Women's Preview - 2012 Club Championships
Devon Ericksen
Posted: October 19, 2012 11:59 AM
Women's Scoreboard
Pool A
Pool B
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Riot |
Ozone |
Molly Brown |
Underground |
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| Pool B will bring an exciting matchup between Riot and Ozone. Despite the difference in overall seed, these teams have duked it out this season, with Riot winning both matchups so far by only one point. Overall, Riot is the clear favorite to take the pool, as they have a history of impressive performances in Sarasota. Ozone will have to fight to keep its seed, as Molly Brown and Underground both have the potential to pull off upsets. Neither team looks likely to take down Riot, however – each has lost to them three times already this season. |
Pool C
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Scandal |
Capitals |
Nemesis |
Schwa |
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| Scandal - Capitals will be the game to watch in this pool. Scandal is determined to make a deep run in bracket play this year, but will have to fend off the ever-talented Capitals to stay on top of Pool C. After taking time off to recover from Worlds, the Capitals have flown under the radar but have a good chance at repeating their usual top three performance. Will Nemesis let their walk through Great Lakes Regionals make them complacent? Look for Schwa to put up a fight after a tough Northwest Regionals. |
Pool D
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Traffic |
Phoenix |
Showdown |
Nightlock |
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| The wraparound pool brings the greatest potential for shakeup, and both Traffic - Phoenix and Showdown - Nightlock should be great games. Showdown and Nightlock have traded wins this season, but look for Nightlock to pull off this upset. The young Bay Area team showed a lot of grit in securing their spot at Nationals and will fight to make it out of pool play. The top seeds face off for the second time, and although Traffic beat Phoenix the first time they played, this matchup could go either way – both teams have the potential to make semis appearances. |
Seven To Watch
Claire Chastain (#52)
Phoenix |
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Big hucks and dominant D.
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Alicia White (#19)
Scandal |
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All-around star.
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Hana Kawai (#14)
Riot |
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Dominant in the air.
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Laura Bitterman (#33)
Brute Squad |
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Sneaky fast.
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Anna Schott (#17)
Molly Brown |
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Rallies the team behind her intensity.
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Liz Duffy (#37)
Ozone |
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All over the field.
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Nancy Sun (#8)
Fury |
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Veteran leadership behind the disc.
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Dark Horse(s)
Molly Brown (10 seed) – this team has done their homework this season, facing off against 11 of their 16 competitors. They’ve had a rocky season and wildfires to contend with, but their strong performance at ECC (they beat Scandal and Traffic and took Fury to 14-12) proves this team has a pocket of greatness.
Heist (8 seed) – this team is a great darkhorse candidate. Despite an undefeated season, Heist is the ninth seed because they are untested against the teams ranked above them. Packed full of Midwest talent such as Georgia Bosscher, Robyn Fennig, and Courtney Kiesow, Heist’s focus has been Nationals. Mystery status could work in their favor however, as teams have not been able to prepare for this new team’s playing style. The semis could very well be in Heist’s future.
Capitals (6 seed) – a very obvious darkhorse choice. Capitals did not participate in the regular season in order to take time off after representing Canada at Worlds, resulting in a lower seed coming into Nationals. But top performances the past three years prove they know what it takes to win in Sarasota.
Upset Watch
Capitals will be gunning for the top of Pool C. Will Ozone pull out a win against Riot? Heist seems poised to take down Brute, and look for Nightlock over Showdown.
Games To Watch