Schedule/seedings = HERE
My predictions about who's in the Championship remain the same...I think that Ottawa and Wisconsin are definitely peaking at the same time. The more and more I think about it, I want to pick Wisconsin over Ottawa. I think that both teams are under-seeded, and should easily be the 1 and 2. These are simply, the best two teams in womens college ultimate right now.
Reasons that Ottawa will win:
-Ottawa's roster is stacked with the Canadian Junior Worlds team PLUS players with club nationals experience...
-HUGE victory over UBC at Centex (15-3)
-Big win vs. UCSB at Centex in the championship game (15-11)
-Top Three Players to watch: Anne Mercier (Soph), Alex Benedict (Sr), Danielle Fortin (Jr)
Reasons that Wisconsin will win:
-They don't have any early games...simple fact, their results improve as the day progresses
-Dangerous handlers to cutters who can bomb it deep.
-Solid Defense.
-Top Three Players to watch: Georgia Bosscher (Sr), Emelie McKain (Soph), Frances Tsukano (Sr)
The University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Women's Ultimate Team
Showing posts with label UPA College Championships chatter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UPA College Championships chatter. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
More Mind-numbing Blowing, due to Ultimate Frisbee
Nationals....right around the corner. And ultimate is driving me crazy.
Three more regionals going on, and I have an exam at 8 am, Monday morning. I'm worthless for a few more days.
Northwest Region....WTF!? UBC is not going? They looked super strong at Centex beating a super strong Wisconsin team in the 3rd place game. Oregon getting pwned by Washington in the crossover game 5-13, AND losing to Stanford in the semis? They did set themselves up nicely to take that third bid, with a pretty easy game vs. Humboldt State in the backdoor semis, while UBC had a more difficult game vs. California. That's some crazy stuff, from a crazy awesome region. I really wish they had four bids. If there was a cause to argue for an additional bid to a region, I think the pure strength of this region for sure is argument enough. I WISH that I could have seen these games....especially the 3rd place backdoor game. I told Martha it was my prime game I wish I could watch.
New England. I'm a little nervous to see how Dartmouth and Northeastern perform. To say the least, Dartmouth got smoked in the "upper tier" of Centex, where most of these nationals teams fit in. Northeastern got smoked 1-15 by Carleton. I wouldn't mind seeing these teams pull a few upsets, but I'm going to say that they finish towards the back of the pack.
Great Lakes: played out nearly how I had imagined. Other than Notre Dame winning out their pool over Northwestern quite handily. Michigan takes the 1, Illinois takes the 2. As long as it's not too windy, Michigan could place fairly high. Illinois is a personal fav of mine. If they play consistent, they have a shot too. From what I saw of them, they can be a little streaky, but when they're playing well, they're playing well and can hang with some ballin' teams.
Nationals discussions coming soon.
-Robyn
Three more regionals going on, and I have an exam at 8 am, Monday morning. I'm worthless for a few more days.
Northwest Region....WTF!? UBC is not going? They looked super strong at Centex beating a super strong Wisconsin team in the 3rd place game. Oregon getting pwned by Washington in the crossover game 5-13, AND losing to Stanford in the semis? They did set themselves up nicely to take that third bid, with a pretty easy game vs. Humboldt State in the backdoor semis, while UBC had a more difficult game vs. California. That's some crazy stuff, from a crazy awesome region. I really wish they had four bids. If there was a cause to argue for an additional bid to a region, I think the pure strength of this region for sure is argument enough. I WISH that I could have seen these games....especially the 3rd place backdoor game. I told Martha it was my prime game I wish I could watch.
New England. I'm a little nervous to see how Dartmouth and Northeastern perform. To say the least, Dartmouth got smoked in the "upper tier" of Centex, where most of these nationals teams fit in. Northeastern got smoked 1-15 by Carleton. I wouldn't mind seeing these teams pull a few upsets, but I'm going to say that they finish towards the back of the pack.
Great Lakes: played out nearly how I had imagined. Other than Notre Dame winning out their pool over Northwestern quite handily. Michigan takes the 1, Illinois takes the 2. As long as it's not too windy, Michigan could place fairly high. Illinois is a personal fav of mine. If they play consistent, they have a shot too. From what I saw of them, they can be a little streaky, but when they're playing well, they're playing well and can hang with some ballin' teams.
Nationals discussions coming soon.
-Robyn
Womens College Ultimate--Pre-Nationals Discussion Part 1
Chatter from April 25-26 Regionals
Atlantic Coast: UNC-Wilmington (1), UNC (2)
Central: Wisconsin (1), Carleton College (2), Iowa State (3)
Metro-East: Ottawa (1), Pennsylvania (2)
South: Washington University (1), St. Louis University (2)
Southwest: UC-Santa Barbara (1), Colorado (2), UCLA (3), USC (4)
Robyn:
Atlantic Coast
This one played out exactly how I thought it would. UNC and UNC-Wilmington are really strong teams. The 3rd - 5th place teams are good, but still not on the same tier as UNC and UNCW.
Central
Maybe I'm a little biased, but Wisconsin Bella Donna will be in the semis this year. They are stacked top to bottom. Their big losses were at Centex, in heartbreakers. I think their team has pushed hard to improve since then, and they are looking better than ever. Georgia Bosscher, leading the way, is a Callahan Nominee at the head of the pack of skilled players. Supported by handlers Amber Sinicrope, Emelie McKain, Jenny Koll, and several others...with cutters like Frances Tsukano, Laura Bitterman, Sandy Jorgenson, and Jenny Gaynor playing ridiculous defense and scoring on you all the time. Carleton College...I guess they're peaking at the right time. Ana Snyder is pretty fly. Iowa State is going to surprise some really good teams this year. I think they were completely overlooked by a lot of teams outside of our region. They can play in the worst weather (i.e. Midwest Throwdown and Central Regions) and can hold their own in the good stuff as well. Very versatile, and deep roster. Melissa Gibbs rules the skies, and Jasmine Draper will layout D you with her eyes shut.
Metro-East
I'm really surprised how the Metro-East Played out. Maryland gave Ottawa such a great game in the finals, and lost in universe point to Pennsylvania. That's a real heartbreak. Maryland's Charlie Mercier is one of the best women in college ultimate, and a really great leader. She did a lot for her team this year, and last year. They finished 10th at Centex. Ottawa is one of the best teams out there. They've got some good height and can run for days. The Lady Gee Gees should be looking to finish better than they did last year, in their first UPA College Series and first UPA College Championship appearance, ending in the quarters (placed 5th). Pennsylvania? Where did this team come from. Yes, they won their section, and were seeded 3rd, but they have really been missing on the "upper" level tourney circuit this year. Excited to see how they place.
South
The real Cinderella story of the 2009 UPA College Championships is Washington University. WUWU has made huge strides of improvement that most other teams did not. When we saw WUWU in fall, I did not think they were nationals-contending at all. But when I saw them play at Centex, it was a completely different team. They won the South, and are ready to surprise some people, I think. They beat SLULU, who has challenged some great teams this season, and pulled lots of upsets at Centex themselves. SLULU is very physical, very scrappy, and a great team. My question, is what happened to Texas? They lost to SLULU twice in the weekend, which I think is crazy.
Southwest
Once again, UC-Santa Barbara is leading the pack. Heads and shoulders above every other team in their region (their closest game was in the semis, 16-7 vs. UC-San Diego). They have only lost three games all year; that is saying something big. I think this team is for sure semis, if not finals bound this year. Colorado is peaking at the right time this year. In the fall, they had two losses to UW-Eau Claire, which I'm super proud of. Granted, fall season isn't a huge indicator of a team. But this team is a totally different team from then. Having some strong cutters back in their line-up, they've got a veteran team full of ballers. UCLA...their win over UCSB in sectionals is huge, but I would say that UCSB must have had a bad game. It's not that UCLA isn't good, they finished 3rd in a ridiculous region, but I don't think that they're capable of pulling out that win nine times out of ten this year. Blu is an ultimate dynasty and perennial nationals qualifier. Let's see what they can do. USC Hellions of Troy, despite their pokey skills off of the field, is a great team. They have been putting up good scores against good teams all season, but have come out of the woodwork to get to nationals. They played 15 games within 2 weeks. Pulling out some key wins says that this team is in good shape.
Atlantic Coast: UNC-Wilmington (1), UNC (2)
Central: Wisconsin (1), Carleton College (2), Iowa State (3)
Metro-East: Ottawa (1), Pennsylvania (2)
South: Washington University (1), St. Louis University (2)
Southwest: UC-Santa Barbara (1), Colorado (2), UCLA (3), USC (4)
Robyn:
Atlantic Coast
This one played out exactly how I thought it would. UNC and UNC-Wilmington are really strong teams. The 3rd - 5th place teams are good, but still not on the same tier as UNC and UNCW.
Central
Maybe I'm a little biased, but Wisconsin Bella Donna will be in the semis this year. They are stacked top to bottom. Their big losses were at Centex, in heartbreakers. I think their team has pushed hard to improve since then, and they are looking better than ever. Georgia Bosscher, leading the way, is a Callahan Nominee at the head of the pack of skilled players. Supported by handlers Amber Sinicrope, Emelie McKain, Jenny Koll, and several others...with cutters like Frances Tsukano, Laura Bitterman, Sandy Jorgenson, and Jenny Gaynor playing ridiculous defense and scoring on you all the time. Carleton College...I guess they're peaking at the right time. Ana Snyder is pretty fly. Iowa State is going to surprise some really good teams this year. I think they were completely overlooked by a lot of teams outside of our region. They can play in the worst weather (i.e. Midwest Throwdown and Central Regions) and can hold their own in the good stuff as well. Very versatile, and deep roster. Melissa Gibbs rules the skies, and Jasmine Draper will layout D you with her eyes shut.
Metro-East
I'm really surprised how the Metro-East Played out. Maryland gave Ottawa such a great game in the finals, and lost in universe point to Pennsylvania. That's a real heartbreak. Maryland's Charlie Mercier is one of the best women in college ultimate, and a really great leader. She did a lot for her team this year, and last year. They finished 10th at Centex. Ottawa is one of the best teams out there. They've got some good height and can run for days. The Lady Gee Gees should be looking to finish better than they did last year, in their first UPA College Series and first UPA College Championship appearance, ending in the quarters (placed 5th). Pennsylvania? Where did this team come from. Yes, they won their section, and were seeded 3rd, but they have really been missing on the "upper" level tourney circuit this year. Excited to see how they place.
South
The real Cinderella story of the 2009 UPA College Championships is Washington University. WUWU has made huge strides of improvement that most other teams did not. When we saw WUWU in fall, I did not think they were nationals-contending at all. But when I saw them play at Centex, it was a completely different team. They won the South, and are ready to surprise some people, I think. They beat SLULU, who has challenged some great teams this season, and pulled lots of upsets at Centex themselves. SLULU is very physical, very scrappy, and a great team. My question, is what happened to Texas? They lost to SLULU twice in the weekend, which I think is crazy.
Southwest
Once again, UC-Santa Barbara is leading the pack. Heads and shoulders above every other team in their region (their closest game was in the semis, 16-7 vs. UC-San Diego). They have only lost three games all year; that is saying something big. I think this team is for sure semis, if not finals bound this year. Colorado is peaking at the right time this year. In the fall, they had two losses to UW-Eau Claire, which I'm super proud of. Granted, fall season isn't a huge indicator of a team. But this team is a totally different team from then. Having some strong cutters back in their line-up, they've got a veteran team full of ballers. UCLA...their win over UCSB in sectionals is huge, but I would say that UCSB must have had a bad game. It's not that UCLA isn't good, they finished 3rd in a ridiculous region, but I don't think that they're capable of pulling out that win nine times out of ten this year. Blu is an ultimate dynasty and perennial nationals qualifier. Let's see what they can do. USC Hellions of Troy, despite their pokey skills off of the field, is a great team. They have been putting up good scores against good teams all season, but have come out of the woodwork to get to nationals. They played 15 games within 2 weeks. Pulling out some key wins says that this team is in good shape.
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