Heathers Adventures With Exploding Bean Cans: EC Chillout

Going into Friday, we were supposed to have 14 teams. We were down to 12 by the end of Friday. After re-doing pools and brackets, we ended up getting things ready to go for Saturday. We were originally planning on splitting X/Y, but after re-arranging the brackets, found that we should combine, simply because a 12 team tournament is nicer than a 13 team tournament, frankly. EC Chillout is a good tournament to get newbs some playing time and do lots of teaching. I was really excited that some new teams, like Stevens Point and Northern Michigan were coming, because it's a chance for them to get lots of points for their players.

Round 1 vs. St. Bens Ugly Hucklings
The ladies of St. Bens teamed up with the ladies of Drake. SOL came out a little flat, lacking some enthusiasm. I felt like many of our points were going in slow motion. We got it together, and were able to connect deep for quick transitions, taking advantage of mismatches. Final score: SOL 13, Ugly Hucklings 1.

Round 2 vs. Macalester Snatchers
Mac is a team of nice girls, who always bring energy and fun. They typically have a larger team, but due to mid-terms for them starting on Monday, their team was unable to to field a lot of numbers. Their handlers are confident and move the disc well. SOL was able to pick up the D. Many SOLmates had layout Ds and run-through D's galore. Final Score: SOL 13, Snatchers 1.

Round 3 vs. Wisconsin-Stevens Point Shockwave
Point is a new team, filled with promise. Coached by former Eauzone handler Alex Kensgaard, Shockwave is learning a ton. The past few years had been rough for Shockwave to get commited players, but after some good recruiting efforts, the squad led by Emily Karoblis and Candace Z had some good numbers and the real desire to improve. Megan Nimmo from the UofM Ninjas joined them for the game also, making a few great layout grabs. SOL played lots of cup D, causing quick turns and quick transitions. Estelle Taquet turned up her D; while SOL cutters were busting deep. Final score: SOL 13, Shockwave 1.

Tournament Dinner
I'm not really sure how many relatively bigger fall tournaments still serve a hot dinner to every team and player. It's always a scramble to cook 600+ hot dogs, a ton of beans, and get things set up to serve 200-300 people. Somehow, we do it every single year. It's a ridiculous prodution, to say the least. Emy, Tracie, and I were fishing for hot dogs in the boiling water atop the giant bunsen-burner style roaster, while Mariah and Baby Glades were running them back and forth to the pots in the kitchen. Heather was hit in the face with exploding baked bean cans...ha ha. Brownie and Estelle were separating buns. It was an extremely fun, and stressful time. Thanks to Matt Dassow for making 18+ lbs of pasta salad. :)

Quarter finals vs. Winona State Bad Monaz
The Monaz came off of a close game against St. Thomas. The Monaz, led by limbo all-star Hailey Bronson, have a good deep game. SOL came out fired as we've ever been playing good man and zone D, switching it up. The communication between the deep and mid-mid was exceptional, with Whitney Esson being a run-through D machine. Final score: SOL 13, Monaz 1.

Semi Finals vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee Blackcat
Blackcat's core players have been playing together for a few years. Handlers Lexi Bond and Sara Pournoor have great hucks, and cutters Alyssa Justesen, Sarah Schramm, Holly Lisowski, and Alina Nikogosyan have great hands. SOL came out in zone D again, knowing that we had to pressure their handlers to get turns, and that is exactly what we did. There was this time that I tried to jump off of the side of my foot...hmm, not so successful, and the next thing I know I'm crawling off of the field with a lightly-sprained ankle. Oh well, the game must go on. Tracie Anderson turned up her D, putting extra pressure in the cup. SOL came out on top, 13 to 4.

Championships vs. Luther College Gangsta Bitches
...so, okay, I know they don't have an official name, but Sanna Beek said it's their unofficial name. It's a true story. They for sure have some awesome players who live up to that name, especially handlers. Bringing an impressively huge squad (30+ players), Luther has some good potential again this year to surprise some great teams with their disciplined handlers who have great hucks, and effort that helps them come up with ridiculously athletic grabs. SOL came out in zone, getting three quick, unanswered points. Whit Esson, again was coming up with great D's. Our wings turned it up, led by Martha Harris and Rachel Culver getting some awesome D's too. On O, Luther started out with a straight up mark, taking advantage of their height and expansive wingspans. SOL handlers were able to take advantage of breaks and work the disc up the field. However, Luther called a time-out and came out scoring 2 back-to-back points, and a zone D. Handlers had to get good lateral disc movement, and as a result was able to get the disc moving again. Melissa Jordan was using her ridiculous speed to get open deep, with handlers putting it to her. Also, quite noteworthy, there were three points scored off of hammers over the cup. Final score, SOL 13, Luther 6.

Following the championship game, Luther and SOL faced off in the most epic game of "Princess, Pole, Tandem." It was three people left, and the call was "Cowboy." Hannah Glader crawled up the back of a Luther girl and was eliminated. Priceless.

We cleaned up the fields and went to cheer on the Eauzone alum team, "Oldzone," in the mens championship against Duluth. It was a great, hard fought game, with Duluth coming out on top 13-11.

Next stop, Midwest Warmup.