USA Ultimate

Open Division South Central Regionals Preview

Bias – My name is Nicky Spiva and I play for Colorado College. 

The South Central Division I Open Regional tournament in Denver, CO looks to be quite the show this weekend. During the regular season, South Central teams secured three bids to the College Championships, and having a third bid makes teams froth at the mouth like rabid dogs. A lot of teams can say to themselves - “Hey, we might not be able to get first, but third? We could totally get third.” So all those 5-12 seeded teams are going to come out hot and hungry because they know they have a shot this year. As a point of reference, South Club Regionals in 2010 and 2008 had 3 bids each and were straight up dogfights.
 
The favorite at this tournament is undoubtedly Colorado Mamabird. After an underwhelming performance at the College Championships last year, Mamabird has dominated the regular season by posting up wins against Harvard, Oregon, and two against both Florida and Wisconsin. The team is led by captains Jack McShane (frustrating up-line cuts...), Evan Padget (speed, physical D), and Matty Zemel (sick hammers, flicks, so quick!).  This trio that is possibly the most dangerous handler core in the country. McShane, Zemel, and several other players rocked the club scene with Johnny Bravo last season, and it shows in their skill and knowledge of the game. Expect Mamabird to crush this weekend. 

Colorado's Matty Zemel at the 2010 College Championships.  PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew Davis
 

Aside from Colorado, the top contenders include Texas, Colorado College, and Washington University. With the exception of a pool play game between Texas and Colorado College at Presidents Day and an unsanctioned game in January between Colorado and Colorado College, the top teams haven't played each other this season, which should make for some very interesting games. We have no clue as to how Wash U will match up against other top teams, but if you're filling out a bracket,  know that they could easily take a spot to the College Championships. Also, now that Illinois and Wisconsin have won their regions, Wash U's close losses at Huck Finn (12-14 to Wisco, 11-14 to Illinois) have gone from disappointing to impressive. Doug Richardson, Evan Winograd, and Joe MacDonald lead the Wash U squad, and judging by the hype in the nominations threads, these three have the star power to take the team far into the tournament against anyone. Games are likely to be determined by how well teams can force Wash U to use other options.
 
Texas is dangerous for several reasons. First, Will Driscoll, Ben Hamilton, and Will Campbell have the talent and passion to make TUFF a threat against anyone in the nation (see their close loss to Carleton at Stanford). Driscoll, a sophomore, is a blonde giant who could have played Thor in the upcoming film – expect a few ridiculous plays per game. Second, they have an outstanding coach in Calvin Lin, who has surely moved the team into fifth gear for Regionals. He will adjust well to negate opposing teams' strengths. Third, they run the vertical stack religiously, and they run it well. Also, for all the seniors on this squad, they have been in games to go before, and they want to get back to the Big Show.
 
Colorado College, my team, has had a solid regular season with wins against Texas, UBC, and Kansas State. We played some lackluster games on Saturday of Centex (and throughout our Conference Championships), but played out of our minds on Sunday. If we can recapture that fire, I think we will be in a good position this weekend. Josh Anderson and Ezra Siegel captain the team with me, and they ball outrageous. 
 
Kansas State surely deserves mention as well, considering they lost on universe to Texas at Centex and played a tight game with Wash U in their Conference Championship finals in Tulsa. If their studs get into a rhythm, this is a team to worry about. 
 
Oklahoma and Kansas have the history and talent, and if the weather is favorable, they could upset some teams. Air Force is also a team to worry about, especially if there is negligible wind this weekend, because they have the most athletic player in the region in Steve “Rob” Roberts, who played with Bravo last summer, and is a monster in the air. If Rob shows up to play, this team could be trouble. (He was out until a few weeks ago with a wrist injury).
 
To the other teams (North Texas, Texas State, Texas-B, Colorado State) – they lost their top players to academic issues, and St Louis - I don't know much about them and teams aren't expecting much. Prove everyone wrong and make it to the championship bracket this weekend.

How windy it is this weekend will determine the likelihood of teams 5-10 upsetting the upper crust. If we get some wind, the huck game (ever popular amongst teams from the South) will lose effectiveness, and some of those teams will have to prove they can work a zone. Right now the wind is looking pretty tame, but we'll see. 
 
Lastly, the format of the tournament hangs in the air as we are waiting on two teams (unknown) to accept or decline bids to Regionals. If they accept, then it will be four pools of four with crossovers between 1 seeds, and crossovers between 2/3 seeds into a top eight championship bracket where finalists take the top two bids. If we have fourteen teams, then it will be pools of 7, with a weird double bracket system. Either way, teams just have to win games. Hope everyone's ready to play at a mile high this weekend!

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