USA Ultimate

2012 Chicago Invite Preview

Just a day before one of the last regular season college tournaments winds up, my teammate and I are thrilled to bring the public coverage/analysis of the 2012 Chicago Invite! We are Jan Szmanda and Tommy Gallagher, both captains of Harry D Jacobs (Algonquin, IL)., and as we prepare ourselves for the rigor of college ultimate, we are ecstatic to review this weekend at the Chicago Invite and provide the ultimate community with an inside look at what is sure to be an exciting weekend of play. This year the Chicago Invite is hosting more high quality teams and players than ever before, all fueled with the desire to find one last push to better themselves before the journey to nationals?
 

 

Knowing that many schools are here to prove themselves, we found an underlying story that could prove jarring on a national scale. Programs like Michigan State and Penn State are right on the cusp of that upper tier looking to cross into the top 20. Since Iowa and Michigan (ranked 9th and 11th respectively) are in attendance, strong performances and/or upsets could result in one region snagging a strength bid from another. North Central vs. Great Lakes vs. Ohio Valley showings may alter representation at nationals. Can the North Central region hold their five bids? On the woman’s side of things we see a similar predicament as Northwestern fights to cross that same divide, hoping to make their break into the top 20 securing another bid for the Great Lakes. Let’s look at a few major match ups tomorrow. 

 

 

Iowa is handily the favorite to perform optimally this weekend. They have shown the community that they know how and when to peak. But their bout with Michigan State might be more than meets the eye. After taking Free State Classic, Iowa had a down the stretch struggle at Centex, losing against high caliber teams by only a point or two and are eyeing to turn on the clutch in Chicago. Michigan State put up wins over Oregon and Carleton at Centex, showing they are capable of matching up against the elite. Punch for punch, we can’t wait to see who comes out on top of this one.  

 

 

With Nationals bids still up for grabs, this second round showdown between Ohio Valley’s Penn State (23) and Great Lakes heavyweight Michigan (11) could prove decisive in the ultimate allocation of strength bids. Michigan looks to continue a spell of good form following a 9th place finish at College Easterns, complete with a 15-10 win over Penn State in pool play. Throughout the spring, Michigan has proven its ability to compete with this year’s top teams. Penn State, however, will come out looking to reaffirm their ability and recapture a Nationals bid for the Ohio Valley after recently falling from the top twenty. This will be a team not only playing for school pride, but for the Ohio Valley in general, in an attempt to steal last minute bids as a result in a final shift after this weekend.. Will this added responsibility be the fire necessary to get revenge? We’re not entirely sure, but we’re excited to find out.

 

 

With power-pools determined, teams in the lower pools are fighting for their own pride and worth. Teams like Dayton, Eastern Michigan, Purdue, Indiana, and North Park have had their moments of success in the past and with good pool play and a tough cross-over match, they could find themselves upsetting some of those in the power-pools. Should Dayton have been in the power-pool over some of the other teams in that division?  If groups hold we’ll see a crossover match between Michigan State and Dayton, which again will set Ohio Valley against the Great Lakes, which is exactly what we want to watch! 

 

 

On the women's side of things we see many teams from the midwest, but no Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan, and the ever impressive Wisconsin. Although it’s disappointing that those four elected not to attend the invite, there are games that should prove to be exciting. Ron Kubalanza’s crew from Northwestern should be ready to defend their home turf and hopefully find themselves in the top 20 after this weekend to earn a strength bid for the Great Lakes. Currently the Great Lakes have one bid, so if Michigan State, Northwestern, and Illinois want to snag that from Michigan they better come out successful here in Chicago.