Preview: 2013 Chicago Invite
Tony Miocic
Posted: March 21, 2013 04:40 PM
Preview: 2013 Chicago Invite
Carl Sandburg referred to Chicago as the city with broad shoulders in his 1916 poem aptly named, Chicago. These days, there are few with broader shoulders than Luke and Kelly Johnson who have arguably worked harder than any other tournament directors to provide high school, middle school and college kids the opportunity to play in a season already plagued with numerous cancellations.
It would have been easy to cancel the Chicago Invite. The location traditionally used was unable to obtain the necessary permits to host the event. The tournament directors refused defeat and procured two new locations for the Invite. However, after new fields were deemed unplayable by the field owners, the dynamic duo of ultimate once again, with three days notice, went back to provide the high school and middle school kids a chance to play.
The new location is in Chicago, and a part of Chicago that is often overlooked. Beverly is an amazing community within the Chicago limits filled with incredible tradition and a sense of community unparalleled in other Chicago neighborhoods. The South Side Irish Parade, an event that you have to experience to understand, is held just blocks from the field site. The pride within Beverly is palpable, and like ultimate, it’s something I wish more people understood. I was ecstatic to bring my players to a place where I grew up, to eat where I used to eat, to walk the streets I called home, and now over 90 different ultimate teams get to experience it as well. I love the South Side of Chicago, and I hope everyone who attends the Invite takes a moment to forget the "South Side" misperception and really experience its beauty.
So the field is set; the forecast for the weekend appears to be clear and warm (right now 40 degrees is warm for us), and hopefully the teams are ready. I met up with some of the teams to get their perspective on the Invite and this season, and here is what they had to say.
Note: teams were interviewed prior to the most recent seeding changes, so some of the anticipated match-ups are no longer assured to happen. (R) = rookie to watch.
Open Division
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Carnegie-Mellon (ranked #31)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- Ben Clark
- Nipunn Koorapati
- Dave Matlack
- Akshay Krishnamurthy
- Scott Shepard
- Ross Ellison (R)
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What game are they most excited about? The championship game. They have to earn their way there first. |
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To go through the tournament undefeated. |
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Dayton (ranked #42)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- Mark Fedorenko
- Adam Tardio
- Jordan Manke
- Alan Huels
- Patrick Kaufmann
- Sam Vandusen (R)
- Jack Hanson (R)
- Brandon Rush (R)
- Dylan Corwin (R)
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The Dayton guys are excited to play Northern Iowa and Missouri this weekend. |
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The Dayton guys really made a statement this year early on at Florida Warm Up. They’re hoping for a good showing Saturday and a place in the championship bracket Sunday. |
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Eastern Michigan (ranked #71)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- James Highsmith
- Johnny Bansfield
- Dan Boynton
- Kris Coley
- Grant Furnier (R)
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The boys of Eastern Michigan are hoping to see Michigan State this weekend as they gear up for the series. |
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After suffering a concussion at Centex, Highsmith won’t be playing this weekend, but look for Boynton and Coley to fill that void. |
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Michigan State (ranked #82)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- John-Michael Guest
- Chad Homuth
- Jack Lyon
- Zach Barnhart
- Eric Gaviglio (R)
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With a sudden seeding change, the game to watch is Michigan State and Dayton. The Chicago Invite perennial powerhouse gets a chance to play against a Dayton team who often feels slighted after last-minute seed changes. |
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Michigan State has found their way to the finals of the Invite the last few years. They have nothing less than that on their minds this weekend. |
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Missouri (ranked #24)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- Alex McNamara
- Jay Froude
- Steve Stallis
- Aaran Swaney
- Jesse White (R)
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These guys are seeking revenge against the UNI folks who handed them a loss earlier this year. Eastern Michigan should be a great game to watch. |
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The boys from Mizzou want to head back to Columbia with that championship trophy in their hands. |
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Northern Iowa (ranked #11)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- Robbie Dennis
- Cody Rohlf
- Nathan Wiemers
- Jake Boyle
- Trent Cooper
- Dan Tarasi (R)
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State rivals Iowa State will be their most exciting game, but the boys from UNI are hoping to face Dayton, Eastern Michigan and Oregon State at some point this weekend. |
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Simply put, they’re in it to win it. |
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Oregon State (ranked #47)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- Drew Larson
- Andrew Henry
- Patty Buermeyer
- Eric Callahan (R)
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At some point, the kids from the West are up for facing Missouri. Their game against Iowa, who spent a long week training after Centex, should be a great pool game to watch! |
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Looking forward to comparing their west coast game against some Midwest teams and ideally make it to the finals. |
Women's Division
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Cincinnati (unranked)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- Kelly Deiters
- Maria Dienger
- Courtney Gillis
- Kelsey Gibboney (R)
- Becca Shelton (R)
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For this newer program, every game is an exciting learning opportunity for them. |
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The second-year program made it all the way through Regionals as a new program. At the Invite, the girls are hoping to give newer players a competitive experience in preparation for the series. |
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Illinois State (unranked)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- Kelsey Oswald
- Brogan Hanzel
- Kristine Rathunde (R)
- Cinnamon Porter (R)
- Rachel Kellet (R)
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University of Illinois. The Illinois rivals are not only friendly enemies, but the team captains have been best friends since high school, adding that extra touch of dramatics that makes it that much more interesting. |
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A top-10 finish. |
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Kansas (ranked #28)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- Kat Songer
- Kate Eshelman
- Clare Frantz
- (Twins) Alexa & Jordan Kaczor (R)
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Illinois is always a good game for the girls of Kansas, and the chance to play Valpo, who they missed during Midwest Throwdown, is very appealing. |
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Smoothing out any kinks in their system in hopes of peaking during the series. |
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Northern Michigan (unranked)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- Katie Canfield
- Nicole Turner
- Cassandra Hastings
- Bethany Huhtala (R)
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The girls from Northern Michigan are excited for their game against Indiana. |
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As a brand new team, the goal for the team is to simply win 50% of their games. Hope all their hard work this winter and fall pays off at the Invite this weekend. |
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Purdue (ranked #44)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- Anne Hemmelgarn
- Kristin Dudley
- Jackie Lai
- Anastasia Foster
- Monica Lasley (R)
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Valparaiso |
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To develop better handler movement and fine-tune our man defense for the series. |
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St. Louis (ranked #63)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- Michaela Ward
- Laura Kelly
- Anne Marie Batzel
- Stephanie Ross (R)
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The Kansas Betty girls who always produce a competitive and high-spirited game. |
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The girls here have the championship bracket in their sights with the expectation to give other teams a challenge along the way. |
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Truman State (ranked #84)
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Players to Watch |
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Most Anticipated Match-up(s) |
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Tournament Goal |
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- Erica Sumner
- Juli Dworak
- Stephanie Sherman
- Emilie Willingham (R)
- Sam Daugherty (R)
- Emma Randolph (R)
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With so many games to be excited about, the team is looking forward to seeing Valpo. The teams are hoping for another chance to face off at the DIII Championship this May. |
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Smart, effective offense with strong throws in the wind and exceptional defense. The main goal is to hold seed and make the championship bracket for Sunday. |
With the outlandish weather we’ve been seeing lately, anything can happen this weekend. Monday could bring the Chicagoland area anything from 2-12 inches of snow, and the more recent reports suggest the snow might begin Sunday. Regardless, this March Madness definitely has the potential to wreak havoc on all the college ultimate teams headed to Chicago this weekend. The combination of weather and newly formed brackets mixed with the frustrating spring season gives this year’s Chicago Invite the chance to some exciting upsets. We have high school players from the newly developed Illinois Youth Ultimate organization on hand to provide developing stories from the Invite, and I’m sure we’ll have some exciting ones to share.
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