USA Ultimate

2011 HS Westerns - Saturday Girls Recap

The 2011 USA Ultimate High School Western Championships opened Saturday in Corvallis, Ore. as the top-seeded Northwest School swept through pool play undefeated (4-0), while Seattle Academy and Nathan Hale also cruised through preliminary rounds with solid winning records in the girls’ division.

 

The first-round games gave each team an opportunity to get warmed up and scope out their competition while adjusting their throws to the slight breeze that was felt across the fields. Later in the day, the wind would eventually pick up and became a definite factor in the afternoon games.

 

 

Nathan Hale played strongly throughout the day, going into the last round undefeated against an equally unbeaten Seattle Academy. During a highly-competitive game, Seattle Academy and Hale traded points with Hale taking half 7-6 on a downwind huck score. With only ten players still in commission and the winds increasing, Seattle Academy’s zone defense became a deciding factor in the game against Hale, helping to determine the outcome. Nathan Hale showed fantastic athleticism running hard and utilizing their tall players, but that alone couldn’t secure them the win. Tied at 8, Seattle Academy scored to get their first lead of the game. With that momentum and energy on their side, Seattle Academy got a crucial D on Hale’s goal line, continued with a deep throw, turned it over near their own end zone before eventually regaining possession and ending the game 10-8.

 

Roosevelt’s first game of the day against Seattle Academy included long points, most of which were ended by Seattle Academy’s aggressive defense.

 

During the second round, Nathan Hale set a strong zone defense against Roosevelt and even with Roosevelt swinging across the field they were unable to break the zone. Although they went 0-3 for the day, Roosevelt played hard and forced long points during all of their games.

 

The closest game of the day was played by Roosevelt and Franklin. Franklin won 8-7, showing their superior throwing skills against a strong opponent. They traded points during the entire game, with both teams showing their strengths – Franklin with their precise throws and Roosevelt with a group of tall and athletic girls running hard every point. Franklin ended 2-2 for the day, losing to Northwest, then Lakeside in the last round of the day. Franklin impressed spectators with their tight zone defense and good communication on the field. Although a very young team without a lot of height, Franklin brought a lot of talent to the tournament this year.

 

Lisa Niemann, coach of Franklin High School, commented, "We’re super excited to play a team from out of town," referring to the only girls’ team from outside the Seattle area, Summit High School from Bend.

 

Opponents commented that Summit brought a different style of play and great Spirit to the tournament. Although the team brought relatively few players with them, they played hard and showed their competition that Oregon can represent. Despite the fact that they finished the day with zero wins, this is a team that stayed positive and had fun the throughout the entire day.

 

Lakeside High School’s Claire Stolz led her team to a strong finish on day one. After two difficult games in the morning, the team started to come together during their third game of the day against Summit High School. With a few games under their belt and after a slow start, the team finally started to click. Lakeside parents commented that most of their players don’t get a chance to play together regularly, creating a dynamic on the field that can sometimes be difficult to overcome. After their two morning games, the team started to work more cohesively, winning their last two games of the day against Summit and Franklin, 13-0 and 13-4, respectively.

 

PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Kotvis

 

Northwest school proved they deserved the top seed of the division by winning all of their matchups and maintaining their position in the pool. In what was expected to be a fairly even matchup between the top two seeds in the division, Northwest took that game 9-4 against Seattle Academy. The game started out with Seattle Academy taking a 3-0 lead, but they couldn’t quite keep up the momentum. Subsequently, Northwest started playing some different defenses that were very effective, and at the same time Seattle Academy began to have some errors in their play. Seattle Academy’s coach Miranda Roth commented, "This game definitely did not end up as close as it could have." She continued by explaining that the game was a learning experience for the Seattle Academy girls, "I’m actually really happy because I feel like we saw their strategy; everything they can do against us, we saw that today. So if we can win our next game against Nathan Hale and then tomorrow see [Northwest] in the finals that would be great."

 

The first round game tomorrow will finish up pool play for the girls’ division. With zero upsets the entire day it will be an exciting game to watch, with sixth-seeded Summit playing the seventh-seeded Roosevelt.