Boneyard, Baylands Kite Flying Team, and Johnny Walker win 2015 Masters Championships
Danielle Ennis, Annie Perkins
Posted: July 27, 2015 07:58 AM
A look at the final day of play at the 2015 Masters Championships in Aurora, Colo. today.
Men's Masters (schedule)
Annie Perkins
Finals
Johnny Encore pulled to defending world champion Boneyard to start the men’s masters final. Boneyard scored the opening point quickly, working the disc up the open side. A block from Josh Mullen put the disc back in Boneyard’s hands on the next point, and the handlers patiently swung the disc before scoring with a hammer to make it 2-0, Boneyard. Johnny Encore scored the following point and traded to a 5-3 Boneyard lead. Johnny Encore’s execution errors in the next two points resulted in a pair of Boneyard hammer goals to Nick Poore and Ray Parrish, respectively. Johnny Encore’s Josh "Richter" Ackley found Andy Thompson to bring the score to 7-4, Boneyard, but Boneyard answered back, working the disc down the break side to take half 8-4.
Johnny Encore was able to make up some ground early in the second half, bringing the score to 10-8, with Boneyard still in the lead. Boneyard scored on their first possession of the next point, going up 11-8, then capitalized on an overthrown huck from Johnny Encore, making it 12-8. Johnny Encore’s goal on the following point was seemingly effortless, with a series of well-timed continue cuts down the open side. Boneyard then scored with a huge catch by Dave Snoke over two Johnny Encore defenders. Johnny Encore responded with a huck of their own, hitting Tim Paymaster in stride. With Boneyard leading 13-10, the teams traded to 14-11, game to 15. Johnny Encore pulled to Boneyard, and the Boneyard O line performed with the same speed and efficiency they had employed all game, hitting Kevin Kusy at the front cone of the end zone for the winning goal: 15-11, Boneyard over Johnny Encore.
A notable absence in this game was Johnny Encore’s Ted Tripoli, due to a shoulder injury acquired early in the first half. With the loss of the 32-year-old’s athleticism, Johnny Encore lacked some of the intensity they showed in yesterday’s semifinal against Surly. Boneyard’s depth and fast-paced offense allowed them to take advantage of Johnny Encore’s turnovers, and in their eighth time at the Masters Championships and fourth finals appearance, it led them to the championship they’d been striving for.
Placement Brackets
The remaining placement game results were Voltron 2020 over Surly 15-12 for third place, Black Cans and Highlands over Tejas 15-14 for fifth place, OhiOld over BAM! 15-9 for seventh place, Horse over Flood 15-14 for ninth place, Beyondors over Pacemaker 11-4 for 11th, Crawl over Burnside for 13th, and Woolly Mammoth over Get Off My Lawn 15-13 for 15th.
Masters Women’s (schedule)
Danielle Ennis
The finals started out looking like what could potentially be a rout for Rio, another steamroll coming off Saturday's semifinal game. They scored early and looked strong. But as soon as the Bayland Kite Flying Team set their flow of an offense and tied the game at fours, they never looked back.
Their upfield movement brought Baylands to their first lead of the game at 5-4. A stellar hammer from Shar Stuht landed in a teammate's hands, setting the stage for the rest of the game's possessions.
Baylands proceeded to take half at 8-5, and kept Rio to only one more point after halftime, exactly what Rio's defense did to Jezebel in their semifinal matchup.
Rio's offense had its moments of redemption and hope, with accurate and consistent puts from Jana Krutsinger and another great show of play by workhorse Sally Lambert. But the offense didn't seem to connect and couldn't mount a comeback.
At 12-6, Baylands' Julie Baker, the quiet player with all the perfect finishes, laid out for a disc and then immediately threw yet another pretty pass deep into the end zone, in a moment that marked the team's skill, deep roster and reason for success. San Francisco's Baylands Kite Flying Team pulled away point by point and finished the game at 15-6.
In the third-place game, last year's champions, Loose Cannon, took home the trophy by beating Jezebel 15-12, marking their east-coast roster as strong contenders yet again.
Grand Masters (schedule)
Annie Perkins
Finals
The first of today’s three finals was third-seeded No Country vs. fifth-seeded Johnny Walker. No stranger to the national stage, last year’s third-place team, No Country, came out to an early 5-1 lead, due to newcomer Johnny Walker’s difficulty connecting with their deep cutters. Johnny Walker utilized the break side to cut their deficit to a single point, but No Country’s fast-paced offense scored two quick points, including a huge layout goal from Bob Doane. Up 7-4, No Country gained possession on their own goal line in the following point. Johnny Walker’s Jeremy Friedman came down with an errant dump pass and immediately found Heath Mackay to take it to 7-5. No Country scored quickly with a half-field hammer, taking half 8-5.
Johnny Walker picked up their speed out of halftime, trading points to 10-7, then racked up an additional three points to tie it at 10-10. The time cap had gone on during their run – game to 12. No Country stopped Johnny Walker’s run, going up 11-10, but Johnny Walker answered back, finding Mackay in the end zone to tie it back up at 11s. The sidelines were electric, with spectators standing three or four deep as Johnny Walker pulled on double-game point. No Country’s offense looked nearly unstoppable, but a misread put the disc back in Johnny Walker’s hands. The answering huck, however, floated just past the fingertips of the Johnny Walker receiver. No Country worked the disc down the field, but a seemingly perfect backhand break was bobbled out of bounds. Johnny Walker patiently worked the disc back up-field, and this time, Keith Monohan found Van Le for the winning goal – 12-11 Johnny Walker over No Country.
Placement Brackets
The remaining placement game results were Shadows over Alchemy 15-11 for third place, Georgetown Brewing over Bighorn 15-6 for fifth place, Surly over Super Cali Fragile Disc 15-11 for seventh place, BigWheel over Big D N R for ninth, Moscow State over Ozark Hillbillies 15-14 for 11th, Old Man Winter over O.G. 15-7 for 13th, and Charred Guys over Rust Belt 15-8 for 15th.
Over the entirety of the weekend, there was a clear separation between the top teams and those finishing lower down in the bracket, though not as great as in previous years. Shadows captain Bob Clark reflected that last year there were maybe four teams in contention for the title, but there were double number that this year. "The beauty of it is so many people at this age playing at this level," he said. It will surely be exciting to see the future growth of the grand masters division moving forward into the 2016 season.
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