USA Ultimate

 

The second day of pool play was full of exciting upsets and close games. The fact that only one pool played out to seed reflects the significant parity of almost every pool. Many games were completely up for grabs. Read below for the day two pool-by-pool and pre-quarter recaps. Related Links: Event website Event Guide (PDF) ESPN College Championships Schedule Open Division score reporter Women's Division score reporter

 

Pool A

	Oregon (1) 1A: (4-0)		Wisconsin (8) 3A: (2-2)		Stanford (12) 5A: 1-3		Minnesota (13) 2A: 2-2		Northeastern (17) 4A: 1-3

 

While the Oregon v. Stanford matchup was a blowout in the first round of the day, the Wisconsin v. Northeastern game proved to be much more interesting. Northeastern initially had some difficulty finishing in the red zone, and Wisconsin used their well-placed deep throws to score some easy points. The Valkyries held fast, however, and managed to complete some scrappier deep looks and come up with big Ds to trade points with Bella Donna. In the end, Wisconsin’s determination and offensive flow allowed them to pull away for a 13-10 win. 

Playing their best and obviously amped to be competing so closely with Oregon, Minnesota gave the number one seed a run for their money in the first half of their game. Oregon was clearly a little rattled by their opponents’ success—they had some uncharacteristic drops, and a few players were slightly emotional on the sidelines. The team quickly rallied around big defensive plays from Bailey Zahniser (4) and Sophie Darch (10) and proceeded to outscore Minnesota 7-1 in the second half.

Pool B

	Carleton College (2) 1B: (4-0)		British Columbia (7) 2B: (3-1)		Georgia (11) 5B: (0-4)		California-Santa Barbara (14) 4B: (1-3 )		Northwestern (18) 3B: (2-2)

 

Pool B’s morning games went as expected, with Carleton beating Georgia handily 15-5 and UBC coming out with a 15-6 win over Northwestern. In the third round of play, Northwestern upset UCSB on universe point to take the win 12-11. Northwestern began the game strong, managing to get a few breaks as the wind started to pick up. Both teams used man and zone defenses, and UCSB’s tight four-person cup forced some messy Northwestern turnovers that led to quick scores. The teams each went on three-point runs to bring the score to 11-11. Lots of anxious turns occurred, and Northwestern's offense had difficulty getting the disc off of the trap side. Despite the Burning Skirts’ cup, Northwestern handler Lien Hoffman (4) was able to complete multiple hucks and lead her team to a one-point victory.  

Pool C

	Iowa State (3) 3C: (2-2)		Ohio State (6) 1C: (4-0)		Virginia (10) 2C: (2-2)		Central Florida (15) 5C: (1-3)		Whitman (19) 4C: (1-3)

 

Pool C’s day of play began with a bang in the first-round match up between Central Florida and Whitman. Unlike other competitors, the Lady Sweets were able to work Central Florida’s formidable four-person cup, with handlers like Julia Bladin (10) crashing the cup and looking for continuation throws. Whitman’s defense was no match for Central Florida, however, and the southern team easily dominated the first half with Sunny Harris (23) racking up assists. Whitman recharged at the half and went on a stunning six-point run to bring the score to 10-8. The rest of the game was highly charged as the two teams traded points after numerous nervously energetic drops and dramatic Ds to compensate. After many turnovers at universe, Whitman was able to reel in the jitters and work the disc down the field. Corinne Pingul (4) was finally able to punch it in to Beth Daviess (88) to cap off a narrow, yet well fought, win.  Final score, 13-12.

The explosive play in Pool C continued with an incredible UVA upset of Iowa State in the second round of play. Having lost to Central Florida in a frustrating game yesterday, UVA regrouped emotionally and came out with guns blazing against Iowa State. Hydra played a tight zone on Iowa State after learning the hard way that their deep game is close to impossible to shut down with man defense. Although Iowa’s handlers were able to reset the disc, UVA’s zone made it especially difficult for them to gain any yardage. The cup also forced lots of turns after completed passes to less-experienced Iowa cutters. UVA’s Alika Johnson was the star of the game, relentlessly driving her team’s forward motion on offense and working tirelessly in the cup. Similarly, Iowa State’s Magon Liu (8) kept the scores coming, working the break side with her unstoppable high-release backhands. Although Woman Scorned’s man defense made it tough for Virginia players to establish offensive flow, UVA remained patient on offense, and a perfectly executed flick huck from Johnson to Sarah Hansen (31) in the back of the end zone clinched the game for Hydra 15-13.

Because of the previous pool upsets, the Central Florida v. Iowa State matchup became the game to go to pre-quarters. Both teams were prepared to bring it, but it soon became clear that Central Florida had a little more gas in the tank than Iowa State. Magon Liu seemed exhausted, and her team was playing an entirely different game than they had against Ohio State on Friday. As always, Central Florida’s wide cup stymied the flow of their competition; they cut off the swing and followed handlers into the cup so Iowa could barely gain yards. UCF’s defense was on fire, led by Sunny Harris (23) and Samantha Young (26). After being sufficiently patient on offense and making some great defensive moves themselves (such as Sam Sauerbrei (47) slapping the disc out of the air to block UCF’s big huck on universe point), Iowa State finally scored what they thought would be the game-winning point: Camille Nelson (16) completed a break-side backhand to Linda Behrer (12), and all of Iowa collapsed in exhaustion and relief. As it turned out, UCF hS called a pick before the throw. he observers debated the call with the players for about seven minutes before deciding to send it back to Nelson. She quickly repeated her previous throw, and the game and the suspense were (finally) truly over. 

Pool D

	Iowa (4)  1D: (3-1)		Tufts (5) 2D: (3-1)		Washington (9) 3D: (2-2)		Texas (16) 4D: (2-2)		Ottawa (20) 5D: (0-4)

 

The "pool of death" continued to play itself out today, beginning with an extremely intense game between Iowa and Washington. The teams were neck and neck until the end; Washington’s star handlers Shira Stern (10), Lucy Williams (12) and AT VoBa (23) cut continually for one another, while Iowa defenders like Liza Minor (3) and Anna Pritchard (33) got big layout Ds and reeled in astounding airborne catches in order to stop them. Incredibly athletic plays, along with other scrappy ones, were made by both sides. At one point, after a failed end zone pass to Williams, Barbara Hoover (8) laid out from the stack amongst many Iowa defenders for the score. Alison Vandegrift (5) finally came down with the disc in the end zone to win the game 15-14 for Iowa.

The Texas v. Ottawa game was also extremely close, with Texas playing their characteristically long points and getting a couple of important breaks to win 13-10. Melee also pulled out a big win against Iowa 15-5, although Iowa had clearly decided to rest their starters after clinching a spot in the quarterfinals. Nevertheless, Texas’ offense was controlled and confident; it was the best they had played all tournament.

 

Pre-Quarterfinals

UBC v. Iowa State

These two teams began the game in very different mental and physical states which ultimately determined the UBC win. UBC had played two fairly easy games earlier in the day, winning handily over Georgia and Northwestern. Iowa State, however, had just come off of their extremely close and emotionally draining universe-point win against Central Florida. Woman Scorned's key players were exhausted. At one point, Becca Miller had to step off the field to eat power bars and drink water quietly under a tent in order to regroup; Magon Liu, who plays almost every point, was lagging on defense. Yet it seemed as if Iowa State’s exhaustion might have benefited them at first - they were less eager to force throws deep and more inclined to stay patient and work the disc down the break side, a skill Liu has perfected. After being down at half, UBC instituted a disorienting zone on defense and began to take charge on offense, despite Catherine Hui stepping out at 10-10 due to a pulled hamstring. Crystal Koo was UBC’s offensive star, throwing three hammers for scores and allowing them to close out the win 15-12. 

Virginia v. Northwestern

This nailbiter ended in a close Hydra 14-12 win. At first, it seemed as if Northwestern was going to be the clear victor. They were up 6-2 thanks to their effective deep game and handler flow, while Hydra was repeatedly making poor offensive decisions and couldn’t quite make it to the red zone without a turnover. To mix things up, Hydra decided to throw a zone defense led by the ever-intense Alika Johnston, and the game immediately turned around. Hydra’s defensive choice forced Northwestern’s biggest deep threat, Lien Hoffman, to come back and handle. Without the deep threat, Northwestern had a much tougher time finding themselves in the end zone. Virginia was able to even the score and eventually pull away using their zone, the turns their D line began to force and the work of their sideline in talking to the cup and cheering for their teammates at every move. 

Tufts v. Wisconsin

Although there were some messy, long points involved, Tufts came away from this game as the clear victor with a 14-8 win. While effective against other teams, Wisconsin’s four-person cup didn’t work perfectly against Tufts. EWO found ways to throw the disc up-line and to the end zone, despite Bella Donna’s pressure. Wisconsin’s deep looks didn’t always secure points in their favor, but those that didn't still certainly tired out the EWO defenders. EWO was still able to maintain the lead they had secured early in the game by collecting themselves on offense after chasing speedy Wisconsin players deep.   

Minnesota v. Washington

This game was certainly worthy of the showcase field; it was full of big plays and was tightly contested until the very end. Washington went up 3-0 early with some help from Minnesota red zone turns. Element’s key handlers, Shira Stern, Lucy Williams and Amanda Kostic, worked the disc up the line with intense precision. After a Minnesota time out, the Ninjas turned on their D and started completing effective deep throws to the formidable Sarah Mecksroth. Ninjas like Emily Regan were laying out left and right for the score, and Andrea Crumrine, Natalie DePalma and Emily DePalma began to really click on offense. Meanwhile, Washington’s handlers were looking exhausted and began to throw some less accurate, bladey puts that resulted in turns. As Minnesota gained a two-point lead, their fans went wild, and both teams really turned it on. Washington’s handlers worked the disc down the field with a fluid weave Minnesota’s junk zone defense couldn’t control. Washington secured the 15-14 win on universe point with a Alysia Letourneau lefty backhand (she’s a righty) to Barbara Hoover at the top right of the end zone. 

Memorable Moments

• Northeastern’s Mei Bruist (14) bobbles and drops the disc during a heated final point against Wisconsin, only to turn around and get a layout D about 10 seconds later.
   
• Iowa’s Liza Minor (3) snatches the disc out of the air amidst a crowd of Washington players to raise the score 14-13 in Iowa’s favor.
   
• Iowa State’s breakside throw to Magon Liu, who continued the breakside motion by throwing a high-release backhand to the left front of the endzone for a Rebecca Miller (47) layout catch for the score.
   
• Wisconsin’s Lauren Roach (24) getting multiple Ds in a row in their game against Stanford.
   
• The extreme athleticism of Oregon’s Andrea Fontenot (15). Her catches are astounding!
   
• Mariel Hammond of Central Florida’s huge D in the cup to force a turn against Iowa State.

 

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