2011 QCTU Wrap-up: Women's Division
Michelle Ng
Posted: February 16, 2011 03:46 PM
Queen City Tune-Up marked the start of the spring season for many players as teams made the trek to North Carolina from much colder temperatures and playing conditions this past weekend. The tournament, co-hosted by
UNC-Chapel Hill and
Without Limits, featured five Qualifiers from
last year’s College Championships, as well as a number of other teams who will surely contend for bids to the Championships this year. While this early season tournament is a good indication of who the non-West Coast frontrunners are, there is still a lot of season left to be played, and teams are still figuring out their systems and getting younger players minutes to prepare for a run later in the season. At this point, teams are making huge strides with every point played. The fact that some teams have had limited outdoor playing opportunities showed this weekend, especially in the early Saturday rounds. Other teams were making adjustments to big personnel changes and utilizing the weekend to build much-needed chemistry.
One such team was
Virginia. Hydra bounced back from a 13-0 loss to top-seeded
UNC-Wilmington on Saturday to make a strong showing on Sunday, beating
Wake Forest, playing a tight game with UNC-Chapel Hill, and knocking off
Pittsburgh and
Pennsylvania en route to a 5th place finish. Captain Devon Ericksen said, "Getting bageled by UNCW first thing Saturday morning taught us how to forget. We put that loss behind us and stayed positive, leading to a Sunday that we can be proud of." With the graduation of top players and leaders such as Hannah Green and Brittany Taylor, a number of younger players are stepping up to fill those roles and take ownership of the team. If their Sunday performance is any indication of Hydra’s potential, Ericksen and co-captain Shannon McVey will have Hydra in top form come Series time. Virginia will face a deep field in the Atlantic Coast Region, with UNC-Wilmington and UNC-Chapel Hill looking to be the frontrunners, and Wake Forest,
Duke, and perennial contender
Maryland all looking to ruin someone’s season. Duke broke seed in a big way this weekend, winning the right games at the right times to finish a very respectable 8th.
Representing the Metro East and Ohio Valley Regions respectively,
Cornell and
Penn State had rough Saturdays, but closed out the weekend strong. Cornell won three straight on Sunday to finish 13th, while Penn State finished 14th. Penn State lost three games on Saturday by a total of four points. With only seven returning players making the trip this weekend, their rookies got some much-needed experience, which will be invaluable as the team joins other top contenders Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and
Ohio State in the hunt for a bid out of the new Ohio Valley Region. Of the Ohio Valley teams, Pittsburgh appears to be the deepest, with many of their top players gaining experience with Pittsburgh Hot Metal this past club season. These teams will get a good look at each other the last week of the regular season as all four teams will be attending Keystone Classic. In the mean time, these teams will be hard at work getting in shape and taking advantage of every moment they get to practice outdoors.
The top seeds, UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Chapel Hill,
Northwestern, and
Washington University all went undefeated in pool play on Saturday. Northwestern had a few close games on Saturday, but appeared to be spreading playing time around and adjusting to non-freezing weather. Lien Hoffman, Sara Miller, and Christine O’Brien led the charge for Gung-Ho, helping the team to an impressive 6-1 record this weekend. After losing in the Semifinals to UNC-Chapel Hill, Northwestern posted a solid win in the 3rd place game against Washington University to cap off the weekend. Washington University had a strong weekend as well, with perhaps their biggest victory being a decisive win over Pittsburgh in pool play. With huge wins over Colorado and Wisconsin in the fall, Washington University is considered to be a strong contender for a bid out of the South Central. If the region doesn’t get a strength bid, they will have to knock off Texas, Colorado, and Colorado College to qualify for the Championships for a third year in a row. Sam Huo and Julie Habbert will be key’s to WUWU’s success, and cutter Kami Groom continues to be one of the most underrated players in the game, using her speed and hops to consistently create matchup problems downfield.
The two finalists, UNC-Wilmington and UNC-Chapel Hill are no strangers to playing each other in important matchups, meeting in the finals of Queen City Tune-Up, Sectionals, and Regionals and in a pre-Quarters game at the College Championships last year. The teams tied for 5th and 13th place respectively at the Championships, and both teams are returning the majority of their top players, making them favorites to advance even further this season. UNC-Chapel Hill led for most of the first half of the finals game, posting a 6-4 lead at one point, but UNC-Wilmington took half 8-7 and extended that lead in the second half to eventually win the game 11-8. The 2010 Callahan runner-up and multiple time All-Region player Leila Tunnell held the Pleiades together with her rock solid throws, and Lindsay Lang and Shellie Cohen provided additional firepower for the Chapel Hill team. Tunnell was by far the most polished player at the tournament, and one of few players whose throws were nearly unaffected by the wind. Cohen could be the difference maker for the Pleiades this year, and for many years to come, as she is only a freshman. Her big throws and grabs in traffic make her an exciting player to watch.
A player who has been on very few people’s radars, UNC-Wilmington captain Claire Chastain, took the finals game, and the weekend, into her own hands and consistently made things happen for her team with unstoppable up-the-line cuts and backhand breaks. With co-captain Jessica Patrick out for the majority of the weekend with an injury, the top few players on Seaweed shouldered an even heavier burden than usual. Sara Casey and Kelly Tidwell played well for Seaweed, as always, but it was Chastain who took the reigns and willed the team to victory this weekend. Chastain’s exceptional play around the disc and outstanding defense in the air were the difference makers for UNC-Wilmington. Seaweed also benefited from excellent play from a number of other players. Logan Shapiro made some big-time plays on defense, and Anne Marie Wilson and Michelle Guadagno consistently found the holes on offense.
The college season is now officially underway, and this weekend, the country will look west as UCSD and Without Limits host the best teams in the country at
Pres Day.
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