2013 National Championships Preview - Men's Division
Peter Doyle
Posted: October 16, 2013 03:20 PM
It's no new news to the readership of this article that 2013 was a year marked by change in the organization and visibility of our sport in unprecedented ways – notable items include: the multi-year contract appended by ESPN and USA Ultimate to include coverage of select games at elite-level tournaments on ESPN networks (including the National Championships) and USA Ultimate's rollout of a new regular season Club format introducing the Triple Crown Tour flight structure. Yet, perhaps the greatest changes this year will be both the restructuring of the National Championship tournament format and its relocation to Frisco, Texas from an established home of 13 years in Sarasota, Fla., adding potentially significant unknowns to what will occur at the Big Show. While the accomplishments of men’s division teams who earned their place at the National Championships are beyond speculation of talent and adaptability, we will undoubtedly see strategy shifts out of each team, starting with the first pulls on Oct. 17.
With the elimination of the power pools we’ve seen in years past and structuring of pre-quarters (beginning single elimination) to start on Friday of the tournament, a new demand to have a flawless weekend will be placed on the team who will be crowned 2013 National Champions. This reality is all the more significant as ‘parity’ is the word most commonly used to describe the landscape of this year’s men’s division.
Winning a game on universe point was an experience common to every team this season. One-point victories decided three major tournaments in the regular season – U.S. Open (Revolver-16 over Ironside-15), the Elite-Select Challenge at Colorado Cup (Doublewide-10 over Johnny Bravo-9), and the Pro-Elite Challenge at Terminus (PoNY-13 over Chain Lightning-12) – as well as South Central Regionals (Doublewide-15 over Johnny Bravo-14), Southeast Regionals (Chain Lightning-16 over Ring of Fire-15) and both the second- and third-place bids coming out of the Northwest Region (second place: Ironside-14 over PoNY-13; third place: PoNY-16 over Garuda-15). Basically, the majority of men’s teams we will see in Frisco can, at any time, beat whichever opponent they are facing, lending to exciting match ups and inevitable upsets. With no team having a perfect season this year and multiple wins/losses occurring between teams who have met twice or more leading up to Nationals, the tournament seeding pits teams against one another who have the opportunity to revisit some of those regular-season encounters and correct past errors or maintain stature against a known opponent.
Pool A
San Francisco’s Revolver leads the group with the overall one seed going into the weekend; with a tournament win at the U.S. Open in July, only four (very narrow) regular-season losses and consistent semifinals and finals presence in years past, the team from the Bay has earned their reputation and seat at the top. Roster changes, including the exit of prominent players such as Robbie Cahill and Bart Watson, haven’t slowed down the 2010/2011 repeat national champions in their run for the 2013 title. A core of top tier players including Cassidy Rasmussen, Beau Kittredge, Josh Weismann and Mac Taylor anchor this team, but the depth of their roster is what has created the wall few opponents can scale. Revolver has one of the strongest huck games in the division with exceptional receivers in Kittredge and Stanford’s Jordan Jeffery, pulling discs out of the air from any one of 10 Revolver players sending it downfield. Nevertheless, expectations of Revolver’s dominance in this pool might be premature as they will meet each of the other three teams for the first time this season.
Perhaps the biggest threat to Revolver going 3-0 on Thursday will be PoNY. The boys out of New York saw most of the teams that will be present in Frisco during the regular season, giving them the experience necessary to go far in the tournament and potentially unseat some high seeds. Their early-season showing at the Pro-Elite Challenge at Terminus garnered them heightened attention with wins over Sockeye and GOAT and taking home the tournament title after beating Atlanta home team, Chain Lightning. Containing PoNY captain Jack Marsh on offense is an arduous task for any defender, and the combination of Christopher Mazur and receivers Luke Wolckenhaur and Robbie Gilles will require strategic evaluation from each opposing team. PoNY showed remarkable patience in the red zone against Chain Lightning at Terminus, displaying a level of composure that will be necessary throughout this weekend in order to compete with the top teams. At times, PoNY can seem disoriented on defense, lost in the pace of the game, and at the Nationals level, any miscues on defense can easy unravel a team and take them out of contention for the title.
The regular-season exposure PoNY received is marred by a 1-2 record against the Pool A three seed, Truck Stop. The D.C. team has had a mixed bag of results this season, with the two wins over PoNY possibly being the defining achievements of their season. Should they have pulled out the semifinals win against Doublewide on universe point at Colorado Cup, we might be looking at them in a different light. However, with an 0-4 Saturday at the Chesapeake Invite, Truck Stop showed that while they can put up points and make big plays, there is still a division between them and the upper seeds of the competition.
Coming in as the four seed in Pool A, Florida United has the biggest opportunity to make waves in the group. Florida, the state in general, has developed into a recognizable supplier of top talent in the sport, and with athletic college players moving up to the Club level from University of Florida and Central Florida, this squad, while largely untested at the elite level of play, may surprise some teams. The exodus of the Florida contingent from Doublewide brought well-known players Cole Sullivan and Chris Gibson to Florida United, and with them, some brand recognition that will draw eyes to this young program.
Pool B
With a symphony of excitement behind them, Toronto GOAT enters the tournament as the overall two seed. While GOAT is no stranger to the National Championships, their previous success has been cut off in the quarterfinals. But the talent we’ve seen from them this season might very well change that. Starting off slow at the Pro-Elite Challenge at Terminus and going 3-3 for the weekend, GOAT found an upswing at the Chesapeake Invite with only one loss on Saturday to Ironside (who they beat in their two subsequent meetings). After being relegated to the fifth-place bracket due to point differential, GOAT didn’t have a chance to play for the tournament title at Chesapeake, but they established their dominance this season claiming the win at the Pro Flight Finale over their finals contender Doublewide (14-11). Mark Lloyd cutting in the field will create problems for every team they face in Frisco. GOAT plays a creative game, regularly employing unorthodox throws on offense and intense defense bolstered by smooth conversion after the play is made. Handling on the defensive line, Toly Vasilyev and Michael Jones will control a lot of success for this team. Unlike Revolver, GOAT has already matched up against the two and three seeds in their pool this season, enduring an 8-13 loss against Sockeye at Terminus but retaliating with a 15-12 win over the Seattle team at the Pro Flight Finale.
Sockeye, with their extensive narrative of Nationals appearances, began the regular season strong going 5-1 at Terminus and 3-1 at the West Coast Cup. The top three seeds going into the National Championships – Revolver, GOAT and Doublewide – have all fallen to Sockeye in the regular season, reinforcing the argument that no team headed to Texas has a clear path to the title. Sockeye hasn’t won the National Championships since 2007, and the team has a much different face than it did at that time, but the endurance of the program and their continued ability to acquire top talent speak highly of their potential to go far into bracket play. With Tim Gerhet joining the quick cutters from Seattle, Sockeye will likely be a team that progresses far into the weekend.
While GOAT is the rightful owner of the one seed in Pool B, the placement of Sockeye at two and Sub Zero at three may catch you off guard at first. Sub Zero’s stellar performance at the Chesapeake Invite generated a lot of interest and confusion leading up to the seeding of the National Championships. With a dismal 1-5 showing at Terminus and an equally poor performance the weekend after Chesapeake at Heavyweights in Chicago, it makes every team suspicious of which Sub Zero they’re going to play: the incredibly athletic and consistent, tournament-winning Sub Zero or the team that falls apart early and can’t get their defense back on the field. Thomas Murray, Logan Weiss and Nick Stuart put on a show against Ironside in the Chesapeake finals. So the pieces are there for Sub Zero to displace some semifinals-bound teams, but it’s unclear whether or not they have the consistency needed to progress through each round of the tournament. We may see the team from Minnesota play into Saturday, or we may see their exit midday Friday. It’s entirely up in the air.
Taking the last seed in the pool, Madcow hasn’t yet shown that they can compete with the upper crust of men’s division teams. Their 0-7 weekend at the Chesapeake Invite illustrates the gap between them and other teams competing at Nationals. Santa Barbara’s Condors are the only team going to Frisco that Madcow defeated in the regular season. The Ohio club has height, and they can put up points against the top seeds, but this young program will be hard pressed to draw any victories at the Club Championships. Opportunity is the best thing Madcow can take away from this tournament. Being able to take the field against the top talent in the world allows young teams and players to hone their skills for future efforts.
Pool C
Defending champions Doublewide have had a dynamic season. Having seen big wins and big losses this year, the team from Texas has gone through personnel restructuring, the potential of which we haven’t yet been able to fully see. Doublewide’s loss of the Florida commuters (save Kurt Gibson) would seem like a disarmament of the weapons arsenal they bring to the elite game. The offensive flow between Tim Gerhet and Kurt Gibson was impressive to say the least. But the recruitment of two-time collegiate National Champions, Pitt alums Alex Thorne and Tyler DeGirolamo, add a new variable to the equation. As other Nationals teams watch video of Doublewide in preparation for meeting them in Frisco, they’ll notice one thing missing – a complete Doublewide team. Taking only 17 guys to the U.S. Open resulted in losses on both Saturday and Sunday to Revolver and a 10-15 loss to Ironside. While the team that won the Elite-Select Challenge at Colorado Cup for Doublewide was larger than the one they took to Raleigh, they still lacked a complete roster, including Kevin Richardson. At the Pro Flight Finale over Labor Day, Doublewide went 3-3 with reputation-sealing wins over Revolver, Ironside and Machine but received equally affecting losses against Sockeye, GOAT and Machine. With the National Championships in their backyard this year, you can bet Doublewide will be playing their full-field, high-intensity, high-action game in a serious way.
Coming in right behind Doublewide in Pool C is Boston’s Ironside. If they play their best game, these athletes have the potential to take the top seed out of the pool. Having faced off against Doublewide twice this year, both teams are acutely aware of the adjustments needed for their Thursday game. Ironside has met 10 of the 16 teams heading to Nationals during the regular season, making them one of the most well-prepared teams in the tournament field, as far as exposure to the impending competition is concerned. Alex Kampinos and Peter Prial create a wealth of opportunity downfield for their handlers, gaining separation from their defenders as well as any athletes in the Series. The recognition by the downfield cutters to the flawless strikes executed by George Stubbs consistently sees them end up catching goals, showing Ironside might have the best game out of the power position we’ll see all weekend.
The parity of Pool C continues with North Carolina’s Ring of Fire joining the group in the three spot. Doublewide and Ironside traded wins in the regular season – so did Ironside and Ring of Fire. This team is another wildcard like Sub Zero or Sockeye that has the potential to completely derail a finals-bound team early in the weekend. Ring accounts for one of GOAT’s very few regular-season losses and took Revolver to universe point at the Pro Flight Finale, but with losses to Clapham and High Five at Chesapeake, Ring of Fire is another team entering the competition with a checkered regular season. They have the potential to earn an attention-grabbing upset, or they very well might be upset themselves. We saw the Ring of Fire athletes find another gear and make their way into the semifinals last year at Nationals, and no one is ruling that out as a possibility this year.
The Santa Barbara Condors bring up the rear in Pool C as the four seed. With probably the oldest branded program at the tournament, the Condors have a lot of resources to draw from. This team’s exposure during the regular season to the rest of the Nationals field has been small, and their victories even smaller. Notwithstanding a two-point win over Florida United, the Condors have been easily put out by both PoNY and Revolver. While the expectation for successive wins is low for the Condors, this is the kind of team Ring of Fire could lose to if they play down to their competition, as we have seen them do throughout the season.
Pool D
No road to the finals is without serious challenge, but the argument exists that those teams in Pool D may just have toughest route forward. Johnny Bravo out of Colorado leads the fourth pool, and their story to that precarious position is different than that of the other three top seeds. Bravo has only a handful of losses this season, but they were also not competitors at as many of the major tournaments where conclusions were drawn concerning other top Nationals-bound teams. One can only speculate that wins over GOAT (13-8) and Doublewide (13-8) are the two determining factors for the Bravo seeding, despite the absence of the Colorado crew at the U.S. Open and Pro Flight Finale. 2013 additions to the seasoned Bravo team include Callahan Award winner Nick Lance out of Georgia Tech, Matty Zemel who returns to Colorado after a stint with Sockeye and Bart Watson, formerly of Revolver. Bravo’s late-season losses are almost forgivable given their individual contexts: two universe-point games against Doublewide, a 12-15 game against Nationals one seed Revolver and a 10-15 game against Japan’s Buzz Bullets (who just play a different kind of ultimate). Bravo has always played a super athletic brand of ultimate and continue to find their way to Nationals each year.
Just below Johnny Bravo is Chicago’s Machine, a name aptly donned by such a dynamic, relentless team. Machine has commendable wins throughout the season, beating Sockeye and Sub Zero twice, as well as Doublewide. However, a loss to Chain Lightning at Terminus makes you think twice about the composure of the Chicago club and if they can play each game with the focus necessary to advance beyond Friday’s first round. These guys have the speed, and they’re definitely not shy about hitting the ground. Machine’s defense is what has brought these victories home. They assert themselves all over the field and have the handling fleet to convert on the turn. One regular-season loss to Johnny Bravo at Terminus is the only time the Pool D one and two seeds will have met before Thursday. With little experience against Bravo, their game in the third round of pool play may very well be a prelude for the rest of the weekend for both teams.
To draw the belt tighter on Pool D, Atlanta’s Chain Lightning comes in as the third seed. Both Bravo and Machine have losses to Chain this season, and while the Pro Flight Finale wouldn’t altogether be described as a successful weekend for Chain, wins over Ironside and GOAT bring gravity to their strength in this pool. Asa Wilson is a great pickup for Chain, and with huge plays expected out of Jay Clark, Dylan Tunnel and Joel Wooten, these guys, while entering as a three seed, may very well end Thursday on top.
Our last men’s division team, receiving the 16th and final bid to the tournament is Vancouver’s Furious George. The stats of the season ring an ominous bell for Furious, telling them that the season is essentially over. The point margins are too wide for one to hope beyond reason for a good showing out of this group. Like Madcow, this tournament showing will exist for Furious as bragging rights and extra reps for next year’s run.
Anticipation thickens with less than a week to go before the 2013 men’s division National Champion is crowned. As we’ve seen, this year there are a number of dark-horse teams who have made it clear throughout the regular season that Revolver shouldn’t get too comfortable in that number one spot. Stay tuned for daily coverage to come from the USA Ultimate Men’s Division National Championship in Frisco, Texas.
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