USA Ultimate

		2011 Club Championship Day 2 Recaps: Masters Recap (Spillum) Mixed Recap (Ziv) Open Recap (Toner) Women's Recap (Levine)

 

The power pools were off to an exciting start on this rainy Friday. In the first round, Showdown played an extremely close game against Scandal, who was still riding off the high of beating Molly Brown yesterday. Today, they seemed a bit relaxed, perhaps as if they were expecting to beat Showdown with some ease. Showdown wasn’t about to give up easily, though: the team was getting break throws off on Scandal like no one’s business, and players like Diana Charrier (#21) were getting enormous Ds. The game was in overtime when Scandal, after some messy throws and drops on both sides, was finally able to punch it in and win 16-14, with Maureen Hsia (#33) catching it from a hasty throw on the end zone line. RevoLOUtion was also able to maintain their position as first in the pool by beating Nemesis 15-13. Traffic and Molly Brown played an athletic, heated game in the first round: Molly star Enessa Janes (#28) had some incredible catches in the air, and Maggie Chen (#3) of Traffic had put an unforgettable hammer to the middle left of the endzone, which was received by way of a leaping dive from a teammate. Traffic came away with the win, 15-11.

[PHOTO CREDIT: Brandon Wu, facebook.com/ultiphotos (full coverage)]

In round two, Molly Brown and Showdown continued to deliver the action, this time in a matchup against each other. The two traded points in the first half; both teams displayed patience on offense, dumping and swinging between handlers, but were also able to score quickly with a big put. Neither team was able to get a break, however, until Molly Brown’s Jamie Anderson (#20) caught it in the endzone to raise the score to 9-8 Molly. In typical Molly Brown fashion, this game was an extremely athletic one, with players like Lauren Boyle (#23) laying out for the disc at the drop of a pin; their across-the-board athleticism and relentlessly positive attitude won Molly the game 15-13.

The big upset of the second round was, of course, Riot’s win over Fury 15-11. From the start of the game, Riot seemed much hungrier for the win: players like Keely Dinse (#22) and Gwen Ambler (#3) were getting incredible Ds up in the air and down low, and their quick turnarounds—sometimes too quick, as there were a few drops due to hasty action—allowed them to take an early 4-1 lead. Fury played a characteristically strong game on offense, with handler Emily Damon (#5) and others—actually, every Fury player—throwing scarily accurately, but their defense was no match for their West Coast rival’s fiery attitude. Fury didn’t seem too phased at their loss, however; will we see another Fury v. Riot face-off in the finals, this time with a Fury win?

[PHOTO CREDIT: Brandon Wu, facebook.com/ultiphotos (full coverage)]

In the pre-quarters, Brute Squad matched up against Capitals. This, as all of the spectators on the sidelines seemed to know, was a Regionals rematch: Brute Squad had beaten Capitals only a few weeks earlier, and were eager to repeat so as to make quarters. Brute Squad’s extreme patience and intelligent game helped them maintain possession of the disc, while Jess Blanton (#55), Laura Bitterman (#33) and Sarah Cook (#20) amped up the intensity on D. Their deep looks, however, were a little off: many fell a little short or long, which hindered Brute’s ability to gain some easy momentum and score. Capitals weren’t about to wait for Brute to score: they worked the disc down the open side quickly and efficiently, working Brute in the end zone and deep. Capitals pulled away with a win, shutting Brute out of quarters after having redeemed their Regionals loss.

[PHOTO CREDIT: Brandon Wu, facebook.com/ultiphotos (full coverage)]

Memorable Action:

• Scandal’s Octavia Payne’s signature flying layout D against Showdown

 

• Scandal’s Sandy Jorgenson’s D on Showdown, which sent the disc flying 40 yards down the field in her team’s favor

 

• Riot’s win over Fury 15-11

 

• Sara Jacobi of Brute Squad’s unstoppable defense in the air

 

• Capitals captain, Kristin Laurin, on beating Brute Squad in prequarters: "It felt amazing. We didn’t fight hard enough at Regionals, and so we made sure that we came prepared this time."

 

• RevoLOUtion’s win against Nemesis, but loss to Showdown in the pre-quarters

[PHOTO CREDIT: Brandson Wu, facebook.com/ultiphotos (full coverage)]

 

 

 

 

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