USA Ultimate

Women's Division Southeast Regionals Preview

As the 2011 D-I College Championships draws closer, the Southeast has one more step before the big showdown in Boulder, CO. The Southeast Regionals will be hosted in Tallahassee, FL at FSU's Rec Sportsplex. Both the open and women's side will be playing at this field site, so plenty of good ultimate is bound to take place. This weekend will be met with clear sunny skies and highs in the high 80s and low 90s.

After several teams in the Gulf Coast and Southern Appalachian conferences didn't get ranked, the Florida conference will comprise 5 of the 10 teams this weekend. Unaffected by the bid allocation, the top 3 teams that will be roughing it out for the single bid to the College Championships are Florida, Georgia, and Central Florida. All 3 teams have met several times this season, but the team to beat this weekend is clearly Florida, with wins across the board against Georgia and UCF. Not only does Florida have a handful of seniors that bring talent and leadership, but they also have the most experience playing top tier teams outside of the Southeast region. They competed at President's Day in February against big name teams like Oregon, Berkeley, and Carleton. Will Georgia or UCF be able to clear the hurdle that is Florida? Both teams are certainly equipped to beat Florida, it's just a matter of making sure they bring their best game to the fields. As for the middle of the pack, expect to see solid games from Vanderbilt, Florida State, and South Florida. Despite the fact that these teams have great players, like handler Megan Reeves of FSU, and handler Jennifer Bauman of Vanderbilt, breaking seed in pool play will be tough.

PHOTO CREDIT: Oakeoday Maglitt Graphics

Now that summer is rapidly approaching, the Florida teams might have a slight geographical advantage, because the Georgia/Tennessee weather hasn't quite hit the 90s yet like it has in Tallahassee. It will be important to make sure all of the teams stay hydrated and have adequate shade if they want to go full steam all the way through Sunday afternoon. The hot weather isn't deterring the spirit of any of the teams. When asked about the team she is most excited to play, Emily Lloyd of Georgia responded, "Florida. Even though we have yet to beat them all season, it has been close and our team has improved dramatically all season. I'm excited to see some of our matchups against them." Also, regarding specific goals the Hodawgs have for the weekend, she simply says, "Play Georgia Ultimate. We don't need to worry about the things we can't control or what other teams are doing. We just have to play our game and work hard for each other." This is great to hear because it's easy to get caught up in the name or reputation of a team. As the season has progressed, teams are learning that individual matchups, and shutting down the other team's best player with your best player can easily level the playing field and make for an extremely competitive game.

However, the most interesting story is that Central Florida has come out of the woodwork to become a great, competitive team. They are a recently formed team founded in 2009, and finished only 9th at Regionals last year. No one really anticipated much from UCF this season, and the Region surely didn't expect them to be vying for a spot to the Championship. It seems that great coaching and hard training can turn athletes into sick ultimate players, or just maybe their coach had "grow athletic Ultimate player" seeds on hand and decided to harvest them this season. Either way, the Region is excited see them compete.

Driving down to Tallahassee will be worth the car trip, even if you are five deep, because you’ll definitely encounter some close games, if not upsets, from the top 4 seeded teams. Expect to witness some high-level ultimate in both pool play and once it gets down to the gritty semifinals and finals Sunday afternoon. A recap of Southeast Women’s Regionals, if you missed out on the sick grabs and layout Ds, will come.

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