USA Ultimate

At 8:30a.m., it was sunny and a cool 64 degrees. The temperature grew to a perfect 73 degrees. But the story of the day would be the mighty west winds.

 

Quarterfinals

 

Bay Area scored upwind right away, showing their intention to earn their place late in the day. Bay area played a horizontal stack against a person defense. Denver’s key handler Lisi Lohre looked frequently to Erika Hiromitsu, including an upwind score. Denver workhorse Erika Hiromitsu was always in the play. Simon Higgins and short passes by the Happy Cow handlers kept the team in control the whole way. Bay Area stayed just ahead of Denver, taking it to the half 7-5. And then several quick strikes by the Happy Cows finished off Cutthroat. Final: Bay Area 10, Denver 6.

 

The second quarterfinal pitted Seattle’s DiscNW against Madison. Winds were gusting to 25+mph. Undeterred, Seattle looked to Khalif El-Salaam to huck the disc successfully upwind for huge gains. DiscNW went up 4-0 with an upwind strike to Morelle Arian by El-Salaam. Madison, lead by Meredith Bray, kept getting close but couldn’t complete the mission. The points were long, especially for Madison who found themselves on the wrong side of a 6-1. But Madison kept chugging along, trading points and even scoring an upwind late in the game. Madison’s Rein Boyd was a rock, as was Senior workhorse Dana Williams. Kyle Geppert contributed with an athletic demonstration of defense. But DiscNW’s initial investment was paying dividends. With the soft cap on and the score 7-3, it was just a matter of time. Final: DiscNW 9, Madison 5,

 

The third quarterfinal was best described by SOTG. And these two teams brought their positive energy like no other. Fayetteville Sunnyside versus Chicago Micromachines. Sunnyside’s Sue Marie Breden showed off her sticky hands, while Abe Coffin demonstrated great poise calling a time out just ten yards from the upwind score. Tim Fergus, Tasha Arvantis, Mike Sale, and Joe Simonelli were the reliable handlers for Chicago. Even in a strong wind, Chicago proved that they could put the disc deep and defend the downwind end zone. The game tied 5-5, Fayetteville ripped off six points in a row to break open the game. Abe Coffin to Lorelei Bakaric, Dylan Holland to Captain Matt Seaton, and handler extraordinaire Logan Miller scored the upwinders. Final: Fayetteville 13, Chicago 7.

 

In the last quarterfinal, BUDA’s Danny Katz and Will Herold worked it upwind with the controlled give and go. Both teams played zone and BUDA found themselves up 4-3. But Minnesota was not to be denied. Wanting to play the spoiler, Minnesota’s Anna Barrett, Jack Simpson, and Jason Tschida were calm in working the disc into the wind. Minnesota’s Patrick Kunkel was a beast scoring two upwinders, skying, and laying out at every opportunity. Carlos Lopez got involved in the fun with his athletic play. Undeterred Vince Vik played with two torn ligaments in his foot. Spirit winner August Kramer led the energetic charge. With the soft cap on, Minnesota made it a 7-7 game, going upwind. Minnesota had the advantage. It was a game to 9 and We Got Lakes had the wind at their backs. BUDA showed their maturity as they unbelievably moved the disc upwind for the dramatic score. One downwind strike and the celebration was on. Minnesota loses in a heartbreaker. Final: BUDA 9, Minnesota 7.

 

Consolation Bracket

 

The first consolation bracket game featured Denver’s Cutthroat against Wisconsin’s Madison Ultimate. Madison scored upwind with a strike from Avery Johnson to Nick Allen. Later Madison got another from Reid Boyd to UW-Madison’s Danny Huncosky. Meredith Bray proved an expert handler and demonstrating her value of the disc. Time outs regularly included games and laughter. Final: Madison 8, Denver 4.

 

The other consolation bracket game pitted Chicago’s Micromachines again Minnesota’s We Got Lakes. Person defense was the name of the game for both teams. Right away, a quick strike from Jimmy Sykora to Patrick Kaufmann put Chicago on the board. Minnesota’s Jason Tschida to Michael Ruble put Minnesota up 3-2. Each team ended up scoring one point upwind. Aside from that, Chicago was on the upwind doorstep once, but failed to connect. It was 8-8 when the hard cap went on, and Chicago had the wind at their backs. Upwind starting position and time cap determined the winner in a barn burner. Final: Chicago 9, Minnesota 8.

 

Seventh Place

 

Denver Captain Bradley Bartholomew had several exiting Ds in the game. Denver handler Lisi Lohre took charge working the disc up the field and delivering accurate strikes downwind. Minnesota’s Jack Simpson found Anna Barrett for the games only upwind point to go up 5-4. Five more times Minnesota found themselves on the doorstep but was not able to close the sale, one of which was an exhausting 12 minute point. Anna Barrett, Cretin’s Jason Tcshida, and Luis Caballero had great game. When asked what the highlight of the tournament was, one of the Minnesota We Got Lakes players said it was playing against Madison on Saturday. She happily exclaimed, “Madison is like our family.” Final: Minnesota 10, Denver 8.

 

Consolation Championship

 

Chicago’s top player Tim Fergus injured his rotator cuff at Junior World tryout, leaving him without a backhand huck. Madison had been practicing three times a week for the past two months. This was going to be a battle. Spirit winners Avery Johnson and Tasha Arvantis cheered on their respective teams. Madison’s Meredith Bray and Rein Boyd handled the disc upwind and got within 15 yards. Another time, Lauren Hagen calls timeout with pay dirt just five yards away. But neither was to be. Chicago also threatened, coming close a few times behind excellent play from Steve Krauss and track athlete Dana Williams. The teams traded six downwind scores, making it 3-3. Wisconsin’s Simon Zheng found the end zone three times, while UW-Madison’s Kyle Geppert also brought in three goals. Gunslinger Logan Pruess got four assists. Despite Tim Fergus’s backhand limitation, he hit the mark seven times, including the last four. His Chicago teammate, Patrick Kaufmann, caught three for scores. On a monster huck upwind, Johnny Saniat picked up the slop and found Mike Sale in the end zone for the only upwind point of the game. After that, the teams traded downwind hucks until the game was capped. Final: Chicago 11, Madison 8.

 

Semifinals

 

The first of two semifinals featured the Bay Area’s Happy Cows versus Seattle’s DiscNW. Lady Cows Lisa Pitcaithley and Jessica Olson were anxious to get on the board first. Bay Area looked confused early, but corrected quickly. Simon Higgins found BJ Kato for an upwind score, to go up 2-1. A stiff wind made for long points. Nathan White found stud Simon Higgins three times in a row, once skying over Seattle’s Khalif El-Salaam in a supremely athletic leap. Mark Sampayan scored downwind for DiscNW to make it 2-3. The wind a major factor, the score was 6-5 Happy Cows at the 55 minute mark. As soft cap went on, Bay Area’s Ben Renga found Sam McClure, who found Jessica Olson in the upwind end zone to seal the victory. DiscNW stars of the game included Mikayla Davis, Tyler Monroe, Jessie Thoreson, and Michael Sylvester. Final: Bay Area 10, DiscNW 6.

 

The other semifinal featured Boston’s BUDA against Fayetteville Arakansas’ Sunnyside. Fayetteville began the game going into the stiff wind. Handlers Logan Miller, Ben Caffrey and Matt Seaton worked it up to handler/popper/superstar Abe Coffin. But one small mistake and Sunnyside found themselves buried against their end zone. BUDA smelled blood, but that didn’t deter Sue Marie Breden, who helped to methodically worked up field three feet at a time. When on D, Arkansas put on a relentless cup, which they used often. BUDA used the expert hands of Will Herold, Danny Katz, and Ankit Sood. 14 year old superstar Angela Zhu and Qxhna Titcomb were on the receiving end of many great passes from BUDA’s handlers. Qxhna Titcomb had an awesome hand block with Arkansas knocking on the door. The fans went crazy. When asked about it, Qxhna said she looked over her shoulder and knew where the offensive cutters were located, allowing her to anticipate the pass attempt. On the next point, Kira Lou found Angela Zhu for the upwind score to go up 4-2. Boston’s Vincent DeFelice was a rock star getting several hand blocks. At the 60 minute mark, Fayetteville scored downwind, now behind 4-6. After an exchange of downwind points BUDA ran away with it, scoring the last three, including an upwind from Captain Will Herold to Kira Lou. Final: BUDA 10, Fayetteville 5.

 

Third Place

 

Sunny and 72 only tells you half the story. It was windy… super windy. On the first point, DiscNW shows why they deserve the win by working it upwind to Morelle Arian. Taking the next point downwind, DiscNW took a 2-0 lead with a toss from Khalif El-Salaam to Zhi Chen. Logan Miller was injured early with a knee in the back, but came back at half. Looking for a Callahan, DiscNW put on a vicious four person cup, challenging the Fayetteville handlers at every step. And Fayetteville was up for the challenge. With his teammates yelling for him to burn one, Joe Bell took the point into his own hands, as he connected with Carleton College’s Ben Caffrey for the upwind strike, tying it at 3-3. Difficulty was present as Fayetteville had the swings, many times were unable to connect with cutters upwind. Hucks were frequent when going downwind for Fayetteville. DiscNW was next on the scoreboard, getting the next two, including an upwinder from Peter Sprugel to Khalif El-Salaam. The sidelines went crazy as Fayetteville’s Brooks Dawson provided D after incredible D. Spirit winner Mark Sampayan cheered on his Seattle teammates. Several times Seattle worked it up to the doorstep, but weren’t able to punch it in. Abe Gambert also came up big with two Arkansas Ds back to back. Fayetteville’s Coach Tim Caffrey offered up genuine support and kindness to his players. And they responded. With help from University of Arkansas’ Joe Bell and Logan Miller, Fayetteville traded downwind points with the team from Seattle. DiscNW’s Christian Tugade got in the action by delivering two hucks downwind for scores. With the score 8-5, at 12 minutes before hard cap, DiscNW calls a team time out, killing an additional 70 seconds. Down a break, Arkansas kept on fighting. On the upwind doorstep, Skyler Gambert calls a timeout, only to lose their opportunity on a blown play. Time ran out on the one school team from Arkansas. The upwind scoreboard read DiscNW 2, Fayetteville 1. Final: DiscNW 9, Fayetteville 7.

 

Championship

 

Two high powered offenses, Boston’s BUDA and Bay Area Happy Cows, collided for the title. The wind would play a big factor, coming from the west at 23mph and gusting to 32mph. Despite this, Happy Cows handlers Nathan White and Sam McClure made it look easy as they methodically worked it upwind with confidence. With help all day from sky-artist Simon Higgins, the Happy Cows were first on the board going upwind. 1-0 Happy Cows. Downwind would prove to be a cinch, as McClure found Higgins deep downfield. 2-0. Proving they could do it again, Bay Area worked it upwind again with Simon Higgins finding Gabriella Meffert in the corner for a 3-0 lead. Next it was BUDA’s turn to prove they were intimidated by neither wind nor Cow, as superstar Will Herold hit 14 year old Angela Zhu to get on the board. 3-1. Bay Area Happy Cows lead. Next, BUDA’s Danny Katz worked his magic to find Carleton College’s Herold downwind. 3-2. BUDA’s impatience was growing as Higgins was the target for the next three Bay Area scores, receiving the disc from McClure, Nathan White, and Jackson Waite-Himmelwright. 6-2. It was BUDA’s turn to get on the board with a downwind strike with Katz finding Carleton College’s Sarah Robinson. 6-3. Mistakes were prevalent in BUDA’s offense. One-handed attempts failed, as did any cuts. Meanwhile, the Cows were clicking on all cylinders and moving the disc with confidence. Downfield hucks prevailed McClure found Nathan White to take it to the half. 7-3 Happy Cows. Future UC Davis star Simon Higgins was dominant, his 6’2” frame seemingly reaching the clouds multiple times and scoring five of the Cows’ first seven scores. The Happy Cows were able to pick apart BUDA’s zone with patience and frequent crashes. Despite this, BUDA refused to switch to person-D.

 

First timers at YCC, the Happy Cows competed in a California’s Revolution club tournament just two weeks prior. That time together helped them to gel as a team and improve as individuals. When asked which two players had impressed him the most, Bay Area’s coach Jordan Rose spoke of David Hwang and Cassie Sakai in saying “David and Cassie have learned to keep the disc moving in tough situations. They make few mistakes under pressure.”

 

With the Cows up two upwind breaks, the teams traded downwind hucks. Field position was key as both teams buried it deep to force their opponents to defy the 30+mph gusts. Bay Area began the second half going downwind and scoring with a strike from Spirit-winner David Hwang to Nathan White. 8-3. BUDA put their trust in handlers Jason Milan and Angela Zhu. BUDA switched to a vertical stack and struck next with a downwinder from star handler Charles Marokhovsky to Matt Bandes. 8-4. Bay Area’s Lisa Pitcaithley showed great poise all day and it was her turn in the end zone catching a bullet in the corner from UCLA’s Sam McClure. 9-4. The results were inevitable as both teams traded scores, BUDA’s JJ Stevelman to Sarah Adams. 9-5. Soft cap went on as Bay struck back with another connection from McClure to Pitcaithley, this time breaking the mark. 10-5. Game to 12. Boston’s Will Herold found Trevor Friesman on a beautiful throw. 10-6. BUDA’s Jeffrey Hetzel proved a highlight with a beautiful layout D. Nathan White found Lisa Pitcaithley downwind for Bay Area, as did BUDA’s JJC Stevelman to Kira Lou. 11-7. The game began just as it ended as White found giant Higgins in the end zone. Final: Bay Area 12, BUDA 7.

 

Shortly after the game ended, the teams merged, circling arm in arm in the middle of the field. A player from Bay Area put BUDA’s coach Josh Seamon up to the next challenge, to drink one gallon of milk in one minute. As the ridiculousness of the challenge was patiently considered by all, a communal burst of laughter began to consume the moment.

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