Monday, May 25, 2009 
by Michelle Ng

Cloudy skies and a slight breeze welcomed the teams into Central Crossing Stadium for the finals, with both teams running through a series of drills to prepare themselves for the biggest game of the season, and for most, the biggest game of their ultimate careers.  Element’s top players have honed their skills in the Seattle juniors scene with ten players having played high school ultimate.  Two players, 1st Team All-Region selections, Shannon O’Malley and Claire Suver, bring experience from the Junior Worlds team as well as elite women’s club team Seattle Riot.  Nora Carr and 2nd Team All-Region selection Lindsey Wilson represented the United States at last year’s World Games in Vancouver with Shazam Returns, and Jillian Goodreau, Laura Holcomb, and Niki Lesniak played last season with Seattle’s second women’s team, Viva.  This breadth and depth of experience, in addition to the coaching expertise of Ron Kubalanza and Cyle Van Auken, led Washington to a 29-4 record during the regular season.

On the flip side, UCSB has zero players with juniors experience, but has made College Championship Finals appearances for three consecutive seasons.  With only a handful of players graduating last season, they returned a strong core for this year’s title run and achieved a 35-3 overall record, with a 14-3 record against teams qualifying for the UPA College Championships.  Led by 5th year players, Andrea Romano and Katie Barry, and captains Kaela Jorgenson and Carolyn Finney, UCSB has some of the most versatile players in the country on their starting line.  Romano, Finney, and Jorgenson were all 1st Team All-Region selections this season and Barry, who spent most of the season recovering from shoulder surgery, received All-Region recognition last season.  Romano and Barry have been largely responsible for the transformation of the UCSB program over the past five years, bringing the Skirts from being a team that did not earn invitations to any of the major college tournaments to a team that has stood near the top of the division for the past few seasons.  Romano, in particular, has been a source of inspiration to her teammates, having survived a horrific car accident in 2007 and battling a number of injuries in the wake of the death of two of her club teammates.  Romano has shown great development as both a player and leader over the past several seasons for the Skirts, and her determination and focus has rubbed off on her teammates.  UCSB features a number of other athletic players, including top cutters Briana Cahn and Marie Madaras.  A core of UCSB’s players play club ultimate together on the Lady Condors and coaching from club players Steve Dugan and Jenny Hanscom has made their program one of the most well-respected in the division.

Washington started the game off on defense and the Skirts worked the disc up, using their top players to keep the disc moving quickly.  Barry put the strike up to Finney to make it 1-0, UCSB.  After a goal line turn by Element, Goodreau stepped into the lane to get a poach D and threw the quick score to O’Malley to tie the game at 1s.  The teams traded to 2s, with UW scoring their second goal on an O’Malley huck to Goodreau, who made the trailing edge catch to tie it up.  Both teams threw a good amount of zone, often transitioning to man after a set number of passes.  UCSB also featured a 3-man cup with their other defenders playing man defense downfield. 

With the game tied at 2s, Jorgenson started to take over for UCSB, throwing an around break to Cahn and then putting up the huge flick huck to Madaras to get the Skirts their first break.  UCSB continued to stick with their zone to man, with UW keeping two handlers back and occasionally dropping a third back to gain yards on the swing.  After the UCSB transition to man, Wilson, whose throws were crucial for Element this game, put up the huge backhand to Carr.  A few passes later, O’Malley finished with a crossfield forehand to Goodreau.  O’Malley then pressured a turn and put up the beautiful leading forehand to Holcomb to tie the game at 4s. 

With the game back on serve, UCSB scored their O point and after a huck turnover, Finney put yet another perfect huck to Madaras for the break.  UCSB came down zone again and Cahn got an immediate block and bookends to make it 7-4, UCSB.  UCSB’s zone then pressured a drop, leading to yet another Jorgenson assist to take UCSB to half.  Jorgenson racked up 5 assists in the first half to allow her team to take a commanding lead.

After half, a Holcomb goal to O’Malley brought UCSB back to within 3, but just minutes later, another perfect Finney huck made it 9-5, UCSB.  Finney’s throws were spot on all weekend long, with her, Jorgenson, Barry, and Romano taking turns throwing the big strikes, few teams could even attempt to contain them. 

On the next possession, the UW huck attempt was knocked down by Milena Jovanovich, and after a quick timeout, Jorgenson put up another big huck to Shannon Bubb for the sky to go up yet another break, 10-5. 

The Wilson-O’Malley connection was a crucial one all weekend and this game was no exception. Wilson connected with O’Malley on a big backhand huck for one score and on the next point, Wilson floated a desperation throw to O’Malley on the break side to bring the score to 7-10.  Another UCSB turnover gave UW the opportunity to earn another break back and Suver pulled the trigger, sending the disc deep to Holcomb for the score.  Holcomb’s speed and sticky hands have made her a favorite receiver for the Element handlers this season.

UCSB called timeout to take a deep breath and UW came down forcing forehand with good pressure man D to force a turnover on the dump.  A big flick huck attempt resulted in another UW turnover, and Cahn put the inside-out forehand to Jorgenson for the score.  UCSB stuck with their zone defense and Finney got the D on another huck attempt by UW.  On the next possession, UCSB did a great job of using the entire width of the field, and after several big crossfield throws, Finney threw the open side backhand to Bubb pass the bidding Suver for the score.

UCSB came down zone again and Madaras got a big D, but a few passes later, Carr returned the favor with a huge layout D to get the disc back for UW.  Suver put a huge throw up to Wilson who outread her defender for the sky on the goal line. Wilson spotted O’Malley wide open in the endzone and put the pretty inside-out backhand for the score to bring it to 9-12.  Another UCSB dump turnover gave UW the disc and Wilson put yet another backhand floater to the break side, which Goodreau ran down to bring UW within 2. 

After a series of Ds by both teams, UCSB went back to their bread and butter, with Finney hitting Romano with a huge forehand about 5 yards outside of the endzone.  Romano finished to Madaras to put UCSB within two points of the championship.  A UW dump turnover put the disc back in UCSB’s hands and the Skirts worked the disc up the line repeatedly, with Barry finishing to Cahn to make it game point.  UW mustered one more point, with Wilson hitting Suver up the line to finish to Holcomb.

At 14-11 UCSB, Barry picked up the pull and centered the disc to Romano who swung it to Bass.  Finney made a great grab on a disc thrown behind her, then threw it crossfield to Jorgenson just past Suver’s bid.  Finney hit Bass on an inside-out backhand, and after a quick dish, Cahn threw a short pass to Finney who jumped into the endzone for the score and the win, 15-10 UCSB.

Congratulations to UCSB, the 2009 UPA College Women’s Division Champions.  A special shoutout to Andrea Romano and Katie Barry, UCSB’s 5th year seniors on their well-deserved championship.
 

Women's Division, Sunday May 24
By Michelle Ng

Sunday Bracket Play
Sunday in Columbus was rather humid with some wind and rain at the field site for part of the afternoon.  The championship bracket rounds featured some exciting games and upsets and a lot of great all-around play.  With eight teams fighting to extend their seasons one more day, elimination play meant that everything was on the line.  By day’s end, the women’s field had been narrowed to two teams. 

Quarterfinals
The Oregon-Ottawa game was one of the most anticipated matchup of the round, with the teams matching up for the first time since Pres Day when Ottawa crushed Oregon 11-2.  At the end of yesterday, captain Molly Suver said that Fugue was playing their best ultimate of the season and that her team was peaking at the right time.  With a well-rested Ottawa standing between Oregon and a semifinals appearance, Fugue needed to play some outstanding Ultimate, and that is exactly what they did.  Freshman sensation Bailey Zahniser threw numerous scores, including a big backhand early on to Tina Snodgrass, who dominated the deep space all weekend.  Snodgrass, formerly a tennis player, has been an incredible pickup for Fugue, and amazingly, is playing offhanded after previously tearing ligaments in her shoulder.  With Zahniser and Snodgrass making big plays for Fugue, Oregon started to roll, rattling off some breaks to go up 8-4.  Ottawa refused to die though, and Anne Mercier and Alex Benedict displayed great composure, moving the disc quickly on short dish passes and up-the-line strikes to crawl back into the game.  Danielle Fortin hit Kathryn Pohran to eventually bring it to 12-13, but Oregon shut the door with with Snodgrass skying to make it 14-12, and Julia Sherwood coming up with a huge sky and big put to Claire Sharman for the win.

The Stanford-Wisconsin game was hotly contested from the beginning, with the first point dragging on as several hucks landed just beyond the reach of their intended receivers.  Wisconsin finally forced a short turnover and Emelie McKain swung the disc to Georgia Bosscher, who threw the continue to Sandy Jorgenson for the score.  One of the most exciting matchups of the quarterfinals round was Jorgenson and Liz Cassel, who both ran varsity track in college and who utilize their speed and endurance as top defenders and cutters for their respective teams.  In an attempt to slow Stanford’s hucking game down, Wisconsin employed a wall D, with the handler defenders poaching and the cutter defenders playing tight man defense downfield.  The Stanford handlers responded well, with Emily Damon, Jenny Founds, Elaine Hart, and Caitlin Rugg moving the disc quickly and controlling the tempo for Superfly.  At 7s, Shira Klane got a sick D to set up a big Amber Sinicrope backhand to space, which Jorgenson ran down for the score to take Bella Donna to half.  At 10-9 Stanford, Superfly rattled off two breaks; Damon connected with Cassel and Hart hit Krystal Barghelame for the layout score to give Stanford their biggest lead of the game.  Wisconsin battled back though, with Bosscher ripping it deep and Courtney Kiesow making a fantastic trailing edge catch after the disc floated over the intended receiver’s head.  On Bella’s next possession, Bosscher put up another huge throw, this time to Jorgenson for the sick sky and big backhand to Bitterman to bring it within one.  After trading out to 14-13, sophomore Samantha Law, who had a huge game, got a huge layout block, and Founds hit co-captain Damon for the win to send Stanford to the semifinals.

California-Santa Barbara took control of the game early, continuing their dominance from pool play.  UCSB’s three man cup forced a number of turnovers, especially with Andrea Romano ruling the deep space.  UCSB rolled to half 8-2, with contributions from a number of Burning Skirts’ players.  Right out of half, UCSB’s zone forced yet another turnover and Finney hit cutter Marie Madaras who made a huge layout catch for the score to fire up the Skirts’ sidelines and bring the score to 9-2 UCSB.  UCLA tried a zone of their own, but the patience and wide arsenal of throws from UCSB’s handlers allowed the Skirts to break the zone with relative ease.  UCSB rolled to the 15-7 win, ending UCLA’s season for the third year in a row.

The Washington-Penn game was extremely exciting and Penn proved to the entire college Ultimate world that the upsets they pulled over the course of this weekend were no accident.  Their top players can run with anyone and they play a tremendous team game, with their entire sidelines involved in every point and their younger players rushing water out to the field.  UW and Penn traded points early, with Venus going up a break 5-3.  Off the very next pull, Octavia Payne tipped a huck attempt from Claire Suver and caught the score for bookends to put Penn up 6-3.  UW then capitalized on a few Penn errors to tie it at 7s but Penn called timeout to regroup and then immediately took half 8-7.  The teams continued trading points and at 10s, UW rattled off two scores, with Suver and Wilson both hitting speedy cutter Laura Holcomb for the scores.  Penn refused to die with Whitney Viets hitting Katie Poulos to make it 11-12.  UW answered back, but Penn went right back to what had been working for them all weekend long, with Mozaffari hitting Payne deep for the score.  Despite heroic efforts from Penn’s top players, UW’s depth and experience served them well and they were able to finish the game off 15-12 to send Element into the semis.

Semifinals
The Stanford-UW game featured a rematch of the Northwest Regional finals.  Cassel was simply on fire today, running the show for Stanford downfield and catching and receiving a number of goals.  With the wind picking up at the start of the round, the first point had a number of turnovers, but eventually, Cassel hit Ali Mendoza in the endzone for the score.  Stanford and UW traded scores, with Cassel catching Stanford’s second goal and UW’s early scores featuring connections from Claire Suver to Lindsey Wilson.  As the rain started to come down, the barrage of long throws continued, with both teams utilizing quick dish passes and taking advantage of huck opportunities, often with the mark out of position.  This game featured a number of extremely athletic plays by both teams’ top players.  There was a decent-sized crowd gathered to watch the game and these teams did not disappoint, trading layout Ds, sick skies and hotly contested grabs.  Shannon O’Malley had an especially outstanding game, getting numerous key blocks and making some jawdropping plays in the air.  Jillian Goodreau had a tremendous catch on a tipped disc intended for another receiver to tie the game at 12s, and Laura Holcomb stepped up for UW, using her speed to run down big throws from O’Malley, Suver, and Wilson.  At 13-12 UW, Founds busted out a huge crossfield hammer and two Stanford players held on to secure the score.  An O’Malley sky score and a Founds forehand to Tien-Tien Chan tied the game at 14s to set up universe point with UW receiving.  UW worked it patiently and Suver put up a high-release backhand to Wilson for the win to secure Element’s place in the finals.

The Oregon-UCSB semifinal featured a rematch of the Pres Day and Stanford Invite finals, both matchups which UCSB won.  The teams traded early with Snodgrass continuing to rule the skies for Oregon and Suver, Sherwood, McDowell, and Zahniser putting up big throws to her and other receivers, including Katy Craley, Claire Sharman, and Kimber Coles.  While UCSB’s core of Romano, Barry, Finney, and Jorgenson did the majority of the work for the Skirts, a number of other players including Briana Cahn, Marie Madaras, and Emily Bass made key contributions to add to UCSB’s arsenal of weapons.  Finney and Romano had a number of perfect hucks to well-timed deep cuts and all of UCSB’s top players did a great job of being dynamic threats, keeping the Oregon defense on their toes.  Oregon threw a number of looks at UCSB, including regular man and zone defenses as well as a 6-1, leaving one of UCSB’s younger players poached.  Romano, Kaela, and Finney were the difference makers down the line, putting up big hucks to each other and running the Oregon defense into the ground.  A forehand from Finney to Kaela finished off the game, earning UCSB their third finals appearance in as many years.

Following the semifinals games, the 2009 Callahan Award was presented.  Congratulations to the 2009 Callahan Award winner Georgia Bosscher (Wisconsin) and runner-ups Anne Mercier (Ottawa), Emily Baecher (Michigan), Rohre Titcomb (Dartmouth), and Candice Chan (UBC).

Tomorrow’s finals game will feature the Northwest Region champion UW and the Southwest Region champion UCSB, in a division that has been historically dominated by the West Coast.  With one regular season matchup decided by one point in UCSB’s favor, this game promises to be an epic battle.  With UCSB making its third consecutive finals appearance, the Skirts are hoping to end this season differently than their previous two.  Element will be making their first finals appearance since 2005 and they will be looking to bring the women’s division title back to Seattle.  Stay tuned for the live webcast and a full recap of the game.

Women's Division, Saturday May 23, 2009
by Michelle Ng

Saturday Pool Play
The stage was set for another great day of Ultimate in Columbus, with plenty of sunshine and almost no wind at the fields.  With the new format splitting pool play into two days, most teams were well-rested coming into today, producing some exciting games featuring athletic matchups.  With plenty of legs and only two bracket games slated for tomorrow, teams laid it all on the line to keep their championship dreams alive.  The top seeds took care of business, while Penn blew their seed to pieces, upsetting two more teams en route to extending their season one more day.

Pool A
California-Santa Barbara and Carleton faced off to start the day for Pool A.  UCSB went up 6-1 before Carleton had a chance to answer back.  At 13-7, Carleton went on a three-point run to make it 13-10, but UCSB regrouped and shut the door, winning 15-10.  While this game was their closest game of the tournament thus far, UCSB was largely untested in pool play.  Before yesterday’s games even started, Callahan nominee and 5th year player Andrea Romano said that the Skirts needed to focus on playing their game no matter who their opponent was.  Romano said that the team would be focusing on keeping their level of play high throughout the tournament and executing the things that they had been working on in practice.  With their starters relatively fresh, they will bring an extra edge to tomorrow’s quarterfinals game against UCLA.  

Despite UCSB being in control of the game the entire way, Carleton took some positive momentum into their matchup against North Carolina - Wilmington and came out intent on winning the game in order to upset seed in their pool.  Seaweed went up quickly 2-0 with contributions from Elise Bardsley and Kelly Tidwell.  But Carleton would not be denied and answered back with a strike to captain Julia Busiek.  After another UNCW score to Tidwell, Anna Snyder put up a big hackhand to Busiek to bring it to 3-2, UNCW.  Carleton got a quick turn off the pull and Nicky Bloom made an outstanding catch on a second attempt to keep the possession alive.  Syzygy worked it down the field and Bloom put the score in to Jessie Martinez.  Nicky Bloom threw Carleton’s fifth and sixth scores, and then Martinez threw to Emma Dobbins to put Carleton up a break 7-5.  Martinez then connected again to take Carleton to half.  Carleton’s core of Snyder, Busiek, Bloom, Martinez, and Becca Sheridan made big plays on both sides of the disc for Syzygy to give them the 15-11 win.

Wash U-Illinois featured two exciting matchups in cutters Abby Stephens-Tania Reitz and handlers Kate Stambaugh-Kelly Foster.  Both teams came out firing, looking for their first win of the tournament.  llinois went up 2-0 and the teams exchanged scores back and forth, with Illinois taking half 8-7.  Reitz came down with countless hucks to spark the Menace offense.  On the flip side, Stephens and Stambaugh worked the disc down the field for several scores, with freshman Kami Groom contributing a number of sick grabs to keep Wash U close.  After half, Illinois continued to utilize Reitz and applied a tough pressure man defense to force some Wash U mistakes to earn the 14-11 win.

Pool B
Washington-UCLA was a matchup featuring two semis teams from last year.  Washington was in control early, with Claire Suver and Shannon O’Malley running the field for Element.  After going up big, Element traded a few points with UCLA near the end of the game with both teams’ top players playing some beautiful ultimate.  Claire Suver threw a big breakmark backhand to make it 13-6, before UCLA rattled off two scores, with KC Vampola making some huge plays for BLU.  Lindsey Wilson put a beautiful leading forehand to O’Malley to make it game point for Washington but UCLA refused to die with captain Sarah Peters getting a big handblock for UCLA and Karisa Tang putting up a pretty forehand for another BLU score.  At 14-9, Suver finished off UCLA with a big curving backhand to set up the easy score and Element win.

The Michigan-UCLA game was an important pool play game, with the loser likely to draw a tough Oregon team in pre-quarters.  Marisa Mead opened up the game with a quick strike to Alexa Kirkland to put BLU up.  Michigan responded, keeping the disc moving quickly, with a string: Katka Bodova to Sarah Johnson to Paula Seville to tie it up at 1s.  On UCLA’s next possession, Johnson got the monster deep D but Rebecca Delshad got a quick block, setting up a quick score to Peters to make it 2-1, UCLA.  UCLA got the break to go up 3-1 and after a timeout to collect their breath, Flywheel got two quick scores to tie the game at 3s.  UCLA answered back, spreading the touches around.  Vampola put up the big crossfield backhand to Peters and Krisztina Josef put up the curving forehand to Yvette Fisher to put UCLA up 5-3.  The teams continued trading scores, with Vampola throwing to Peters to eventually make it 9-8.  A couple of Flywheel miscues against the very strong UCLA zone gave UCLA the opportunity they needed to pull away and Lauren Sweeney hit Sabrina Fong for the big sky score to put UCLA up 11-8, getting the BLU sidelines pumped.  An Emily Baecher high release backhand brought Flywheel within one, but UCLA answered back and eventually put the game away 14-10.

Saint Louis picked up the first win of the tournament for the South Region against Northeastern.  Led by the stellar play of Teresa Ogrinc and Kara O’Malley, St. Louis displayed their athleticism on both sides of the disc, running the Valkyries into the ground.  Ogrinc and O’Malley stepped up huge for Saint Louis with primary handler Tricia Wong missing and integral cutter Kristen Wilson going down with an injury yesterday.  They kept the Saint Louis offense firing with their athletic cutting and great hands.  O’Malley also notched a number of blocks throughout the game, using her great closing speed and field sense to shut down Northeastern’s top players. 

Pool C
After losing a close game to Colorado and playing a solid game against top seed Wisconsin, Dartmouth was determined to get a win today, opening the day against Southern California, who was also winless.  Rohre Titcomb, Katie Nash, Molly Roy, and Marika Austin played well for Dartmouth, with Titcomb and Nash holding down the handling duties and Roy and Austin providing solid continue cuts downfield.  Both Roy and Austin also displayed their versatility, pulling out their deep throws whenever the opportunity arose.  Mary Kate Hogan and Katie Killebrew controlled the disc for USC, with Lindsey Cross making huge grabs to keep the Hellions close.  Dartmouth was able to force a few USC errors in the second half to take the game 15-11.

Dartmouth carried over much of this momentum into their game against Oregon.  The teams traded points early, with the Dartmouth core involved in the majority of Princess Layout’s scores.  At 2-1, Dartmouth, Oregon called a timeout to refocus.  Oregon’s former Junior Worlds players Shannon McDowell, Molly Suver, Kimber Coles, and Bailey Zahniser played a huge role in Fugue’s success this game.  Suver was the anchor of the Oregon offense, being conservative and maintaining possession when necessary, but also making the big throws, including huge 45-yard hammers to wide-open receivers on the break side.  McDowell and Julia Sherwood aided Suver in keeping the disc moving quickly, one of the trademark features of the Fugue offense.  Downfield, Tina Snodgrass ruled the deep space allowing Oregon to pull away after half for an easy 15-8 win.

Going into the game against Wisconsin, USC was looking to gain more big-game experience and to keep challenging themselves against the top teams.  Lindsey Cross matched up against Georgia Bosscher for much of the game, with both players making numerous athletic plays.  Wisconsin’s depth shone in this game, with their entire roster making contributions.  Amber Sinicrope and Emelie McKain kept the disc moving for Wisconsin, setting other players up to make key assists.  Laura Schott put a beautiful forehand down the line to Frances Tsukano and Elizabeth Vu and Jenny Koll threw scores to cutter Sandy Jorgenson who made some monster grabs.  Wisconsin cruised to a 15-5 win, securing a bye into tomorrow’s quarterfinals.

Pool D
The story of the tournament thus far has undoubtedly been Pennsylvania.  After pulling off the only upset of yesterday’s games with a win against North Carolina, they started the day off against Iowa State, with a win securing them a spot in the championship bracket.  Kate Anthony got it started for Penn, putting up a huge huck to Octavia Payne who showed off her incredible acceleration, catching the long huck in stride.  Raha Mozaffari continued to be an incredible force for Penn, utilizing her great break throws to demoralize marks.  Mozzafari and Anthony both put up big hucks to a number of cutters, including both Payne and captain Whitney Viets.  These four players have played a pivotal rule in Penn’s success and their ability to connect on the deep shots has driven Venus’ offense this tournament.  On the flip side, Jasmine Draper made a number of exciting plays for Iowa State, including an incredible layout to save possession for Women Scorned early in the game, allowing them to tie the game at 3s.  Payne showed her throws off with two hucks to allow Penn to take half 8-5.  After trading a couple more points after half, Mozaffari took the game over, touching the disc almost every other throw and absolutely running the table on offense.  Payne got a monster layout D late in the game, getting her team fired up to close it out and Penn put the game away 15-9, setting themselves up to earn their way into the championship bracket.

After two disheartening losses and top defender Kaitlin Baden going down to injury yesterday, North Carolina was determined to bounce back and went up on Stanford early before Stanford mounted a comeback and started to put things together on offense.  Down 9-8, the Stanford handlers started to find their rhythm, moving the disc downfield with short dish passes, with Jenny Founds eventually hitting Krystal Barghelame for the score to tie it at 9s.  After a quick turn, Caitlin Rugg hit Elaine Hart to earn Stanford the lead, but UNC answered right back to stop the bleeding and tie the game at 10s.  Liz Cassel put up a floaty huck to Jennifer Schmerling who got the huge sky for the score, but UNC’s top thrower Leila Tunnell answered with a high release backhand for the layout score to tie it at 11s.  After a quick Stanford score, Tunnell answered back again on the receiving end of the disc, getting the huge sky to tie it again at 12s.  The teams traded yet again to 13s before Cassel put up the huge forehand huck to Barghelame for the Stanford win, 14-13.

Ottawa had a relatively easy day to close out Pool D, with neither of their opponents scoring double digits on them.  Anne Mercier, Alex Benedict, and Danielle Fortin controlled the disc for the Lady Gee-Gees, with Kathryn Pohran and Meghan Kane on the receiving end of many of Ottawa’s scores.

Pre-Quarters
UCLA-Colorado featured a regional rivalry that created some epic games in 2006 and that reignited this season, with Colorado beating UCLA twice at Southwest Regionals to secure the second bid out of the region.  UCLA was energized after their game against Michigan and was employing a very effective zone defense that forced a number of Colorado turnovers to create a short field for UCLA.  Samara Leader and Karisa Tang held the UCLA offense together, with Vampola, Peters, and Adrienne Hawkins moving the disc downfield.  Marisa Mead put up some monster hucks and Emily Beylerian used her incredible speed to catch several key scores for UCLA.  The game stayed close early, but UCLA eventually rolled en route to a 15-8 win.

Stanford was in control of their pre-quarters game with North Carolina Wilmington from the very beginning.  Rachel Habbert and Founds utilized the entire width of the field in the first point, swinging the disc well, with Founds throwing the first score to Cassel 1-0.  Some combination of Cassel, Platt, and Founds were involved in a number of the first half Stanford goals and Tien-Tien Chan caught several scores, using her speed to create good separation on her cuts.  Stanford had contributions from a wide variety of players, using their deep roster to run UNCW.  Elise Bardsley and Kelly Tidwell made a number of exciting plays for Seaweed, with Bardsley running the offense and Tidwell catching some big hucks and getting a number of Ds to keep Seaweed alive.  Stanford rolled to a 15-5 win to set up a quarterfinals matchup against Wisconsin tomorrow.

The Oregon-Michigan game started off similarly to the Stanford-UNCW game, with Oregon taking control early.  Again, Suver was the backbone of the Fugue offense and Oregon received contributions from a number of players on their deep roster.  Michigan looked tired after their tough pool play game with UCLA, and while Emily Baecher, Katka Bodova, and Sarah Johnson used their throws to open up the field for Flywheel, the Michigan deep game was simply not connecting and a few too many mistakes allowed Oregon to run away with the game 15-7.

The Penn-Carleton game was the most exciting matchup of the round, with the teams trading points the entire first half.  With the game tied at 4s, Bloom got a huge sky to put Carleton up by 1 and fire up the Syzygy sidelines.  Penn answered right back with a Payne huck to Jennifer Grier to take away some of Carleton’s momentum.  With Penn up 6-5, there was a brief dispute over an up call on a Carleton layout, which eventually led to Caitlin McKimmy throwing the score to Elise Rasmussen to tie the game.  Penn’s frustration was evident as a quick turn gave Carleton the disc.  Bloom threw a laser huck to Elise Rasmussen, who put up the looping backhand to Zoe Harris to give Carleton the lead.  Payne then laid out for the score to tie the game at 7s, giving Penn some positive momentum.  Mozaffari then found Viets with a looping forehand to the middle of the endzone, making it 8-7.  Out of half, Anthony hits Viets twice to go up 10-7, then Viets scored yet again on a beautiful inside-out forehand from Mozzafarii.  Mozzafari was the engine of the Penn offense and kept her team focused as they took the game 15-9, going from the last seed in the tournament to make their way into the quarterfinals.

Tomorrow’s quarterfinals matchups will feature California-Santa Barbara -UCLA, Ottawa-Oregon, Wisconsin-Stanford, and Washington-Pennsylvania.  UCSB has ended UCLA’s season the past two years and tomorrow, BLU will look to continue today’s momentum by taking down the #1 seed in the tournament and avenging their 2007 and 2008 season-ending losses.  The Ottawa-Oregon and Wisconsin-Stanford games should be the best matchups of the round and Washington will take on underdog Penn, who has already far exceeded everyone’s expectations and has nothing to lose.  Stay tuned for tomorrow’s bracket play action and check out the Twitter feed for some live play-by-play action.
 
 

Women's Division Friday May 22, 2009
by Michelle Ng

With sunny skies and almost no wind, the College Championships opened up with a near perfect day of Ultimate.  Big hucks, layout bids, and exciting games decided by razor slim margins were the stories of the day.  With the expanded field of teams and the increasingly deep women’s division, good games were in no short supply.

Pool A

Pool A kicked the day off with a matchup featuring a young program, Washington University facing off against a perennial College Championships Qualifier, Carleton.  Wash U won the South Region this year under strong leadership from three-year captains Abby Stephens and Kate Stambaugh.  South Region Coach of the Year Chung Lee has helped the team greatly with individual player development as well as team strategy, and with nothing to lose, Wash U came out fired up and ready to play some good ultimate.  Stambaugh was absolutely unstoppable today, ruling the deep skies on D Freshman of the Year Kami Groom to give Wash U a 2-0 lead.  Syzygy answered with a leading pass from Nicky Bloom  to Zoe Harris to make it 2-1, but Stambaugh continued her barrage of assists with an inside-out backhand huck to Carolyn Auchter and a crossfield backhand to Julie Habbert to make it 4-2.  With the game tied at 4s, Stambaugh threw two more scores to put Wash U up 6-4, before Carleton started to settle in and play their game.  With a number of alumni on the sidelines, captain Julia Busiek threw back-to-back scores to Emma Dobbins and Harris to take Carleton to half.  In the second half, Carleton’s experience shone through and strong play from Busiek, Bloom, Becca Sheridan, and Anna Snyder gave Syzygy the win 15-11.

On the field next door, UCSB and UNCW faced off in the one-two pool play game.  UCSB looked a little rushed early on and the first half featured a number of turnovers on both sides.  Kelly Tidwell and Sara Casey moved the disc well for Seaweed and after a few points, UCSB threw their zone to try force UNCW to work it up the field.  Even in zone, UNCW looked for the big throws and on one particularly exciting play, Jessica Patrick got up huge and ripped the disc out of the air in the deep space to set up an easy Seaweed score.  Once UCSB settled down and started taking the open looks, they rattled off a series of breaks to walk away with the game 15-8.

The Carleton-Illinois game was a fun, athletic matchup and while Carleton was in control most of the game, Illinois simply refused to give up.  Kelly Foster’s high release backhand was nearly unstoppable for Menace and as usual, Tania Reitz provided the spark for Illinois on both sides of the disc.  The Reitz-Bloom matchup was incredibly fun to watch with both players trading Ds and scores.  Syzygy won the game relatively easily 15-6 and will be looking to knock off one of the top seeds tomorrow in order to set up an easier bracket play matchup.

Pool B

Michigan started off their game against Saint Louis using the strategy that has earned them wins all season long.  Off the pull, Katka Bodova hucked it deep immediately to top cutter Nelly Turley for the score.  Grad student Sara Johnson got a quick handblock and Becky Malinowski threw to Turley for another quick score to put Michigan up 2-0.  Teresa Orinc answerd back for Saint Louis with a short huck to Maureen Cutrera and when a Bodova huck landed just out of Turley’s reach, Cuatrera returned the favor, breaking the mark to Ogrinc to tie the game at 2s.  Michigan then started to pull away, utilizing their deep game effectively, with Bodova and Baecher putting up picture perfect hucks to a variety of receivers, namely Turley.  The Saint Louis offense looked slightly out of sync without top handler Tricia Wong, but two-time All-Region selection Kara O’Malley got a number of athletic Ds to keep the game relatively close.

The Washington-Michigan matchup was one of the most exciting games on the women’s side all day.  Early on, Shannon O’Malley ran the Washington offense, utilizing her speed and throws to keep the disc moving.  The points were long with both teams trading Ds and putting a lot of pressure on the throwers, forcing some uncharacteristic turns.  With the game tied at 2s, Michigan threw a junk zone to get a quick turn and score.  At 3-2, Baecher put a huge forehand huck up to Turley off a stopped disc and Turley ran it down without a defender in sight.  After a quick dump to Bodova, she caught the beautiful inside-out forehand thrown right back to her for the score.  The next point, Bodova threw a huge huck to Baecher to make it three straight for Flywheel.  O’Malley stopped the bleeding for UW with a nice grab off a long huck and Lindsey Wilson and Claire Suver, and Nora Carr contributed some timely plays to attempt to stop the Flywheel momentum.  Flywheel’s sidelines were pumped up the entire game, with the team receiving significant contributions from Baecher, Bodova, Johnson, Turley, Malinowski and freshmen Vicki Chang, Paula Seville, and Annie Fisher.  In the end, Washington applied good pressure forcing a few too many Michigan turns.  Emotions ran high for Element, but Suver kept the offense under control, catching the final score to put the game away 15-13.

The UCLA-Northeastern game was another great matchup.  Northeastern is a team peaking at the right time and their top three players, Courtney Moores, Stephanie Barker, and Laura Cedro can run with the best players in the country when they are clicking.  Northeastern scored their first point utilizing the big three, Cedro to Barker to Moores.  Cedro was on the receiving end of the next score to put Northeastern up 2-0.  UCLA clawed back to tie it at 2s before Northeastern threw a zone to slow down the UCLA flow.  Samara Leader attacked the cup with overhead throws, getting the disc to poppers who were off to the races once they had the disc.  Adrienne Baker got the disc near the goal line and put up the hammer to Becca Delshad for a beautiful BLU score.  Northeastern and UCLA continued trading points and at 7s, Moores throws to Barker who puts it up to Morgan Galaznick for the huge sky to take half.  The game stayed close throughout the second half with underdog Northeastern playing great ultimate.  At 15-14, Northeastern, UCLA showed their big game experience, rattling off three straight to take the game 17-15.

Pool C
The Wisconsin (Bella) -Oregon game was one of the most highly anticipated matchups of pool play.  Georgia Bosscher started the game off with a huge layout D, but Bella turned the disc and Bailey Zahniser put the disc to Clare Gordon to put Oregon up 1-0.  Bosscher answered with a huge huck to Courtney Kiesow, setting up the easy pass to Frances Tsukano to even it at 1s.  Bosscher had a total of eight assists this game, putting up long hucks hitting her receivers perfectly in stride.  Bitterman and Tsukano were on the receiving end of many of these hucks, using their speed and hops to put Bella in the lead. Handler Amber Sinicrope had a great game, controlling the tempo on offense and getting numerous timely Ds for Wisconsin.  Emelie McKain’s breaks and crisp throws also served Bella Donna well, with Elizabeth Vu consistently swinging the disc to open up the field for Wisconsin.  On the flip side, Bailey Zahniser, Molly Suver, and Julia Sherwood made the big plays for Oregon, with strong contributions from a number of other players.  Oregon has a number of very athletic players including Tina Snodgrass who had some great grabs and Ds in the deep space.  Suver and Sherwood utilized their full arsenal of throws to use the deep space and break side, while Northwest Region FOTY Zahniser played with the savvy and skills of a much older player.  Her high school and Junior Worlds experience contribute greatly to Fugue and she will be an exciting player to watch for years to come.

Colorado-Southern California another nailbiter, with USC throwing a zone to slow down Colorado’s offense for much of the first half.  USC scored several goals on desperation stall 9 hucks, with their athletic receivers able to read the disc and reel in the scores.  Lindsey Cross is a phenomenal athlete and was one of the toughest matchups downfield today.  The Kali captains and top players, Courtney Verhaalen, Shannon Waugh, and Laura Travers, attributed the win to their deep rotation and their ability to refocus after half.  At 15-14, there was a long point with several turns before Colorado finally scored the point to put the game away.

Dartmouth came out fired up for their game against Wisconsin after opening the tournament with a disappointing two-point loss to Colorado.  Rohre Titcomb, Dartmouth’s star handler, only played a handful of points due to injury, but a number of other players including handler Katie Nash and cutter Molly Roy kept Dartmouth close.   Dartmouth’s pressure man defense made Wisconsin work hard to score, with players firing on all cylinders.  Wisconsin, perhaps mentally exhausted from their tight game with Oregon, looked sluggish on defense in the first half.  Finally, in the second half, the Wisconsin D line got fired up and finished the game 15-10.

Pool D
Iowa State made their College Championships debut against multiple-time College Champion, Stanford.  Melissa Gibbs and Jasmine Draper lead the Women Scorned team and while Superfly won the game 15-4, Iowa State made Stanford work for their scores.  Women Scorned will only be graduating one player, standout Gibbs, so the team has a very bright future.

On the field next door, Pennsylvania pulled off the only upset of the day in the women’s division, beating North Carolina 15-10.  Octavia Payne and Whitney Viets were unstoppable cutters for Penn and Raha Mozaffari kept the disc moving for Venus, putting up big hucks and utilizing her break mark throws to make her cutters’ job easy.  Tomorrow, Penn will be looking to earn their way into the championship bracket and will be relying heavily on Payne, Viets, and Mozaffari to do so.  Leila Tunnell and Jill Simmerman will look to help UNC upset the two seeds in their pool tomorrow, a task that will not be easy.

Ottawa-Stanford was another great one-two seed game with both teams trading throughout the first half.  Alex Benedict, Danielle Fortin, and Anne Mercier controlled the disc for Ottawa, breaking the mark with big inside-out throws and putting up huge perfectly placed hucks.  Kathryn Pohran brought down a number of these long throws and Ottawa’s core notched quite a few Ds as well.  Emily Damon’s return from injury has been a tremendous asset to Stanford.  Damon and Jenny Founds kept the disc moving, while Liz Cassel, Krystal Barghelame, and Danielle Platt worked hard downfield to give the Superfly handlers plenty of options.  Other players such as Elaine Hart and Ana Brown made some timely plays for Stanford, but Superfly made a few too many mistakes and couldn’t earn it back on defense.  With Ottawa up 12-8, Stanford mounted a small comeback to bring it within 1.  Damon caught Stanford’s ninth goal and threw a beautiful inside-out forehand to Barghelame for their tenth point.  At 13-11, Stanford worked it all the way downfield with a handler dominator and Platt caught the goal to pump up the Superfly sidelines.  Ottawa’s top players, who all play elite women’s club, buckled down and led by Mercier and Benedict, close the game out 15-12.

With Day 1 in the books, pool play will continue tomorrow before pre-quarters during the final round.  With a number of close games today, tomorrow should be equally exciting.  Stay tuned to our Twitter updates for more play-by-play action as teams fight to earn their way into the championship bracket.

Women's Division Preview
by Michelle Ng  

With the high level of parity in the women’s division this season, Memorial Day weekend in Columbus will be an exciting event.  With strong contenders in Ottawa, Wisconsin, and UCSB, will this be the year that the Northwest is dethroned?  Or will Washington, Oregon, or Stanford claim yet another title for the Northwest?  While the National Championship is up for grabs this year and the championship bracket will produce a number of exciting games, perhaps the most interesting stories are those of the underdogs.  UNCW and Penn finally make their return to the National stage, while newcomers Saint Louis, USC, and Iowa State seek to leave their mark in Ohio.  These teams have beaten some big names en route to qualifying for the College Championships, and as we enter the biggest weekend in college Ultimate, anything is possible.  This team-by-team preview outlines some of the stories and players to keep an eye on as championship weekend in Columbus kicks off in a few short days.

Atlantic Coast