2013 College Championships - Open Division Friday Recap
Ian Toner
Posted: May 24, 2013 10:40 PM
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20 teams remain with a shot at winning the 2013 College Championship. Ian Toner recaps day one action in the Open Division from Madison.
Day One Photo Highlights - by CBMT Creative
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Too Little, Too Late
With few exceptions, Friday’s action saw teams mount rousing comebacks…only to come up short. Carleton spoiled Wisconsin’s homecoming and silenced doubters (this author included), while contenders Oregon and Pitt fought off challenges from Colorado and Texas. Central Florida withstood a late Carolina run to vault themselves into prime position to win Pool C as well.
Pool A
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Oregon
(1) |
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Colorado
(8) |
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Dartmouth
(12) |
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Georgia
(13) |
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Washington
(17) |
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There may be more parity than originally thought in Pool A.
In the pool’s game of the day, Colorado clawed back from an 11-7 deficit against Oregon. Heroic play from Jimmy Mickle helped Mamabird earn a 14-13 lead, but after an Oregon hold, Colorado turned the disc in the red zone on universe point, and Oregon capitalized for the win. Is Oregon less invincible than once thought? Colorado’s junky defensive looks slowed their freewheeling offense. Was Ego just warming up? Dylan Freechild looked to be in control of Ego’s offense, and Topher Davis played first-rate defense. Is Colorado stronger than its season record indicates? No one likes overhyping players, and Colorado had strong contributions from Tim Morrissy, Jackson Kloor and Dennison Bechis; but it has to be said that as Jimmy Mickle goes, so Colorado will go.
Jojah elevated their performance and played Colorado tightly in a 12-10 losing effort, while Dartmouth fought off a late Jojah charge to the tune of 15-13. Spencer Diamond and Pain Train put themselves in position to seriously challenge Colorado (and possibly even Oregon, though that’s more of a stretch). Tomorrow’s Oregon-Dartmouth and Dartmouth-Colorado match ups will settle these lingering questions.
Pool B
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Wisconsin
(2) |
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Carleton College
(7) |
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Harvard
(11) |
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Florida State
(14) |
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Cornell
(18) |
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Well, that’s the last time this author questions Carleton’s capability in a national championship setting. In the latest rendition of this heated North Central rivalry, Carleton played the spoiler on Wisconsin’s home turf. CUT jumped out to an early 3-1 lead before the Kyle Geppert-Jordan O’Neill Hodag love began heating up and brought the game to a tie at 5-5. During the next point, Carleton’s Julian Childs-Walker threw a mid-range, same-third huck down the backhand sideline to Simon Montague. As Montague looked back to reel the disc in, Wisconsin’s Peter Guerin gave chase, knew he wouldn’t get the block, yet took a threatening jab step in Montague’s direction, as though he would tackle Montague. Montague did not flinch, caught the goal and held the disc in the front of Guerin’s face for an extra few seconds after the grab. Though Montague racked up a TMF for the taunt, he gave his team fire to take half, and he ramped up the tension and intensity for the rest of the game. Despite hometown vuvuzela support and extraordinary defensive performances from Tom Coolidge and Colin Camp, Wisconsin threw away too many of their late break chances, and CUT stole the driver’s seat in Pool B to the tune of 14-10.
Harvard Red Line took care of business without issue and is in contention for a top-two finish. While the Harvard-Carleton matchup could be contentious, all eyes should be on the Wisconsin-Harvard game as well.
Pool C
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North Carolina
(3) |
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Central Florida
(6) |
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Ohio
(10) |
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California-Davis
(15) |
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Luther
(19) |
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To put it nicely, the North Carolina-Central Florida game was ugly. North Carolina looked nervous and committed many unforced turns. Central Florida struggled to establish flow or rhythm. The pace was slow and disjointed, and the execution was sloppy. The Dogs of War took half 8-4, and despite Carolina’s 6-2 run after halftime, Central Florida finished things up with a 3-0 run to win 13-10. Central Florida put themselves in position to win the pool, but the Dogs of War need to play better come bracket time, and the team leadership knows that.
In the major exception to today’s trend of comebacks falling short, Carolina found themselves down 12-8 against Luther shortly after their loss to UCF. Carolina’s junky zone defense proved unsolvable for LUFDA, and after evening the score at 15-15, Darkside won on a Jonathan Nethercutt Callahan grab. Luther had chances to put the game away earlier, but their inability to execute under pressure left the team with their second universe loss of the day. Ohio, Davis and Carolina are all strongly in the mix for bracket berths.
Pool D
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Pittsburgh
(4)
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Texas
(5)
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North Carolina-Wilmington
(9) |
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Arizona
(16)
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Illinois
(20)
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Coach Nick Kaczmarek cannot be happy with the way his Pittsburgh team expended extra energy in the Texas game and let TUFF hang around before winning 15-13. That being said, when Isaac Saul was commanding Pitt’s offense with the Thornes and Tyler Degirolamo, the flow was smooth. When Tyler Kunsa was playing shut-down dump defense and Trent Dillon and Marcus Ranii-Dropcho were smothering their assignments, En Sabah Nur’s team D was stifling. En Sabah Nur is one of the strongest title contenders heading into the weekend.
Throughout the day, TUFF played traditional Texas vertical offense, with Andrew Klotz, Trey Lemastres and Will Driscoll at the helm. Before losing to Pitt, TUFF bested Arizona Sunburn, who appeared to emulate TUFF’s style on both sides of the disc, albeit unsuccessfully. Keep an eye on South Central All-Freshman Team Honoree Joel Clutton – he could develop into another Will Driscoll.
Wilmington withstood a midgame crisis against Illinois to win its first game of the tournament 15-12. By finishing off Arizona later in the day, the Seamen became the masters of their own destiny heading into Saturday.
Injury Update
- Wisconsin’s Brian Hart injured his leg and did not play against Carleton.
- Georgia’s Elliot Erickson re-pulled a tweaked hamstring in the first round and did not play the rest of the day.
- North Carolina-Wilmington handler Trueman Nottingham left the field with ice and on crutches but hopes to play tomorrow.
Day 1 - highlights - Images by
Ultimate Photos
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