USA Ultimate

Event Website U-19O Scoreboard

[PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Leclaire UltiPhotos.com]

A palette of cool gray greeted the U-19 quarters teams as they arrived for their 10:30 am games. Most of the usual powerhouses were represented, with Delaware Valley DeVYL, Boston BUDA, Pittsburgh Impulse, Minnesota Superior and DiscNW’s Stag all preparing for another day of high-stakes Ultimate. Teams that had not spent as much time at this level here at YCC included Colorado Cutthroat, Chicago Micromachines and Cincinnati Flying Pigs. As the teams prepared, Buzz Ellsworth, member of the Colorado delegation, mentioned the level of poise that U-19 teams seemed to have this year: "Amazing how really good teams just come together at a time like this. There might be times on Saturday where you see a team kind of lose focus, look like they don’t have it. This morning, though, every warm up looks good; they all look calm, confident and ready to go."

Each of those teams prepared to face a unique battle. One of the more intriguing matchups pitted Micromachines against Flying Pig. Both teams have a certain amount of history, with many members having squared off at High School Centrals earlier this year. Though a bit of that tension still remained, both teams settled down to the business of the game at hand. While the first half stayed tight, with both teams trading, Flying Pig grabbed the crucial breaks after going to their 1-3-3 zone in an effort to "stop Micromachines’ over the top game," according to Coach Joel Houmes. While players like Ben Carver kept making plays to bring Micromachines back into the game, Flying Pig got relentless D from, among others, Adam Turner and Logan Herbers, and soon booked their first trip to the YCC semis, where they would face the winner of DeVYL and Cutthroat. This game had a bit of spice to it, as neither team wanted to give an inch of ground. Cutthroat started the game on a tear, only to have DeVYL chip their way closer. From there, it became a game of runs, and the race would be to see who could get the last run in.  Despite fierce play from players like Kevin Tang and Jibran Mieser, DeVYL was unable to make that last run, and Cutthroat punched their ticket to the semis. 

Hometown team Superior prepared for their game against BUDA looking to "work on our spacing, use the field more effectively, look for the longer around swings and play lockdown D," according to Coach Kevin Flynn. BUDA definitely could have used some of the same advice early, as they fell behind quickly under Superior’s pressure D. Sam Rasmuson and Luis Caballero in particular put the BUDA handlers in a vice. Though they would make a brief run in the second half, ultimately BUDA could not match Superior’s defensive intensity. Superior would match up with the winner of the reprise of last year’s final. Pittsburgh Impulse and DiscNW Stag’s game also featured powerful defensive pressure that the teams’ respective offences found hard to adjust to. While mental errors cost Impulse in the early going, they were able to clear the cobwebs in time to make a run before half. Getting a few breaks clearly got them ready to play, and their defense began to force Stag away from their smooth under game into a much less high percentage series of floating hucks. After Impulse’s Keil Toso found David Claypool to bring them to within two, Jesse Bolton and Nolan Walsh answered for Stag, and the defending champions would get the shot at Superior.

Flying Pig and Cutthroat kept up the trend of showcasing intense defense and trading points. For most of the game, the score stayed close, and both teams got big plays from up and down their rosters. Cutthroat’s Tommy Gebhardt and Flying Pig’s John Paul Bort in particular played key roles in the game. After tying the game at tens, however, the Cutthroat legs seemed to flag a bit, and Flying Pig ran the table the rest of the way to gain their first YCC U-19 Open final. Stag and Superior, meanwhile, played their semifinal like it was the last game on Earth. Big play after big play saw the score swing back and forth. Once again, Seattle got more invested in their long game, while their defense dedicated itself to challenging nearly every throw. In particular, Stag’s Glenn Zieve was everywhere. Still, Superior was not backing down, and Sam Bumsted imposed himself on both offence and defense. After a heartbreaking drop off a dump, Stag couldn’t stop Jason Finkelstein from finding Eli Leonard in the end zone as Superior reached the finals.

Both teams came into the game amped and ready after very intense semifinals. Superior seemed to want to continue to handcuff their opponents with matchup D, and Flying Pig was more than happy to stay right there with them. Everything Superior tried, Flying Pig had an answer for. In particular, the matchup between Superior’s Michael Jordan and Flying Pig’s Dom Schuster produced several high-flying Ds and acrobatic catches. Try as they might to get some separation, Superior could not wrest any momentum from Flying Pig’s game. As cap drew nigh, the game tied at elevens, Superior turned the disc over, giving Flying Pig a chance to get to game point. Caleb Coleman of Superior, however, put away a floated throw, and caught a Michael Jordan pass for the score. With everything to play for, though, nerves and fatigue took hold of a couple throws, Superior coming away with possession, allowing Eli Leonard to hit Sam Bumsted for the game. Minnesota Superior would take the crown of YCC U-19 Open Champs of 2012. 

Players to watch from Sunday’s action included:

• Tony Bort and Dan Schuster, Flying Pig, throwing, playing D, cutting, and just all-around being clutch for their team in a number of hard fought games. 
   
• Ben Carver, Chicago Micromachines, patrolling the skies on O and D. 
   
• Tim Bobrowski, BUDA, working hard on D to help bring BUDA back into their quaterfinal.
   
• Ben Lamport, Cutthroat, crucial work against the DeVYL zone, and a late D to seal the game. 
   
• Connor Russell, Impulse, keeping Stag from having clean under looks in the quarterfinal. 

Final Standings: 1 - Minnesota 2 - Cincinnati 3T - Denver 3T - DiscNW 5T - BUDA 5T - DeVYL 7T - Chicago 7T - PHUL 9 - TYUL 10 - Atlanta 11 - Iowa 12 - DiscNY 13 - Denver-B 14 - Spearfish   Full Results		Spirit Scores: 5.00 - Denver-B* 5.00 - Iowa 4.80 - Spearfish 4.67 - DiscNY 4.60 - Denver 4.33 - Cincinnati 4.33 - Minnesota 4.33 - TYUL 4.20 - BUDA 4.20 - DiscNW 4.17 - Atlanta 3.80 - Chicago 3.50 - DeVYL 3.50 - PHUL * denotes won tiebreaker
2012 YCC U-19O Champions: Minnesota  [PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Leclaire UltiPhotos.com]  2012 YCC U-19O Finalists: Cincinnati [PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Leclaire UltiPhotos.com]		Team Spirit Award: Denver-B [PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Leclaire UltiPhotos.com]   Individual Spirit Award Winners [PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Leclaire UltiPhotos.com]