black...and red. If I had to guess, i think that they took advantage of a gassed UNC team, twice. They played them in the last round on saturday after UNC barely beat Michigan 9-8. They then played them in the finals after a 15-14 semifinal game with Georgia. I wonder if they can handle UNC at 100% and I also wonder if UNC has the depth to make it to out of the AC.

UNC: I am not sure what to say about Darkside. At 100% it looks like they are the real deal but I wonder about their legs. They made the finals but they lost to the same team twice after winning double game point matches. I think their depth has got to be an issue and this problem will not fix itself considering that Georgia is very deep and Florida has more star power. They took 2nd in the region last year so they have history on their side and I hope they can keep it up against the AC's best in Florida, Georgia and now NC State.

Georgia: Ahh, I wish you guys were going to Stanford. They sweep their pool, they dismantle Edinboro and Georgia Tech, and then WHAM, get taken out by UNC. I think behind NC State, Georgia gained the most from this tournament. The funny thing about ultimate is that unless you are challenged, you really can't see your weaknesses. I remember Furious at nationals in 2006. They raped everyone, including Chain Lightning 15-7 in semis, but their offense really wasn't tested and Sockeye took advantage in the finals. What's cool is that this is just QCTU. Georgia now knows that UNC, as well as Florida, can take them down and they will take this knowledge into practice the next 3 months. Hopefully Swanson stays healthy, but he is lucky that he plays for a very deep team.

Pitt: Delaware won the region last year but after this weekend, Pitt is definitely the aggressor. Pitt has some phenomenal talent in sophmores Chris Brenenborg (team USA) and Eddie Peters (Pike), not to mention a lot of veterans with nationals experience. They were definitely the best Metro East team in Charlotte. They beat Penn and finished ahead of Delaware, not to mention taking NC State to 12-10 in semis. However, this is just February. Keep the engines burning boys, you'll need it if you want to earn big wins for yourself and your region in May.

Michigan: Will is a great pick up but like I said, I think Michigan's performance will improve tournament to tournament. Their offense is going to have to adjust to #1 and it is no wonder that playing outside for the first time in '08 was not kind to Magnum. However, they did play UNC 8-9 (what kind of score is that) and dismantled a national caliber Delaware team 13-3. They did lose to Penn when it mattered though, but I have a feeling they may have looked past them considering they had beaten Georgia Tech 10-6 and Penn lost to Virginia in the last round on Saturday. Needless to say, I am sure they have a lot to think about back in Ann Arbor and hopefully they have the tools to put together a fight against a fired up Illinois team that had a great weekend in Vegas.

I want to reiterate how amazing NC State and Arizona played this weekend. I was expecting Wisconsin/CUT and Georgia/UNC but like Berman says, "thats why they play the game".

In the next few weeks we have two prez day tournaments, Kaimana, Hellfish Bonanza and Mudbowl. I will be watching Stanford this weekend in Hawaii and I wonder what Mike Payne has done with Bloodthirsty after they got rocked in Santa Barbara. Stay tuned, this year is just getting started.

Just my thoughts

match diesel

Gibson and his Gators in 2008

Another team that I really wanted to get some information on this year is Florida. Kurt Gibson and Windham were kind enough to answer some questions and I thought I would share.

Florida?

The first thing I wanted to know was where the hell Florida came from? I can remember a time, and I am talking 3-4 years ago, when Florida was never mentioned among the top teams in the country. However in 2006, they shocked the country (or at least me) and put together an almost perfect season and won a national championship. I have speculated as to what precipitated this jump to success. People like Kurt Gibson and Tim Gehret must have shook things up, but I was still unsatisified with that answer. So I went to the source. This is what Windham had to say about it:

"Honestly, it was a little bit of good luck to start out with. I think having talent like Tim and Kurt on the same team in college is every program’s wet dream. Once everyone else on the team realized though that these were some of the best guys in the country, it was a little bit of a priority shift. Previously we had been the team who went out to the tournament partys and drank ourselves stupid and let the dice fall where they would the next day. Once we realized that we had some special talent though we all committed ourselves to doing something with it. We stopped going to the party (sorry ultimate community) and began focusing more on training and conditioning throughout the season. I know this may not seem like a big deal, but to anyone in the ultimate community I think you can see how this might be a little bit of a paradigm shift. I guess to sum it up, once we realized the talent we had at the program, we knew how far we could get with some hard work."

Gibson had some follow up remarks:

"I believe that in 2005 we were a better team than we were in 2006. To be clear, we had more talent on the team in 2005. We should have beaten Cal and Colorado at Centex that year. We had no training, barely practiced and didn’t dedicate ourselves to be winners. In 2006 that changed by bringing in a coach, Kurt Dahlenburg, who pushed us on the track to get ourselves into phenomenal shape and be very mentally tough. Bill, Cyle, Tim and I developed a very good chemistry together after playing for three straight years together. Cyle also did a great job in making us play together all the time."

Player Departures

Luckily for Florida, a lot of their players are in the meat portion of their college careers. They are returning 12 players from last year and their only real losses are Gray Kirkmyer, "a solid O-player from the national championship team" and two defensive studs in, Joel Crandall and Tommy Rush (guy can pull like none other too).

2008 Stand outs

Without a doubt, most people will be looking for Kurt Gibson and Brodie Smith to make big plays. Kurt (5th year) is an obvious choice. He was Tim's go to cutter in 2006, he led Florida last year and has gained some serious disc experience playing at the highest level with the Southeast MLU team in 2006, and with Boston Ultimate this past club season. Brodie Smith (junior) is my pick for biggest threat in the AC. He has the same overall build as Kurt but really has a lot of pressure taken off of him by having Kurt as a team mate. I have had the privilege of watching Brodie play many times and I can say that his composure in the air is unreal. He will definitely be a part of a few double happiness points.

Young Guns

A school like Florida definitely has the ability to recruit and train the next all region caliber players and I was curious to know who the next crop of blue and orange studs would be. First and foremost Cole Sullivan will look to have another spectacular year. He was the AC's freshman of the year and this 6'2" defender will attempt to rack up fantasy points on Florida's D line. Another up and comer is Alex Hill, who Windham has pegged for the 2008 AC freshman of the year. Alex used to play for Sack Lunch, a mid level open team from Colorado, and I am sure with his initial experience, Florida's stringent conditioning, and his supporting cast, we will be seeing a lot of this kid on Rob's footage in the future.

Tournament Schedule

Florida is one of the few teams that will be able to attend all 4 CCS tournaments and are set to be at Warm Up, TiV, Stanford, Centex and of course the series. Florida is in a unique position to see the best in the country many times over but they definitely have a chip on their should to deal with. They won Warm Up last year and they come in seeded #1 this year and it is theirs to lose this weekend. Expectations for Florida are going to be exceedingly high at TiV because they have won it the last two years. With Wisconsin playing Mardi Gras before making the trek to the desert, Florida's year long sunshine might not prove to be the advantage it once was. I am glad Florida is going back to Stanford. In 2006, they showed that no amount of wind could shut down their game, a true test of the best. Their combination of composure and talent in 2006 was astonishingly impressive. However, SI has seen 4 different winners the last 4 years and I think in addition to Florida, the Hodags, JoJah, and Stanford will all be chomping at the bit to win that title again. Centex should also be a true acid test for Florida. Texas has been somewhat hard on these kids. They have lost in the finals twice and had a heart breaking loss to CUT in quarters last year. They came back and avenged their March loss with a sick layout D by Phil Vozza in quarters at Nationals, but many other teams will want to spoil Florida's fun in Austin.

Challenges and Goals

Florida definitely has some challenges this year. Their main tactic in 2006 was to rely on superstars and in 2007 they figured their reputation would earn them the W's to make the finals. However, with the loss of Tim Gehret and a shocking pool play loss to Delaware's Sideshow, Florida must commit to a more team oriented game. This is what Windham had to say about that Florida loss and their outlook for 2008 in that regard:

"It was a wake up call more than anything else, not to be cliché. After we won the championship in ’06 I think a lot of our guys felt like we were entitled to win more games, and often times throughout the ’07 season we did not bring enough fire to the games (notably the Delaware loss at nationals and the Carleton loss at Centex, though Carleton played a great game). Our philosophy in previous years had been to ride our big players and I think that those games showed us that winning at that level takes a full squad committed to working hard and showing up fired up every game. I think sometimes it easy to forget when you step out on the field that the other team really wants to win too, no matter who they are, and they are not going to hand you a title just because your shirt says Florida."

As with most teams at this level the main goal is always to win nationals. However, like Wisconsin, Colorado, Stanford, Oregon, CUT, UCSB, etc... just making nationals is extremely difficult. These teams have to play the best to even earn that spot in Boulder and playing in the AC region is definitely a humbling experience. The AC has been so dynamic, with teams like NC State, William and Mary, UNC, Georgia, Florida, and UCF all rising and falling, and teams must be really sharp to make it out of regionals. Windham enjoys the competition however and said that the AC is "very tough. For the past few years we have come from the toughest section and the toughest region in the country. Playing all those good teams throughout the season though I think helps, because you know you are going to be ready for whatever comes at you from across the country". It is easy to appreciate Florida's focus especially with words like "No game is ever a cake walk, and if you think it is going to be, then it definitely won’t be."

Closing Thoughts

I will say that Florida definitely has been humbled since memorial day 2006. They have fall losses to Georgia, UNC, and UNC Wilmington not to mention a perennial rivalry with Wisconsin, the top team on Florida's radar. I think if Florida spreads the disc around more than they have in the past and potentially open their rotation and give points to some young blood, they will definitely have the ability to make it back to sunday at natties. One last question that I ask every captain concerns the new college nationals date to which Windham replied:

"Personally I like the date. I know for us it is hard to keep some guys around after graduation and the semester is over and keep practicing. We have had multiple people living on teammates floors for two weeks since their lease was up or the dorms are closed, so I think pushing it up was a good move."

I think this Florida team will be better than 2007. Kurt is at his best, Brodie is as good as it gets, they have the young legs. However, with a national title in the trophy case they still have that red bulls eye over their head and every opponent they see will want to stick it to this seemingly seamless ultimate team.

just my thoughts

match diesel

Ultimate Upsets

I was watching my favorite college basketball team (Kentucky) get rocked by Gardner-Webb by 16 the other day and it made me think about upsets in the ultimate community.

I first want to say I think that tournaments outside the series are basically irrelevant. I can understand that there are a lot of great games out there, but looking at non-series tournaments is a bit too subjective. You never know about injuries, when teams are gonna peak, and who is trying their hardest (especially in club). With that in mind I thought I would talk about a few upsets that I think are interesting.

Delaware 15 Florida 13, College Nationals 2007 (Pool Play)
First and foremost, probably the biggest upset in college ultimate over the last few years has got to be Delaware over Florida this past year at nationals. I made predictions for college nationals and this was the only game I got wrong. I mean come on, Florida, former champion, the 2 seed in the tournament, favorites to make at least semis. Delaware, an up and coming team, has never played in bracket play at nationals, the 11 seed and WHAM!! They take down Florida 15-13 in the first game of pool play. The year before Florida only had 15 points scored on them in all of pool play (actually it was 22, but who's counting). They also played Delaware last year and took them out 15-5. However, in 2007, minus TG, the gators get upset HUGE in the first game. I wish I could have been there to watch it but I was over at the Stanford/Georgia game. Regardless, Delaware really showed in 1 game that the Metro East isn't all that bad. I have a friend on the team, Dan Cuoco, and he told me going into nationals 2006 that they were gonna turn some heads at nationals. Didn't happen that year but it DID happen in 2007. Good for Sideshow. Too bad they left it all on the field and an absolutely gassed team got their tits lit by Oregon 15-3 and they lost again to Indiana 15-10. Oh well maybe Delaware will make Pre-Quarters next year, good luck to them.

Georgia 17 Colorado 16, College Nationals 2006 (Quarterfinals)
Another huge upset that I also think was really interesting, albeit depressing for my region, was the Georgia over Colorado quarterfinals game at nationals in 2006. This game was actually really exciting to watch because Beau and Dylan were absolutely tearing it up. I think that Colorado came in wayyy over confident and it hurt them in the end. They had been to the finals the previous 2 years and had a great team with Jolian, Beau, Rabbit, Chicken, etc... However, the previous day they pulled out an AMAZING double game point win against Stanford. I feel like this should have been a wake up call to Mama Bird letting them know about their weaknesses. In my opinion I think the major weakness of Colorado that year was their D line. Their O Line was ridiculous and like most elite teams now a days, they played a strict O/D line game. However, this is college, everyone is bound to screw up at some point. I think that Colorado assumed their O line was perfect (and it was close) and their D line would get them the breaks they needed to win. However, there are some good defenders out there and they got breaks that Colorado wasn't expecting. In the Georgia game, the Colorado D line could not put the disc in the end zone. They have some great defenders, and they would generate Ds, but they would just give it back. I guess that’s what happens when your best offensive players are on the sideline. Anyway, by the second half, Georgia was already up enough and despite the fact that Beau and Chicken played every remaining point, they didn't have the time to get back in the game and they lost 17-16. This game showed me two things, 1) Dylan is really good. He played so well and I think it was when he peaked. He didn't seem as good in 2007 but this game, he was on. 2) Beau is ridiculous. I mean he had jumped over David "Runner" Flock at Regionals that year but I can remember a huck going up to Dylan and maybe Jolian was covering him. From half way across the field Beau comes a running and as usual, skies the piss out of both of them. Guy is an athlete.

UCSB 15 Colorado 11, SW College Regionals 2004 (Finals)
Keeping with the Colorado upsets, I think the UCSB/Colorado regional finals game in 2004 is another great example of an epic upset. Since I have played disc Colorado has always won the SW. They won it this year and last year and the year before and so on. However, arguably the best Colorado team (2004 Champions) lost in the regional finals to a soon to be DQ'd UCSB Black Tide team. Now this team got DQ'd but Nate Bouxsein was not one of their marquee players. He was a better version of Sean Laing. An experienced guy with good disc skills that was there to support the team, not dominate, so despite the fact that he got UCSB booted form natties, doesn't mean he really helped them get there on the field. Now I have talked about this game a number of times, and I just want to express how big a deal this game was. I mean this Colorado team had everyone, there weren't any "just graduated" players worth mentioning. Richter, Parker, Beau (at his best), Rabbit, Chicken, JV, they were all there. This was the Colorado team that beat Cal 15-7 to win nationals and they lost to UCSB? Black Tide? Yeah they were good in the late 90's and what not but they hadn’t made a nationals run in some time. Yet their zone D completely shut down Colorado's offense, in a stadium no less. How do you do that? Regardless, this game was amazing to watch not because I liked UCSB (in fact I hated them) but just because I was there, I got to witness a perfect team get pwned. It did suck however because then UCSD had to play a pissed off Colorado team and Beau went up and down the field on Kubiak and Colorado won 15-11.

UNC Wilmington 17 Carleton 16, College Nationals 2001 (Pool Play)
If you look back a bit further another great college upset that needs to be remembered (and I think Gerics will agree) is the UNC-Wilmington/Carleton game at nationals in 2001. This was the last time a team lost a pool play game yet still won nationals. In Devens, the year Nord went horizontal over a Colorado player and knocked himself out, they lost a pool play game. UNCW beat them on double game point (17-16) in the second round of pool play. That has got to feel so bizarre. You beat a team that wins nationals AT nationals. This is similar to the Delaware/Florida game in that UNCW didn't manage to win another pool play game, but at least they took down CUT. I really think a game like this should never be forgotten (well maybe forgotten by that CUT team but no one else) because it goes to show you that not every national champ is perfect. I know Wisconsin basically treated the competition at nationals this year like asian schoolgirls at my house this past year but these teams can still lose. Florida can, Colorado can, CUT can. As Chris Berman says, "upsets are why we play the game" and I think college players out there should know that a seed or a ranking is just an arbitrary number and any team can have a bad game, any team can lose and any team can win.

UCSD 15 Georgia 6, College Nationals 2005 (Pool Play)
In keeping with the college theme, another upset that was awesome was the UCSD/Georgia upset in 2005. I am biased cuz I was a squid, but that game was so cool. You have Georgia, a team that was really breaking into the elite circle with their first 1 seed (4th overall). They were the 13th seed in 2003. First pool play game was against UCSD, the 9th seed, and the Air Squids took Jo-Jah down 15-6. This was awesome because it was totally unexpected. I thought Ice (UCSD A) was gonna have some serious trouble against such a hot team but Georgia's composure really was not there and they went down without much of a fight. This game was the main reason UCSD made semis that year, because this, and Georgia taking out UBC, spring boarded us to win the pool and we got to skip pre-quarters. Georgia did come out on top in pre-quarters but had to play a very experienced Stanford team. They were so close to winning that game but a costly huck perpendicular to the field on double game sent Stanford to the semis AGAIN and Georgia out of it.

Oregon 15 Stanford 13, NW College Regionals 2003 (Semifinals)
Another college upset that I think is HUGE is the 2003 NW Regional semifinals game between Oregon and Stanford. What is worth mentioning is that Stanford had won nationals the previous year with a 37-1 record (one of the best teams in history), but for whatever reason, there was only 1 bid for the NW the following year. In any event, Stanford and Oregon meet in the semifinals. This was Wiggins’ 5th and last year and this game is where this picture of Nick Handler comes from. However, apparently, everything went Oregon’s way (or so a friend of mine, Cameron Shelton, who was on the Stanford team tells me) and Oregon made it to the finals. I wish I had more information concerning this game, but I just can't find it. In any event, I think Oregon went on to beat Oregon State in the finals and Ego made it to nationals as the 2 seed but lost in the finals to Wisconsin. This is probably the 1 game I wish I knew more about. I would also like to mention that since 2002, this was the only year that Stanford has not made at least semis at nationals. It also seems like Stanford and Oregon have a serious rivalry, very Wisconsin/Carleton esque. In 2006 Stanford was the 1 seed going into Regionals. They rip through their pool and Western Washington to make the finals against Aaron Bell and Ego, who had just taken out Oscar Pottinger, Morgan Hibbert, and the rest of the 2nd seeded UBC Thunderbirds. In this game, Oregon completely blew Stanford away (something that just isn't done) 15-10. I don't know if Stanford was over confident or what. However, it did set up a great Robbie vs Oscar game in the backdoor finals and Stanford made nationals. I would also like to add that Stanford did get the last laugh though. At nationals, as if by some stroke of good/bad luck Stanford and Oregon meet in quarters after Stanford toppled Michigan in pre-quarters and Oregon had won their pool. This game would be all Stanford though and they won 15-11 making semis AGAIN and managed to be the 2nd team to upset a pool winner that year. Oregon was relegated to a consolation game with UCSD to see who would get the strength bid, the NW or SW and Oregon did what they always do to UCSD, won, 15-11. One of the few reasons why I butt heads with Greenough.

Rhino 14 Justice League 13, NW Club Regionals 2006 (Pool Play)
Taking a break from college, I think another great upset was the pool play game between Rhino/Justice League at NW Regionals last year. You have Justice League (aka Jam) and they are up and down all year, talented but not polished. They did win Solstice by by beating Rhino. Actually there is a great ultivillage interview after that game with Kevin Cissna where he acknowledges that Rhino is good and will be tough to be beat in the series, foreshadowing? Needless to say, JL was an elite team, period. However, Regionals was not their tournament. There were 4 bids to nationals that year and all JL had to do was get past Rhino or Revolver. They had beaten Revolver 13-10 at sectionals but boy did they have a tough Regionals. They lost to Rhino (6 seed, JL was 3) in pool play 13-14, ok, lets not panic. Then they lost to Revolver by the same score in the backdoor semis. Ok, now it's crunch time. The prospect of not making nationals is becoming very real. Justice League now has to beat Invictus and then Rhino to take the last bid to nationals. They take out Invictus 15-9 but then get taken out BIG time by the same score only it was Rhino 15 and JL 9. This was really surprising. I suppose it just goes to show you that winning is about a team effort and despite the talent, Rhino was just a better team and peaked at the right time. They had a forgettable performance at Nationals but boy I am sure they relished that JL upset. I think the bigger story than the 4th place game, was the pool play game. Justice League was really knocked down a few pegs by not winning their pool and I think it put them in a huge hole. They would have to go through the best young teams in the country to get out of the region and I think all those games just go to them. Had they won that pool play game and been playing from ahead in bracket play as opposed to being the under dog, maybe they would have made nationals. Regardless, they came back with a vengeance this past year and made semis. Good for Idris, Cissna, Watson, Damien, Gabe, Hodges, and the rest of the Frisco gang.

Rival 15 Shazam 12, Mixed Club Nationals 2007 (Pool Play)
Another awesome upset, and a game that is analogous to the Carleton/UNCW game, is the Rival/Shazam pool play game 3 weeks ago. Here you have Shazam, everyone's favorite to win nationals by leaps and bounds but they lose in pool play to Rival, the 8 seed?!? Shazam had only lost once the entire year (Brass Monkey 13-11 at Labor Day) yet they go down relatively big 15-12 to the 2 seed in their pool. This must have been huge for this Atlanta based team seeing that they had not beaten a top tier team all year. Kendra from Slow White told me that their offense (Rival) is awesome and considering the lack of wind early at nationals this year, I suppose the results aren't too surprising. Too bad they never got to face off again, I wonder what Bestock and the rest of the Seattle folks would have done to Rival in bracket play. AMP would get the honors and got the better of them 15-10 in quarters. I do hope that this game, as well as the UNCW/CUT games are not soon forgotten. As JP said in Angels in the Outfield, "It could happen".

Vagabonds 16 Team USA 15, Potlatch 2005 (Semifinals)
Thinking about coed, another game that must have been spectacular to be on the winning side of was the Vagabonds/Team USA game at Potlatch in 2005. Now this isn't a series game, but it's still a pretty cool story. You have Team USA, who was hand picked by the UPA and coached by Ted Munter. Now let me make sure I articulate this well. This Team USA was going to World's in Germany. This is not like the WUCC World's in Perth last year or the WUGC World's coming up next year in Vancouver (confusing I know). This World's is a coed tournament where the players are chosen, it's not like a team earns the chance to make it to this particular World's. This Team USA had a collection of all stars that were chosen not only based on their ultimate skills but their service to the game as well. It had greats like Zipp, Watson, Namkung, Miranda Roth, and Chase. However, it was not a team per se, like Sockeye will be next year. Anyway, you have this all-star team (Justice League-esque) playing at Potlatch as a warm up for World's. They had already won Poultry Days and looked like they were the best coed team in the country (better be). They managed to take down Canada in the showcase game (great game) and were looking good, at least to make the finals. However, the Vagabonds, a pickup team from Portland, had other plans. They took down team USA in the semifinals, I don't know what the score was, I had to catch a flight. This propelled Vagabonds to the finals where they lost to Team Canada. I think it is worth mentioning however that team USA probably got a wake up call and went on to dominate at World's beating Australia 13-11 in the gold medal game. I would imagine Keith Monahan gets drunk at bars and talks about how the Vagabonds were the best co-ed team back in '05, at least I would. But he's got a few club championships to keep him happy.

Truck Stop 15 Furious George 10, Club Nationals 2007 (Pool Play)
Another game that is a huge upset (and I don't want to write this but I will) is the Truck Stop/Furious game a nationals this past year. I think this is up there as the biggest upset in recent club ultimate history. I think Furious was better than 15-0 in pool play over the years and that loss to the boys from DC was probably earth shattering. Had Furious actually pulled that game out they might have made a decent showing at nationals. It seems like Furious doesn't enjoy losing and really doesn't play their best once the odds are heavily stacked against them. I think everyone in the country was surprised by this game. I am curious to know what feeling was more intense, Furious' depression or TS's elation. I would like to go with the latter, but I think it's the former. In any event, hopefully Furious re-groups after this and I think TS will be able to pick up some serious talent now that they have a win like this and a great overall nationals performance under their belt.

Illinois X 16, NC State 14, College Nationals 2003 (Pool Play)
I am going to be honest, I don't know a whole lot about this last game but I know it was a big deal. NC State was looking very good this year. They were 37-1 going into nationals, they had 3 tournament wins (probably some combination of Terminus, Southers, Easterns and Ultimax) and because Stanford lost at their regional tournament, they were granted the #1 seed at nationals. Now this pre-dates Centex so there was no nation wide tournament before nationals that really helped establish who was the best in the country. Oregon had won Pres Day (the best college tournament on the west coast at the time) as well as the NW region so they were given the #2 seed at nationals. Wisconsin and Carleton were the other 1 seeds. I like to think that this NC State team was not dissimilar to Queens-Kingston back in 2005. They were a team that had a good record but hadn't necessarily seen the best in the country. Needless to say they took out Michigan (the 3 seed) 15-10 but then played a really close regional rematch against Georgia 15-13. This left them moderately gassed for Illinois X (2nd seed, 8th overall) who took them out 16-14. NC State then went on to pre-quarters against another regional rival, William and Mary, and lost 15-11 sending them from the 1 seed all the way down to a 12th place finish. I think it is also worth mentioning that at that same nationals, Colorado (10th seed) went from a 1-2 pool play showing all the way to the semis with huge wins over higher seeded Ohio State (7th) and Illinois (8th). They were also the only team at nationals that year to score more than 10 points on Wisconsin, 15-12 in semis. Lastly, the Oregon/CUT semis that year was probably one the best games in the history of college disc. The epic Chase/Seth picture (cover of Parinella's book) is from that game. Can you believe that Chase (CUT) and Seth/Ben (Oregon) are now team mates on Sockeye? And Jimmy Chu (CUT) used to be in that mix as well before he moved to LA. That just seems weird to me.

I am sure that there are a ton of other games out there that I have neglected to mention. Feel free to contribute.

just my thoughts

match diesel

Notable Tourney Performances

I thought that since the series is still in full swing, i would write about some tournament performances that I think are very interesting over the last 5 years or so.

North Carolina Darkside, Stanford Invite 2004 - This was a stellar performance by UNC. They get a the bid to stanford and are slated as the 15 seed. That is bascially dead last because they give the 16th seed to the stanford qualifier winner. In any event, UNC comes out huge on saturday and beats Stanford in pool play, wow. Ends up making it all the way to the finals and falls just short of winning the tournament. They had to face off against Stanford again in the finals where they lost on double game point 16-17. They broke 13 seeds and I am sure enjoyed themselves on the west coast.

UCSB Black Tide, SW Regionals 2004 - Arguably the best UCSB team in the 21st centruy. Take down UCSD at sectionals and in semis at Regionals and have to face Colorado in the finals. Colorado had won the past 2 previous regional finals game and was going for the trifecta. This colorado team had Beau, Richter, Chicken, JV and Parker. Needless to say, Tim Henshaw, Mike Brown and the ineligble Nate Bouxsein took them down 15-11 in a stellar game that had UCSB own Colorado's hammer happy zone offense. Too bad UCSB got DQ'd and Colorado went on to win it all.

Florida, Trouble in Vegas 2006 - This tournament was the first showing that Florida was the real deal. They had previously won the Florida Winter Classic, but beating CUT in the finals and taking down Wisconsin, not to mention other college national qualifiers was their acid test. This tourney result showed that the likes of TG and Kurt Gibson were the best in the country and could potentially do the unthinkable, go to nationals for the 1st time as the #1 seed and win it all.

Stanford Bloodthirsty, Kaimana 2002 - This has been, historically, the best college ultimate team ever (maybe not anymore), but their dominance has never been more prominent than in Hawaii in February 2002. They travel to Kaimana, as usual, only this year, they bring it. They go a spectacular 7-2 making it all the way to the finals, beating eilite pick up squads like Grey Tide. One would think a flashy college squad would go down fast and quiet to some cagey experienced veterans, but these guys came to ball. However, they hit a brick wall known as Nada Mooger and fall 17-12. However, they were down 9-2 at half and fought them 10-8 in the 2nd half, not bad for a bunch of under age, barely shaving, undergrads.

Stanford Superfly, College Nationals 2007 - This womens team showed 2 things at this tourney, 1) heart and 2) experience. Stanford has won like 4 college national titles in the last 6 years and this past year was probably their toughest. They come in as the #5 seed (nothing special) and in retrospect, how can a national champ come in ranked 5th? I'll tell you, the weather sucked and they were the only ones that could play in the wind. In any event, they start out OK, and go 2-1 in pool play, losing in the last round to the burning skirts. However, they claw tooth and nail to win prequarters/quarters/semis/finals. I don't know of another champion that has had to play in pre-quarters, not to mention get through quarters and semis by a combined 5 points. I am sure that the finals rematch between Stanford and UCSB was spectacular for Stanford taking them down 15-7 (after a 15-11 loss in pool play).

Wisconsin Hodags, Centex/Nationals 2007 - This team is freaking good and there is no more proof than them completely dominating at centex and nationals, a feat that has never been done. For the first 3 years of Centex, the winner was always the loser in the finals at nationals. Colorado loses 14-15 to Cal at Centex and Wins 15-7 at nationals (2004), Colorado rolls Florida 15-7 but loses to Brown at nationals (2005), Florida loses 14-15 to Wisconsin only to beat them 15-12 at nationals (2006). Wisconsin was better than the curse, better than the rest, they stand alone. I am glad I never had to play them.

UCSD Air Squids, College Nationals 2005 - After years of taking a back seat to UCSB and Colorado, UCSD finally earns its bid to nationals. Comes in ranked 9th, the best seed for a non #1 seed at natties. Takes on Georgia in the first round and shocks Dylan 15-6 (that was a fun game to watch). As per usual, we lose to UBC (Oscar and Morgan owned UCSD) 16-17. However, by some miracle of existence, UBC loses to a revamped Georgia and by differential UCSD makes it into quarters. How serendipitous? Instead of having to play Wisconsin, Colorado, or Standford in quarters, we draw the winner of Texas and Queens Kingston, Texas, which is a much better game than we could have dreamed for. manage to cruise into Semis (without a close win) and play against Colorado. We still choke though losing 15-13 to our regional rivals. If only Phelps were there. Not every team in semis is missing their all region deep/defender/etc... cuz he is abroad for a year.

Chain Lighting, Club Nationals 2006 - Not unlike UCSD of 2005, these guys went from a 10 seed all the way to semis. Great wins over Sub-Zero, Revolver and Ring, not to mention a close 14-15 loss to the eventual champs, Sockeye, in power pools. I don't think anyone had John Hammond, Dylan and Jason Simpson pegged for the semis, but they definitely earned it. Too bad they didn't have it against a more dominant Furious. Maybe Zipp will sling this late peaking team to another semis berth or maybe the finals.

Southeast Storm, Potlatch 2006 - This was 1 of 4 MLU teams at Potlatch and I think was the most surprising. After winning college nationals Kurt and TG were brought up to the big boy table to play with the club all stars. Seeing that they are truly as good as billed, and maybe in better shape, they teamed up to be the best fantasy 1, 2 punch. SE Storm shocked most, me at least, and made it to the finals where they almost won. I think most figured the NW would roll seeing that they were all FG or Socekye guys, but SE held tough and showed that the region with the best combination of warm and active weather can ball.

Mischef, Club Nationals 2006 - Coming in as the 2nd seed, expectations are always high. But after 2 close pool play games (15-12 to poodle club, 4 seed, and 16-15 to 2nd seed AMP) I didn't think Mischef could win the 8 games to win natties. Power pool was more or less the same, win 15-12 (gendors), win 15-13 (slow shite), on to quarters. A barn burner against quarter final against Tandem (15-13), a 15-13 semifinal close one (Gendors) and then another game against Slow, this time they won it all, 15-11. Thats a lot of points to play. I could not believe that Mischef kept winning these close ones. They won their first game easy (15-9) but after that they finished with a combined score of 106-89, thats an average score of 15-13. By comparison, Fury went 120-45 or an average of 15-5/6. Lots of heart/legs on that Mischef squad, they ain't gonna blink at the wire.

Ring of Fire, Club Nationals 2002 - This team came in ranked 8th and had a decent run through pool play (2-1) and power pools (1-1). They draw Bravo in quarters (who came out 2nd in power pools after a great win over Furious) and manage to win a universe point thriller 15-14. Then they have to play Sockeye who looked pretty legit after owning in power pools. For whatever reason they roll the fish 15-8 and successfully claw their way into the finals. They have to play Furious again and go down 17-12, but they brought it and I am sure they were as intense as I am long winded.

Carleton, College Nationals 2001 - They come out the 4 seed and potential national champion. However, they get shocked in the first round of pool play, 16-17 by UNC-Wilmington. However, rather than hang their heads, they kept it together and rode Nord all the way to the finals, winning most games by 5 or more. I think they are one of only a few teams to ever win college nationals without a perfect memorial day record. Never the less, they still won it all. Hopefully natties will be in Devens again while I am stuck in New Haven.

Next week will be my preview for natties. Good luck to all remaining teams in their regional tournaments.

Match Diesel