USA Ultimate

		2011 Club Championship Day 2 Recaps: Masters Recap (Spillum) Mixed Recap (Ziv) Open Recap (Toner) Women's Recap (Levine)

Today’s power pools were very exciting to watch. The wind and steady rain played a role, keeping the fields and discs wet all day. With the four power pool games right next to each other, fans could easily walk down the sidelines and check in to every game in both rounds. In pool E, The Ghosts were tied at 7 with District 5, a great score for D5. However, this was about all D5 could do. The Ghosts stopped throwing unforced turns that had hurt them the first half, and closed out the game 15-8. The same score resulted for their game against AMP. With AMPs loss to District 5 the day before, they were thus slated to play in pre-quarters. The Polar Bears also had a solid day, winning a rematch of last year’s finals against District 5 15-11, and then going on to trounce AMP 15-9. They were also sporting stylish new dark sublimated jerseys, depicting the aurora borealis in purple in green on a black night sky background.

[PHOTO CREDIT: Brandon Wu, facebook.com/ultiphotos (full coverage)]

The other power pool had close games across the board. In both rounds, teams were trading points and breaks almost until the end. The first game featured Wolverines against Chad Larson Experience, the 2 vs. 4 seed. The game was tight, both teams fought hard with lots of physical play and calls on the field. Partly due to a huge footblock from James Scott against CLX playmaker Bob Liu, Wolverines closed out the game 17-16. On the other field, Slow White and Blackbird were having a close match, with Blackbird initially up and Slow White trying to catch up. That changed after halftime, and Slow White quickly ratted off a few breaks, widening their gap to win the game. The second round of Pool F saw Blackbird against Chad Larson. If ever, they would have had a chance to beat CLX here, after the central team had just played a hard game to cap with little rest. Though they started off playing relatively equal, a few uncontested turnovers for Blackbird handed CLX the lead mid game that they maintained until the end. Blackbird then spent the rest of the round watching Wolverines play Slow White; if Wolverines won, then Blackbird would be in the pre-quarters game. However, if Slow White won, Wolverines would end up in the semis due to their loss to Blackbird during the last round of yesterday’s games. Slow White led by a point with Wolverines playing catchup, but by the end of the game, there were just too many mistakes made by Wolverines, a team proving they are especially efficient at  capitalizing on turnovers from opponents. Eli Janin, Chelsea Putnam, and Valerie Hamm were on the field together frequently, even scoring a few points throwing just between the three of them. It seemed as if Wolverines weren’t suffering from the loss of Aaron Richards; a big playmaker for them the day before, he had pulled his calf in the previous round. Wolverines still beat Slow White, 15-12, and Blackbird would move on to pre-quarters against 7 Figures.

[PHOTO CREDIT: Brandon Wu, facebook.com/ultiphotos (full coverage)]

In the bottom pools, there were a few games to mention. Overhaul gave Bucket a good run, and they were practically trading points all through hardcap (at 2 hours and 20 minutes), where Bucket finally won 15-13. In the other pool, 7 Figures played a game almost as long, eventually defeating Drag’n Thrust 16-14 to move on to pre-quarters.

Blackbird and 7 Figures was a great matchup in pre-quarters. 7 Figures led by one with Blackbird catching up each point until about half. At that point, Blackbird was able to widen their gap, and a huge layout grab by Nick Slovan in the endzone of an overthrown huck from Brian Garcia was a huge momentum changer for Blackbird. The excitement on the sidelines was palpable, as 7 Figures tried to fight back. Perhaps a tweaked ankle for 7 Figures cutter Matt Hennesey or a layout injury for handler Orin Moore led to a break in focus for the LA team. At 14-11, Blackbird sat their starters, and 7 Figures easily walked in a score with no turnovers. Blackbird’s stars then came on, with the likes of Anna Nazarov, Brian Garcia, and Adam Scow on the line. They score off a huck from Nazarov to Garcia, and Blackbird advanced to the Quarters, where they will face The Ghosts.
 

[PHOTO CREDIT: Brandon Wu, facebook.com/ultiphotos (full coverage)]

The other pre-quarters game was much slower; it seemed as if there were a few calls a point. Bucket and AMP were playing hard, but with a few drops by Bucket’s stars like Shanye Crawford, they seemed to lose their focus early and struggle to recover. AMP pulled away quickly, and ended up scoring 15-12, a huge win for AMP. Many people believe that Bucket was seeded low, yet it seemed that the Atlanta natives are currently struggling to prove it to be true. AMP moved on to quarters where they will face Wolverines.
Player of the Day: Nick Slovan (#22) on Blackbird had a momentum shifting play for Blackbird. At 9-8 in the game against 7 Figures, Nick runs hard after a huck overthrown from Brian Garcia, visibly accelerating all through the catch, where he laid out close to the back of the endzone. From then on, the excitement on Blackbird was clear, and 7 Figures couldn’t come back. Blackbird ended up winning 15-12.

Observations:

• Weather played a significant role today. Due to rain and wind, there were many overthrows and drops that were unchallenged by defenders. Teams that play hard and fight for every disc, such as AMP, will do well.

 

• Tomorrow’s Quarters games will be The Ghosts vs. Blackbird, Wolverines vs. AMP, Slow White vs. The Polar Bears, and Chad Larson Experience, District 5.

 

• Bucket losing to AMP is likely the biggest surprise of the tournament. Though this goes according to seed, Bucket was considered underseeded due to their results, not actual talent. AMP gets a huge confidence boost here, though it probably won’t be enough to take down the Wolverines

 

• Games with the Wolverines had many calls today. Tempers flared, but teams remained respectful. Observers did a good job of stepping in to rule on calls.

 

• The Polar Bears vs Slow White quarters game will be a good one to watch, as both teams have been playing as expected. This will be the game to watch for good matchups and athletic plays.

 

• Most years a region only gets three bids. The way to get four bids is to get two strength bids, which will happen if three teams from one region are in the semis. For this to happen, you must have three teams from your region matched up against other regions in the quarters, which is the case for both the Northeast and Northwest.

 

• Jamie Nuwer, a starting handler for Blackbird, returned today after receiving a concussion in the game against Wolverines at the end of Thursday. She was out in the morning getting a CT scan, but was cleared to play, and was a solid thrower throughout the pre-quarters game.

 

• Aaron Richards, a Wolverines stud and ex-Rhino player, pulled his calf during their first round today. He was out during the second game and will be evaluated tomorrow to see if he will play. Wolverines had a close game with Slow White without him, but still pulled away towards the end, winning 15-12.
  
   

[PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Canniff, facebook.com/ultiphotos (full coverage)]

 

 

 

 

 

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