Regionals 2009

Robyn's Regional Re-cap, 2009 Edition

Northfield, MN. Where the weather sucks, but the ultimate is good. Welcome to Central Regionals. Seems about right. Sectional weather is beautiful, but Regionals is where we expect the horizontal sleet rain.

SOL embarked on their road to the UPA College Championships in Columbus, OH. Seeded 4th going into the weekend, SOL had to break seed in order to get there.

Saturday

Wisconsin-Eau Claire SOL vs. University of Minnesota Ninjas

SOL had not seen the Ninjas since the St. Ben's indoor in February. Both teams had evolved since then. SOL came out a bit flat, trading points back and forth with the Ninjas. Alyssa Olson and Brenda were ripping through the SOL cup-defense, breaking through the giant holes. SOL took a timeout, and got it together. SOLmates came up with some huge plays. We saw some sick layout Ds, numerous skyings, and awesome grabs to get the momentum going our way. At half, it was 8-5, SOL. However, after half, SOL took control of the game, getting momentum with them. It was evident in the transitions. After a sweet D, SOL busted on offense to get the disc in the endzone. Running, smooth, efficient offense, breaking marks and making plays. Soft cap went on, and SOL took the game 14-5, holding the Ninjas scoreless in the second half.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire SOL vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater Schist

SOL entered this game with little focus and little drive. Expecting the matchup to be much like sectionals, SOL did not take control from the get-go. We traded points, and were eventually down 3-4. Daddy Pat called a timeout, and I started using some language that forcefully expressed my thoughts on the game thus far. We came out all guns firing, and took control of the game, playing chill offense, and dictating where the UWW cutters were going on O. After the time out, SOL shut Schist out, 15-4.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire SOL vs. St. Olaf Durga
After a long bye round, SOL wamred up and came out all guns firing in the final pool play game of the day, vs. the #2 seed in our pool, Durga. In one of SOL's best games all season, we took control from the first pull. Our defense did a phenomenal job setting the tone for the game in the very first point. Our zone was cash money $$, shutting down St. Olaf's handlers, getting hand block after hand block, and forcing bad decision bail-out throws. The intensity on defense was ridiculous. On O, our handlers set the tone for the flow, being patient and swinging all day until there was a 100% decision. Our handlers had many sick breaks to wide open cutters, and the flow continued up the field. We went 7 points without a single turnover, which is phenomenal by our team's standards. Durga had no answer to the SOL-dominated game flow. It was a completely different game than the UWW game that preceded it. SOL victory 13-2.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire SOL vs. Iowa State Women Scorned
Coming off of a good, team win against St. Olaf, SOL knew that they had to come out on top of their game against ISU in their cross-over game. ISU, led by Melissa Gibbs and Jasmine Draper, is a great team. Great throws, great athleticism, and great players. After playing ISU at High Tide in March, we knew that our zone defenses could help get SOL in a good position. With high intensity, we threw several different zones their way to see how they would cope with them. ISU's handlers ate through our cup, so we knew that our game plan would have to switch a bit. We found our groove, and battled with the Women Scorned fighting hard for every point. SOL's sideline energy was intense, led by Kate Peot and Heather Wroten. There was so much talk on and off the field. SOL worked together as one cohesive unit. Anna Hettler was eating up yards cutting, and playing great defense on Gibbs. Brit "FOTY '09" Gartner stepped up her game a ton, really contributing to every single point she played. Jen Groshek played awesome, shut down man defense, getting a huge D. Our handlers: Iansa, Whit, Beth, and me worked the swings all game long. ISU was giving the handles free swings, as they were forcing middle all day in their 4-man zone. SOL's handlers ate it up, working up the field and dominating the flow offensively. It was universe point, tied at 10s. SOL pulled the disc and pushed zone defense. ISU worked the disc up, "Fire!" was called, and as players pushed hard man D, Melissa Gibbs threw the sickest, upwind crossfield hammer to find Jessy Erikson for the universe point victory for the Women Scorned. SOL lost, 10-11.

Sunday

Wisconsin-Eau Claire SOL vs. Wisconsin B Atropa
SOL was excited to play, despite the absolutely terrible weather. SOL and Atropa traded points for the first few points in the extreme rain and wind. SOL caused a turn on D, and it started to DOWNPOUR and lightning with fury. Thus, 45 minute rain delay takes place, and SOL joins many of the other teams in the Carleton fieldhouse, stripping of soaking wet layers, and eating food. SOL attempts a shoeless mini warm-up on the track, and returns outside to take control of the game. SOL's zone defense closes up, giving the Atropa handlers fewer options. Atropa tries to huck it deep, only to find that there I am to get the D. SOL handlers started swinging again to eat up the Atropa 4-man cup. Soft cap went on, and SOL pushed two more points to take the game out on top, 13-4

Wisconsin-Eau Claire SOL vs. Wisconsin Bella Donna
SOL knew that this game would bring a fired-up and ready to rock Bella Donna team. Bella Donna is a well oiled machine of a team. The handlers are chill, patient, and work the disc up the field. They attack zones at the seams, effortlessly, tearing apart opponents. Their cutters work together and are in tune with the handlers. The Bellas have top name player after top name player...Georgia Bosscher, Emelie McKain, Amber Sinicrope, Courtney Kiesow, Frances Tsukano, Laura Bitterman, Sandy Jorgenson, Jenny Koll, Jenny Gaynor....the list goes on and on, and there are no weaknesses, offensively or defensively. SOL got a whooping, 3-15. But a lot of positive things came out of the game. The emphasis going into the game was placed on gaining experience against a great team in different positions in our zones. Players used this game as a learning opportunity to see what we want SOL to be someday. Seamless, intense, beautiful ultimate. If the Bellas don't end up in at least the semis of nationals, I will be extremely surprised....they are a top contender for the title, and I'd like for them to bring it home to Wisconsin and make us proud.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire SOL vs. St. Olaf Durga
In a pool-play re-match game, SOL knew that this game would help set the pace of the game to follow. SOL started out strong, dictating the flow of the game on both offense and defense. The weather even cooperated for this game. However, as the game went on, SOL lost their mental edge, and began to drag out points with many turns, as a result. I feel as though this game should have gotten over faster than it did. One of the most "emotional" points of the game was at first game point, SOL pulled to Durga's line of seniors in what could have been their last point. However, SOL's D was a little lax, and Durga sent Kate Carroll deep for the score. SOL put the next one in the endzone, finishing the game with a SOL victory, 13-4.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire SOL vs. Iowa State Women Scorned
In a match-up, much like the previous day's, SOL faced ISU again in the backdoor game to go. This was SOL's second consecutive year ending up in the backdoor game against a very good team. SOL was looking to avenge its loss from Saturday and get to Ohio. ISU was looking to repeat yesterday's victory, and end their season in Ohio too.

The first pull belonged to SOL. SOL pushed the defense and got a D to start the game out. The handlers picked the disc up, worked it up the field, and I threw it away just outside of the endzone. It was a repeat of much of the day. The handlers trying to jam something in the endzone, rather than relying on Saturday's tactics of chill, patient offense until a 100% decision was there. ISU took it back for a score. ISU came out all guns firing. UWEC came out firing on defense, but flat on O. The Women Scorned took half 8-2. SOL came into the huddle, heads hung looking for an answer. After what may have been the most epic half-time speech in the existence of SOL's team, UWEC came out with a new fire, pushing 2 back-to-back points after half. SOL made it known that they weren't going down without a fight.

Switching from zone to man, SOL started going much deeper in their roster. Trying to use the fresh legs to their advantage, SOL tried to create good match-ups and take advantage of potential mis-matches on offense. Taking advantage of ISU's strategy to poach Gibbs deep, often leaving some of our best, most versatile cutters wide open underneath for in-cuts, to give-and goes with our handlers, making it easy to work it up the field. When SOL approached the endzone, Gibbs pulled in, and SOL was able to send Beth Wright and Robyn Fennig deep for scores. SOL kept pushing, but some may say it was too late. Though SOL owned the second half, the first half's deficit was too great to overcome.

In the final point of regionals, ISU took advantage of Robyn poaching in the lane, sending Jasmine Draper deep. Robyn was about two steps behind, and Gibbs put up a sick huck. Jasmine dove approximately 4.5 feet in the air grabbing the disc, injury was called. Annie Glawe came in to replace Draper who knocked the wind out of herself, tapped the disc in. Robyn stalled Glawe, but due to a discrepancy when the injury was called, the stall was nulled, and re-tapped in at 6. ISU worked it in the endzone, scoring their final point to take the game 13-9.

SOL 's season is far from done. After one heck of a fight, SOL may have fallen short to qualify for the UPA College Championships, however, they do intend on attending D-III Nationals in Versailles, OH, the last weekend of May (weekend after the UPA College Championships).

SOL wants to send a huge thanks out to all of the fans who came out to support them last weekend and throughout the season. A huge thanks to all of the wonderful families who helped in providing a place for us to stay and those who donated money to support our program.

SOLmates, please look for more info about our end of the year meeting in the next few days. :)

-Robyn

P.S. Best of luck to the three outstanding teams representing the Central Region at the UPA College Championships in Columbus, OH later in May: University of Wisconsin Bella Donna, Carleton College Syzygy, and Iowa State University Women Scorned. All three teams are very deserving and we hope that one of you brings back some hardware!

P.P.S. Other Central Region teams attending D-III Nationals in Versailles, OH, we hope to see you down there!

Central Region Final Standings:
1) University of Wisconsin Bella Donna
2) Carleton College Syzygy
3) Iowa State University Women Scorned
4) University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire SOL
5) St. Olaf Durga
6) Luther College LUFDA
7T) Marquette University Moxie
7T) University of Wisconsin B Atropa
9) University of Iowa Saucy Nancy
10) Winona State University Bad Monaz
11) University of Minnesota Ninjas
12) University of Minnesota-Duluth Lake Effect
13T) Macalester College
13T) Carleton College B Eclipse
15T) University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Blackcat
15T) University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Schist

Regional Wrap Up....Coming Soon

SOL finished 4th, one spot shy of a UPA College Championship bid.

SOL accepted a bid to compete at D-III Nationals in Versailles, OH.

-Robyn

Central Regionals, It's Anyone's Game, We're Breaking Marks and Taking Names

So rather than finish my hypothesis testing homework for my stats class, I started thinking about Regionals ....again. I swear that everytime I look at the seeding/bracket, it has changed from 10 minutes ago. I can't think of anything else right now. Maybe it was my failed attempt at basketball last night, or homework at the library last night with the Cool Squad are truthful examples of such behavior.

This weekend it can be anybody's game. Let's be honest. Northfield, MN...quite similar geographically to Eau Cleazy. Fo' sheazy.

I'm expecting crap-tastic weather. Hopefully really crap-tastic. Guess who loves crap-tastic weather? THIS TEAM. This may, or may not come as a shock to you. SOL owned up at Centex on Saturday. . In the cup (and please note that it is an environmentally friendly cup made of 100% fully recycled material...because nomba one tree-hugging Robyn would have it no other way), we have Anna Hettler breaking hearts, and taking names. She get's more handblocks than a tae kwon do expert. That's all I'm saying.

We are ready to come out with more intensity and ferocity than a Katelyn Mater raptor. And that's pretty intense.

Sweet new cheer this weekend? I think you'll just have to wait and see...Get fired up to break some marks, and take some names, good SOLmates.

The greatest thing about this season, thus far, has been the fact that we are a team. One solid unit cohesively working towards the same goal. We work hard, push each other, challenge each other to improve, hold each other accountable to achieving our individual and team goals; but we do it all together. We have a very interesting, unique team dynamic, that cannot be compared to any other team. We have such an eccentric mix of personalities, learning styles, playing styles, leadership styles, etc. but it comes 2gether in a way, such that it has created a dream season for me to be apart of. I want to continue to be apart of this ...I'm not ready for it to be done. We win together, we lose together, we grow together, we fall together, we build together, we strive together, we learn together. No one has the answers, but we're working to figure them out. Regardless of where we come out this weekend, WE will be together. I don't even have to question it. The foundation that this team is built on is strong. Rock solid...like my geology class.

I'm excited about the challenges that our team will be facing as the season goes on. Tough teams, new looks, new ideas, new growth. We've been through some new experiences (No Wisconsequences, Centex) and been challenged by teams we've never seen before (Illinois, Pittsburgh, Georgia), and fought against some of the best (the Bella Donnas). We're ready to be tested once more this weekend.

HFP, (kind sir, or madam....please keep in mind that we say this with the nicest of intentions, but if you saw the colors of our white jerseys or our spray paint tats, you'd have to agree)

Let's do it up.

SOL Love,

(The Wisconsin State Bird)

Robyña

Sections off the field, Cool Squad tries new things.

The way Martha sees it:

As I hop into a car with fellow team members Whitney Esson, Anna Hettler, and our dear old coach Pat Niles, I had my mind set on one thing for the weekend: Ultimate. A wide variety of over 62 Disney songs may have been listened to on the way to the Whitewater area. Pat could have known every word to every song I chose, including non-Disney tunes. Really Pat? Anyway, we all nestled and got close at Roxie's humble residence where I learned one thing: Everyone of us CAN and WILL snore. Iansa might be the worst, however everyone has been told they are guilty. Yes Brit, even you snore. Tracie..we'll get you one of these days. Even when you think you can escape the room full of snoring and switch sleeping locations, you might find the next one to be just as bad. But even then, YOU are the one snoring claiming you can't sleep because of it...cough*Steph Zinken*cough. I also learned that Tracie needs a sleeping bag that doesn't look like a tube sock and is as thin as silk with a giant print of "Where's Waldo" on it. No wonder you got cold. I think J-Gro cuddled with me a little in the night on the floor, and Brit said she couldn't sleep if she wasn't able to see me. Alright kiddos.

As far as ultimate goes, I can't stop loving the game. The first day of sections was beyond perfect weather and I could not have been more pumped to play. The second was a little colder and rainier, but there is nothing like laying out for a disc in the rain. I had fun in every game we played, especially against Madison. Those girls really bring it and I loved every point no matter who scored. Those are the games our team grows from. These games challenge our team and overall I think we played pretty well. I learn from every game of ultimate I play, and I can say that I learned a lot this weekend and am very excited for our team to play at regionals.

Beyond playing, my SIS this weekend was Roxie who made me a sick sign ;) and an adorable flip book of my short stick figure self skying a taller stick person. Thanks for believing in me Roxie. It's happened before, who is to say it won't again? Awesome motivation.



The objective now is to dominate at regionals, and this weeks practices looks as if they will be windy ones. SOL played incredibly in the fall at No Wisconsequences with some gnarly wind and somehow came on top so top, so hopefully the way we played those games is the same if not better. Cool squad was a bit sore from the weekend but still met and get this, tried a new sport. Basketball? Turns out Brit is the only real one with basketball skills, and Robyn can throw a little white chocolate here and there but overall sucks. Jess lacks skills as well, but surpasses Robyn in the mental game. Cool squad goes to the library. Surprise surprise, noone accomplishes anything when half of the ultimate frisbee team are the dominant students on the second floor of the library. I switched to first.



Anyway, I wish anyone and everyone good luck with balancing school and ultimate this next week. Only three more weeks of school.

Martha
(pictures to come later)

Regional Info

Respond to Martha (harrism@uwec.edu) with the following info ASAP:

1) Do you plan to attend Regionals?
2) Do you plan to attend the Girl Scout Training camp from 3:45 to 5:00 pm at Putnam Heights Elementary School?
3) What time can you leave for Northfield, MN (earliest departure = 5:30 pm)
4) Do you have a car to use?

Schedule and seedings = HERE

TELL YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, AQUAINTENCES to come cheer us on! WE NEED EVERY VOICE WE CAN GET!

SIS Buddies
Don't forget to do something for your partner before our first game on Saturday to get them pumped and ready to kick butt!

• Lauren Novak (#00) and Anna Hettler (#2)
• Jess Haller (#1) and Melissa Jordan (#23)
• Roxie Schmidt (#3) and Tracie Anderson (#45)
• Beth Wright (#4) and Heather Wroten (#41)
• Iansa Zaldarriaga (#5) and Kate Peot (#37)
• Amy Brown (#6) and Ali Zellmer (#48)
• Steph Zinken (#7) and Paula Meyer (#72)
• Brit Gartner (#11) and Robyn Fennig (#44)
• Martha Harris (#10) and Cole Lence (#14)
• Shannon Abbott (#13) and Jen "J-Gro" Groshek (#17)
• Whit Esson (#25) and Rachel Culver (#33)
• Adele Christensen (#40) and Taylor Jenkins (#42)

**Kate Peot, Shannon Abbott, and Steph Zinken are all coming on SUNDAY only. Plan to exchange before Friday if necessary.....

Let's do this, SOL!

Hugs, Hucks, and High Fives,

Robyn

"We'll Put Some Pizzaz in it Because We're Being Videotaped," SOL Sectionals Wrap-up

SOL showed up to the Whitewater fields at 7:45 for the parking lot dance party. Turned up the jams in the 1996 Chrysler Concorde and got out the spray paint and stencils. We had quite the array of tats to choose from.

We were then informed that we were supposed to play at the fields that were typically for the mens tourney; no big thing. So we move fields and start our warm up.

SOL vs. Bella Donna (5-13)
Though the score was 13-5, the game was much closer than the score indicates. In nearly every point, SOL forced turns, got hand blocks, and played sick nasty D. We just couldn't get it done in the endzone. I may have turned the disc over 5,000 times too...I kept putting those hucks to wide open SOLmates off of quick transitions just a tad too far out of reach. (In all honesty, I cannot remember the last time that I threw the disc with zero wind. In Eau Claire, that just does not happen...) Bella pushed us hard, but came out on top.

SOL vs. Moxie (13-6)
Coming off a tough loss to the Bellas, SOL was a bit tired. SOL came out a little slow, and the first half was pretty close. After half, SOL got their act together and picked up the intensity and got it done. Steph Zinken took control of the offense and got the handlers to chill out, and emphasize the swing again. Our defense picked up and SOL started making super sick plays.

SOL vs. Blackcat (13-2)
SOL was ready to rumble...no, not WWF Thursday RAW is WAR style, but SOL domination style. The ladies of Eau Claire, we knew that we had to come out strong...Blackcat has some good handlers (Lexi Bond, Chloe Ries) and some athletic cutters who can huck the disc (Holly Lisowski, Alyssa Justesen). SOL starts off on D, with a sick pull, sprints down, and forces a quick turn, and a quick score. Roxie Schmidt really turned up her game vs. Blackcat. She saw when her defender was sleeping and busted quick deep. She made her transitions super fast, and took advantage of slower transitions from Blackcat. That's how the rest of the game went. 13-2, SOL.

SOL vs. Atropa (13-5)
It was a matchup of the two teams with the sickest jerseys in the section. In this game SOL came out quick, dominating the flow of the first half. Throwing several different defensive looks. After half, Atropa came out in a strong 4- man cup, and went on a mini-run. SOL took a time out, made some offensive changes and took the game from there on. 13-7 SOL win.

SOL vs. Schist (13-3)
SOL's fifth and final game of the day was against the brand new team from Wisconsin-Whitewater. It was a showdown of pink teams...and SOL came out on top. Schist has a good base to grow from. They have a good number of players, and some enthusiastic captains who are ready to build a program. SOL tried to help Schist out throughout the game with rules and explanations. All in all, it was a chill, fun game. Afterwards, we played an epic Rock Paper scissors battle royale, and some WAH! and got to know the ladies of the newest team in the Lake Superior Section.

SOL vs. Vici (13-1)
SOL got to the fields at 7:30 am, fired up about day 2. We knew that we had to get the game done fast, because the guys of Eauzone needed our support on the sidelines in their semi-final game vs. the Hodags. The first half lasted about 15 minutes, and was marked by hard defense, quick transitions, and chilly flow up the field. In another 15 minutes the game was done, and SOL quickly ran to the sidelines a few fields over to be loud and excited.

Bye Round and a half....
SOL raced up and down the sidelines, cheering on Eauzone as they gave the Hodags a run for their money. The Robyn Fennig highlights of the game include:
-Alex Kensgaard footblocking Animal with a pop up baseball slide.
-Kevin Skibicki out running and out laying out Hodags left and right.
-Tim McNeal, making sick layout D's and grabs.
-James Hron, well, just living up to his name.
Though Eauzone fell short, 15-8, they did it in a money fashion. Love our guys for that.

SOL watched the guys take on Stevens Point and the Bellas take on Schist...I also tackled Pat off of of my bucket...instilling fear into his heart.

SOL vs. Bella Donna (6-15)
What can be said about this game? My favorite point of the game, Bella has a sick pull, gets caught and thrown to Roxie Schmidt at 5 yards out of the endzone. Roxie gives me "the eye," I bust deep, catch the disc about 15 yards in front of the SOL endzone. I see Anna Hettler, torn ligament in her thumb and all, puts the disc in front of her, Anna has a shoulder high layout grab. It was SICK. SICK SICK SICK. God, I love Anna. Aftermath = HERE. (Thankfully, I did not nail Martha in the head with the disc...I was apprently ridiculously close to doing so, according to martha). SOL did not give up and battled hard throughout the whole game. We came out short, 6-15 loss.

Wrap Up
SOL went 5-2 on the weekend, got lots of complements on the numerous of hot pink spray paint tats, their spirit, and many words of thanks from some of the newer players on opposing teams and the sectional coordinator for helping teach the game and interpret rules.

We're looking forward to next weekend in Northfield, MN.

Final Standings
Lake Superior Sectional
1) Wisconsin Bella Donna (7-0)
2) Wisconsin-Eau Claire SOL (5-2)
3) Marquette Moxie (4-2)
4) Wisconsin B Atropa (4-3)
5) Wisconsin-Millwaukee Blackcat (3-4)
6) Wisconsin-Whitewater Schist (2-6)
7) Lawrence Vici (0-8) did not qualify for regionals

Northwoods Sectional
1) Carleton Syzygy
2) St. Olaf Durga
3) Minnesota Ninjas
4) Winona State Bad Monaz
5) St. Bens Ugly Hucklings
6) Duluth Lake Effecct
7) Macalester
8) Carleton B Eclipse (did not qualify for regionals)
9) Gustavus Outskirtz (did not qualify for regionals)

West Plains Sectional
1) Iowa State Women Scorned
2) Iowa Saucy Nancy
3) Luther
4) Grinnel Sticky Tongues (did not qualify for regionals)

<3 Robyn

Foody Call

Robyn and Martha go to the caf again. God, are they spoiled. But what says, "get ready for sectionals" more than eating a copious amount of ice cream? Martha and Robyn wanted to get everyone to bid on a UWEC Baseball player last night at the auction and make them do something ridiculous...but alas, no one brought their money to practice. Darn it.



Paula and Heather did a bomb job getting everyone pumped for sections with their photo session.

The Pre-Sectionals Wrap Up
This week of practice centered on a lot of scrimmaging. Our team is really coming together offensively, generating some flow upfield. We had some good wind all week, as well as little wind on Tuesday (I believe). Concentrating mostly on maintaining possession of the disc, and emphasizing the value of possession, look for a chill, much more possession-oriented SOL than has been seen thus far.

SOL is jones-ing for a chance to play outside again. The weather is looking great for the weekend.

Saturday: With five rounds of games, we're looking at 70 and sunny.
Sunday: Rainy, windy, and crappy. This is the weather we like to play in the most, definitely. Eau Claire's extreme wind, and horizontal-sleet we've seen many times this year, definitely has nothing on 50 and rainy. (Oh, the perks of living on top of a giant hill)

Fear not, Lake Superior Section, though you won't be seeing fluorescent hot pink hair from anyone on our team this year, but you can guarantee that you'll see more temporary tattoos and spray paint tats than you ever imagined possible. Plus all the dance moves on the sidelines....

See you at the fields,
Robyn

Sectional Info for SOL Players

T-minus 4 days til Sections.
Schedule = here
Tell your friends and family to come support us when we're playing! :)

If you have not responded to Roxie about:
1) If you intend on coming.
2) When you can leave on Friday.
3) If you can drive
4) Anything else....

then you should do so ASAP.

SIS Buddies
Make sure that you bring/do something to motivate your partner before our first game on Saturday!
Attending Sectionals
Lauren Novak (#00) and Rachel Culver (#33)
Jess Haller (#1) and Jen "J-Gro" Groshek (#17)
Anna Hettler (#2) and Taylor Jenkins (#42)
Roxie Schmidt (#3) and Martha Harris (#10)
Iañsa Zaldarriaga (#5) and Whit Esson (#25)
Amy Brown (#6) and Shannon Abbott (#13)
Steph Zinken (#7) and Brit Gartner (#12)
Cole Lence (#14) and Tracie Anderson (#45)
Kate Peot (#37) and Robyn Fennig (#44)
Heather Wroten (#41) and Paula Meyer (#72)

NOT ATTENDING
(Just because you aren't coming, doesn't mean you can slack!)
Ali Zellmer (#48) and Melissa Jordan (#23)
Beth Wright (#4) and Adele Christensen (#40)


Loooove,
Robyn

P.S. I miss the alums. Greetings to Miss Jaime Glader in Chicago, Katelyn Mater-tot in or around my mouth, Miss Heiman teaching her kids, and My Other Half in Boulder, CO. <3

Goodburger.

Tonight, while sitting in my living room while watching the movie Goodburger, we decided that we need to make an awesome low-budget movie of the same caliber. We do need a catchphrase like "Welcome to Goodburger home of the Goodburger, can I take your order?"

Suggestions?

We want burgers.

We already have a nemesis, like Mondo Burger, we just need to get Shaq and Sinbad. We'll be holding auditions soon.

The Cool Squad

Robyn and I ate at the caf, again, tonight after practice. Paula joined us. We love getting on campus-ers to buy us dinner two to three times a week. I had three plates of food. If anyone can prove me wrong, I think I eat more than anyone I know.



So, on Sunday night Brit and I went to the library to work on homework and instead talked about ultimate for two plus hours. We wished we had wings on our feet to help us run faster and jump higher than everyone. All in all, we decided it was necessary for her and I to start practicing outside of practice in order to get these wings. Therefore, we started The Cool People's Club and have a pact to make time to atleast throw everyday. After an inviting and unnecessarily long email was proposed from Brit and I, five people showed up on Monday and it was awesome. Thank you Jess, Kate, Jen, Brit and myself. We rule!

Shameless Plug for Brit Gartner

With the all region voting is just around the corner. And let's be honest, our very own BRIT Gartner has a good shot at winning that coveted "freshman of the year" category for the Central Region.

After rocking some other noobs in the Centex Rookie showcase game, Brit is the epitome of "freshman of the year."

Brit came into college with NO ultimate frisbee experience. In fact, she never really heard of the game. From September to the present, Brit has been a huge driving force to SOL's success. She has developed throws, plays ridiculous defense, and has the field awareness of a veteran on the field. She is fast, can break a mark like no one's business. She works hard to improve every day, both inside and outside of practice. She's a force to be reckoned with on the field, there is no denying it. She is also a reason for the spread of the hot pink SOL spray paint tats. :)

Her dedication to the game is phenomenal. She is a real student of the game, constantly looking for ways to improve her game. I think that the fact that 8 months ago, she could not throw or read a disc and now she's competing with nationals caliber teams and standing out. I think that a true FOTY, is a rookie to the game, not someone who has played ultimate for years in high school before she starts. Brit works hard, contributes, and makes a difference.

Join the FACEBOOK group!

For all you non-Eau Claire people who read this, vote for Brit for "freshman of the year" for the Central Region 2009.

Loooooove,
Robyn

Northwoods Sectional Preview

Northwoods Sectional Preview

Robyn's predictions for the Northwoods:

Carleton College--Syzygy
They looked pretty solid at Centex. One thing that will hurt them down the road is their relatively small team, numbers wise. Julia Busiek is still around cutting for Syzygy and looking pretty solid. She is very vocal on and off the field. Caitlin McKimmy is making huge plays on offense and playing hard, agressive defense. Their handlers, led by Rebecca Sheridan, have experience and work together quite well. Against some of the top teams at Centex, they did not perform as well as they have in years past. I'm ready to be surprised though, as the "Carleton Learning Curve" is rather ridiculous, so that their new players peak during the Series.
Prediction: 1st

St. Olaf--Durga
Many of Durga's players have some club experience and play well together. I do notice that there are some of them that work quite well together, and some who do not fit in with their flow. It causes some chaos and confusion. Another thing that I remember is that transistions were a bit problematic. A team that can transition quickly will be able to take advantage of that. They picked up a taller cutter...I do not know her name, but she is rather tall, and athletic. She was bidding indoors and had some good speed. Andrea Henkel is also another girl to watch. Prediction: 2nd

UofM Duluth--Lake Effect
This is my "in two or three years this team is nationals bound" prediction. They have lots of height, and a good foundation to build off of. Andrea Koshiol's backhand is...wow. Watching her break a cup is beautiful. I rather love it. She's a super talented player who would standout on any team she plays for. I think she's doing a great job with a group of girls who are new to the game. Prediction: 3rd

UofM-Twin Cities--Ninjas
They have some solid handlers and some cutters who have improved after playing club last summer/fall. They seem to be a little inconsistent. My favorite player to watch for the Ninjas is Alyssa Olson. Solid throws, solid D. I love her. Prediction: 4th

Winona State--Bad Monaz
They have some good players, good handlers with huge throws. If they didn't have their alter ego as the "Beer Sluts" they'd be better than they are. I think it hinders their Sunday performance. I don't think enough good words can be said of Jenny Davidson. She has improved tremendously over the past year and is looking pretty good. Not to mention she is one of my favorite people out there. Other Players to watch: Kristina Parthum, Michelle Cook, Kaitlin Anderson. Prediction: 5th

St. Bens--Ugly Hucklings
Having Cora Schoenbauer back from her knee injury is HUGE. She's got solid leadership and the ability to huck the disc to her girls deep. I think this team has a lot of fun while they play, and it shows. Prediction: 6th

Macalester
Their handlers looked better at High Tide. I was surprised that some of them could hammer effectively over a cup in really really windy situations. Prediction: 7th

Gustavus Adolphus--Outskirtz
Led by Karen Katz, the Outskirtz have a solid group of 4 girls who are always there. Who else they bring, is a mystery, as they seem to always be hurting for numbers. Prediction: 8th

Carleton B--Eclipse

Eclipse has had some sub-par results this spring. I haven't seen them play....ever....so I'm not sure where they fit in. Prediction: 9th

West Plains Sectionals Results

I'll be honest, I think that this section had some upsets in it. They did not necessarily play out to what I was expecting.

Results:
Iowa State
Iowa
Luther
Grinnell

Iowa State
The Women Scorned only allowed 7 points to be scored on them all day. They have good depth and lots of skills. Melissa Gibbs, unstoppable as a deep and with huge pulls, and Jasmine Draper, quick as hell with layout D's to spare, provide good leadership for this talented team. Their handlers are chill, patient, and work very well together. Many players have the ability to switch from an effective cutter, to a handler. They have definitely developed well over the past 8 or so months.

Iowa
Saucy Nancy in the second place spot really surprises me. I did not think that they had the disc skills that Luther had, or the athleticism. Iowa is clearly peaking at the right time.

Luther
I was rather impressed with what I saw last fall with this team. Height and strong throws, atheleticism...but what I forgot was that this team is full of experience. They went 2-1 in pool, but lost to Iowa in bracket.

Grinnell
The Sticky Tongues have had a rough spring. I think they were pretty young, and without some strong leadership from what I remember last fall.

We'll be seeing the top three teams at regionals....cross your fingers.

Lake Superior Sectional Preview

So....I can't help but think about sections as I'm supposed to be tabulating my survey results for my research project. Here's the Robyn Fennig predictions for a 2 weeks from today:

University of Wisconsin Bella Donna
The Bellas are going to come out strong, all guns firing. The Georgia Bosscher/Calla-Court led team is full of people who can step up and make the plays. They've had some good transfers this year, and having multiple players with junior world's experience, certainly does not hurt. They work well together and play to their strengths....because they have few weaknesses. What to expect: Their chill offense, run through their dominant handlers (McCain, Sinicrope) and their cutters who are lightning fast. Versatility is huge on this team, making every player a threat at their position. They will exploit your weaknesses and run you to the ground. Prediction: They're finishing top 5 at nationals. After watching them a bit at Centex, they have grown since the fall, when I saw them last.

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire SOL
SOL has the sweet taste of revenge in their mouths from last year. They've got their eyes on the prize and picked up some clutch noobs. They will be missing some clutch people at sections, due to the fact that sectionals was NOT set until basically a week and a half ago. What to expect: New faces, new names taking the spotlight. Good flow up the field and cutters who are not afraid to huck the disc. Players who lay out for everything, and do not roll over and die, even if they're down 7-2 at half. They WILL come and make a run when you least expect them to. Predictions: 2nd in the section.

Marquette University Moxie
Moxie, led by Claire Dunlap, did lose some clutch players (i.e. Gina Matranga) from last year, but have gained some new players that have definitely developed in the ways they needed to. What to expect: A stronger team from last fall. They have performed quite well this spring (Chicago Invite) and are ready to make some plays. Moxie has some strong handlers, whose throws have developed well, with some good fakes to get you off balance. This opens the lanes a bit, to help make up for their short frames and get those throws off. Their handlers look to break the mark a lot, so a team with weak marks will be exploited. Their cutters = sneaky. Predictions: 3rd in the section.

University of Wisconsin Atropa
Atropa, Madison's new "B-team" if you can call them that. Led by Eileen Chou and ready to strike. Probably one of the best womens B teams around. Most of their players would be on the universe line on other teams. Former Bellas who are no longer elligble to compete in the series have been playing with them throughout the spring. I'm interested to see how this will effect the dynamic of the team without players, like Lucille Strawn, controlling the flow of the disc. Predictions: 4th in the section

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Blackcat
Blackcat is a pretty decent team when they have the numbers to play. In years past, they have had a very inconsistent roster and they could not always expect that girls would show up. Led by handlers Lexi Bond and Sara Poornour (sp?), these girls have some good deep looks. Holly Lisowski is especially athletic and can run all day, drink all night, and show up on Sunday equally as fresh as she was on Saturday morning. Holly also makes huge plays, and gives you hell if you're guarding her....because she doesn't stop running. I haven't had the chance to see them play this spring at all. I'm not sure how the rest of their players have developed/improved. Predictions: If they bring enough girls to run, they'll finish 5th.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Schist
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater's first series. I have fairly big hopes for them. Whitewater is known for attracting big athletes to attend their school. In comparison to the other D-III state schools, Whitewater has a huge pull of athletes to choose from. I'm interested to see how they've come together. All I've heard from them was from my boyfriend, Deebs, and UPA score reporter from Frostbite. Some unimpressive results at Frostbite, get special consideration for it being the team's first tourney ever. With some help from some of their stronger male players (from what I understand...Ari Davison) they should have some basics down. I think that they'll have good speed, however, they'll be lacking throws and big hucks that could help them. I would also assume that their girls are learning the game, and the field awareness is not quite there yet. I do hear that they have a good number of players, so they shouldn't be too tired. Predictions 6th in the section

Lawrence University Vici
Vici lost Kate Powell to the Bella Donnas...that's a huge loss for them. I'm not sure who will step up for them to provide leadership. It will be interesting to see how many girls they have and how they look. They do have that girl who looks so gosh darn cute in the kangaroo costume...so extra points for that. Prediction: 7th

Now Playing: Centex 2009

Swagga' Swagga' Like Us

Robyn's Account of Centex 2009.

In a four-day layover in Eau Cleazy, SOL gets sick of waiting for their plane, and hops in the car to drive 20 hours south to the Lonestar State. The only state in the union that can legally fly their flag equal to the US flag. Everything's bigger here. One can succumb to their cravings for ginormous burritos the size of one's head at the seemingly 40,000 Chipotles in Texas.

Centex 2009. Where bitches are owned and babies are eaten. Where the strong feast on pizza buffets, and the weak eat old jell-o and tapioca pudding at the old folk's home.

We have spent months training for this tourney. And days training for our dance.

My car-ride was filled with N'Sync, Daddy Pat dance moves, miraculously fitting between three seats and sleeping on the floor in the car, torrential downpours in Oklahoma, pissing off gas station workers, meeting creepers in the gas stations, and drooling on my arm several times. We drew lots of pictures of motivation for our SIS...and Daddy Pat too. Alas, we roll into Austin and drop our stuff of at Mark's house to explore Austin a little. Lovin' the vibe in the town, Cole and I grab the statue inappropriately. As our team snaps shots, a city bus pulls up, and immediately its passengers start taking pictures.

After a little exploration, we head to the social mixer. (It's actually located across the street from the nomba wan church in all of Austin.) We roll in and it's crowded, but not jumpin. We decide to get things started in Eau Cleazy fashion. Everyone was lookin spiffy. We looked like we just got out of the car from a 20 hour car ride. With our hair all greaze-tastic and our under-eye bags glowing like Tracie's glow-worm she had as a young child, we decide to mingle with my retractable blade plastic knife I found in my captains pack.
UC-SB comes up and starts a little conversation.

UCSB girl: "Where are you guys from?"
Robyn: "Wisconsin-Eau Claire"
UCSB girl: "Is that the University of Wisconsin?"
Robyn: "No, not the Bellas."
UCSB other girl: "Is that like Carleton?"
Robyn: "No. We're by Carleton, but in Wisconsin. We're from Eau Claire, it's like an hour or so out of the Twin Cities though."
UCSB girl: "Oh, gotcha"
(No she doesn't)
UCSB girl: "Want to play some flip cup?"
Robyn: "Hell yes we do."

Robyn, Brit, Lauren, Cole, and Roxie rush to the table with their cups of iced tea and water, ready to rock the show.

Rule of advice. Don't challenge a team you've never heard of from WISCONSIN to a drinking game. Just because you've never heard of us, doesn't mean we won't beat you. Especially without alcohol.

Everyone=chug. One and done. Except for Roxie. She was sipping too slowly for my liking. Roxie, this isn't a sippy cup. Some people in other states don't have enough to drink. Luckily she's decent at flipping when the cup is far enough off the edge for her...it only took her a few minutes to get it there. Okay, maybe an exaggeration....but she was no "one and done" champ like the rest of us were. Regardless, Eau Cleazy 2, UC-SB 0.

USC taps me on the shoulder as we walk away victorious from the table, looking for a challenger from the Central Region to take them on in pokey. Our team, full of pokey newbs, accepts, winning all of their matches. I, however, did not own the trivia contest.

We leave the mixer to practice our dance and return home to learn the skeez.

Wake up on Saturday to be greeted by the rest of our team rolling in at 8:51. We started at 9 am. We played some SICK zone D and field position O to come out over Illinois. They may be one of the most enjoyable teams to play. Such great spirit, great attitudes, great sense of humor. And, "listen," they crash the zone like no body's business. Their handles have sick fakes. Watch yo'self Great Lakes region. Menace is on a rampage to kill your babies, boil them, and create a baby stew. Seasoned with love from puppies and mystical pegasus wings. Eau Claire win, 12-3.

After Tracie's dad got tatted up with the rest of us, we were ready to rock for game number two.

Our next game was against Florida. Their offense was run primarily through their handler in the orange leggings. She tried hucking deep to her 6'1'' receiver. I may have been licking my chops a little bit, baiting that throw just a little too much, but I definitely was jumpin' reeeeal good that day. "Oh Shit." was called. We shut down their hucking game, and they had few options under, because our zone was bomb-diggity. Boom-shaka-laka-laka. Martha even skied a girl who was 6 feet tall. Sick rake. UWEC win, 15-4.

Our last pool game was against the dinosaur lovin' Greenshirts of Clairemont, Even though they were wearing blue shirts...their jerseys were bad fuckin ass. It was like a bag o' dinosaur fruit snacks spilled out on their shirt, and they said, "This is bomb enough. We'll take 20 of them." Led by handler Erika Baken, they had some chill O. Their strong swings were not enough for the SOL zone and UWEC won 15-2. I threw Kate Peot on my shoulders and she made dinosaur noises. We did construct a scale-size model of a brontosaurus. It was cool.

In order to qualify for the championship bracket, we had to beat Pitt in a play-in game. Pitt went 0-3 in their pool. Coming off a long break, we were ready to get the game going. After scoring two quick points, Pitt went on a huge run. Poor spirit and body checking by Pitt's handlers were throwing our girls to the ground. We got a little discouraged....our first higher caliber tournament and having to deal with bullshit. Not a ton of fun, especially for our newbs. Some missed layout D's and misplaced dump/swings, caused some points for Pitt. They took us to half 7-2. But we came back all engines firing at 10-3. Soft cap went off. We went on a HUUUUGE run. In less than 10 minutes, the score was 10-8. The last point, a marathon point, ended in Pitt's favor. We lost 11-8.

Centex Danceoff 2009. Biggest heartbreak evah.
We practiced, rehearsed....for 3 days. We did not succumb to the dirty dance fest that was catchin' on. Rather, we went for the more challenging, formation-approached dance. Pyramids, line switching, double cartwheels with broken fingers, tumbling passes, the worm, river dance, Daddy Pat's river dance solo, swagga' swagga' fly bomb moves. We were all hitting our cues, right on key....yet we did not win. We tied for 2nd. That sucks.

We woke up early on Sunday, ready to play. We went up against Georgia 4-3. Then, more poor spirit displayed by the Georgia coach...that took the form of yelling at me and Daddy Pat over a mis-interpretation on her part of the rules. (It was confirmed by the guy running the observer clinic that we were indeed right) Effected by the yelling on the sidelines, it was a bit hard to focus. After two especially bad calls at the end of the game in the deciding points (a trip in the endzone with no play on the disc over Iansa, and a non-foul sick shoulder high legit layout D by yours truly) we lost 10-8.

We headed over a field to face the Betty's of Kansas. One of my new favorite teams, these girls have heart, soul, and sweet dance moves. I'm really stoked that they received the FIVE ultimate growth sponsorship this year. I could not think of program more deserving of the Bettys. They uphold spirit and are at the top of the up and coming teams that I've seen around. They play hard, and with smiles on their faces. Love them.

After a victory over Kansas, we faced Illinois again. We were tired. We were beat. But we didn't roll over and die. We fought it out with our fav. team at Centex. But lost a hardfought game.

We forfeit our last one to Arizona to get a head start home and to stop at a Chinese Buffet that Pat found on his GPS. We get there, it's not open. So we roll down the street to the other one that is open. We walk in and there is no nomba wan Chinese buffet on Sunday. Just regular food. However they totally accommodate and make us the "all star buffet" featuring the very best of every buffet. It was glorious.

We played a little game called "if our team was trapped on on a desert island, who would we kill first." Order of the first 3 deaths:
1) Kate Peot...good size bones for weapons
2) Tracie Anderson...tall, lanky....good for a skewer.
3) Anna Hettler....undisclosed reasons

People we don't kill:
1) Paula Meyer...she can kill, clean, and cook anything.
2) Daddy Pat

Ride home:
We run into a caravan of softball players who were like 12 years old. Their windows painted in team motivation. Go Emma! So we write a sign, roll up creepily next to each van, beep wave, and yell "Go Emma!" Daddy Pat and I in the front seat, see a guy with a tentacle arm. We immediately make up a dance. It's the new craze sweepin the nation...more so than deforestation, furbys, pogs, and lincoln logs.


Highlights:
-My shoulder high layout D called foul...bullshit...but it was legit.
-Anna Hettler schooling many with a broken finger.
-Paula's thigh tats with the suck it dance. Classy.
-Daddy Pat knowing his stuff, and totally being on top of the rule b.s. during the Georgia game.
-Zone defense.
-"Swagga' swagga' like us"
-Flashing the HOT pink SOL in our Centex Dance
-Brit Gartner owning up on other noooobs in the Rook Showcase Game
-J-Wo's "Listen" cut off that she rocked in the Illinois/Eau Cleazy game
-Kansas Betty's awesome dance moves
-Double cartwheels
-Toll workers wearing gloves
-Our names not being screened on the FIVE apparel for Centex...we get discounted correctly printed merch...
-Getting our womens initiative shwag and sportin' it for our Girl Scout Camp in 3 weeks.
-Bling. Bling. Blang.


Ready to strike at sections.

In Georgia, We get Crazy.

Martha here, filling all you curious folk in on our Jekyll Island action on and off the field, known as a glorious celebration most might call Spring Break. After a rough week of class for most, Sol and our men's team EauZone congregate to form SOLZONE and jump into 8 vehicles and begin a 25 hour quest to Georgia. As each car competed for the best pictures and souvenirs on the way down, everyone seemed to be running into awkward, funny, and interesting situations. Robyn's car, consisting of herself, Brit, Dassow and Isaac somehow ended up in South fucking Carolina? Dassow's fault of course, thus the phrase "dassy downy" was born. Noone was more scared than Isaac. Their unnecessary route took us all for a loop, but somehow beat my car which arrived dead last. My vehicle was made up of Tim McNeal, his girlfriend Veronica, and the injured Chris McCrory and myself. Our disfunctional family barely made it to Jekyll Island alive. I colored for 7 HOURS on the way down. My little ponies. My coloring got worse as I went on. How does that happen??

Anyway, we arrive on Saturday afternoon to our two houses on the beach. They were sick. Most immediatley hit the beach and the booze pretty hard.. why everyone was so excited? It's hard to say. Instead of describing the evening, maybe a picture will sum it up. Making the coolest pyramid ever. There may have been some late night streaking on the beach. Hard to say. Sunday was a day to sleep in, do whatever the hell you wanted, until our scrimmage vs. Columbia at 2 pm. I just want to say that this was the first time we had played outdoor ultimate since October. I also must say, that we did pretty darn well. We practiced a lot of new strategies, while trying to maintain intensity in the 90 degree weather. The talk of this game had to be Cole's faceblocking of the disc. Which resulted in a a hideous black eye. Of course, she played out the point and even scored. Most bad-ass bookends in SOL history. After the intense scrimmage, we played out some fun games, myself winning WAH and the vegetable walk off of..shitake mushrooms..I believe. That evening led to more unexpected festivities. Isaac began entertaining the group of 38 with homemade epic songs. The most popular being "The High Fire Danger: The Ballad of Hib-Jib-Jib", with Robyn's bottle solo, and Brit's bomb dog kazoo solos. Robyn and Isaac decided have fun with Carlos. And sadly, this is what happens: SOL Boobies. Unfortunatley I can't fill you in on what I know about this evening.... It happens. I'm 98% positive that everyone had an above average time though.

OK so let the REAL ultimate begin. As we arrive at the foggy fields of Jekyll Island bright and early, SOL waits around trying to find a way to play in the hat tournament that we are not officially signed up for! With less than five minutes to game time, Robyn makes a shady cash transaction drug deal for a random bag of colored shirts. We giggle at the hilarity of what happened, and quickly scatter to our respective teams. Cole and myself were placed on the same team, pepto bismal was our team name we created, playing accordingly off of our azalea pink shirts. "Heartburn, naseau, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!" was the pump up cheer for our team. Great times. Some UNH men on our team were kind enough to invite Cole and I to their house a few blocks down to swim in their pool for our two hour bye. We were greeted by a palm tree full of empty beer cans, a pool swarming with floating schools of beer, and two lawn flamingos that honestly looked like they were doin it. My I'm glad we made the decision to go there. It was perfectly hot that day, something that everyone enjoyed. Our hat team played extremely well that day. I have to say that I enjoy, and play better when I play mixed ultimate. I don't know why...Nonetheless, our team did not win this tournament. All star from our men's team James Hron and hotty with a body Jess Haller from SOL were on the same team, and played in the championship game. However, they lost. All in all this day was incredibly exhausting and the real tournament had not even started yet. I had copious amounts of fun during the hat tournament and is an awes way to meet cool people. These should be held more often.

We head back home for our first theme night: Hawaiian! Most took it easy this night....I'm going to point my fingers at Isaac on this one. I also want to mention Isaac does not play ultimate for our teams, but is rather Robyn's roommate and possibly the funniest ultimate groupie anyone could really ask for.

Tuesday morning: first real day of the tournament. Our team was ranked pretty low coming into this whole thing, little did many teams know that we came to bust ass and start some commotion. We took Vassar B 13-0, Smith B 13-0, and Rowan 13-2. Our second game was an intense game for us against Colorado State. As SOL struggled to keep a consistent flow, we finally figured out our shit and won 12-10. The first half of this day was the only time during the whole ultimate filled week that it was remotley cloudy or cold. During our two hour bye this day, SOL huddled and cuddled for some nap time, and watching open time. How Anna found the fetal position in a camping chair comfortable, I'll never know. Our men's team came and supported us the second half of our day, sporting their green St. Patricks Day attire. The evening was taken up a notch from the previous one, as people's rowdiness levels kicked in in order to celebrate this spectacular patron saint of Ireland. DOING DISCS? Alright so when it comes to disc, there is one, and only one person that can do it better than anyone I know. Our very own handler, Miss Shannon Abbott holds a record of 43 seconds. I KID YOU NOT. However, this was meerly a rumor or stupid joke to me at first. Many of us needed proof. As people assembled their teams , everyone gathered around like giddy leprechauns not knowing what to expect. Shannon finishes in 52 seconds. So, there are teams of 4 freaking people that can't even finish a disc that fast. What the fuck right? I swear she is pulling some David Blaine shit on us, but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt right now. I'm watching you Shannon.

Good thing we all had games at 8 am the next day! I think Scotty from the men's team was unable to play. Too much zombie rage. I don't think I've seen a team dance as much as SOL does. Don't get me wrong, there are certainly teams out there with some respectable moves, but I feel we dance almost as much as we play ultimate. I know I do. If you know me, I sometimes like to combine both. As we roll in that morning, we start off the day again by dancing to obnoxious songs with obnoxious moves. We sort of fueled ourselves that week from early morning gyrating. I think it worked. On a more ultimate related note..it is now Wednesday, and we played Smith A, Macalaster, and Minnesota-Duluth. With some swift movement of the disc, an awesome zone defense, and great puts by our players, we won each game 13-2. I reunited with my long lost friend from my hometown of Orono, Neal Hanke who now plays for Iowa State. I must say he does like to heckle that Paula Meyer of our team, but I think she loves it and pretty much is asking for it with all the wicked attire she wears during our games. I'm sure he wants her to, no big deal though. The best part was that we were done by noon. Now what??!! Our convoy headed back to the houses and proceeded to chill on the beach, lay on the front lawn, play games, eat food, relax, you know, all the fun lazy stuff you do on spring break.

That evening was our ghetto night.... Much of the usual forgetful festivities went on, this may or may not have been the night the deck of "I've Never" cards got whipped out. Nonetheless, I learned a lot about Tim and Veronica, who were sitting right next to eachother, sometimes the same time..and sometimes not. I learned a lot about many members of both teams that I think I will have to leave at that.

Robyn will have to update about how the rest of this night went..for her and some other folk traveled down a couple blocks to where the Rutgers were staying...

((Robyn's post-edit: So I get a text from my hat tourney teammate to come check out the fun at the Rutgers house. I round up some SOLmates, and walk into a room full of guys. We sit down, and jump right in to some fun and games. Of course we represent. There were some, um...events, that will be un-named for the time being *cough, cough* Matt Dassow *cough, cough* but sure did make for some good spring break memories. We roll in late, and Brit and I sit outside in the most uncomfortable chairs to talk about life and ultimate...well the they are two in the same for us. When the alarm goes off early the next day, we are rather tired and happily welcome the early AM dance session in the parking lot to wake ourselves up))

Thursday was our final day of ultimate on Jekyll Island. All of us were feeling the last couple days, and playing pretty well regardless of how we felt. Our first game vs. Princeton was a bit shaky. This team only had about 9 players but were keeping up with us all day. We were very surprised at their endurance and at the way they played their game. Not sure what the score was however (not posted on the UPA like all our other games wtf?) so, I know we played our game and came out on top. Next was a rematch vs. Minnesota-Duluth winning 13-0 to go into the championship game vs. Iowa State. It has been a bajillion years since we played Iowa State last, but we knew our games we won versus them before were not easy. A decent breeze was blowing this day, and we used all the zone we could. This teams transitions were sick and their handler Gibs was making D's all day. We were pretty shocked at how much we needed to pick it up when the score was 3-12, us down. We refocused our strategy and with some serious sideline help we came back with 4 points at the end and, were having fun, and played real SOL ultimate. Unfortunately it wasn't soon enough and and they finally brought their last point down ending the game 7-13, Iowa State. Those girls have gotten priiiitty clutch over their season so superior region should stay on their toes. All in all we were satisfied about our second place victory and learned a lot and improved from five straight days of ultimate. Alas, it was time to take off our cleats, give our skin a rest from all the sun and sweat, and enjoy the rest of spring break.

Thursday night was the night to celebrate. This was our formal evening where the most attractive mens and womens teams of all time join forces and celebrate by grilling out...except for myself and a few others. Lamest move we could have pulled, but the tired issue at this point was outrageous. OF COURSE my trusty fellow blogger Robyn will recap on the rest of the night, for she was there. And tells it, oh, so well.

((Robyn's post edit: I ended up hanging out with Isaac, Chris Schasse, and Alex Engel (from Milwaukee) on the beach for a bit. We went on a walking adventure. My feet got attacked by cacti. I almost punched Isaac for leading me into a cactus patch...we went on some more walking. Ended up at the Rutgers house, where I was informed that I was with a legend: Mr. James Hron, himself. Everyone wanted to hang with James Hron. He was the man. Everyone on every team was like, "HEY! Are you the guy with the red bandanna?" He got lots of free stuff from everyone. He "befriended" a 1, and got lost again. But he was back at home when Charlie and Skibs went over to the other house, after raiding our fridge for sandwiches.))

I do remember being woken up in the middle of the night by Charlie Randall coming into my room asking why I wasn't awake and why I wasn't doing anything. My response is simply.."because its 4 in the morning Charlie.." Charlie comes back with.."WRONG! its 5 in the morning Martha!"

.............alright Charlie you got me. I had to literally kick him until he left. As I fell back asleep I heard him and Hron arguing about who made out with who, that turned into ultimate talk, which turned into rustle and tumble in the hallway, which finally died down into what I hope was Charlie tucking Hron in.

Now we are getting to the good stuff. Friday is the day SOLzone heads to Savannah, Georgia. The town full of testy townies, ghost tours, and no law against open containers. Cigars were purchased by men, while the women hustled to the oh so awesome candy shop. I could not believe my eyes at this shop. Cole and Heather rushed to make purchases of taffy and preline, along with others who were stocking up a bit less. This place had the BEST praline samples I've had in my entire life. Enough said. Gelato and other goodies were consumed as we all met up by the bay. Back to that whole law about you can totally drink on the streets of Savannah. Well, that is exactly what of agers proceeded to do. Wet Willies-the COOLEST margarita/daiquiri bar of all time. The wall behind the bar was covered in pull down dispensers of flavors such as "Call-a-Cab". Tim spilled his drink on the dirty street, but because it was 8 dollars, he could not let it go to waste. He took his straw to the sadly spilled rita-mess and began to suck.

SO after some sipping on excessive amounts of margaritas, chilling in the streets, bonding, telling stories of memories past, jumping over one another, and taking silly photographs, listening to a man play guitar and sing with his crazy voice, we finally head to a restaurant for a team dinner. Now, things could have possibly taken a turn for the worse when the beer sampler was purchased by a couple members in our group. Fear not, people shared their samples and chaos was..well, MAD chaos was avoided. Everyones food was down right delicious. One thing worth mentioning: Tracie and Shannon are crazy. Also, Tracie has the best facial expressions on the planet. Overall, our dinner experience was rowdy and amazing. We ate, made funny faces, made new friends, and the best part was that it was only 8 o'clock.

Our group now split up into two, one on a ghost tour and the others who wanted to explore Savannah. Myself, Robyn, Cole, fellow Eauzone members, Matt Dassow and Alex Kensgaard, Chris McCrory, Eric Wallendal, Charlie Randall (who did I miss? did I add someone who should not have? sorry..) stayed behind and returned to Wet Willies for more and a wide open dance floor. After attempting to tear it up on this floor, we wander the streets looking for anything happening. Of course it is still too early for things to start up, and we had to meet our group at eleven. Things went a little wrong near the end, for one van lost its keys, and the other was locked in a parking ramp all night. Few hours later..we all made it home in one piece. Go team.

And so the long journey home began after cleaning both houses to make it look like we had never entered either. Chris and I played Zelda:Ocarina of Time the whole ride home unless we were sleeping.

So, I'm sure I skipped a lot, but maybe that is a good thing. This is long and could potentially bore many. I think Robyn and I are getting too much of a kick out of this though. Anyway, SOL was then off to Austin, Texas for some Centex action after a 4 day daze of trying to do school work after break, but preparing to get in the car for another ridiculous drive. BOOM. Peace out girl scout-(Brit Gartner)

Martha