USA Ultimate

2010 Club Championships Preview - Women's Division

The 2010 USA Ultimate Club Championships in Sarasota, Fla. are just around the corner. Leading into the championships, usaultimate.org will feature previews for each division, courtesy of our team of contributors who will be on the scene in Florida to cover the event for the website and USAUltimate magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

With losses only to each other this season, Northwest powerhouses Fury and Riot could march in, take Sarasota by storm and face off in a familiar final this weekend. That is, unless Brute Squad or another scrappy contender has something to say about it. The Northeast is under pressure to break the Northwest streak of seven titles after snagging four bids to the show this year and with Brute and the Capitals earning the three and four seeds respectively. Last year, the Caps made it to the semifinals and Brute fought its way into the finals, only to lose big to Fury, this year’s two seed and 2010 World Champions.

 

In addition to the established firms, the field of 16 has a mixture of upstarts, teams that have downsized and a handful of mergers and acquisitions. The USA Ultimate Club Championship welcomes RevoLOUtion, Phoenix, Molly Brown, Storm and Bent for the first time this year.  Opponents may not recognize some of the new jerseys but many of the faces will be familiar. Unlike those newbies who are unproven in Sarasota’s free market, Traffic and Showdown each have racked top six finishes within the past two years. Along with Scandal, these teams are poised to break into the semifinals. As for finals, the wind continues to point Northwest. 

 

 

Out of 37 games this regular season, Riot sustained just five losses – all to Fury. They took away three wins of the eight times the Northwest giants met. Captains Sarah "Surge" Griffith and Gwen Ambler have lead the deep crew to semifinals at Worlds and a clutch Regional finals victory over Fury. A bench full of athletes, cagey handlers and a growing appetite for a blue ribbon make this team a force to be reckoned with.

 

Molly Brown, new this year, is largely the combination of the dissolved Rare Air and Box squads from metro Denver. In the team’s first tournament, Molly Brown went undefeated at Colorado Cup, edging out teams like Pop and Nemesis. Molly Brown was sunk by Fury, Traffic and Safari at Labor Day but cruised through Sectionals and Regionals without a loss. The new team has yet to test the waters against Riot this year and the results of this pool may determine the team’s course in Sarasota.

 

Was Showdown underseeded? Their record says no but by Saturday that answer might change. The fiery Texas squad sustained losses to Brute Squad, Phoenix, Capitals, Scandal and Bent at Chesapeake Open and Philly Fusion. However, injuries and absences plagued the team throughout the regular season. After those tourneys, they didn’t face any substantial challenges at Sectionals nor at Regionals. Will they remember how they earned a fifth place finish in Sarasota last year? With a full, healthy squad and experienced vets such as Cara Crouch at the helm, Showdown has the ability to break seed. They have an early season win against Colorado at Texas Shootout but both teams have come a long way since then. A scrappy battle awaits both teams.

 

RevoLOUtion is this year’s 16^th seed and current leader in this year’s logo contest. The young St. Louis squad hasn’t faced anyone in their pool yet this year. RevoLOUtion played mostly regional match-ups and lost to both Pop and Nemesis. Are they ready for what other regions will bring? And will they have enough sweet jerseys to trade with said regions?

 

Fury took gold at Worlds this July and in 2008 and attended the international competition in 2000, 2002 and 2008. They are seeking their fifth straight club championship this year which would bring their total first-places finishes to seven since 1999.  Fury is nearly undefeated this season, falling only to its regional rival, Riot. In short, the Bay Area all-stars are the Lakers of women’s Ultimate and Coach Matty Tsang is their Phil Jackson. Expect to see him pacing the sidelines on Sunday.

 

Phoenix came to life this spring out of the ashes of North Carolina’s Backhoe. The big squad of tall, fast athletes lead by Lindsey Hack felt some growing pains this year with losses to Bent and Scandal at Chesapeake Open and a one-point loss to Scandal at Regionals. They showed a spark at Philly Fusion, beating the formidable Capitals by one. They lost to Fury early in the season at Shootout but if they come out on fire in their pool, it will be hard to stop their run and gun offense.

 

Nemesis has made the trip to Sarasota several times and the central one seed is looking to break into the top ten for the first time since 2006. The mixed crew of veteran and rookies lost to Fury at ECC and has not played a tough game since then. They blew through Chicago Heavyweights, Sectionals and Regionals undefeated. Look out for young talent such as Lien Hoffman to push Nemesis into the Top Ten.

 

Storm is the beneficiary of growth and strength of the region. The fourth place finisher out of the Northeast, the Montreal team has been around for several years but this is their first club championship. Against other club championship teams, Storm is 0-4 and otherwise the Canadian crew has been dominant at smaller tournaments.

 

 

Like the goldfish to its bowl, Brute Squad has grown to fit its competitive environment. This year’s three seed was founded in 2002 and has gotten better by leaps and bounds each year. After progressing from a 13^th finish at their first championships to quarters, then semifinals and finally finals last year, the next step is clear. The Boston army of core founders, young talent and Godiva expatriates fought their way into this year’s semifinals against Riot at Worlds in Prague by beating out an ocean’s worth of competition. Brute Squad will continue to swim aggressively upstream against strong Northwest currents.

 

Traffic is only as strong as its region – which is to say the VC team is a formidable force. They have yet to get a W against its two big sisters in the Northwest Region. But by drawing a pool without Fury and Riot, Traffic can show that is it as dangerous as its regional counterparts. They showed true grit by beating Zeitgeist at Regionals for the final bid and have victories against Bent, Molly Brown and Safari. Against its pool leader, Traffic faced Brute Squad at ECC and endured a 9-15 loss.

 

Pop is still in its infancy as a team but they surprised the field at ECC, beating Traffic by two and playing a tight game against Brute Squad, losing 11-13. Throughout the season, the squad showed it’s on the verge of breaking out from its 11 and 15 place finishes in Sarasota the past two years. The young team learned to crawl, then walk and the showdown against Traffic will dictate if the team is ready to run.

News of the Ozone decreasing is a national issue and is especially significant over Altanta.  But perhaps with a roster of 14, the team is simply trying to be efficient. Whether or not they are sustainable with those numbers is the real question. This year, Ozone lost to Scandal, Phoenix and Showdown at Chesapeake Open. They haven’t faced any of the top four seeds and came in second at Regionals. The team’s chemistry will add protection against toxic opponents but any long games could create more holes in the already depleting roster.

 

The Capitals have hovered in the top 10 since its first appearance in 2005 including a semifinal finish last year.  They have wins over pool play opponents Bent and Scandal from Philly Fusion – one of its few regular season appearances. Bent stole one game from the Caps at Regionals in a close 10-12 match. The physical Canadians have tough fights against three scrappers in Pool D but their gloves are still off from 2009’s semifinals.

 

Scandal is a young, eager team that will generate a lot of gossip at its second club championship appearance this year. With an experienced coach and big wins against Brute Squad, Phoenix and Bent, the D.C.-based crew is poised to avenge their one-point loss to the Capitals at Philly Fusion.  A toe-the-line hard-capped and – dare I say scandalous – goal against Phoenix launched the team into the one spot from their region. This fifth seed promises more thrilling plays this weekend.

 

Bent, a Sarasota newbie, is no stranger to its pool opponents. The two-year old team from NYC faced off against the Caps three times, winning once on Saturday at Regionals. They lost to Scandal thrice over the course of the season. Bent came away with a W from an ECC match up with Safari. If first-time jitters are managed correctly by their coach, this crew could find its way into the top 10.

 

While the other three teams in this pool have faced off on several occasions, Safari is the wild card of the bunch. The Southwest legacy only played Bent once at ECC, falling 10-15 to the Northeast rookies. This season, Safari challenged its regional opponents but did little against teams outside the Southwest. Veteran handlers and receivers keep the San Diego gang going. A windy game would benefit Safari’s cagey handler crew.