Women’s Weekend Slate: Centex (!), Terminus, Chicago Invite, Southerns

This is the biggest weekend in the college Ultimate regular season. A number of tournaments take place this weekend, but four stand out. Well, really one huge tournament stands out, but a few others will be worth nothing. Let’s take a look at the upcoming action this weekend, shall we?

Women’s College Centex

The crown jewel in Without Limits’ and Michelle Ng’s lovely tournament collection (seriously, cudos to Michelle, the amazing sacrifices she makes in service to women’s Ultimate, and the impact she has on the season), Centex is a chance for contenders to emerge for the title. There are teams who have been inconsistent, teams who have broken out, and teams fighting for bids (#bidwatch!). It’ll be a Who’s Who in Austin, with only Oregon, UBC, and Washington missing out on the party, as far as big time Nationals contenders go. I think I have covered a good amount in this post, but there’s also previews from the pros (Skyd, Skyd – DIII).

Some confident teams will be still working and developing their rotation in anticipation of the Series, which could skew the results, but don’t underestimate the power of pride and of intimidation. Teams like Santa Barbara, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Stanford are looking to prove something. Having the mental edge over your regional opponents or those you may face in Madison can be big. We’ll see how the conditions and the pressures impact teams.

Plus, there’s the Dance Competition. After watching the submission videos, early favorites in my mind are Michigan Flywheel, Ohio State Fever, Stanford Superfly, and Colorado Kali. Sleeper pick? Arizona State.

College Terminus

Perhaps smaller than usual, College Terminus will pit some of the top Southeast teams against teams from New England and other regions. Georgia is the heavy favorite going into this weekend, a Nationals level team facing off against primarily regional opponents. Williams and Middlebury venture down from the NE region and look to score wins and perhaps a shot at Georgia. Williams has just one loss on the season – 7-13 to Central Florida – and mostly dominated competition last time they were in the south at Florida Winter Classic. Middlebury has yet to record a sanctioned game, so this will be their first true tournament appearance. Tulane Muses, recently added to the tournament, are in a very similar situation to their showing at Tally Classic: some solid teams out of region, some teams they want to beat up on in region, and one Southeast top dog they want to prove they can hang against.

Looking just at Southeast, Auburn, Vanderbilt, and Alabama will all be in action. All four SE teams wound up in the same pool, so this will be a proving ground for the upcoming Series. These three Gulf Coast teams are looking to set themselves up for better seeding for their Conference Championship, and get past any mental roadblocks their past results have created.

Games to watch: Auburn vs. Vanderbilt (12:00 PM), Tulane vs. Oberlin (1:30 PM), Georgia vs. Middlebury, Williams vs. Tulane (3:00 PM).

Chicago Invite

A large 32 team field will do battle at Chicago Invite, with Great Lakes and South Central regionals teams trying to build for runs in their respective regions. Valparaiso and Kansas are the one-seeds in the power pools, each having strong seasons so far. Valpo is the top ranked USAU team from the Great Lakes and Kansas is the second team out of the South Central, mostly behind big performances at Midwest Throwdown. There, Kansas upset Wisconsin and Valparaiso topped Wash U, and each put up good results against other regional competition. Illinois is an interesting team, coming off a win over Texas and a one point loss to Michigan at Music City. Purdue has also shown themselves solid, with a marquee win over Wash U, and they are capable of beating teams of this quality. Be wary of the weather!

Games to Watch: Purdue vs. St. Louis (12:00 PM), Valparaiso vs. Purdue (1:30 PM), Kansas vs. Illinois (3:00 PM).

College Southerns

An interesting field of regional competitors from a few different regions will meet up in Statesboro, GA. I’m not sure seeding means much going into this one. The number one seed overall is Chicago, who traveled to Cali for the Stanford Open to start the year, getting a pair of wins and some close games. GCSU takes the second seed, and they will be looking to rebound from a winless weekend in Tallahassee. This is a gritty team with great chemistry that started off the season very well, so don’t surprised to see them turn it on again. Carleton Eclipse, the second women’s team from Carleton College, also traveled to the Stanford Open, where they went 3-4, and also have a 5th place finish at Queen City Open. They have a very tough two-seed in Towson, who has lost three games this season by a combined total of four points. Emory rounds out the top seeds, a team with very few sanctioned wins (1-11), but having faced very stiff competition so far this year at FWC and Midwest Throwdown. We’ll see if these experiences have prepared them to match up with a different level of competition.

Other teams to watch include Virginia Tech (5-2, wins over Delaware and Cornell), Mary Wash (4-3, wins over Wake and George Washington), Duke (4-3, 4th place at Queen City Open, win over Carleton Eclipse), Princeton (6-1, only given up more than four points once), and South Carolina (7-7, wins over Georgia Tech and Georgetown).

Games to watch: Emory vs. Princeton (9 AM), Chicago vs. South Carolina (10:45 AM), Emory vs. Duke (12:30 PM), Virginia Tech vs. South Carolina (2:15 PM), Chicago vs. Virginia Tech, Carleton-B vs. Towson, GCSU vs. Mary Wash (4:00 PM).

Women’s Centex 2013: What I want to watch

One of the things the USAU has been trying to do in college ultimate is make the regular season matter. We all can benefit from the storylines of regular season match ups, where teams are incentivized to put forth their best efforts each time in the spring that they step on the field. Every one would still have a chance come the Series, but your play in the preceding months would have a major impact on how big a chance that would be. This year’s Women’s College Centex certainly lives up to that sort of billing. The strength of the field (only missing the top end of the Northwest) and bid implications throughout make it probably the most important tournament of the season.

Here are the games I’ll be frantically checking my Twitter for updates on (I’ll be coaching at Southerns):

Round 1 (11:00 AM)

Virginia vs. North Carolina (DI – Pool A)

The top two teams in the Atlantic Coast will see each other on the field for the first time this season. They didn’t clash in the Fall nor see each other at QCTU. They have some common opponents, but the big difference is North Carolina’s coming off a one-win weekend at Stanford while Virginia comes off an undefeated weekend at Easterns. The winner takes pole position in the AC, which is currently a one bid region.

Wisconsin vs. UC-Santa Barbara (DI – Pool B)

Two perennial powers are going head to head, but what makes this match up really exciting is the chance for revenge. Wisconsin’s season was sinking until they broke out at Stanford, including a 12-8 win over UCSB. That game will probably be on the Skirts’ minds as they travel to Texas. A win to start the day for Bella Donna could be exactly what they need to set up for another huge weekend. Pool B could fall a lot of different ways, and this game may very will be a tone setter.

Minnesota vs. Stanford (D1 – Pool C)

The most storied program in the division comes in as the lower seed vs. an upstart team coming off their break out weekend. Minnesota vaulted into the conversation with their monstrous Midwest Throwdown, where they notched wins over three of the four Centex one-seeds. MWTD weather has been known to generate crazy results (go look at my recap for that tournament to see what I mean), so many are wondering if Minnesota benefited from some good fortune. Stanford has only posted one big win this season and is 0-2 vs. the North Central. Meister and co. will be hungry for their first win against the region. The North Central and Southwest have been battling for bids and the recently released USAU rankings moved Stanford and Sonoma above Iowa St., taking a bid from the NC and sending it to the SW. There’s a lot at stake here. #bidwatch!

Texas vs. Whitman (DII – Pool F)

Texas Melee was a team people had high expectations for coming into the spring season, but who must have a sour taste in their mouth after a lousy showing at Music City. Meanwhile, Whitman has seen little sanctioned tournament experience, still clinging to a Northwest strength bid based on a decent Colluvium. Grumbling about the system rewarding the west coast permeates the rest of the country and Texas can strike a blow by dealing Whitman an early loss and aiding in the effort to free up that strength bid. Whitman has something to prove and will be excited to be back on the scene.

Round 2 (1:00 PM)

Tufts vs. UC-Santa Barbara (DI – Pool B)

Just two of the nation’s best clashing with one another. Each of these teams is lead by a powerful duo: Ewo’s Hailey Alm and Claudia Tajima and the Skirts’ Alicia Thompson and Lisa Pitcaithley. Neither of these duos operates alone, with plenty of talent around them, but these are teams expected to be in the mix for deep runs at the College Championships.

Iowa vs. North Carolina (DI – Pool A)

In this rematch of the third place game from QCTU (which Iowa won 11-9), North Carolina is a high energy team that I expect to come in fired up regardless of how their first round ends. Plus, the idea of seeing Cohen and Couper go up against Minor and Twohig is enticing (though I expect Nowak will probably be tasked with guarding one of those two). After Stanford, UNC is looking to prove they belong in the nation’s elite while Iowa is still building momentum for what promises to be a tough North Central region.

Minnesota vs. Central Florida (DI – Pool C)

To be honest, I want to watch all of Minnesota’s game. I want to see who this team really is, plus their skill and fire makes them fun to watch. If you’re looking for fire to fight that fire with, the Sirens of UCF come fully loaded. The Southeast is looking to come away from this weekend with both of their strength bids in tact, which means UCF has to win or keep close in these high profile match ups.

Ohio State vs. California (DI – Pool D)

Ohio State is coming off a victory at Music City (actually, they are coming off Spring Break) while California is within shouting range of another strength bid for the Southwest. In both the Skyd and Ultiworld rankings, these teams are just a few spots apart. Each is looking to show they can consistently perform against elite competition. Someone is coming out of this round with a lot more confidence and momentum.

Round 3 (3:00 PM)

Carleton vs. Minnesota (DI – Pool C)

The North Central is sitting on five four bids right now. Their top five teams are all ranked within the top 6 of the seeding at Centex. Minnesota’s emergence came with Ninja wins over Wisconsin, Iowa, and Iowa St. Can they add to their scalp collection with a win over Carleton? What would that mean for one of the nation’s deepest regions? I expect a tight game for NC bragging rights.

Central Florida vs. Stanford (DI – Pool C)

Both Skyd and Ultiworld have Stanford solidly ranked ahead of Central Florida, while the USAU’s math and the seeding have Central Florida ahead. Both of these teams are fighting for bids that will drastically affect their Regional picture, in regions where no team has really made themselves the favorite. If either team wants to get to the show (hint: they both do), games like this come dangerously close to the sports cliche “must win”.

Michigan vs. Western Washington (DII – Pool E)

Michigan is not having the season we are used to from Flywheel and time is running out to show us someone different. Both of these teams are in the top 30 in USAU’s rankings, meaning both can make plays for bids this weekend. Michigan has wins over UNC, UNC-W, and Texas to their name while Western Washington holds wins over Victoria, UC-SD, and Whitman. They have no common opponents. Michigan has FFH supercrush Marissa Mead patrolling the sidelines and Western Washington is from the #evilempire, so I’ll say we are rooting for Flywheel.

Florida State vs. UCLA (DII – Pool G)

As a Southeast bias, the Seminole Ladies will have my attention all weekend. UCLA is a dangerous team, having notched wins over California, UC-San Diego, and UNC this year, but with some poor losses as well. Should they avoid upsets in the earlier rounds, this game will be for a shot the championship bracket with a play-in game against the back end of Pool C. Both teams will also be rooting for their regional comrade, hoping to not play them in this game (UCF and Stanford are the 3-4 in Pool C).

Wisconsin vs. Tufts (DI – Pool B)

As it is, Pool B stands to be the biggest toss up. We can’t really be sure what to make of any of the top three teams in this pool, and even Pittsburgh has been threatening to beat an elite team all season. I can’t say with confidence these teams will be undefeated when they match up, but this game should be worth watching all the same. Wisconsin has the kind of top defenders needed to match up with Tufts. I’m a big believer in Tufts, their talent, and their leadership, and see them as the kind of team that could make a real run at the title. The Wisconsin of Stanford Invite could also. If they show up, we’re looking at fireworks.

Pre-Quarters Play-Ins (5:30 PM)

The last place team from each DI pool will play the first place team from the DII pools, with the winner heading the PreQs and the loser falling into the DII bracket. For teams near the bubble in the bid picture, getting to the top bracket could be huge. That means Northwestern, Michigan, UC-San Diego, Western Washington, Texas, Florida State and MIT are all teams looking to move up. California, UNC-Wilmington, Pittsburgh, Stanford, North Carolina, and Central Florida are all going to look to avoid disappointing tumbles.

Women’s College Centex is a big tournament: in scope, in number of teams, in competition level, and in impact. While I’ve highlighted some of my favorite games from the weekend, we never know how it will shake out and which games will end up being the big ones. There are a lot of #bidwatch games, a bevy of storylines to follow, and teams looking to prove to themselves and their opponents that they will be a threat come Regionals and come Nationals. I can’t wait to see what remains when the dust settles.

Up Calls: Centex 2013, Dobbyns Responds to BVH, Dream Cup Video

Weekly dose of what’s been going down lately:

• Tourney results this past weekend boil down to Open Centex, where hometown Texas TUFF – minus stud Will Driscoll – finished off an undefeated weekend with a win over Harvard in the final, 13-10. Two-seed Eastern Michigan – in our first look at them against elite competition – fell to 15th with one win on the weekend, over the other struggling two-seed, Virginia. Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Oklahoma both went from last seed in their pool (Oklahoma last seed overall) to finishing 3rd and 9th respectively. Georgetown also went undefeated Saturday, upsetting Texas A&M and EMU, but faltered Sunday, failing to win a game.
• Looking specifically at Open #bidwatch, Harvard did more than enough to protect their strength bid. Texas A&M had a solid showing, but their 14-6 domination of EMU may not mean much considering the Great Lakes team’s weekend. Dozen’s loss to Georgetown won’t do them any favors either. Georgia Tech may have gone 4-3, but no big wins, and losses to Kansas and Oklahoma hurt. Kansas had a solid showing, I’m thinking.
• Ben Van Heuvelen’s piece on the changes in Ultimate and the impact on its culture has been very popular. Influential Ultimate legend Ken Dobbyn’s pens an interesting response on Skyd. The conversation continues!
• Skyd also has some footage from the USAU All Stars at Japan’s Dream Cup, here against Japan’s Hot Scream and here against the Japanese U-23 team. The All Stars lost to incumbent Japanese juggernaut, Buzz Bullets, in the final.
• I’m a big fan of this video from Stanford Invite, a beautiful look at our beautiful game, brought to you by Scott Roeder Photography.
• Callahan Nomination deadline is extended. If you haven’t yet put one up, here’s Arizona’s Brice Dixon’s video submission to inspire you.

This weekend we’ve got a bunch of great tournaments, including arguably the two biggest tournaments of the season: Easterns for the boys, Centex for the girls. I’ve got a couple of other things I’m working on, too, so stay tuned.

QCTU ’13 Womens: Iowa vs. Georgia (Full Game)

After some delay, I do have the one full game from Queen City Tune-Up, a tight game in pool play between Iowa Saucy Nancy and Georgia Dawgma.

Part 1: https://vimeo.com/61071484

Part 2: https://vimeo.com/61739113

Camera quality sucks, but it still is a great game!

Women’s Weekend Slate: Stanford Invite, Music City, Tally Classic

We’ve got a pretty notable weekend ahead of us, and in only a few hours, teams will be taking the field in Stanford, Nashville, Tallahassee, and Newark to battle it out. USAU has been rolling with the #nowitcounts hashtag, but it has to feel a little more real now that the bid picture is coming into shape and the Series creeps ever closer.

Stanford Invite

The headliner for the weekend, SI is going to have eyes on it, as it is stacked with nationals-level talent and finally has some cross-coast competition (and allows us to alliterate) for us to chew on. Reigning SI (and national) champ Washington slots in as the 2-seed in Pool A, meaning we will have the pleasure of another battle with 1-seed Oregon. Oregon struggled to a 3-3 Saturday last year, but I expect a much more dominant performance this time around. In Pool B, British Columbia and Santa Barbara give us another titanic 1-2 clash. I feel like these top four have separated themselves from the rest of the West Coast, but it’ll be interesting to see how they stack up and if anyone else challenges them.

The most critical matchups will be with the teams below, as Carleton and North Carolina are the 3-seeds in each pool. Looking to take additional bids for their regions after solid results this season, they’ll need to lock up Ws over the likes of California, Stanford, and Sonoma State. Speaking of Sonoma, who lost in the final of this tournament last season, they have less expectations put upon them this year, as they have struggled against the top tier teams while performing well against the rest of the field. It’ll also be worth a look to see how Stanford performs with Meister back, though I heard she’s not %100 right now. There’s a lot of storylines and implications all throughout this one.

Games to Watch: Carleton vs. Sonoma State (1:00 PM) in a bid battle, and 1-2 matchups in each pool of Oregon vs. Washington and UBC vs. UCSB (4:20 PM), plus the Sunday morning UNC vs. Stanford game (9:40 AM) with bid implications on the line.

Music City Mash-Up

Nashville plays host to a number of nationals hopefuls and regionally competitive teams looking to hit stride. Texas and Ohio State take the 1-seed in each D-I pool (basically power pools), and both of these teams are looking to establish themselves as contenders. Central Florida, Georgia, Pittsburgh, and Michigan all have chances to prove they belong in the conversation, as they all have had up and down seasons. Illinois has their first cracks at high level competition this spring and Florida will look to right the ship. Regional competitors like Michigan St., an undefeated North Texas, Vermont, and Georgia Tech will also look to make noise by taking down similar-level opponents on the way to a Divisional crossover. Could we see a repeat of the D-I destruction from Midwest Throwdown? Big weekend for the Southeast and Ohio Valley, both on the outside looking in for strength bids.

Games to watch: At 1:15, most of the best games go down, featuring Texas vs. Central Florida, Pittsburgh vs. Illinois, and Michigan State vs North Texas. Also of note is the opening round matchup of Ohio State and Georgia (8:00 AM).

Tally Classic

Southeast teams jockey for position while Great Lakes mid-tier teams Notre Dame and Purdue look to assert themselves. In my Southeast Snap Shot, I pointed out some of the important regional matchups here. Pool A is Florida State, Notre Dame, Purdue, and GCSU (the 4th ranked SE team according to USAU), meaning all four of these games are interesting. Florida State doesn’t need wins – they need to dominate. The math demands it! In the other two pools, South Florida has an opportunity to assert themselves with big wins while Auburn is trying to show T-Town Throwdown was no fluke. Speaking of, Tulane sits atop the Gulf Coast and Alabama is trying to rebound from struggles at their home tournament.

Delaware Classic

Coming off strong showings at Bonanza, Towson and NYU occupy the top two spots here, with Delaware the 1-seed in the third pool. Each has a chance to do work in the hopes of seeing one another to score some nice wins. NYU and Towson have both established themselves, however, so I expect to see these two see each other Sunday. The Metro East is open for the taking and a strong weekend for the Violet Femmes could make them a favorite to take their lone bid.

Midwest Throwdown Women’s 13: 7 Stars Line

The wind separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls, so they say. With plenty on the line and conditions backing up the defense, these players imposed their will on both their opponents and the elements. Here is your Midwest Throwdown 7 Stars Line presented by Full Field Hammer.

Sara Pesch (Iowa State) really stood out to me this weekend, one of the few throwers who seemed unfazed by the Saturday gusts. Oftentimes, she also seemed unaffected by her opponents’ marks or cups, dropping in high release lefty backhands like she was tossing on the quad. Pesch showed off a full arsenal of throws and seemed like she was having a lot of fun initiating the Woman Scorned offense. With her at the helm, Woman Scorned often turns into Woman Scored.

Kat Songer (Kansas) was a machine for Kansas and a big part of their run. I had been warned to watch her coming into the weekend – especially for her notorious inside out flick – and neither she nor the throw in question disappointed. She was able to cut through the wind with her combination of power and touch, able to also hit small windows in zone, but hustled to get the disc back so she could advance the Betty offense.

Greta Regan (Minnesota) managed to stand out in the little I got to watch of Minnesota, even surrounded by a strong handling group. I wasn’t sure, at first, which Regan was which, because Greta looked like a poised veteran, which shouldn’t surprise based on her experience. I know it is cliche and tired to describe freshmen with youth experience this way, so I apologize. She threw some very pretty hucks I had to marvel at.

Liza Minor (Iowa) is a force for Saucy Nancy. She’s a tireless cutter with the ability to continue the disc effectively, but the judiciousness to take easy dumps and get right back to the grind. Every team loves to have a player like Liza. Not only that, but she also played some great defense, disciplined but aggressive in the many different looks Iowa displayed. She’s the only lady to make it on both 7 Stars Lines.

Sarah Meckstroth (Minnesota) can be summed out by “break out”. She approached unguardable. There are very few girls I’d choose to match up another team’s deep threat over Cami Nelson, but Meckstroth handled match ups with Nelson and fellow defensive all star Becca Miller. You wanna be the best, gotta beat the best, right? Well, mission accomplished.

Magon Liu (Iowa State) defies description sometimes. If she wasn’t on a deep team like Woman Scorned, I’d maybe call her the Callahan frontrunner. She doesn’t have to do that much for the ladies in the red and black, but when they ask her to do something, she makes the exceptional look routine. Plus her layouts are otherworldly. Does she have a fan club? Where do I sign up for it?

Lien Hoffman (Northwestern) is back, so watch out. Carol Li and Angel Li must be thankful to have a cutter like Lien to work with, with a devastating first step (and steps four through five ain’t bad either, she gets to top speed quick) that makes her such a threat going away from the disc, but her skills make you not want to let her in. Her defensive capabilities give her the ability to match up with – and best – elite cutters.

Honorable mentions: Jen Nowak (Iowa), Cami Nelson (Iowa St.), Emily Regan (Minnesota), Mindi DePaolo (Minnesota), DePalmas (Minnesotas), Chelsea Twohig (Iowa), Carol Li (Northwestern), Danielle Blatt (Wash U)

Wish I could have seen Valparaiso, Colorado State, Wisconsin, and knew the name of the Eau Claire girl who impressed me this weekend.

Midwest Throwdown Women’s 13: Recap and Reactions

The weekend’s biggest tournament, Midwest Throwdown (MWTD) gave us a bit of everything: nationals contenders battling each other, up and comers making big moves, upsets, and disappointments. Saturday’s cold and windy gave way to a less cold and breezy Sunday, giving teams different looks at one another in the same weekend. Let’s take a look at what went down and what it all means. Note: I was coaching this weekend, meaning I saw too little to really give nuts and bolts analysis.

Recap

Improvement was the big goal for Iowa Saucy Nancy this past weekend, as Captain Liza Minor told me coming in that they were looking to “improve in every game” and “be able to adjust quickly to different looks.” The numbers and context indicate they had the opportunity to accomplish these goals and did. They opened with an easy 15-3 win over Texas A&M, were upset by an energetic and locked in Minnesota team to the tune of 10-11, then battled with regional rival Wisconsin for a 13-11 victory, taking second in Pool B. Their crossover game with D-II would be with a Wisconsin Eau Claire team riding a 49-12 aggregate from their first three games and that Minor had noted as a team that had “proved they had the skill and athleticism to be a challenge,” and true to form, it was a close 10-8 game in Iowa’s favor.

For Saucy, Sunday’s change in conditions would give them a different set of factors to react to and new looks, which is what they were hoping to get. They took out Valparaiso 15-9, dominated Colorado St. in the semis 15-3, and got their revenge against Minnesota 15-8. After some close games with the upstart Ninjas at an Indoor Tournament, there were eyes on this matchup, so being able to rebound from their Pool Play loss has to make them feel confident putting a check mark next to “improve on the weekend.” It wasn’t a dominant or perfect weekend by any means, but their only loss was a one point loss to a good team.

The big story from MWTD has to be Minnesota Ninja. A lot of folks I had talked to coming into the weekend had mentioned them as a team to watch. They justified the hype. They beat each of the Big 3 on the weekend (Iowa St., Iowa, and Wisconsin), including a 14-7 blowout over a struggling Bella Donna squad in the opening round. They’d score that critical 11-10 victory of Iowa in the second round before taking care of business against TAMU (15-7) and their crossover against Truman State (13-4) on their way to an undefeated Saturday. They weren’t just sneaking up on teams; Minnesota was controlling games.

Their Sunday opened with a 15-7 win over Notre Dame and a 6-2 opening against Iowa St. Iowa St. would come back in the second half and bring it to universe point, but Minnesota would finish the job. While they were unable to keep up with a comparably fresh Iowa squad, it was a weekend to be proud of. I’m left wondering: if they had had a game against Colorado St. in the semis rather than a double game point grind with Iowa St., would the finals would have broken the same way?

It was a tough weekend for Northwestern Gung Ho, because they played very well, and in other tournament formats, would have finished much higher. The return of Lien Hoffman helped boost the Hos to a very strong Saturday, with 14-6 and 13-3 victories over Emory and Wash U to start the day. They’d take a double game point win over Iowa St. to win the pool and notch a marquee win for their season. However, a 13-7 flop in their D-II crossover game against a battling Colorado State team sent them tumbling into the 9th place bracket. Yep, they won Pool A, beat a nationals level opponent, and flubbed a game to fall out of championship contention – ouch!

Sunday would yield at 13-6 win over Emory, a 15-12 loss to a Wisconsin team out for redemption, and a 13-11 win over Purdue to get 11th place. It is hard when a 5-2 weekend results in you dropping 7 spots, but the ranking algorithm won’t care, so I would call the weekend a success, even if they were aching to get matched up with Iowa and Minnesota.

I hope it wasn’t me that jinxed Wisconsin Bella Donna by pegging them to win this tournament. Coming away from this weekend with a 15-12 win over Northwestern and winning 9th place might make up for their 11-13 loss to Iowa in Pool Play, but the 14-7 loss to Minnesota and 10-6 loss Kansas in their D-II crossover game are brutal. I don’t know if there were personnel issues Saturday, but they rebounded Sunday, at least.

Reactions

Minnesota vaults from the regionals conversation to the Natties hot list. Expect them to break into the Top 15 in Ultiworld’s Power Rankings. Emily Regan was awesome for them this weekend and they didn’t look like a fluke to me. The windy conditions could lead to some odd results, but Sunday was clear enough that seeing them win in both sets of conditions and over each of the top three seeds is a sign these ladies are for real. Wherever they play next, eyes will be on them to see if they can continue this run of success. I’ll tell you: what they’re selling, I’m buying.

I’m also a believer that Northwestern is flying under the radar. Last time we saw them was QCTU, where their Sunday struggles marred a solid Saturday. Adding Iowa St. to their list of marquee wins (along with Georgia) is important for a team that is on the fence when it comes to the big show. Their performance probably won’t be talked about, but this team is quietly putting together some wins indicative of a team that could play their way into Madison, if they can find consistency…or get hot at Regionals.

Iowa State Woman Scorned went 5-2 on the weekend and finished third

The more I think about it, the more Saucy Nancy and Woman Scorned’s weekends look even to me, despite Iowa winning it all and ISU managing only third. Iowa St. was short Becca Miller on Saturday, and I imagine that she’s the one they’d assign to Lien Hoffman in that Northwestern loss. I’m not ready to take either out of the top 10 teams in the country nor separate one from the other.

What does this all mean for Wisconsin? That Kansas loss is really going to hurt in the USAU rankings and failing to even keep the Minnesota game close will also do damage. Those losses combine with their 6-9 loss to UCF at QCTU to drag them down, I’m theorizing. This team is plenty talented enough to rebound and these things are far from settled, but this weekend was a big step back. Their win over Northwestern, however, is a nice consolation prize. That leaves them sitting at #26 in USAU rankings (which just dropped while writing this) and outside of Wild Card bids – the North Central is currently a 2 bid region.

I’m still not sure what the heck happened at 3 PM on Saturday in St. Louis, but it was shocking to say the least. It is not unreal to see TAMU and Emory – who had both struggled in their Division-I games – fall to St. Louis U and Notre Dame, teams who spent a lot of their outdoor time in the wind and cold and had strong Saturdays. An inconsistent Wash U team ran into a zone-favoring Valpo squad when the wind was strongest. Kansas and Colorado State solidly beating Wisconsin and Northwestern, respectively, I do not have an explanation for. Those scores were 10-6 and 13-7; in those windy conditions, CSU was able to hang 13 on Northwestern. I’m not sure what to make of it. Even Iowa and Iowa St. were only able to close out their matchups (vs. Eau Claire and Purdue) by two points a piece. All in all, the 9th place bracket was suddenly populated with more than half of Division-I. Colorado State goes home 5-2, got a win over Northwestern, and finished in 4th, which ain’t too shabby. Valpo finishes 5th with a 6-1 weekend, including a win over Wash U. That makes them the top ranked team in the Great Lakes, according to USAU, and nobody else in that region looks like a favorite, so watch out. Shouts out to those teams and their fellow bracket busters, Kansas, Notre Dame, and St. Louis.

The season continues on, each tournament adding more and more intrigue.

Midwest Throwdown ’13 Womens: MWTD Eve Thoughts

It is hard not to look at this tournament and separate the trio of teams at the top: Iowa State, Iowa, and Wisconsin. All three performed well at Queen City Tune-Up and are likely to not only qualify for the College Championships, but factor in to who wins it. The top end of their rosters basically forms the North Central All-Region team and some of these players could make their way into the Callahan discussion. Nobody expects these teams to lose to anyone but each other this weekend, Minnesota’s one point loss to Iowa at a recent indoor tournament being the only reason to have even a slim doubt in that prediction.

 

Typically, the teams from the top end of the continental US spend the first couple of months of the season complaining about how they don’t get to play outside and how disadvantageous it is (as their dudes win Warm Up and their women win QCTU, grumble grumble), but the tables turn with them in their home conditions. Teams armed with strong zone capabilities, like Eau Claire, Valparaiso, and Kansas’s zone offense have a chance to not only perform well in Division II, but crack the top bracket in their crossover games. This would be a big stride for these teams. They have to be salivating at the chance to see Texas A&M or Emory, teams in the bottom half of Division I who may be mentally unprepared for the conditions. The infamous St. Louis weather is projected to bring highs of mid 30s with 10-15 mph winds on Saturday, which will be enough to impact both strategy and execution. If conditions do lead to lots of zone, watch for top end handlers to be big difference makers – the Depalmas of Minnesota, Kat Songer of Kansas, Danielle Blatt of Wash U, the trio of Al Ellis, Anna Shandeling, and Rebecca Enders for Wisconsin, as well as Lien Hoffman and the Li duo from Northwestern. It’ll be interesting if these sets will serve to slow down the fast paced Iowa State offense or the dynamic cutters that populate Iowa’s lanes.

Taking a more complete look at Division I, Pool A sets up with Iowa State, Northwestern, Wash U, and Emory. Woman Scorned could manage to go the day without any close games if they are clicking, though Lien Hoffman’s return to 100% could be the boost Northwestern needs to challenge them. The top end talent from Ames shreds through defenses easily when clicking, as Sarah Pesch, Magon Liu, Cami Nelson, and Becca Miller seem telepathically connected in transition. They have been bolstering their depth this season as well, so taking them down Saturday will be a tall task. Wash U and Northwestern are both teams that are driven by strong handler play. The conditions could play into their hands if the skill of Angel and Carol Li from Northwestern and Danielle Blatt and Katie Walker from WuWu can find opportunities to use their throwing arsenals. Northwestern had a fairly successful QCTU, but went mostly unnoticed, so a strong showing here could get them on the radar, and they certainly seem capable of running with top teams. WuWu is a team that has made Nationals three of the past four years, and you can bet they’re looking to turn last year into a fluke rather than the beginning of a pattern. Emory Luna is trying to put their early season struggles in the rear view mirror. The travel and time of year (mid term weeks) are taking away some of their top cutting talent, like defensive stalwart Ariella Fatielson and offensive standout Caroline Pearson, but they do return standout cutter Abbey Hewitt, fresh off a season with Bucket. If they can capitalize on turns generated by effective zone play, there is potential for them to score critical upsets.

Pool B features both Iowa and Wisconsin, which probably is exciting for both, and Texas A&M and Minnesota. Iowa’s roster is deep and athletic – they seemed to win almost every battle in the air at QCTU – and having versatile weapons like Liza Minor, Jen Nowak, Chelsea Twohig, and Becca Hickernell means they have cutters who can get open and then damage you with the disc in their hands that are complimented by handlers that can push up the field. “Our depth and athleticism will prove to be a hurdle for teams,” added Minor, a team captain, commenting on their roster’s total talent, “They think they have shut down the top players and realize that everyone on our team is equally ready to step up.” Wisconsin’s another team with plenty of depth, as their group of Ellis, Shandeling, and Enders are complimented by strong cutters in Biz Cook, Sarah Scott, and Amelia Cuarenta. They are very comfortable in both zone and man looks on either side of the disc. From what I saw of them at QCTU, they could have the best zone at the tournament, which could be just what they need to push past the pair of Iowa schools seeded above them. TAMU Stacked is looking to follow up a successful start to the spring season with a second place finish at Houston Antifreeze. They challenged Texas in their one matchup and are hungry to get a shot at more top end competition. I don’t know much about them, but have been told they play a physical style of downfield defense and love to bring in 50-50 floaters. Minnesota rounds out the pool and must be excited to get Iowa Saturday; they matched up twice last weekend at an indoor tournament and Minnesota was in both games. Minnesota, whose squad has garnered attention with their development, will be looking to make a bigger name in the North Central, riding the talent of the Depalmas (Emily and Natalie) and the Regans (Emily and Greta). Their height will also make their zone looks even tougher to traverse. Their results this weekend could set the tone for the rest of their season.

In D-II, it is tough to call with such small pools, but Notre Dame, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Truman State, Grinnell, Kansas, Purdue, Northern Iowa, Colorado St., Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Valparaiso all have potential. This means Pools F, I, and J hold the most interesting match ups as Kansas-UNI, Truman State-Grinnell, and Colorado State-Wisconsin-Milwaukee will see each other Saturday. There’s a lot of potential matchups with typically two crossover games for these teams (one against D-II and for two-thirds of the teams, one against D-I), so it is hard to predict just how things will shake out. From what I’ve been told, I’d watch out for Eau Claire, Kansas, Notre Dame, and Valparaiso in particular as teams that could not only win their D-II games, but take down a D-I opponent if they get a good draw.

St. Louis is, as I’ve heard tell, a great place. Why we would go there right by the calendar page-flip of February to run around outdoors escapes me, but perhaps that is a testament to Michelle Ng, Wash U WuWu, and all that they have accomplished with Midwest Throwdown. This is my first season coaching Emory, a team from the warm comforts of Atlanta, and who has also attended this tournament two years in a row. I’ve heard many things – from both my team and from others – but most are horror stories. Snow on the ground, fields of mud multiple inches deep, and the infamous tipped over port-a-potty are the tales attached to Midwest’s legacy. Despite all of this, and my protests about going to St. Louis this time of year to stand on the sidelines, even colder than the players, the team said repeatedly how much fun they had. In a way, I’m looking forward to finding out what could be so awesome as to outweigh the intimidating negatives.

The level of competition runs the gamut from the top of the Power Rankings to B-teams.Three of these teams were at the College Championships last year (Iowa, Iowa State, Wisconsin), four in 2011 (Iowa, Iowa State, Wash U, and Northwestern), three in 2010, and so on. Suffice to say, it would be both a statistical aberration and outright shock if at least two of these teams weren’t taking the field in Madison. “[Iowa’s] goal for the season is to utilize our depth and experience to our highest potential, improve at every tournament, and get to Madison,” explained Minor, “Our goal is to peak in May and to keep getting better until then.” The weekend should give them and the other top teams a chance to test themselves and explore their bench depth. Behind them are Nationals-contenders like Northwestern and Wash U, as well as some up and coming programs, highlighted by TAMU and Minnesota, who has a lot of buzz going into this weekend. Division II features teams that stand to have strong showings this year, namely Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Valparaiso, a top team in the D-III scene, plus names like Notre Dame, Purdue, Colorado State, and Kansas.

Midwest Throwdown has the potential to go lots of different ways, what with the myriad factors and potential match ups. In addition, teams have so few games under their belt that it is hard to know who any team really is at this point. However, you’d be hard pressed to find a team that looks ready to push into that top three, meaning a lot of the exciting results may not have a bearing on the champion. At the top, however, it is a toss up. Will Iowa St. defend their MWTD crown and rack up their second tournament victory of the young season? It would certainly make them the favorite to win the North Central and get a one seed at the College Championships. Or will Iowa take down their cross-state sisters? Or perhaps Wisconsin can push through both? That’s why we play the games, folks.

Pool A (0-0) A1 Iowa State (0-0) A2 Northwestern (0-0) A3 Minnesota (0-0) A4 Emory Sat Fld Game Score Fld Game Score 9:00 1 A1A3   – 2 A2A4   – 11:00 1 A1A4   – 2 A2A3   – 1:00 1 A1A2   – 2 A3A4   – Pool B (0-0) B1 Iowa (0-0) B2 Wisconsin (0-0) B3 Texas A & M (0-0) B4 Washington University Sat Fld Game Score Fld Game Score 9:00 3 B1B3   – 4 B2B4   – 11:00 3 B1B4   – 4 B2B3   – 1:00 3 B1B2   – 4 B3B4   –

Pool C (0-0) C1 Notre Dame (0-0) C2 Nebraska (0-0) C3 Missouri Sat Fld Game Score 8:00 5 C1C3   – 9:45 5 C2C3   – 11:30 5 C1C2   – Pool D (0-0) D1 St Louis (0-0) D2 North Park (0-0) D3 Kansas State Sat Fld Game Score 8:00 6 D1D3   – 9:45 6 D2D3   – 11:30 6 D1D2   – Pool E (0-0) E1 Kansas (0-0) E2 Wisconsin-Stevens Point (0-0) E3 Northwestern-B Sat Fld Game Score 8:00 7 E1E3   – 9:45 7 E2E3   – 11:30 7 E1E2   – Pool F (0-0) F1 Valparaiso (0-0) F2 Northern Iowa (0-0) F3 Iowa-B Sat Fld Game Score 8:00 8 F1F3   – 9:45 8 F2F3   – 11:30 8 F1F2   – Pool G (0-0) G1 Purdue (0-0) G2 Texas Christian (0-0) G3 Washington University-B Sat Fld Game Score 8:00 9 G1G3   – 9:45 9 G2G3   – 11:30 9 G1G2   – Pool H (0-0) H1 Wisconsin-Eau Claire (0-0) H2 Marquette (0-0) H3 Notre Dame-B Sat Fld Game Score 8:00 10 H1H3   – 9:45 10 H2H3   – 11:30 10 H1H2   – Pool I (0-0) I1 Truman State (0-0) I2 Grinnell (0-0) I3 Colorado-B Sat Fld Game Score 8:00 11 I1I3   – 9:45 11 I2I3   – 11:30 11 I1I2   – Pool J (0-0) J1 Colorado State (0-0) J2 Wisconsin-Milwaukee (0-0) J3 Drury Sat Fld Game Score 8:00 12 J1J3   – 9:45 12 J2J3   – 11:30 12 J1J2   –

Women’s Weekend Slate: Bonanza, Stanford Open, and some regional action

This upcoming weekend lacks for headlining tournaments, but it turns out these games count just as much in the ranking algorithm.

Women’s Easterns

This field of seven is not your average small tournament. Three of the four seminfinalists from last year return and two of those teams were at Nationals last year. Both the 1 and 2 seed missed out on a berth of their own by a game. The top four were all in attendance at Queen City Tune Up and that mostly informed the seeding (Pittsburgh beat UNC-W, UNC-W beat Virginia) but anything could happen within this top end. Penn State will be looking to prove themselves and have a close 11-14 loss to Virginia from Winta Binta Vinta Fest. I’m expecting UNC-W and Virginia to make the finals and Pittsburgh vs. Michigan in the semis. Important to see how Michigan rebounds from QCTU, though.

Stanford Open

This tournament is really a regional level one, except for two teams that I’m just so curious about: UCSD and Victoria. The Psychos had a solid showing at Pres Day and that makes them a notable in the Southwest. Victoria’s undefeated run through the SB Invite included wins over Santa Barbara, Sonoma State, and a romp over Stanford. This will also be a chance for Humboldt State and San Diego State to make some moves within region. Everyone will be gunning to beat Victoria to score a valuable out of region win. The winner gets a huge opportunity playing at the Stanford Invite two weeks later. Should Victoria win, that’s a lot of travel.

Bonanza

Delaware sits at the 1-seed spot, the kind of respect you earn getting to the show last year. That said, they are 0-2 vs. the field here (losses to Penn and JMU at Winta Binta Vinta Fest), so it will be interesting to see if the time between then and now has allowed them to transition to the post-Nikki Ross era of this season (after she went down to injury). Towson has really become a consistently strong squad as well, and could challenge Penn and JMU for the title. Also curious to see what NYU brings to the table. Plus, there’s those Dirty Ladies from American University, and with a gamechanger like Lauren Sadler of Scandal, anything could happen, and wouldn’t be surprised to see them take Pool A.

T-Town Throwdown

Non-sanctioned as it may be, as a Southeast coach, I’m always keeping an eye on the competition. The teams, as I’ve been told, are Tulane, Hotbox (club team), Florida B, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Georgia State, Western Kentucky, Miss. St, and West GA. Tulane and Alabama have both become emerging programs to watch out for and will be battling to rule the Gulf Coast. Georgia State has great top end talent and could offer some surprises and I’m mostly interested in seeing how those three teams stack up. No idea what Hotbox will do to things, or where Vandy and Auburn will fall. I’m expecting Bama to win their home tournament.

 

QCTU 13 Women’s: Ohio State vs. Florida State – Final Points

The final few points of a tight matchup between OSU and FSU at Queen City Tune Up, in Pool D. There are a pair of points missing where I filmed some other game footage.