2014 D-III College Championships - Day One Women's Recap
Corinne Murphy
Posted: May 18, 2014 12:22 AM
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Corinne Murphy recaps the women's division action from day one of the 2014 Division III College Championships in Westerville, Ohio.
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Day one at the 2014 Division III College Championships in Westerville, Ohio, was full of surprising performances and seeding upsets.
Pool A
Though Georgia College played well against St. Benedict, with first-year handlers breaking tough marks and playing aggressive defense, they seemed a bit stagnant, getting stalled out and dropping the disc in the red zone. Their final score was 15-4. In the Rice v. Georgia College match up, Rice’s quick movement earned them a lead in what was a close game before they closed out strong for a final score of 12-6. Neither Elon nor Georgia College gave up in their third-round game, though Georgia College took an early three-point lead. Elon’s multiple Ds per point made Georgia work hard in their vertical stack to connect on offense. In a long last point with hard cap going off, Georgia College took a quick timeout before snagging it in the end zone for an 11-8 win, successfully breaking their original seed.
Pool B
Though they had a rocky start, dropping the first throw of the game, Carleton College fought through their nerves. Taking an early lead, they scored again and again before Truman State could even put one point on the board. Eclipse had a dominant showing against TSUnami, beating them 13-6. In the Valparaiso v. Hamilton game, deep looks became a huge asset in Valparaiso’s offense. Though Hamilton had smooth offense at times, Valparaiso’s repeated strikes up-line made them hard to keep up with, final score 13-9. In what was the pool’s 1 v. 3 match up, though Valparaiso worked the disc up the force side well, Carleton took an early lead and only allowed the Chicks Hucking Discs to score a total of three points. Hamilton lost their nerve during their game against Truman State, with Truman taking an early lead of 5-1. The wind died down for the Truman State v. Valparaiso game later in the day, allowing TSUnami to connect on strike throws and wide-open, angled cuts, earning them a 15-7 victory.
Pool C
Though Wake Forest went on a five-point run to take the lead against defending champions Bowdoin, it didn’t translate to the final score of 12-13. Wake Forest’s cup defense forced Bowdoin’s offense back, but they fought through. A tough bid for a score from Bowdoin led to a double-game point where Chaos Theory came out on top. During the second round, Bowdoin couldn’t seem to break Claremont’s aggressive marks, with Claremont taking an early lead. Though both teams had many layout Ds, Bowdoin’s handlers struggled to connect as Claremont’s loopy strike throws up the sideline converted to scores. With soft cap going off at 10-8 (Claremont), both teams scored two more points before the game ended. The Wake Forest v. Claremont game proved to be back-and-forth scoring for both teams, trading points until Wake Forest’s extremely tight cup forced Claremont to make tough throws. Wake Forest’s break throws on offense also proved to be effective, allowing them to pull out a 12-10 win.
Pool D
Haverford’s reliance on handlers worked in their favor in their first game against Williams, taking a slight lead until they truly found their stride. Harding, whose seniors were absent due to graduation weekend, showed an effective zone defense, but they struggled to execute on offense, the wind factoring into their deep game. Their tough bids were not enough against St. Olaf’s dynamic offense, however, and St. Olaf broke seed with a 15-8 win. Harding’s next game against Williams was full of long points, with both teams attempting to hold onto the disc as the rain and hail started. Though Harding connected over Williams’ zone, LaWufa pulled through on offense with intense in-cuts for scores. Haverford took an early lead against St. Olaf, making it difficult for the latter to recover. Harding’s zone was broken with Haverford’s handlers breaking into the cup, and the defense struggled to catch up. This intense game left Harding looking fatigued, while Haverford tallied break after break. St. Olaf pulled through in their game against Williams, fighting against LaWufa’s inside breaks and open-side cuts. St. Olaf fought well against Williams’ tight defense by shutting down break throws and getting open on offensive strikes and in-cuts to take the game at 10-8 and break seed.
Pre-Quarterfinals
In the pre-quarterfinal game between St. Benedict and Williams, the teams traded points, tying it up 8-8 before soft cap. Williams scored the final two points to take the game 10-8. Claremont utilized wide-open cuts up the line to take the lead in their pre-quarter match up against Valparaiso, though Claremont slightly lost their composure when Valpo tied the game at 7-7. But the Greenshirts stayed the course and came out on top 15-11. St. Olaf fought in a tight game against Georgia College, making short throws in the wind that had picked up later in the day. Working the disc with lots of handler movement proved effective for St. Olaf, turning up the intensity to take the game 14-8. Despite dropping seed after pool play, Truman State fought back in the pre-quarters to convincingly eliminate the defending champions from Bowdoin with a final score of 14-7.
Looking Ahead
With so many upsets filling Saturday’s score sheets, it should be interesting to watch the championship bracket games tomorrow. With St. Benedict, Bowdoin and Valparaiso getting knocked out in pre-quarterfinal round, the teams left will all have to kick it up a notch to battle it out under win-or-go-home pressure. Claremont’s impressive performance today may have them going much farther than their original seeding would have you assume, but assuming they make it through Haverford tomorrow morning, talented, tough-to-beat teams will be waiting in the semis and/or finals, potentially in the form of Truman, Rice or a possible rematch with Wake Forest.
Day 1 Women's Photos, by UltiPhotos (Extended Gallery)
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