USA Ultimate

With upsets from start to finish, the Pro-Elite Flight Challenge at Philly Invite proved there is plenty of competition for pole position in the mixed division this summer. Just as Montreal's Odyssée avenged pool play losses en route to the U.S. Open title in Raleigh, Philadelphia's AMP reversed a 15-10 early morning loss to Iowa's Chad Larson Experience to take the championship last Sunday.

Play began Saturday morning with both six seeds, Mental Toss Flycoons and Ambiguous Grey, scoring upset wins. Mental Toss continued their strong play in round two, but a 7-3 lead against AMP turned into a 14-9 loss and the Montanans did not win again in the pool. D.C.'s Ambiguous Grey continued to thrive, however, beating all but the Ghosts to set up an unlikely semifinal play-in game against Cosa Nostra in the final round of pool play on Sunday morning; AG took the game and a spot in the championship bracket, 14-10. Grey enjoyed a strong summer season last year as well and has added Dan Yi and Adam Sigelman to their existing veteran core. Cosa Nostra showed their Nationals run was no fluke, playing competitively on the road, though they faded in the consolation pool.

While home-standing AMP's 4-0 Saturday started with a 15-6 defeat of Odyssée, it was one of the few times Philadelphia led from start to finish; they played close games the rest of the day. A late defensive run fueled their two-point victory over Slow White, and the final round against 7 Figures went to universe point. CLX took a similar route, winning their four Saturday games by a combined eight points before looking sharper in their Sunday morning win over AMP. Slow White, playing without big man Chuck McBride, fell out of the semis picture, but finished with five comprehensive wins and with their only losses coming against the eventual finalists.

The two 5-0 pool winners, Ghosts and CLX, immediately discovered that semifinals would not be easy, and both entered halftime trailing. While CLX stepped up their defense to turn a 7-8 deficit into a comfortable win over Ambiguous Grey, the AMP v. Ghosts matchup went down to the wire. Ghosts were without Jeff Graham, Ben Kleaveland and had Paul Batten consigned to the sideline with an injury, but they still featured plenty of firepower. Brian Stout is back, joined on offense by Kathy Dobson, while Seth Crockford now leads the D line. AMP was efficient in converting turnovers for scores giving them a 10-6 lead. But three breaks in a row from the Ghosts brought the game to 10-10 and a long point with AMP fighting for ground against tough reset defense and force-middle marking. The Ghosts had chances but were wasteful deep, and the teams closed out the game while trading points, giving AMP the 13-12 win.

Finals started just three minutes after the late-running Ghosts v. AMP semifinal, and the Philadelphia team worked hard to sustain energy against CLX but went down 3-6 at the start, losing one offensive opportunity after an incredible first-throw layout from the puller, Dan Brennan. AMP earned a break back before halftime but CLX still led 8-6. AMP entered the second half with momentum, breaking twice straight away to even the score before both teams traded points to 13s.

Familiarity from the morning’s earlier match up led to neutralizing tactics – AMP looking to free female cutters deep while CLX soaked up pressure with trailing defenders and CLX operating effectively down the open sideline created by AMP's backhand force. At 13s with CLX on the doorstep, a point block from Diana Cornell gave AMP an opportunity which was quickly utilized, the disc moving full field for the leading break. CLX looked deep on the next point, but Raha Mozaffari made up ground to disrupt the catch, then went the other way before handing off for the winning score 15-13 and AMP's first hometown championship since 2009.

Despite the heat and some smaller-than-average rosters, all teams competed enthusiastically and enjoyed the early-season tests provided by match ups more commonly found in Sarasota. Several of these teams will meet again at ECC, Chesapeake and Labor Day before the Club Championship Series begins in earnest in September.

Photos by UltiPhotos.com

Extended Saturday Highlights

Extended Sunday Highlights

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