2009 UPA College Championships

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Monday May 25, 2009
by Chris Spittal

In the Open Final of the 2009 UPA College Ultimate Championships, Carleton CUT quickly showed why they were the No. 1 overall seed in their game against Colorado Mamabird. Cut put the defensive pressure on early to force two quick turns and go up 2-0. The tough Cut D and a few mental mistakes was a poisonous mix for Mamabird, as Ted Phillips dropped a pass underneath and a huck to Mac Taylor one point later went too far. Carleton’s offensive cutters were open all day underneath, and Sam Kan-ner, Chris Kosednar and Adrian Potter helped walk the disc downfield until Luke Powers found Alex Evangelides with a forehand to put Cut ahead 5-0. While Carleton couldn’t have the sideline full of fans that they enjoyed all weekend in the Final, the fans in the stands were providing plenty of noise and added a little fuel to Carleton’s fire.

After another Colorado turn and quick score by Cut, Mamabird’s Jack McShane dropped the pull in the endzone. The turn set Carleton up for an easy score from Pow-ers to Grant Lindsley to go up 6-0, which seemed to take whatever wind was left in Colorado’s sails. Colorado was finally able to get on the board thanks to a Mac Taylor huck to Kevin Schipper on the goal line, and Schipper hit James Mitchell to bring the score to 7-1. Mamabird added one more thanks to a turn by Cut near their own goal line, but the Carleton offense quickly recovered to take half 8-2 on a throw from Patrick Roberts to Lindsley.

“The first half was pretty incredible,” said Kanner, Cut’s captain. “Our D line really took care of some uncharacteristic mistakes by Colorado. So we really took advantage of them, and we worked the disc real well - we threw unders and basically threw what we wanted to throw.”

All Carleton had to do in the second half was hold serve, and they did just that. A turn by Cut on the first point of the second half allowed Colorado to hit David Barnes on a huck to the goal line, which he punched in by hitting Dan Gruber, but Carleton answered again on offense to make it 9-3. Mamabird’s offense finally started moving the disc, and a huck from Phillips to Marty Freeman from midfield brought the score to 10-5.

While Colorado was able to find their deep game a bit with a couple of hucks to Hylke Snieder, whatever comeback they had in them was too little too late, as Colorado’s de-fense could do nothing against the lightning-fast cutters of the Carleton offense. After Colorado scored to make it 13-9, Carleton walked the disc down the field and Kanner found Roberts with a backhand to go up 14-10. Taylor answered with a big backhand of his own to Schipper, but Cut easily worked the disc to midfield after the pull, and Kos-ednar connected with a forehand to Jerome Potter for the 15-11 victory.

“It’s going to take a while to digest this,” Kanner said of helping to crown Cut the 2009 UPA Open College Champions. “You always think about it - it’s what makes you come to practice, it’s what makes you get on the track, it’s what makes you get in the weight room - but you never quite think about yourself holding up that trophy. It’s pretty in-credible.”

Cut’s weekend in Columbus was well-earned achievement that Kanner was looking for-ward to enjoying with his teammates.

“Me and Chris have worked them so hard mentally and physically throughout the sea-son, and it really showed today and this whole weekend,” he said. “The heart and the joy that we have playing with each other really showed. That is really special.”

Sunday, May 24

Quarterfinals
The game of the day in the Quarterfinal round was Carleton Cut against Pittsburgh En Sabah Nur, although it might not have looked like it early on. Pitt came out with a cou-ple of quick strikes to go up 2-0, but Carleton quickly picked themselves back up on D and tied it at 2. Carleton’s D quickly became the story of the first half when Christian Foster came up with a big D on the goal line that the Cut offense quickly punched in to go up 3-2. From that point on, the Cut D kept the pressure on and forced a number of turns during a four-point run to reach 6-2. When Pitt scored to stop the streak, Carle-ton’s offense answered right back and Chris Kosednar hit Grant Lindsley with a 50-yard back hand to make it 7-3. Carleton’s cutters were getting open underneath all day, and they easily took half 8-4.

The second half was a different story for both teams. A couple of mental mistakes, drops and throwaways by Carleton allowed Pitt to close the gap a bit at 9-7, as their of-fense started to find their legs. Once their deep game started clicking, with a few strikes to Tyler Degirolamo and Geoff Zettel, Pitt showed that its offense could hang with Cut. Carleton continued to struggle with fundamentals a bit, and a few uncharacteristic, un-forced turns allowed Pitt within one at 13-12. After a huck went out the back of the end-zone for Carleton, Pitt worked the disc downfield and Nick Kaczmarek hauled in a con-tested throw to tie it at 13.

After reaching 13s, Pitt started regained their confidence and Cut looked a little shell-shocked that Pitt had finally come to play. After yet another turn by Cut, Pitt’s Pat Hammonds hit Mike Pannone to go up one. Carleton was able to regroup and answer by getting back to basics and allowing Kosednar, Sam Kanner, Jerome Potter and Lind-sley to walk the disc downfield, and Kanner found Patrick Roberts for an easy score to tie it. Cut’s D finally returned as Kosednar had a huge layout D on an in Cut, which Pitt answered with a D on a quick huck. Lindsley quickly picked up a poach D about 10 yards out of the end zone, which Cut easily converted to go up 15-14. Pitt began easily working the disc downfield after the pull, but Chris Brenenborg dropped a strike cut at midfield, which Carleton worked down and Kosednar found Lindsley with an forehand to the force side for the 16-14 win.

“The D started off great,” Kanner said. “We had a few mental slip ups and a lack of fo-cus on the O side. We give up some turns in our own backfield that gave them quick, easy scores that let them back in the game and made it a little more exciting for every-body. But it was gut-check time and we gutted it out with a few breaks at the end to fin-ish them off.”

After a hard-fought game, Kanner added that Carleton had to put the mistakes out of their mind and focus on their Semifinal match up.

“We need to forget about that game and put it behind us,” he said, “We’re fresh and we’re going to come out hard.”
Colorado Mamabird also received an early gut-check on Sunday against Michigan Magnum. Michigan jumped ahead early as Dave Fumo again supplied the D for Mag-num, who went up 2-0. Colorado would eventually tie it at 2, but Michigan was able to convert some careless turns by Colorado to go up 4-2. Mamabird regained their com-posure against Michigan’s zone with simple throws and catches, and Mac Taylor hit Marty Freeman with a 50-yard hammer to pull within one. After Michigan sent a huck out the back of the end zone, Colorado again connected deep, this time to David Barnes at the goal line, which they punched in to tie it at 5. Michigan tried to answer, but Craig Sanford’s huck to Will Neff sailed long. Mac Taylor used the first throw to go 65 yards to Brian Holligan to take a 6-5 lead. After Taylor got a deep D on a huck, Colo-rado’s offense settled down a bit and walked the disc in to go up 7-5. Both teams would add one more score, but Colorado held its two point lead at the half.

Colorado received after half and added another goal, but Michigan quickly answered as Ollie Honderd found Neff with a backhand huck from midfield to put the score at 9-7. Colorado was later able to capitalize on a point that had multiple turns and Ds by both teams to go up 11-8, and Colorado’s Ted Phillips was able to outrun Dave Fumo and layout to D a huck in the endzone on the next point, which Mambird converted to go up 12-8. That was all the cushion that Colorado needed to finish off Magnum as they made their way to a 15-11 victory.

When the Wisconsin Hodags took on Stanford Bloodthirsty, the Hodags were looking to come out strong in order to avoid the grueling comebacks that they needed to survive pool play. The Hodags were able to go up 4-3 on Bloodthirsty, but Tom James and Nick Schlag helped take Stanford to a 7-6 lead. On the next point, Stanford’s D contin-ued to disrupt the Hodags, as Chris McCarty Dd Wisconsin’s Jim Foster deep, which McCarty used to find Angus Pacala deep to take half 8-6. Stanford’s offense continued to capitalize on Ds and unforced turns by the shaken Hodag squad to extend the lead to 10-6. Bloodthirsty denied Wisconsin any chance for another comeback by quickly shut-ting the door with a 15-9 win.

Texas TUFF jumped ahead of Virginia Night Train 3-1 early, but Virginia bounced back to eventually tie it at 4s once its offense got going. Virginia’s handlers rely on a lot of continuous and quick motion to move the disc, and Robert Runner, Jonathan Neeley and Tyler Conger were able to do just that and keep it tied at 5. Texas would soon re-discover its deep game when Stephen Presley ripped a big backhand to Jason Fortner to go up 7-5. Virginia were knocking on the door twice to again pull within one, but two turns on the goal line proved too costly and instead Texas was able to increase its lead to three at 8-5. TUFF’s offense would lead the way the rest of the game and eventually build an 12-5 lead after Presley found Nathan van Oort with a backhand from 60 yards out. Virginia was able to connect on two more hucks of their own, but Texas easily held on to earn a 15-10 win.

Semifinals

After surviving a scare in the Quarterfinals, Carleton came out like a team on a mission in the Semifinals. Cuts offense was on fire after cutting out the mental mistakes, and Stanford’s defense couldn’t catch up to Sam Kanner, Grant Lindsley, Chris Kosednar, Jerome Potter and the rest of the Carleton cutters. Tom James, Nick Schlag and Chris McCarty had Stanford’s offense working too and kept the game close at 4-3, but it only seemed like a matter of time before Carleton’s D caught up with its offense.

Carleton took advantage of a Stanford huck that sailed too long when Luke Powers ripped a 50-yard backhand to Christian Foster, who needed a huge layout to get past his defender and haul in the score for the 5-3 lead. As the wind started to pick up with some pretty strong crossfield gusts, Carleton decided to throw zone, which paid off when Alex Evangelides was able to barely get a finger on James’ hammer through the zone to create a turn. Carleton’s offense continued to out run Stanford, as they easily scored to jump ahead 7-4. After Stanford punched in a score, Lindsley broke deep and skied McCarty to pull down a huck and take the game to half 8-5.

Bloodthirsty received the pull after half, but a miscommunication between Schlag and Ryan Thompson resulted in a turnover, which Cut’s Powers used to find Lindsely with a looping forehand to take a 9-5 lead. Carleton was easily maintaining its lead, and after Cut got a turn and started working the disc downfield. Right as Kanner was grabbing the disc on an in cut, James laid out into him, causing a nasty collision where Kanner’s knees were twisted under James’ body. After several minutes on the ground, Kanner was helped off the field and didn’t return for the rest of the game.

Cut played with a new passion after Kanner’s injury, and scored to go up 11-7. Both teams turned up the defense, but Stanford was unable to create the turns they needed to gain any ground on Carleton. Much like the rest of the game, there was no stopping Cut’s offense, and they cruised to a 15-10 win.

While Texas played itself deeper than many expected at the Championships, they cer-tainly had their hands full against Colorado in order to earn a spot in the Final. TUFF came out fired up and Jeff Loskorn got a layout D underneath that Texas used to steal the first point. After Colorado answered, Loskorn and Campbell got two more Ds to help Texas go up 3-1. It took Colorado a few points to find its deep game, as Zander Padgett found Ted Phillips with a huck to the goal line that Mamabird eventually worked in to answer Texas at 3-2. Soon after, Jack McShane would hit Phillips with a forehand huck to go make it 4-3.

After a Texas drop allowed Colorado to tie it at 5, TUFF tried to match Colorado’s deep game, but turned it over again and allowed Mamabird to connect on a huck from James Mitchell to Marty Freeman to go up one. Another turn by Texas allowed Colorado to take the lead by two, which it held to take half 8-6 on a 50-yard forehand huck from Mac Taylor to Freeman.

“We weren’t as composed as we should be. We tried to rush some throws and ended up turning them over,” Taylor said of Mamabird’s slow starts to its two games on Sun-day. “We didn’t really get into the game until we stuck some of our second line players in there and got some breaks, which relaxed the offense. It showed us that it’s not all up to us and that we have a full team. It allowed us to calm down and we just started to take the open looks instead of trying to force stuff.”

Texas was able to find its deep game a little late in the first half, but they were unable to match Colorado in the second half. Colorado was able to step up its deep defense to force poor throws, or to make them work the unders, which resulted in a number of turns for Texas and a 12-7 lead or Colorado. Colorado would add two more points with two more bombs deep, but Texas refused to concede the game. Loskorn was finally able to deny a Colorado a huck on game point, which he sent long to Thomas Powell for a quick score. Texas’ Paul Tsuji added a huge layout D on an in cut on the next point, which he converted by finding Joshua Kipp from 10 yards out to bring the score to 14-9. Though Texas was able to get one more D and connect deep one more time, Colorado settled down to work the disc downfield to Taylor on the goal line, and he found Evan Padgett for the 15-10 win, and the right to face Carleton in the Finals.

“We’re where we need to be,” Taylor said. “I think we’ve still got legs and we’re not completely exhausted. Carleton is extremely fast and they move the disc quickly. We have to play force side defense on them, and if we can take away the break with our marks and keep them from getting easy under passes then I think we’ll have a good shot at beating them.”

Saturday, May 23
By Chris Spittal

Pool A

Pool A began with a match up between Carleton CUT and the Tufts E-Men. CUT was easily working the disc downfield with Sam Kanner and Chris Kosednar leading the way. After a few connections to Jerome Potter, CUT was up 4-3. Tufts, on the other hand, was a little careless on offense, and Carleton was able to capitalize on some unforced turns to go up 6-3. Tufts tried to throw zone, possibly to try and neutralize the speed of Carleton’s receivers, but CUT easily took half 8-4. After half, it was more of the same for Carleton as they pulled away to win it 15-7.

CUT’s second game of the day was against Georgia. Both teams came out firing on offense, eventually tying it at 5. After going up 7-6, Carleton’s Grant Lindsley got a big deep D on a huck, and Luke Powers sent him a huck from midfield to take half 8-6. Kanner and Alex Evangelides had two Ds after half that turned into quick scores, which was all CUT needed to create some separation and take the game 15-10, as well as first place in the pool.

Georgia’s day didn’t get much better as the California-Santa Barbara Black Tide came back late for the upset in their match up. After going ahead 6-5, Georgia was able to take it to half 8-6. UCSB fought back to pull within one at 10-9, which is where the lead stayed until Black Tide put a little run together to take the game 16-14. The win was UCSB’s second of the day - the first was another comeback win against Illinois. Illinois led for much of the first half after jumping out 3-1 and holding the lead at 6-4. Then UCSB used a 4-2 run to take half 8-6, and eventually pull away at 15-11.

Illinois’ second game was a hard-fought match up with Tufts. Illinois was able to take a 5-3 lead thanks to their deep game, and half 8-5 on a huck to Chris Hidaka, who hauled in a huge bid in the endzone. After half, Tufts’ offense found its legs Andrew Hollingworth and Ethan Gillet, as the E-men closed to within 8-7. Tufts eventually took the lead at 10-9 after some sloppy offense by Illinois created some easy scoring opportunities. The two teams traded points until the cap went on, and the game was decided on a marathon point that featured a number of huge Ds from both sides. Tufts’ Ben Strauss got a layout D on the goal line, and a huck to Will Perry bounced off a few hands until Gillet laid out to clean up the trash for the score, and the win. While Carleton held serve with the top seed, a wild Pool A ended with UCSB in second, followed by Tufts, Georgia and Illinois.

Pool B

Colorado Mamabird cruised to the top seed in Pool B after staring the day with a win over the Kansas Horrorzontals, and ending it against the North Carolina State Wolfpack. While Kansas jumped ahead 2-0, Mamabird quickly evened the score behind it’s deep game and the hucks of Mac Taylor. Kansas showed its deep game too, with Weston Norwood getting open often for a few scores, but it wasn’t enough to keep it close. After an 8-6 half, Colorado pulled away for a 15-8 win. The game against the Wolfpack was a little closer, as NC State was able to hang long enough to tie it at 9. Colorado was able to get the small lead it needed at 13-11 to control the game and earn the 15-12 win.

NC State’s first game was against Luther LUFDA, which turned out much better for the Wolfpack. After keeping it close in the first half at 8-6, NC State was able to get a good cushion and cruise to the 15-9 win, its first of the Championships. The loss was LUFDA’s second of the day, after they dropped an earlier match to the Cornell Buds. Cornell’s deep game led the way early and often, as the Buds jumped ahead 3-1 and 7-4. Cornell would add one more to its lead after half and eventually take the game 15-10. The win secured second place in the pool for the Buds, as they also beat Kansas earlier in the day 15-9. Luther’s inspired play earned them third in the pool, followed by Kansas and NC State.

Pool C

The game of the day in Pool C was a battle between Texas TUFF and the Wisconsin Hodags that handed Wisconsin its first pool play loss at the Championships in over four years. Both teams came out flying on the field and hungry for the disc, but Texas was the first to take advantage with its defense to build a 5-3 lead. The defense of Josh Kipp and Matt Campbell helped Texas keep its lead, as the offense was struggling to find a groove. Stephen Presley and Jeff Loskorn helped lead Texas’ offense into half with a two-point lead, but it as clear that Wisconsin would not fold that easily.

Jim Foster and Jon Gaynor helped keep the Hodags in it in the first half by showing off their deep game, and they got the first score after half. Texas’ offense continued to be a little sloppy with the disc, and Foster hauled in a huge huck to tie it at 10. The teams continued to trade points on deep bombs, which featured a Presley huck from 50-plus yards to Loskorn, who skied Wisconsin’s Jon Bergen. The very next point had the Hodags returning the favor on a bomb to Gaynor, who skied Loskorn to bring it to 12s in a game to 13.
Texas was able to clean up its O on universe point enough to work it to midfield, until Presley ripped a crossfield back hand to Loskorn for the win, which gave Texas first place in Pool C.

Wisconsin’s next game didn’t get any easier in an outright battle for second place against Pitt. Pitt showed early that it had the speed and firepower to hang with Wisconsin with hucks to freshmen Tyler Degirolamo and Alex Thorne. Pitt’s Geoff Zettel, Eddie Peters and Mike Plunkett were able to smoothly work the offense downfield off a few Wisconsin turns to take a 6-4 lead, and eventually half at 8-6. While the Hodags were able to answer Pitt’s deep game with hucks to Foster and Tom Murray to keep it close, it seemed Pitt was in control of the game. Before long, however, Wisconsin had once again creeped its way back into it off a few unforced turns to bring it to 13-12, and eventually tie it at 14 on a huck from Tom Annen to Ben Feldmen.
Pitt had two chances to close the game out near the goal line during Wisconsin’s run, but, similar to Friday, they just couldn’t close the door. Pitt seemed to look for the quick finish by forcing a couple of hucks late, that just needed a little more air and ended up sailing past their receivers. The final turn gave the Hodags one chance too many as Feldman put a huge forehand huck to Foster, who laid out across the goal line for the grab and the win.

To round up Pool C, Pitt was able to cruise to a win against Williams WUFO 15-8 after jumping ahead early, and Williams extended a long weekend for California-Berkley UGMO as they took half 8-6, and held the lead for the rest of the game to finish at 15-13. Cal was able to get their first win of the Championships against Texas by a score of 15-4 after TUFF had already won the pool.

Pool D

In Pool D, Virginia Night Train came out looking like a new team compared to Saturday after cutting down on the turns, and playing a much more focused and efficient offense against Michigan MagnUM. Michigan had a few turns early that helped Virginia build a 3-1 lead, and Brooks Taylor set the tone for the Virginia D with a goal line layout, which Robert Runner returned to him for the score. Michigan played uncharacteristically for most of the game by forcing throws and throwing into poaches, which allowed Night Train to take half 8-4. Michigan would only be able to add one more goal, as Virginia won 15-5. Night Train was mostly in control of its second game against the California-San Diego Air Squids, but allowed them to creep back into it before ending the game 15-12.

“We came out with a completely different attitude,” said Runner, Virginia’s captain. “I was real impressed how everybody came out and played really well. We really didn’t force anything, we weren’t forcing it deep or throwing into poaches. We just stuck to what got us here in the first place.” Michigan’s day didn’t get any easier thanks to their match up with Stanford Bloodthirsty, which helped Stanford secure first place in the pool. Stanford jumped ahead 8-2 against MagnUM and held the lead to 12-6. Michigan had already landed in third place in the pool, so they showed little fight during Stanford’s 15-9 win. Stanford didn’t have much trouble in its earlier game against Minnesota Grey Duck either, although Bloodthirsty took half at just 8-7. In the second half though, Stanford was able to build a lead and come away with a 15-9 victory.

One of the more exciting games in the pool came in the first round, as Minnesota and California San Diego were virtually deadlocked after 7s. Minnesota received after half and was able to tie it at 8s, and the teams traded deep looks back and forth. Brooks Lecomte and Alec Miller controlled the offense for the Squids, while Justin Elliot and Josh Nickerson controlled the skies, as UCSD found itself up two at 12-10. Minnesota quickly answered with its own two-point run as Austin Juds found Tim Pearce with a forehand huck, and Mike Peterson again found Pearce after a UCSD turn to tie it at 12. After arriving at 13s, the teams found themselves on universe point. Minnesota captain Jeff Anderson came up with a huge D on a huck to Nickerson, and Chris Demet picked up the disc and immediately ripped a backhand huck to Greg Arenson for the win.

Pre-Quarters

The game of the Pre-Quarters was Michigan’s come from behind win against California Santa Barbara. The teams matched each other punch-for-punch early by tying it at 5s. MagnUM was happy to flow and work the disc in, while UCSB showed off its deep game with a couple of hucks to captain Timmy Beatty. Michigan relied on its D to keep it close, with Will Neff, Ben DeLand and Dave Fumo creating turns underneath and a 7-5 lead. They struggled a bit to control the deeps though as UCSB’s Jeff Silverman hit Evan Brydon with a 45-yard forehand to bring it to 7s.

After UCSB took half 8-7, they were able to open up their lead to 13-9. MagnUM showed a resolve that was reminiscent of its play on Friday (not today) to bring it back to 13s. After UCSB found Silverman on a huck to go up one 15-14, Magnum got the disc to Ollie Honderd and Neff took off and hauled in a 50-yard forehand from Honerd to even the score. On the next point, UCSB hucked a forehand out the back of the end-zone and DeLand hit Seth Collins with a huge backhand to go up one. UCSB tried to go back to its deep game again, but Neff pulled down a D on a huck at the goal line, and then hauled in a hospital throw upfield about 10 yards from the goal. After a time out, Neff hit Matt Marcum to close out an 8-2 run, and win the right to play Colorado on Sunday.

Pittsburgh was also locked in a heated battle against Regional rival Cornell, who beat Pitt in the Metro East Regional Final last month. Pitt’s offense was still showing the rhythm they had in the game against Wisconsin a round earlier. Cornell was able to match them early, but it was only a matter of time before Pitt’s defense, led by Nick Kaczmarek, who had a number of huge Ds, would be able to contain Cornell’s deeps.

The two teams shared the lead early, as Cornell's Garrett Bernstein was setting the tone for the offense and finding Arthur Shull and Seth Reinhardt streaking deep for scores. After reaching 7s, Pitt’s Chris Brenenberg laid out in the endzone to haul in a big huck and take half 8-7. Pitt took the first point after half and was able to hold that two-point lead the rest of the way, thanks to Kaczmarek’s smothering deep defense. Pitt seemed to finally match their stifling D with an efficient, explosive offense, which helped them close out a 15-13 win.

Pitt captain Jake Christian said mental errors cost Pitt a few early games they had the chance to win.
“The first games that we lost, we lost them mentally. We had a little lead at the end and we got a little tense with the disc,” he said. “But we talked about it and we settled down. It was all mental. We have the legs, we have the throws, we have the players, we have the cutters, and if we turned up the mental game, we could grind it out with our legs. We knew that Cornell was a hucking team, but step for step we’re faster than them, and if we could shut down their deep game and make them grind with us, we’re going to come out on top.”
Christian was excited at the prospect of facing Carleton on Sunday for the chance to advance to the Semifinals.

“I feel like we can take them,” he said. “We’re going to grind with them, we’re going to play our game and make them play our game, and I have confidence that Pitt’s going to come through.”

Wisconsin also faced a regional rival in Luther, and also came out on top. Luther showed the surprising play that made them fun to watch all weekend, as they hung with the Hodags up to half at 8-6. The two teams were showing off their deep games, but also trading Ds and turns throughout the game. The Hodags kept their small lead, but also maintained control of the game after half at 12-10 before pulling away for the 15-10 win.

Virginia continued to play their improved brand of Ultimate against Tufts in taking an early lead 5-2. Tufts strung together a few scores to pull within one, but Night Train refocused to take half 8-4. Virginia was easing their way into the Quarterfinals with a five-point cushion at 12-7, but the E-Men showed that they weren’t quite ready to give up. Tufts turned up the D and the pressure to force a couple of turns, which helped them reach 13-10. Once again, Virginia relied on the quick cuts and a lot of movement that makes them so dangerous, as Tyler Conger, Robert Runner and Jonathan Neeley moved the disc amongst themselves until they found Tom Licitra for the score. With the win, Virginia earned a date with Texas on Sunday.

“They’re real quick and they like to boost deep,” Runner said. “We saw them at CCC, so we’re hoping we can get a couple of good match ups, especially on Presley. I’m looking forward to how things turn out against Texas.”

Day One Report- Friday May 22, 2009
By Chris Spittal, Open Division reproter

Pool A

The first games of the day for Pool A came in the second round when Carleton (CUT) took on Illinois, and Tufts went up against Georgia. From the start, it was pretty clear that Illinois was overmatched against top-seeded CUT. They beat Illinois to nearly every disc and had their way on offense as they jumped ahead 3-0. Sam Kanner led the way on both sides of the disc and set the tone early with his smothering defense. After taking half 8-3, CUT rolled to a 15-6 victory.

Tufts vs. Georgia, on the other hand, was a little closer. The teams mostly traded early on, tying at 3s, with Georgia eventually going up 9-8. While the defense was there, the E-men offense wasn’t quite clicking, and Jojah was taking advantage by converting a number of turns. Tufts’ Will Perry had the play of the game with the E-men up 10-9, Perry had a huge D in the Georgia end zone, then skied 2 defenders at the goal line at the other end before working it in for the goal, and a second break in a row. At 11-9, Tufts’ offense looked patient with a little bit of a cushion, and outlasted Jojah 15-12.

But Georgia would bounce back quickly in their second game of the day against Illinois. Jojah jumped ahead to a two-point lead at 4-2, and eventually took half at 8-4. Illinois again looked overmatched by speed, and never seemed to quite get it going, and Georgia cruised to a 15-7 win.

Tufts was not as lucky in their second game of the day, as they took on California – Santa Barbara (Black Tide). After trading early, Black Tide found a little breathing room at 6-4. The UCSB D had Tufts offense looking a little uncomfortable again, as they threw a couple different looks and used poaches to disrupt the E-men’s flow. UCSB would add one more goal before Tufts made a mini-run, but Black Tide was able to take half 8-7 when Max Schteir-Dun hit Timmy Beatty with a big backhand for a score. Tufts showed they had some fight left in the second half, but couldn’t quite close the gap as UCSB took the game 15-12.

In the last game of the day, both Carleton and UCSB came out fired up. Carlton went up 4-2 early, but UCSB was able to work the deep game Beatty and Noah Hopton to go up 5-4, as both teams seemed like they were having an easy time scoring. Carleton decided to show UCSB that they could throw it deep too as Grant Lindsley found the endzone on two consecutive hucks to put CUT up 6-5. CUT would end up taking half on a four-point run led by Kanner (8-5). After half, Cut’s D started stepping it up and showed that they are the fastest team in Columbus this weekend. After building a com-fortable lead, UCSB folded as CUT won 15-7..

Pool B

Pool B started early with Colorado Mamabird jumping out to an 4-1 lead on Luther. LUFDA looked a little overmatched at first as they went down 5-2 and eventually lost half 5-8, but it just took them a bit to find their legs. Behind the play of Greg Shirbroun, Drew Lee and Freshman of the Year Eric Johnson, LUFDA was able to convert turns and hang with Mamabird for much of the second half.

“We didn’t come out as hard as we should have our first game. Maybe we underesti-mated Luther a little,” said Colorado’s Mac Taylor. “They played pretty solid, and they had a lot more composure than I thought they were going to have. But we were able to convert the Ds, and work to improve for the next game.”
At 11-9 Colorado, Taylor was on the receiving end of a 40-yard huck, and followed that up by throwing on of his own to Jonathon White off a Luther turn. That proved to be enough for Colorado, as they made their way to a 15-10 win.

Colorado’s next game was the 1-2 matchup against Cornell, who was coming off a win against NC State. Colorado jumped ahead early 4-2, but Cornell got a big boost when Arthurs Shull found Seth Reinhardt with a 45-yard forehand that Reinhardt pulled down with a huge bid in the back of the endzone. Mamabird was able to answer as Taylor found Ted Phillips with a 40-yard huck of his own to go up 5-3. Along with Matty Zemel, Taylor helped provide the D too, which allowed Mamabird to take a 9-4 lead. \

“We came out with a lot of fire against Cornell,” Taylor said. “Then we stepped up our D and brought the pressure constantly, and maintained it throughout the game.”

The Buds kept trying to connect deep with Reinhardt, but were not as successful as they were early on. Colorado was able to convert the Ds and cruised to a 15-8 win.

After the game, Taylor said he enjoyed having just two games a day, as the top players were able to play more points and still be fresh, but said it doesn’t necessarily work to Colorado’s advantage. “We have a pretty deep team and we like to play everybody, so I guess we’ll see how it works out later in the tournament,” he said.

Cornell Buds fared much better in their early game against NC State, although it started out pretty tight.

The Buds jumped ahead 2-0 on a handblock Callahan on the goal line by Jon Hirschberger, a feat which he attributed to Jedi mind tricks as it wasn’t completely clear how he ended up with the disc. NC State soon found its legs though, and tied it at fours before playing Cornell close through half time. After the half, though, Cornell was out-hustling NC State and started to pull away at 13-8. The Buds turned the disc over a few times, but the Wolfpack couldn’t capitalize and pull any closer as Cornell won 15-10.

NC State’s second game was the first game of the day for Kansas, who came out ready to play and matched NC State score for score before jumping ahead 5-4. After getting another break to go up two at half, the Horrorzontals started to pull away, eventually taking the game 15-10.

Either something happened during their break, or like Colorado, Kansas underestimated Luther, because a different Kansas team showed up in the second game. Luther rode their big guns and went straight to half up 8-2. Unfortunately for Kansas, the second half was more of the same, as Luther kept the pressure on and upset the Horrorzontals 15-6.

Pool C

Pool C started off with a bang as Pittsburgh shocked a very good California UGMO team. Pittsburgh was up from the start, and Cal looked like they left their game on the West Coast. It was very uncharacteristic of UGMO, with a lot of turns and just not very clean in general - and Pittsburgh took advantage by jumping out to a 6-2 lead. With a few more Cal turns, Pittsburgh’s Jake Christian and Eddie Peters were able to work it downfield with some help from Alex Thorne to take half on a two-point run at 8-3.

UGMO tried throwing a little zone after half, but Mike Plunkett was setting the pace for Pittsburgh's offense. It seemed Pittsburgh was converting every one of Cal’s turns, as Christian and Peters kept working the disc, and Christian eventually hit Julian Hausman for the upset win.

Unfortunately, Cal’s second game against the Wisconsin Hodags wouldn’t be much easier to swallow. A revived Cal team showed up in the first half, with freshman Greg Moy setting the tone on defense with a huge layout D (and he completed the bookends with a score). Wisconsin tightened up their own D, but Cal’s O proved to be too much as they took half 8-5. In the second half though, the old Cal was back. The Hodags struck first with a big, floaty huck to Jim Foster. After a UGMO turn, Ben Feldman hit Matt Young with a 20-yard backhand to pull Wisconsin within one at 8-7. The Hodags would eventually score four in a row to take the lead at 9-8. After another unforced turn, Cal was able to get the D back and tie it at 9.

Both teams would start to find an offensive groove and trade points to 12-11. After forcing a Wisconsin turn, Cal’s Andrew Hagan came down with a huge hammer to make it 13-11. After Cal added one more, the Hodags decided it would be a good time for another run. After pulling within one at 14-13, Wisconsin’s Tom Annen and Cullen Gep-pert teamed up to get a deep D, which they worked downfield to even the score. Cal answered as Thomas Hendrickson found AJ Shankar for a score to go ahead 15-14. The two teams traded giveaways on the next point, as it seemed nerves started to creep into play, but Wisconsin eventually scored to tie it up and force universe point. After yet another unforced turn by Cal, Annen hit Tom Murray with a huge 60-yard backhand huck for the win.

It’s safe to say that the Hodgas’ next game against Williams went a little bit smoother. Williams hung with the Hodags early at 7-4, but in the second half, Wisconsin extended their lead quickly to 11-5 and eventually pulled away for the win at 15-7.

Williams had a hard-fought first game against Texas, but just wasn’t able to close the gap enough. TUFF went up 6-3 early, eventually taking half 8-5. WUFO showed that they had the fight to keep it close, but they couldn’t quite get over the hump, as Texas held onto the lead for the 15-12 win.

Texas’ last game of the day brought up memories of last year’s epic game at the College Championships against Michigan. Pittsburgh was controlling the game from the start, as they went up 5-2 and rode that cushion to half at 8-6. Texas kept it close at 10-8 and 12-9, but then they turned the tables on Pittsburgh and ended the game on a 7-2 run for the 16-14 win.

Pool D

Stanford had the most interesting day of play, as they started play in the first round against the California –San Diego Air Squids, but didn’t finish until 7:15 against Virginia. Bloodthirsty’s Tom James said he liked the idea of having a big layoff, but didn’t know exactly what to expect.

“I was pretty tired, so it was nice to go home and take a nap and then come back and play again,” he said. “I don’t know how I’ll feel tomorrow, because it’s not good to play and stop playing, and start playing again.”
While Stanford’s game against the Squids was close early, James and Chris McCarty controlled the game on both O and D. After building a comfortable 8-5 lead at half, Bloodthirsty was able to hold off UCSD for the 15-12 win.

In their second game, Stanford had a stronger opponent in Virginia. Both teams were testing their deep game early, which resulted in some turns and a very long, low scoring early going. After trading points for a while, the teams crawled into half with a 8-6 lead for Stanford.

In the second half, the teams picked up the pace. Stanford’s James, Ryan Thompson and Nick Schlag controlled the offensive flow for Bloodthirsty, while Robert Runner, Ty-ler Conger and Jonathan Neeley set the table for Night Train - although Runner was forced to leave the game for a bit because of leg cramps. Behind 9-7, Virginia worked it down field, and swung the disc around the goal line (avoiding a few close calls in the process), but eventually punched it in to pull within one. Stanford answered quickly though as James found Sam Shrank with a big backhand - which Virginia answered right back thanks to a 50-yard Neeley backhand to Greg Erickson, which made it 10-9.

At this point, Virginia had three straight unforced errors and handler miscues that Stan-ford was able to put in for quick scores. That proved to be too much for Night Train, as Stanford took the game 15-11.

“I thought we played well,” James said. “We came out with a little fire in our first game, and then we picked it up and were firing on all cylinders. Ideally, we’d win our games by slightly more than we did, but I think we’re going to come out pretty hard tomorrow.”

Virginia’s first game was just as much of a battle when they matched up with a Minnesota Grey Duck team that was playing some inspired Ultimate. After Virginia jumped out to an early lead and took half, Minnesota went on a four-point run to tie it at 8s. The teams would match each other punch for punch, as Runner helped move the Virginia offense, and Michael Arenson, Calvin Tam and Jeff Andersen showed the explosive-ness and quick scoring ability of the Grey Duck offense.

After Minnesota went up 11-10, Runner fueled a run by Night Train run that included a poster-worthy, skying deep, which they converted to regain the lead at 12-11. After trading again, Runner was on the receiving end of a huck from Tom Licitra, which put Virginia up 14-12. Minnesota showed they weren’t about to quit by putting in one more score, but Runner quickly ended the game with a 65-yard back hand to Conger for the 15-13 win.

“I think we were a little out of our element,” Runner said of his team’s early perform-ance. “We were real jittery and hyped up, but we had the energy. What we showed, that isn’t necessarily our offense. We forced up some things, and that’s where we got in trouble today. But it’s still a great time to be here. We’re all still smiling and we’ll be ready to come out tomorrow, so we’re going to get here early and warm up for Michi-gan. It’s real important that we get back to fundamentals. Just throws and catches - we need to stick with what got us here.”

Michigan’s first game was against Minnesota, who wasn’t playing like the 20th seed. Grey Duck controlled much of the first half in going up 6-3, but Michigan’s Dave Fumo had two big Ds that closed the gap, and eventually helped Magnum end the half on a 5-1 run to make it 8-7, capped off by a huck from Will Neff to Fumo. Whatever fire Michigan had at the end of the half was quickly lost in the second half, as Minnesota regained the lead at 13-11. Neff started a run for Michigan as he hit Pat Collins, who found Tom Haynes in the endzone to pull Magnum within one. After tying it at 13, Minnesota turned it on their goal line and Magnum’s Seth Collins unleashed a huge backhand huck to Gordon Sigfriedt, who had a huge bid in the endzone to make the grab. Minnesota would tie it at 14, but Magnum would take the next two points, and the game at 16-14.

Magnum’s second game was also a hard-fought win. Magnum took half on UCSD 8-7, and the two teams traded to 11-10. That was when Michigan finally broke out of their funk, and they were able to put the Squids away 15-10.

“I’d say we showed our C-game today, at best,” said Michigan’s Will Neff. “I don’t know what our problems were. Our offense was not clicking, but our defense was coming up huge. Offensively, I think we have to treat that as a fluke and come out tomorrow play-ing like we know how to play. We’ve had some really smooth, efficient and aggressive offense before, and that wasn’t what we had today.”

Well, there you have it. A pretty crazy day of Ultimate in Columbus. Check back tomorrow to see which of these teams can put it all together, win their pool and make their way into the Championship bracket on Sunday.

Open Division Preview
by Chris Spittal

Well, that certainly was interesting. These past few weeks have given us plenty of twists and turns, and it’s not quite over yet. Some teams reached dizzying highs, while others were handed bitter pills to swallow. A quick glance at the competitors at the 2009 College Championships reveals a handful of teams you would expect to be there, a few teams returning to the Championships after being away for a few years, as well as a couple first-timers. Rest assured, it’s shaping up to be one wild weekend in Columbus.

Let’s start at the top. Sure, they’ve taken some lumps this year, but until someone beats them, Wisconsin is still the champ. Though they’re a much different team than last year, Jim Foster, Jon Gayner, Tom Annen and Evan Klane will have the Hodags ready to defend their back-to-back championships.

The team that has already taken one of Wisconsin’s crowns this season is Central Region Champion Carleton. Top-seeded CUT comes to Columbus following a convincing win over Wisconsin in the Central Regional Final, and with a 13-2 record against teams at the Championships, chances are good that Carleton will be one of the last teams standing.

Closely behind CUT is Colorado. Mamabird was one of the most impressive teams all year, which can be quickly forgotten if you don’t qualify for the Championships. After winning Centex this spring and rolling through Regionals, Colorado has to be one of the safer bets to play deep into the tournament.

All Virginia this year did was quietly put together a solid season in beating the likes of Georgia, Wisconsin and Stanford, and then blow up at Regionals by taking down Florida in the Semis and Georgia in the Final. Led by a dominant defense and an explosive offense, this group is far from a fluke.

Wrapping up the top tier of teams are Stanford and California. While Cal was showing that they were contenders by winning Santa Barbara and Pres Day, Stanford is another team that quietly improved and then capitalized at Regionals. Both teams have some of the best receivers in the country that can get the disc at will (AJ Shankar and Joey Durkin, Cal; and Tom James and Steve Scardato, Stanford), and have the firepower to challenge any team in the field.

Somewhere in the middle of the pack are Cornell, Michigan and Illinois. Cornell posted an impressive 28-3 record this season, and rolled through the Metro East Region, defeating Pittsburgh in the Final 15-8. Like Cornell, Illinois will be eager to show that they hang with the best in Columbus. A solid mix of experience and youth, Illinois flew under the radar for most of the year, until they stormed past top-seeded Michigan in the Great Lakes Regional Semis, and Ohio State in the Final. Magnum will be looking to bounce back from a lackluster Regionals to regain the form that helped them defeat teams like Cal, California - Santa Barbara, Texas and Georgia this season (a task that is a little easier with a player like Will Neff on your team). (photo Andrew Davis)

Texas is a team that has been battling back all year and scraping to get over the hump - which is why it’s fitting it took all of TUFF’s grit and fight in their comeback win on Universe Point in the South Regional Final to punch their ticket to Columbus. Senior Stephen Presley is the player that draws a crowd, but the entire TUFF team is one you won’t want to miss.

After spending a year away from the show, Kansas returns to the Championships with a group of veteran players and an explosive deep game. With a group of bigs like Kevin Kelly, David Waller and Jack McFarland, the Horrorzontals have the height to give any team headaches.

Tufts spent much of the season battling the elements and waiting for the weather to break in the Northeast. Once it did, the E-Men rolled through Sectionals and Regionals, avenging an loss to Williams from earlier in the year along the way, and are eager to get another shot at a few national powers in Columbus.

After falling just short of the Semis last year, Georgia seemed like a team eager to make the leap this year at the Championships. After falling victim to the buzzsaw that is Virginia at Regionals, however, Peter Dempsey, Tom Morris and Rob Herring will have Jojah looking to regain the form that made it one of the most explosive teams in the country.

Two wildcards at this year’s Championships are North Carolina State - who is making a return to the Championships after a short hiatus - and Luther College, who is making its first ever trip to the tournament. As the 5th seed at Regionals, NC State stole the last spot at the Championships from top-ranked Florida 14-12 in the game to go. NC State relied on the veteran leaders like Thomas Ward, Ken Porter and Evan Bowles to improve throughout the season, and will look to do the same in Columbus. In just its sixth year of existence, Luther spent all year trying to prove that it deserved a spot in Columbus until they made it through a tough Central Region. Central FOTY Eric Johnson and the rest of LUFDA’s young guns will surprise some teams with their offense, while veterans Greg Shirbroun and Drew Lee make sure Luther has its best game on display in Columbus.

After losing a few important pieces from last year’s team, Pittsburgh was able to bounce back from a loss in the Finals to grab the Metro East’s last bid. Though this season has been anything but smooth, big wins against Stanford, Illinois and UCSB show that Pittsburgh still has potential if they can fit all the pieces together.

The last two spots from the Southwest went to California-San Diego and California-Santa Barbara, who was able to outlast Arizona 13-12 to snag the last bid to Columbus. Though their performance in the Regional Final suggests they are significantly behind teams on the level of Colorado, leaders like Josh Nickerson, Justin Elliot and Mark Johnston will always have the Squids ready to play. After a few years away, UCSB, arguably the most storied program in college Ultimate, is returning to the Championships. It has been a bit of a rollercoaster season for the Black Tide, but with quality wins over Colorado, Cal and Wisconsin, UCSB is ready to make some noise again on the na-tional stage.

Two teams that are aiming to make the most of this year’s expanded field are Minnesota and Williams College. Another team making its first trip to the Championships, Minnesota claimed the last spot out of the Central Region. Though they didn’t post any Ws against regional rivals, Grey Duck beat Virginia, Kansas and UCSD on the road to Columbus to show they shouldn’t be overlooked. Williams also can boast impressive wins over Georgia, Tufts and Stanford to show that they belong. Caleb Balderston anchors an explosive offense with Brian Bistolfo and Kieran Brennan, while Jamie Quella sets WUFOs tempo on D.

There you have it - a brief look at the 20 teams that will be running themselves into the ground, sacrificing their bodies and giving it their all this weekend in Columbus, all for a 175-gram piece of plastic. Now that you know a little bit about who they are and how they got here, the fun part will be finding out where they all end up. Will the new format and fewer games early on level the playing field for teams with small rosters and tight rotations? Will the expanded field provide us with some unexpected fireworks and surprise contenders? Who will be left standing on Memorial Day? There’s only one way to find out - stay tuned.