Preview: 2011 College Open Regionals (New England)
Dave Lipson
Posted: May 4, 2011 09:04 PM
The New England region has traditionally produced a handful of teams capable of claiming a bid to the College Championships, making the tournament dependably exciting and unpredictable. The 2011 season looks to be no exception - while Harvard and Tufts appear to be the frontrunners entering the weekend, any of the top teams are capable of claiming a bid to Boulder or playing the spoiler.
1) Harvard
The Red Line lost just three players from the 2010 squad that reached the prequarters at last year's Championships, and have since added Carleton College alum Adam Fagin #6 (who plays club with Bodhi), and returned Senior Devon Williams #7 (Sons of Liberty).
The team is led by Callahan short-lister George Stubbs #3 (Ironside), and boasts a deep core of talented players with club level experience. Andrew Vogt #18 (Ironside), Fagin and Whitt Virgin-Downey #9 run the offense from behind the disc, and have a number of talented downfield targets to throw to, including Misha Herscu #21 (Bodhi) and Jeremy Mudd #25 (Sons of Liberty). Williams is an athletic and explosive block-creator on defense, and Red Line will also look to Robbie Helbling #0 for man-to-man defense on opposing big men.
PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew Davis
Harvard benefits greatly from the strong coaching of 2010 New England Coach of the Year and 2010 Ironside Co-Coach Josh McCarthy. The team has posted strong regular season results, with seven of their 11 losses coming at the hands of Carleton, Pittsburgh, Florida and Colorado – the top four teams in the country at the end of the regular season. However, not since Brown's 2005 title-winning team has a bid to the Championships out of New England been something to be taken for granted, and a lopsided loss to Virginia, a 15-9 loss to sectional rival Tufts, and a slim, two-point win over Dartmouth leave Red Line looking like far from a sure thing. With the target on their backs that comes with the first seed, and a deep field of talented squads gunning for them, Harvard certainly still has work to do in order to punch their ticket.
2) Tufts
After losing to Middlebury in last season's game-to-go, Tufts has posted a strong campaign in 2011 – since an unimpressive performance at Stanford Invite, the E-Men have lost only one game (a 15-9 loss to Harvard at Metro Bostons Conferences). That streak also included a 15-9 win over the Red Line, so a potential final matchup with their long-time sectional rival could prove to be a barn-burner. Coached by Ironside veterans Dan Forseter and Mike Zalisk, Tufts has traditionally been a smart and fundamentally sound squad, and the E-Men appear to be positioned about as well as they can be to claim a bid to the Championships.
Tufts’ offense relies on Ben Nelson #68 breaking the mark and Alex Cooper #8 extending the field with his deep throws. Adrian Banerji #38 (Bodhi) and Sam Kittross-Schnell #5 (Sockeye) will carry much of the cutting load. Defensively, the E-Men rely on Jack Hatchett #48 and Lloyd Olson #11 to match up against opposing teams’ top cutters.
After missing the championships last year, Tufts is not taking anything for granted, no matter their seed or regular season record. The target on their backs is only slightly smaller than the one on Harvard’s, and Tufts enters the weekend ready to do the work needed to avenge last year’s disappointment.
3) Middlebury
Middlebury's game-to-go victory in 2010, and the program's first-ever bid to the Championships (requiring the program's first-ever jersey purchase) came as a measure of redemption after a 2009 season in which Middlebury posted a dominant regular season, but faltered at Regionals, falling to Tufts in the Regional Championship, and to Williams in the game-to-go. A number of talented players from those two squads have since moved on, including 2010 All-Region honorees Joe MacDonald and Dan Glatt, but Middlebury appears to have weathered their departure, posting only five losses on the year. Perhaps more importantly, a large contingent of Middlebury's 2011 team now has the experience of qualifying for the Championships, and enters the weekend knowing what it will take to get there again.
The Pranksters will rely on Jake Herman, Jon Cox (Sons of Liberty) and 2010 Freshman of the Year Mattias Fitzpatrick to handle much of the Pranksters’ workload. Middlebury is winless against Tufts and Harvard this season in three contests, so it is clear who they will need to go through in order to get to Boulder.
4) Dartmouth
Dartmouth has struggled to rise beyond the middle of the pack in the New England region since 2008, when the Pain Train qualified for Nationals and advanced to prequarters. Dartmouth’s 2011 squad, led by Senior tri-captains Chase Raines, Lars Osterberg and Sam Snow and coached by Brook Martin and Matt Mackey, is peaking at the right time – a second-place finish at the North New England Conference Championship earned Dartmouth the four-seed at Regionals. However, a Conference rematch with Vermont looms in the quarterfinals – the two teams have split their season series, with Dartmouth notching a 14-10 win at Conference Championships, and UVM tallying a 15-13 win at One Nightstand. Dartmouth’s Regionals was derailed by a one-point loss in the 4 vs. 5 quarterfinal in 2010, and that fresh memory should provide added motivation for what could be one of the highlights of the second round.
5) Vermont
The 2010 season saw Vermont add a number of talented freshmen from high school power Amherst Regional High School to a core of savvy, experienced handlers. The result was one of the best seasons in Team Chill’s recent memory, as the team won its way to Sunday of Regionals.
With in-region losses to only Harvard and Tufts heading into Conference Championships, Vermont looked to be a strong contender (if not favorite) to win the North New England Conference. Team Chill's surprising third-place finish - behind Middlebury and Dartmouth - may have raised some eyebrows, as well as some questions as to whether this year's Regionals will build on last year's success, or take a step back from it. Sam Hart, a skilled aerial receiver and defender, and Julian Summa, a playmaker on both sides of the disc, will both be key to UVM’s performance this weekend. The smart coaching of longtime Dartmouth Princess Layout coach Mike Lee should keep Vermont on an even keel, and in position to knock off any of the teams seeded above them.
6) Massachusetts
ZooDisc has consistently been a fixture in the Sunday bracket at Regionals, and with the talent on its roster, 2011 should be no exception. While the program hasn't reached a game-to-go since 2006, three straight fourth-place finishes have the team setting its sights on a bid to the Championships.
This year, UMass's offense is led by Co-Captains Mitch Weiss #33 (Bodhi) and John Barker #3 (Sons of Liberty). Barker is an experienced and talented thrower whose range consistently extends the field and exposes defenses. Weiss, a heady, consistent and athletic cutter, will see a lot of touches and looks to be ZooDisc's primary workhorse on offense. Ben Katz #17 will share the cutting workload with Weiss.
Junior Ryan Holmes #23 (Ironside) leads the defense, and will regularly draw the most difficult matchup across the line. His speed and athleticism make him a strong aerial defender against even the best cutters in the region, as well as a deep threat on the turn. UMass's D-line will also look to Alex Bergun-Tower #4 to create blocks and to Freshman David Lunetta #12, who has quickly settled into a handling role, to quarterback the offense.
7) Brandeis
One of the surprises of this year's Regional tournament is Brandeis’s Tron, who have put together one of their best teams in recent memory, and claimed the 7th seed by qualifying through the Metro Boston D-III Conference. A senior-heavy team, Brandeis benefits from a large nucleus that has come up together – Tron relies less on playmaking, and more on its experienced core and younger talent knowing and executing well-defined roles.
Brandeis will look to Tri-Captain Toly Rinberg #5 as a primary cutter on offense and as one of the team’s best matchup defenders. Rinberg and cutter Gabe Colton #3 will look for deep throws from Joshua Mandell #9. Defensively, Justin Serio #13 will be tasked with guarding deep threats, and Tri-Captain Brian Dahlben #83 will set up behind the disc on the turn.
Entering the tournament with wins over Brown, Northeastern and Dartmouth and losses to Harvard, Middlebury and Vermont, Brandeis has its sights set on Sunday play, but will need to prove that it can consistently beat top-tier teams in order to get there. Moreover, with one of the shortest rosters in the region, Brandeis’s lack of depth could make a deep run through the backdoor difficult.
8) Northeastern
A one-point win over Boston College earned Northeastern a seeding edge over the Eagles, but the Huskies will see them again in the first round. Senior Casey Terp #8 will be the focal point of Northeastern’s offense, with his speed and height creating matchup problems across the line.
Tim Spittle #18 (Sons of Liberty) will carry a heavy workload as well, using his athleticism to gain yards underneath, and create blocks on defense.
9) Boston College
Boston College has found itself on the outside looking in for the last several years, but the program has consistently done a good job developing its athletic recruits, and is perennially well-coached by Bodhi’s Micah Flynn. This year, the Eagles will also benefit from the added experience a handful of their players have gained by playing for first-year Boston club team Ubuntu.
This year’s Boston College team is led by Senior Chuck McBride #13 (Bodhi). A tall, talented and threatening deep receiver, McBride has also begun to carry a significant portion of the throwing load for Boston College’s offense. McBride will look often for Dylan Kellachan #6 both underneath as well as deep. The Eagles’ young defensive unit has come along this season, and will look to Bryan Finney #22 and Theo Mayer #18 for man-to-man defense and block creation, with Savi Tuber #5 quarterbacking the offense on the turn.
Despite posting a solid regular season that included wins over regional foes UMass, Brown, Boston University, and MIT, a fourth-place finish at the Metro Boston Conference Championships presents Boston College with a challenging path to Sunday. A first round matchup with Northeastern should see McBride matching up frequently with Northeastern’s Casey Terp in a battle of the two best big men in the region.
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