News Recap: 2011 College Women's Regionals (Southwest)

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Recap: 2011 College Women's Regionals (Southwest)

Daniel Brady

Posted: May 13, 2011 02:13 PM

Women's Division

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Southwest
Regionals Recap

Three's Company

It all went exactly as planned, or as if there were a plan. There were three contenders, who all qualified as expected. There were scrappy up-and-comers, who fought hard, and fell just short. There were perennial fixtures in a rebuilding year who, despite Championships appearances year after year, didn’t find luck in 2011.

Morgan Hill, California might be the most beautiful backdrop any of these new region’s teams has had for a tournament in their college careers. Saturday’s weather was picture perfect and allowed these California teams to put their best feet forward. All but pool C went to seed, but it was in pool D that Sonoma State and UCLA would meet for the first of two Regionals matchups. “ I was really impressed with Sonoma,” said Stanford coach Jamie Nuwer. “I think what's really cool about their team is their attitude. They are super positive and spirited. They fought really hard when they needed to and had lots of fun when they needed to.”

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Sonoma State vs UCSB. PHOTO CREDIT: Anna Nazarov

It wasn’t until after pool play, however, that the action took off: while Stanford took Sonoma State 15-2, Cal and Santa Barbara previewed a possible finals match that went to double game point. Burning Skirts captain Carolyn Finney noted their “best win was probably over Berkeley in a 20-minute-plus universe point in the crazy wind Saturday evening.” Claire Desmond of the Pie Queens agreed that their “toughest loss was definitely the DGP loss during the cross-over game versus Santa Barbara at the end of Saturday. Both teams were battling against fatigue and the wind, with lots of long points and zone strategy.”

Rain came early on Sunday, but wind persisted through the afternoon. Quarterfinals didn’t present a problem for UCSB, Sonoma State, Cal, or Stanford, creating matchups familiar to every team involved. In Quarters, Sonoma State fell to UCSB as easily as they had in March. The Pie Queens, however, came ready to avenge their seven-point loss to Superfly at Conferences. It was a contrast in styles as Stanford made pin-point hucks to space while Cal dished tiny passes all the way upfield. Both teams were patient, taking their throws carefully and accurately. But with such winds, momentum is everything: Stanford took a long, hard-fought key point after half that snatched the vengeful edge that Cal had been riding, and Superfly came away 15-9.

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Stanford vs California. PHOTO CREDIT: Anna Nazarov

The Finals contenders hadn’t met since the Santa Barbara Invite in January. Both teams had their share of wins, but UCSB was on a hot streak of tournament wins, including Stanford’s own Invite in March. Stanford took control of the game and set the tone by going up early, using Elaine Hart and Caitlin Ruggs to huck it both upwind and downind to Michela Meister and Sam Law. But early promise lead to heartbreak, as Santa Barbara’s thrower-receiver combo Carolyn Finney and Marie Madaras went completely unanswered until late in the game. Stanford came back with three easy points when Finney went out on an injury from a foul, but by then it was too late for Stanford to regain control. Santa Barbara finished with a 15-12 victory and a probable overall top seed to College Championships in Boulder.

In the backdoor, Sonoma and UCLA met again, and once more, went to double game point. Sonoma took their sweep of UCLA on the weekend and went on to meet Cal in the third place game. It wasn’t a problem for the Pie Queens, said Desmond. “My team really came together this past weekend - we lost some crucial players due to injuries but definitely pulled through with a small, tough squad.” Tough for D’Vine, but Desmond was quick to compliment: “they played extremely well all season, representing our region with talent and finesse.” Stanford Coach Nuwer agreed. “I wish we'd had an extra bid for them to go to Nationals.” Four-year captain and team founder Brinn Langdale notes that this is the best Regionals finish for D'Vine yet. "Half of our team was pretty young this year," she says, "And we are looking forward to having more experience with big games next year."

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California vs UCLA. PHOTO CREDIT: Anna Nazarov

The upsets, turmoil, and heavy drama expected of such a stacked tournament were all but absent at last weekend’s Southwest Women’s Regionals. Teams held seed and, despite a claw for the ever-too-few three bids to College Championships in Boulder, the top three going in--Santa Barbara, Stanford, and Cal--were the top three coming out.