USA Ultimate

The fifth-annual U.S. Open Championships is underway in Kingston, R.I. Thirty-four teams across the men's, mixed and women's divisions are competing to take home the first leg of the 2016 Triple Crown Tour. Related Links: Event Website Men's Division Scoreboard Mixed Division Scoreboard Women's Division Scoreboard #usopenri

 

And so ends day one of the 2016 U.S. Open at the University of Rhode Island (URI) in Kingston. Today dawned, and when ultimate combat was contested on the windy fields of URI, a few unexpected victories were clenched, though plenty of speculated outcomes were also proven correct. Extraordinary players gathered to compete, and their performances did not disappoint. Each team in the men’s division dove into day one with clear purpose and grim intent to seize that disc.

Pool A

Revolver (1) 2-1		Ironside (3) 3-0		Patrol (6) 2-1		Guerrilla (7) 1-2		Turbine (10) 1-2		Urutau (12) 0-3

 

Revolver came out swinging in round one, securing a steady victory 15-11 against Patrol. The tranquil morning air gifted both teams a sunny ambiance for their first game, a time when players need to wake up their tired limbs to get into competition mode. Conditions in game two for Revolver was dicier as a cross-field breeze picked up, but they grasped a 15-8 win over Turbine. In the third round, the number one seed faced Ironside, After being up 4-2, Ironside came back to take half 8-4. Revolver was better in the second half, but couldn’t make the comeback, and the score ended in Ironside’s favor at 15-11.

Ironside’s tally is an impressive 3-0 after day one. In game one, they faced off against Turbine, who refused to go down easy. Ironside pulled off the win after several long, patient points spent holding Turbine defenders at bay while they crawled up the field yard-for-yard. Ironside’s round two game against Guerrilla was even more drastic. A rough start found the scoreboard at 4-6 with Ironside trailing by a break or two when suddenly the Bostonians rallied. They scored, broke, broke, broke, until they took half and coasted on momentum. Ironside earned a bookends score, and the field’s morale scale tipped in their favor. They rolled to a win at 15-7. Ironside went on to meet Revolver’s challenges before upping the ante when they soared ahead to beat the number one seed. 

Patrol came back from their early defeat at the hands of Revolver to settle into a 2-1 record for the day. Facing off against Urutau in the abruptly windy round two, Patrol held steady in the tricky conditions. Better control of the disc resulted in a 14-7 win. In round three, Patrol and Guerrilla raced neck and neck basically all game long. The teams appeared evenly matched with turnovers and scores aplenty on both sides. In the end, Patrol claimed a 16-14 win. 

Guerrilla got a single win on the day, but their two losses were not for lack of effort. Game one was a pleasant 15-7 victory against Urutau, but Ironside flipped things around to conquer Guerrilla 7-15 in the next round. Guerrilla presented solid competition all day long, even if their record doesn’t show it. 

Turbine’s 8-15 loss to Ironside in round one was difficult for them to overcome. The team picked up their heads, but found themselves on the losing end of another 15-8 game, this time against Revolver. The field’s cross-field breeze had a major influence on Turbine’s deep game. After losses at the hands of two of the tournament’s top-tier teams, Turbine faced off against Urutau. In this instance, Turbine’s height was an advantage, though Urutau forced them to take it down a notch in order to navigate a tricky zone defense. Turbine earned a 15-5 win. 

As the only international team in Pool A, Urutau faced off against some of the U.S.’s top talent, and they did not pale to it. Though they lost all three games on day one, Urutau’s defensive plays and wicked speedy in-cuts made them a definite threat. Urutau had trouble finding continuations in the windy second game versus Patrol, but by game three, it was their zone defense slowing down Turbine. 

Pool B

Sockeye (2) 1-1		Machine (4) 2-0		Madison Club (5) 2-0		Florida United (8) 1-1		Ki.e (9) 0-2		General Strike (11) 0-2

 

Sockeye’s entrance to the U.S. Open was a relatively calm first half against Madison Club. Neither team was willing to take too many outright risks as they got a feel for each other’s style of play. Tied at 7-7, Sockeye earned a layout D in the end zone before putting up a neat huck score for half. Madison swept a 14-12 victory from under them, however. A perturbed Sockeye pulled to Ki.e as the horn blasted to start game two. Trent Dillon negated Ki.e’s first attempt, nicking the disc with two fingers in the end zone. Sockeye went on to claim a 15-4 victory. 

Chicago Machine earned a 2-0 record today after two calm performances. In game one, Machine’s defense deterred Ki.e from working it up the field. Machine players dominated in the air again and again, contesting as much as possible. Drama ruled the second half of game two versus Florida United, as Machine had pulled ahead to 12-9 and was stalling to kill the clock. Contesting any and all in-cuts, Machine left Florida with no options facing an upwind point. Florida managed to comeback to 12-11 as hard cap went off, but Machine sealed the game with a Callahan to win 13-11. 

Madison Club also ended the day with a 2-0 record. After impressively regaining their feet in game one to defeat Sockeye, Madison Club went on to win against General Strike 15-11. The wind made things interesting for both teams. Although Strike put a few floaty deep hucks out ahead of their receivers for a scores in the first half, Madison again picked up the pace for a second win.

Florida United offered entertaining first-day play at URI. Their stifling defense forced General Strike to throw big into the wind, where the Florida defense had time to catch up and challenge in the air. A 15-6 victory brought them confidently into round two, where they faced frustrating barriers from Machine’s limiting defense. 

Ki.e faced harsh opposition and ends the day with a 0-2 record. Machine held them at bay in round one, overpowering them 15-6. Ki.e tried for a fresh start against Sockeye in game two. Receiving with the wind on their side, Ki.e pressed the attack early, but Sockeye shook them off.

General Strike wraps up day one’s recounting with a 0-2 record. A 15-6 loss to Florida United had them hoping for a better outcome in game two. When Madison arrived for the second round, General Strike showed their mettle with brave deep throws with the wind. Though it was in vain, and they lost 15-8, Strike made a valiant effort.

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