USA Ultimate

The heat and humidity from the U.S. Open Championships in Raleigh have made the trip north (along with Odyssée and Ambiguous Grey) for the mixed division’s Pro-Elite Flight Challenge at Philly Invite. While the geographic diversity of the competition means there are not many grudge matches initially scheduled in the pools, expect the deep field of teams to establish some new rivalries that will play out through the rest of the Triple Crown Tour season in Seattle, San Francisco and Texas!

A1		A2		A3		A4		A5		A6
Montreal Odyssée		Ames Chad Larson Experience		Boston Slow White		Los Angeles 7 Figures		Philadelphia AMP		Missoula Mental Toss Flycoons

It is hard to look past the Worlds theme among this group of familiar Nationals qualifiers. The 2010 World Club Championships in Prague concluded with a dominant performance by champions CLX over a French-Canadian opponent; at the top of Pool A, Montreal’s Odyssée and Iowa’s Chad Larson Experience both have ambitions to qualify for the Championships again with a strong run this season. Philadelphia’s AMP, Montana’s Mental Toss Flycoons, who finished 7th and 3rd respectively at WUCC 2010, certainly wouldn’t mind earning a bid by the end of this year either; they're both making their major tournament debuts for 2013 this weekend. 2006 World Club bronze medalists Slow White are marking the start of their campaign to return abroad with a dedicated coaching staff led by Marshall Goff and Steve Sullivan, while 7 Figures has traveled from the west coast looking to play the spoiler. Odyssée finished last season as the highest-placing team from a strong Northeast region, then won the U.S. Open earlier this month in an upset over a strong field, including three perennial Bay Area championship contenders. Can they keep the run going? The Canadian club already has a loss to Slow White in their record from Boston Invite, but that was before they tasted success at the U.S. Open.

What’s new since Nationals?

The key additions for these teams are mostly veterans, with just a few exceptions – you’ll find 20-year-old Bucket transplant India Stubbs handling for Slow and Kevin Groulx of Canada’s U23 mixed squad on the roster for Odyssée. AMP’s new players include veterans Stacy Huffstetler and Diana Cornell, while CLX and Mental Toss feature returning alumni with championship pedigrees.

Players you don’t know.

We asked teams to shout-out some of their less visible, but influential and rising athletes who deserve more attention. CLX detailed the rising influence of Nick Turco, Neal Hanke, Dan Brennan and Melissa Gibbs down the stretch last season. After hearing about the youth, club, and masters leadership of Mental Toss’s Suzie Walter we can’t wait to meet "the soul of Big Sky Ultimate." For AMP, the two Bens, Johnson and Pelleg, bring relentless energy and aggressiveness to all of their matchups. Take notice of the defense from Slow White’veteran Adrienne Altobelli and club newcomer Shaun Doherty. 7 Figures standout Connie Wang leads a core of Caltech players.

B1		B2		B3		B4		B5		B6
Texas Cosa Nostra		Cambridge The Ghosts		Atlanta Bucket		San Francisco American BBQ		Lexington Wild Card		Washington, DC Ambiguous Grey

There are more relatively new teams at Philly Invite this year, led by last season’s upstarts Cosa Nostra who rose from the 16 seed to finish in fifth place at Nationals. Ghosts, Bucket and Ambiguous Grey feature plenty of veteran experience from the open and women’s divisions while Wild Card has turned over a significant portion of their roster ahead of their second campaign. All the teams mentioned relish the tough competition expected this weekend and will use it to prepare to play at a high level more consistently down the stretch of the season. Cosa Nostra’s clutch pre-quarter win over American BBQ last year in Sarasota gets replayed in the third round on Saturday. Ambiguous didn’t leave the U.S. Open with a great record, but they have big-play ability and improved throughout the tournament, finishing with an upset win over eventual finalists Mischief. Ghost's star Jeff Graham won’t be with the team this weekend.

What’s new since Nationals?

AG have improved at the expense of several sectional rivals, adding Dan and Jess Grabowski as well as Knute Svenson. Wild Card made some big pickups in Lily Steponaitis, Thomas Sayre-McCord and Dan Rosengard, but they’ll be away from the team this weekend, along with returners Ian Engler and Lee Farnsworth.

Players you don’t know.

Watch for aggressive throws from Aly Heath and cutting from Lloyd Olson and Kara Hammer on Wild Card. The continually improving Katherine Sullivan, Charles Scott and Alice Hwang are expected to make big contributions for AG. BBQ’s Cloh (Caroline Loh) Jr. apparently "made her Nationals debut (in utero) last year," which is difficult to confirm, but too good not to report!

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