Rice Wins 2014 D-III Women's College Championships
Corinne Murphy
Posted: May 18, 2014 10:25 PM
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Corinne Murphy recaps the women's division action from day two of the 2014 Division III College Championships in Westerville, Ohio.
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An Underdog and a Champion
Day two of the D-III College Championships was full of back-and-forth scores, exhilarating break points and shocking comebacks. Rice, though they were faced with tough opposition from Carleton College in the finals, took home first place in the women’s division at the 2014 D-III Nationals.
Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals game between Rice and Truman State, the number one and number two seeds in the tournament, was fast paced with few drops as each team threw their bodies around the field to complete tough passes. The teams traded points early in the game before Rice earned a decisive break point, allowing them to get finally pull ahead at 6-4. Though Truman State continued to score points, they had to fight to keep up on defense in the end zone, and Rice’s momentum was in full swing, completing crucial throws up the force side. Rice’s swift movement and run-through Ds eventually led them to a 15-9 victory.
In the Williams v. Carleton College quarterfinal, Eclipse took an early lead, though Williams was able to catch up, tying the game at 10-10 before Carleton called a timeout to regroup. Carleton quickly took control on offense, scoring the crucial point, as well as one right after for a break. Despite scoring two big points, Carleton struggled to get the disc off the line, and Williams was able to tie up the game at 13-13, double-game point. After Williams called a timeout to gather their composure, their defense could not stop Carleton, who squeaked out the win.
Wake Forest hit the ground running in their game against St. Olaf, racking up a 9-3 lead before St. Olaf took advantage of Ruckus’ slightly rushed throws, getting a run-through D that helped kick up the energy for St. Olaf. Though they worked the disc across the field, Durga failed to make vital throws through the open spaces in the zone quickly enough, and Wake Forest’s cup effectively shut down St. Olaf’s bail-out throws. Wake Forest cut to the open side for the winning point, final score 15-9.
In Haverford’s game against Claremont, the former displayed smart defense with good positioning, though Claremont’s power-position hucks threatened their front-guarding strategy. Haverford successfully shut down deep looks with tight defense along with in-cuts by poaching on the handlers. The also held their own in a marathon point. Then, Haverford used their stable energy to close out the win with a score of 15-8.
Semifinals
In their semifinals game, Carleton, originally seeded 11th, initially struggled to space the field effectively against Wake Forest, originally seeded third, though their handlers continued to work to break Wake Forest’s zone. Then, after Claire Leichter earned two Ds during one long point, Carleton worked the disc up the field with short throws transforming into long ones, opening up their deep game. However, their defense still struggled to convert scoring opportunities and trailed by two points. With the help of Amelia Fatsi’s strong mark in the cup, Wake Forest forced Carleton to make short throws that gained trivial yards but were necessary to continue movement. Only after the scoreboard showed 5-2 in Wake Forest’s favor did Carleton successfully break through the holes in the zone, moving the disc more rapidly toward their end zone. A shocking twist in gameplay came when a Wake Forest player collided with a woman from Carleton, resulting in a Wake Forest TMF for dangerous play. After a rattled Wake Forest called a timeout, Carleton scored, though Wake Forest immediately bounced back with a score of their own, bringing it to 6-3, Wake Forest. But after the scored reached 9-6, the game changed completely. Carleton tightened the slack on defense, and Wake Forest didn’t score again. Carleton successfully forced Wake Forest out of their go-to zone, instead throwing their own zone defense into the mix. During a marathon point, Wake Forest called a timeout, but Carleton pulled through on offense, tying up the game at 9-9. When a deflated Wake Forest attempted to bring back their momentum, Carleton easily scored a break before soft cap went off. At game point, 11-9, Wake Forest failed to find their lost composure and turned the disc over on a miscommunicated dump throw. Carleton quickly capitalized, scoring for a 12-9 victory, the end result of a six-to-nothing run.
During the Rice v. Haverford game, the latter took the reins with a 3-2 lead. But Rice took a timeout to regroup and scored multiple points in a row after shutting down almost every in-cut. Haverford, noticing the change, called a timeout of their own to reorganize, remaining right on Rice’s heels. The teams traded points while Rice maintained a one- or two-point lead. As both teams reached frantic levels, with more turns per point on both sides, Haverford used Rice’s trailing defense to utilize a break throw for a score, tying up the game at 8s. After taking another timeout to recuperate, Rice continued to struggle on defense, allowing Haverford to pull ahead at 10-8. The game picked up the intensity ten-fold after this. When Rice’s Kara Schilfgaarde plowed through Haverford’s first throw of the point, receiving a D to turn the momentum back around, the game was tied up at 10-10. The teams continued to trade points, tying at every other, until game point for Rice at 14-13 when Schilfgaarde tallied bookends, getting another D from their zone and making an open-side cut for the score and the game, 15-13.
Fifth-Place Games
During the Williams v. St. Olaf game, Williams’ strong defense wasn’t enough to best St. Olaf’s impressive handler movement and deep looks. St. Olaf stayed ahead of Williams by four to five points throughout and closed out the game at 15-10.
The Truman State v. Claremont game was full of layouts for deep looks. Though Claremont had smooth offense, their defense was lacking, and it showed on the scoreboard with Truman State remaining in the lead by three or four points consistently. Truman State employed their inside breaks repeatedly to gain lots of yardage, winning the game 15-11.
Finals
Quite possibly the most intense game of the day started with a huge fan base circling the flag-lined field. Rice started the game against Carleton College with a swift score, holding their first offensive point. In quick succession, they thrived with several break points, pulling ahead 4-0 before Carleton could score a point. However, when Claire Leichter’s throw to fellow co-captain Julia Reich earned Carleton their first score of the game, Eclipse’s mental drive skyrocketed, catching up to tighten the score at 7-5, Rice. Even with Carleton’s retaliation, Rice’s solid handler movement from Angela Aie, Nichole Kwee and Monica Matsumoto led their team to half. After a layout catch and score by Matsumoto, Rice pulled ahead once again at 9-5. But the action took a turn when Rice made a dangerous drop near their own end zone, allowing Carleton to score an easy point before scoring again bringing the score to 9-7. After calling a timeout, Rice padded their lead once again with frequent, imposing deep grabs from Erika Danckers. Carleton struggled to make throws through Rice’s zone, so instead, they simply dished the disc for small-yard gains. But by ultimately hammering it over the top, Carleton brought their score up to 9. But it was too little, too late to stop Rice’s prevailing offense. Rice continued to dictate on offense for break points to arrive at a final score of 15-9. Despite Carleton’s impressive performance, breaking seed and reaching the finals, Rice earned the right to call themselves the best D-III women’s team in the country.
Day 2 Women's Photos, by UltiPhotos (Extended Gallery)
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