Welp, with the end of the Eau Claire Chillout also came the end of our Fall season. It seems too soon for that! Three tournaments in the record books and now we start looking forward to the indoor season to prepare for Spring! But for now a recap!
Hucktoberfest- October 1st- 2nd (Neenah, Wisconsin)
Club Regionals and other life commitments assisted in taking away some Sol women for this tournament, sending the ladies of Eau Claire with less players than we are usually used to. I am probably not the best person to write this recap since I wasn't there... BUT from what I have heard it was an opportunity to finally put together all the skills we had been learning up to that point in the season. We even had new players (like Oliva Lee) handling without ever having practiced at all! Ultimate is great and all but I think the thing I personally was most sad about missing was being apart of all the shenanigans that went down this weekend!!! As of last year our team has heavily gotten into pranking, and apparently all the new girls are ALLABOUTIT! Foreshadow: this year is going to be nutzo. Bad news: Schneids MC got pretty beat up and will be out till next Fall and one of our new players, Kim, severly fractured her ankle.... But I am most confident they will both continue being huge assets to Sol while they focus on healing themselves!
No Wisconsequences- October 15th- 16th (Delafield, Wisconsin)
For the past few years this has been the premiere Fall tournament in the Midwest, so once again we looked forward to seeing many different teams and really putting our newly learned zone defense to use! And that we did! It was awesome to see how quickly all girls, new and old, picked up on learning different positions in zone D. It is really awesome to see all the new girls finally get tournament experience under their belts and see returners step up from being a n00b to an experienced player.
Saturday
During pool play, we were able to go 2-2. With losses coming to half of the Saucy Nancies from U of Iowa and Northwestern Gungho. We were able to beat one of the Madison Bella Donna teams as well as Michigan State! Our pool was crazy- the 1 seed lost to the 3 seed, the 3 seed lost to the 4 seed, the 4 seed lost to the 5 seed, but the 1 seed beat the 2 seed. Main point: Fall seedings are rarely accurate. It's a lot of guesswork trying to determine which teams will be better than which so early on! Michigan State was most impressive with few ladies and lots of athletic moves! They seem to be a really fun and hard working group of women. After a long day of Ultimate with many small victoies under our belt, we headed back to the Haller residence!
A HUGE shoutout to the Haller family will be necessary. Now in my 4th year at Eau Claire I have been lucky enough to stay with this family at least once a year and they are way too nice to us EVERY TIME! They are generous people and we owe them a million thank you's. Their hospitality is outstanding! All the Sol family and friends that we have been so lucky to stay with have been too nice! Only a handful of Sol folk (including our new Coach Dan Kaler) went to the always fun tournament party. Most of us were wayyyyy too tired to make it out the door!
Sunday
Wisconsin- Eau Claire Sol vs. University of Iowa X Saucy Nancy
Feeling well rested after mostly staying in Saturday night we hopped in our cars and zipped over to the fields. First up we were to play the other half of the Saucy Nancy team. We lost by a few points the previous day to the other Saucy team, so going into this game playing better right from the start was a priority. We were able to fight for a decent lead and were able to keep them from scoring for a bit! It ended up being a close game- we won on UNIVERSE POINT! That always makes for an exciting ending and gives you a lot of momentum going into your next game!
Wisconsin- Eau Claire Sol vs. University of Illinois Menace
Up next we had Illinois Menace, a team I don't think Sol has played for some time. I must say I was for real surprised by how good this team was! They were very athletic and their throws were solid. I don't remember the final score of this game, but I think we lost by something like 3? Menace seems to be a very fun team. It looks like more of their players are starting to play Club- which is always great to see! Illinois went on to lose to one of the Wisconsin teams in the semi's, well done!
Wisconsin Eau Claire Sol vs. Winona Bad Monaz
This was another team that caught me off guard with how good they were! It was a really back and forth game as the wind was mostly upwind/downwind. Their throws were very solid against our zone. We did a really good job of adjusting on the fly with many things-especially our new players! They showed so much versatility in what they can do and were open to trying new positions they weren't as comfortable with. But hey, you learn more when you are outside your comfort zone (and learning how to play Ultimate provides plenty of opportunities for that). We ended up losing this game and finishing 7th- not too shabby with 26 women's teams in attendance!
After an eventful stop at McDonalds to celebrate our weekend of no more severe injuries (lets keep that trend going) we were on our way back to Wisconsin's most beautiful campus (Eau Claire of course). Although injuries are the least ideal thing, life always goes on. In the event of injuries I think people are given another reason to push themselves even harder. Everyone loves Schneids and since her first Sol practice she has been extremely dedicated (not an over-exaggeration). Now that she can't play for a little while each Solmate should always remember that if you feel like giving up tell Schneids that you can't push it anymore. If you could look at Schneids and tell her that (as she would probably do anything to be able to play over the next few months) you cannot do another sprint, or another push up or another rep of a drill then it is believable that you have pushed yourself as hard as you possibly could have. If you aren't to the point that you would be able to tell Schneids that you can't try harder then try harder and do it for Schneids. And remember, sometimes injuries are blessings in disguise.
The University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Women's Ultimate Team
Showing posts with label hucktoberfest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hucktoberfest. Show all posts
Monday, October 24, 2011
Monday, October 5, 2009
Rufio, Rufio, Ruf-i-o! (Hucktoberfest Game Write-ups)
Having the first seed going into the tournament, I was super nervous. First tourney of the year, bringing a super new team with many rookies making their ultimate debut after only a few weeks of practices. We were expecting absolutely terrible weather. People were getting sick all week. I was getting a little worried that more people would end up dropping out...So On Wednesday night, Brit came over and as we were watching Gossip Girl with my super awes roomie Pamela Jean Kaye. We hassled her for a while to come play with SOL at Hucktoberfest. She was wavering, but eventually gave in. I promised her some fun times, and she was totally in.
We pile in the car and pick up Rose and Mariah on Friday night wearing absolutely ridiculously masks from Wal-mart ($2 for both, totally worth it). We roll in super late after stopping in
SATURDAY
Game 1 vs. UW-Whitewater Schist
UWW is one of SOL's favorite teams. We love those girls to death, which can be hard to play against some of your friends. SOL brought some good intensity and set the tempo early, playing some good defense. Our offense looked a little stagnant at times, but after half it picked up a ton. The light drizzle had dimished, but the field was a giant mudhole. We had a lot of fun and won it 13-1. 
I'm really excited to see how Schist develops in the off season. Led by Alex Haroldson and Anni Koci, Schist really has some potential to start a good program. Their numbers are phenomenal, and they have some rookie handlers who aren't afraid to put the disc.
Game 2 vs. Purdue Brickhouse
This game was pretty physical. Melissa "Brownie" Brown was cutting all over the place....absolutely ridiculous. She came from the top rope to make a SICK grab over one of the Brickhouse players in the endzone and maintined the disc through one of the nastiest collisions I've seen in a while. Brownie, completely unphased held the disc and waited for a replacement player to come in and play some D. I love that girl. SOLended up winning 13-2
The score of this game does not show how good the game actually was. Grinnell had a vet-heavy team, with lots of experience, speed, and patience. They worked the disc really well and had some good handlers. SOL really stepped up its D this game to prevent some scores and preventing the Sticky cutters from getting the disc, making them rely on their handlers. On one point, I hucked the disc FOUR (4) distinct times to Pam "The Tank" Kaye who was streaking deep on quick transitions. With her ultimate career spanning approximately 4 days, she was learning to read the disc. I will let her borrow my library card so she can learn to read. It honestly took us FIVE (5) attempts to finally get it right. In all honesty, I would expect Grinnell to make some noise this spring. They have some good potential to really surprise some good teams who completely underestimate them. Their handlers are solid. Score: 13-2.
Game 4 vs.
SOL got some sideline support from the fine young men of Eauzone in our final game of the day. The wind had picked up and we had moved to a different field. Instead of a crosswind, we were faced with up-wind/down-wind points. After briefly running through zone on Thursday's practice, we decided that it would be a good time to work on our zone. It was a little rough, but it is still for sure a work in progress. Estelle Taquet got her first career Callahan in this game. We all rush the field, and tell her how sweet it was. She didn't even understand how epic it really was. Ballin. Score 13-0.
SOL goes home to dry off, warm up, and eat food. And of course...watch Hook (Boomarang Roofio!). The film inspired many a cheer and good times had on Sunday. Brit drove a few of us to the tournament party where fun ensued.
Game 5 vs.
Day 2 would be significantly more difficult than Day 1 for SOL, as we would be playing some teams with more experience and intensity. Moxie had played against Club level players at Chicago Heavyweights just two weeks before Hucktoberfest...we knew they would bring a good game, as they always do. We got ourselves fired up and ready to go, got in a good warm up and started our games at Game 6 vs.
Our warm up to get ready for this game was singing, dancing, and shouting to the song "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. Ahhhh. I love ISU. Let's be real. So many SOLmates have huge ultimate crushes on Christine Rosen and Jasmine Draper after our many meetings last spring. We have nothing but love and respect for these girls. The intensity was up for both teams, making fast transitions and making big plays. ISU took half with a score of 7-4. SOL had a great halftime huddle and soon, everyone was completely fired up and ready to go. In my opinion, the most epic play of the game was the collision of Pam Kaye and Gapster of ISU. Gapstur took a huge shot from Pam who was laying out for a disc. Gapstur got the D, stood up and completed a sick huck and wandered off the field in a very dizzy fashion. Lindsey Gapstur played the sickest game I have ever seen her play....and now has to see a chiropractor.
Game 7 vs. Wisconsin Bella Donna
SOL was riding an adreneline wave after winning a hard fought game vs. ISU. Both teams were missing some huge playmakers, and were rookie heavy for sure. The Bellas were notably missing 2009 Callahan winner Georgia Bosscher; all-region players Emilie McKain, Amber Sinicrope, and Francis Tsukano; and huge presence Sandy Jorgenson. SOL was missing some huge players including Iansa Zaldarriaga, Martha Harris (who has mono), Melissa Jordan, Cole Lence, among the other 4 returners, and rookie Nicole Schlicting. Regardless, I was really excited to see how our new players would match up against the new players for Bella who were finishing up their last round of tryouts. After going down 0-2 against the Bellas, SOL went on a sick run. High intensity D, chill offense, and smart decisions with the disc. Soon, the score was 2-2.
Bella always brings a hard game, all cylinders firing, heart and a lot of hustle. Jenny Gaynor was playing some ridiculous D for the Bellas, while Jenny Koll was challenging our D with sick hucks to Bellas in the endzone. It was like something started clicking on the field for SOL in a way that had never really happened before. To see new players, like Brownie getting layout D's on returning Bellas and then booking it deep on transitions, is something that I could not be prouder of. Brownie made some sick grabs, getting some huge air in the endzone, getting the disc over some Bellas in the endzone.
Moria made some sick grabs and was helping to gain huge yards. I think the one thing that helped us come out on top was chill handling. Our handlers were swinging the disc fast and well, attacking holes in the intense Bella zone. This is something that is super uncharacteristic of our handlers. Patience. It was what we lacked last year in regionals. The cool thing is we have a whopping four returning handlers, and only three of us were there last weekend. Our new handlers were chill and confident; it's what helped us break through the zone. Considering we spent approximately 15 minutes at Thursday's practice in the 40 degree rain discussing zone...I was extremely impressed with the cutting and popping from our newbs. Estelle Taquet was consistently finding holes in the zone for handlers to get the disc to her off of swings. SOL and Bella traded momentum changes. SOL was down 10-12, and went on a ridiculous run. Brit Gartner was a layout D machine. I got to do some cutting, and Anna voluntarily handled. We pulled it back to tie it at 12-12. Game point (14-13...) Tracie Anderson gets a quick D and busts deep on the transition. I probably gave her the worst possible put in the world, she lays out for it, and makes the most ridiculous catch I have seen from her.
We had minimal turns and exercised patience. Two qualities that have never been present when we play a good team.
I said this in our team huddle before the championship game: "We can't just be a team that is happy to be here. We need to be a team that can make it here and take it." I feel like we are finally making that transition. This is a new season, a new slate. What we did or did not do last year doesn't mean anything. I am completely excited to see what happens when everyone's teams are full strength later in the season...I can't wait to see what we are capable of doing. It's time to get excited. The car-ride home was proof of that excitement. To hear two new players share their excitement with me about the weekend was an extremely fulfilling experience. Practice this week will be intense, I can guarantee that. Everyone is looking forward to pushing each other hard in the upcoming season, in a way that I have never seen this early in the season. Next stop: No Wisconsequences.
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