USA Ultimate

 

 

Wind was a factor from the get-go today, as 8th player Hurricane Sandy sent 15-25 mph winds to Sarasota from the Atlantic Coast of Florida. The wind made hucks less viable, and teams such as Traffic that rely heavily on their deep game found themselves struggling on offense. On the other hand, teams like Riot who have a strong short game were able to thrive in the wind. 

 

They say wind is the great equalizer, and that was never more in evidence than today at the Polo Fields. There were five upsets across the pools today, most taking place in pool D, which was turned upside down by some unexpected contenders. 

 

 

SHOWDOWN. This team took over Pool D with reckless abandon. Captain Holly Greunke’s aggressive yet confident throws and Sarah Levinn’s absolute disregard for her own body were all part of the team from Texas that won this pool of death with guns a’blazing. 

 

 

Pool A
 

No surprises here – this pool went according to seed, with Fury cleaning house and Brute and Heist duking it out. Brute won this matchup, but Georgia Bosscher and Heist fought all the way to universe point. Hot Metal was impressive for a 16 seed, however – they gave both Heist and Brute Squad a challenge. Fury’s stroll through this pool will help them in the long run – while the top teams in other pools were battling through hard capped games, Fury was cheering from the sidelines. 

 

Pool B
 

Riot’s crisp short throws were clutch in the wind today, and the patient leadership of players such as Gwen Ambler helped them stay confident as they won the pool. Molly Brown pulled off this pool’s only upset, taking down Ozone in a tight game. Ozone vs. Riot, although not as close as expected, featured some impressive plays such as a flying endzone line layout D from Angela Lin. 

 

 

As expected, Scandal took charge of this pool, but not without a battle with Nemesis. #21 Kelly Johnson was on FIRE, leading her team with all over the field. Nemesis gave Scandal a barn-burner 16-15 universe point game, then upset Capitals in another 16-14 nail-biter, taking second in the pool. Scandal also played their hearts out, led by Captain Allison Maddux’s aggressive handling and their own hurricane Sandy Jorgensen dominating the skies. 

 

This pool held the stories of the day. 12 seeded Showdown came out of nowhere and went undefeated, fighting through intense games against Traffic and Phoenix and sealing the deal with a 15-3 win over Nightlock. Captains Cara Crouch and Holly Greunke’s attitude in game point of the Traffic game reflects their team’s overall attitude coming into Nationals – "Even though the nerves were there, we stayed relaxed and confident". Nightlock made waves of their own, beating Traffic in brawl that saw a string of Traffic scores against Nightlock’s game point. Nightlock was finally able to punch it in, however, thanks to phenomenal play from players such as Audrey Wei and Marie Laurenza. 

 

 

 

• Although the wind made hucks less viable, it also meant more LAYOUTS! Starting with Nemesis #21 Kelly Johnson’s monster layout score in the first point of a tight game with Scandal, setting the standard of awesome layouts all day.

 

• Missing players made an impact in the women’s division today – Heist Captain Georgia Bosscher missed the first round game against Fury due to flight complications, Alecia White of Scandal missed all of today for grad school exams, etc. 

 

• Strong in the college scene, strong in club: Claudia Tajima rocks out on Brute Squad (handblock on universe point) after leading Tufts to success at the College Championships, Maggie Ruden of Sonoma State helped lead Fury’s handlers to an easy day on their way to Power Pools, and Alika Johnston (she’s only 18!), Virginia’s 2012 AC Freshman of the Year helped Scandal dominate today and may be one of the youngest players in Sarasota.

 

• Check out Fury vs. Nemesis livestream tomorrow at 9:30am!