DAY THREE
by: Neva Cherniavsky
photos: Matt Lane
FINALS
Sunday afternoon in Boulder was warm, sunny, and very windy. All the talk before the game was about how UC Santa Barbara faced this situation a year ago in the finals and got crushed by Stanford's big cup. But this year, UC Santa Barbara is a different team, having graduated twelve. Alex Korb, the coach of UCLA, said "They are more spirited this year. They are a lot more fun to play against." UC Santa Barbara also has a coach now, former Condor Steve Dugan. Asked about the wind, he said "We'll defend the upwind endzone. We've talked about how to win the wind all season. You can't get yourself into a position where you've giving the other team easy goals."
Both teams ran warmup drills that didn't look very good, with lots of turnovers. There was some concern that the points would be long and boring, with lots of zone and ugly ultimate. As it turned out, the points were long, but not boring at all. And the handlers on both team looked perfectly comfortable in the wind, swinging with ease and hucking regularly.
As the teams called their opening lines, coach Stephanie Chow gave each player a nickname, such as "scores over tall girls" for 5'0" Jenny Lo. Having called six, she looked for whom she had forgotten, then said "Kira 'should have been the Callahan' Frew". Frew came in second last night in the Callahan voting and is arguably one of the best players of the five finalists - her throws, defense, and calm team leadership brought British Columbia to the championship game. In the finals, she had only a few turnovers despite touching the disc as often as every third throw. She also had a huge high layout D on a tall UC Santa Barbara receiver and numerous other D's in the air.
The game started with the teams trading, though that easy phrase makes it sound like the point were short and turnover-free. They were not. They were also not boring, with each team looking to establish a deep game. UC Santa Barbara in particular often hucked the disc after one or two passes. They have an incredibly strong handler core in Andrea Romano, 
Katie Barry, Kaela Jorgenson, and Carolyn Finney. These four played almost all of UC Santa Barbara's points. They all have great hucks (Barry was especially dangerous this game) and they all also cut downfield to receive, with Romano a favorite target. British Columbia's junk D to start was a three person wall. The handlers had no trouble swinging it around, even when throwing directly upwing, and any time one of these four received a swing and had a chance to throw an unmarked huck, they did. British Columbia often responded with hucks of their own, usually thrown by Tory Hislop. But Hislop's deep shots were not accurate in the first half, and UC Santa Barbara excelled in the air.
The first break of the game came as UC Santa Barbara threw zone. The zone consisted of two three-person walls and a deep deep. The front wall forced middle, but the marker was only close enough to count the stall. The back wall was 15-20 yards deeper and matched man as cutters came into their zone. A deep-deep contained in the back, so that the back wall could play tight defense on in cuts. British Columbia's cutters ran themselves ragged but were never open, and were visibly frustrated. A British Columbia turnover was negated by an errant huck from Barry, but Barry got the D back. It went Barry-Romano-Barry-Romano for the score. On the next point Barry continued to make plays, getting a D in the zone. UC Santa Barbara worked it to the endzone but turned it, but a drop by a British Columbia handler led to an easy Finney-Barry score. 4-2 UC Santa Barbara, time out British Columbia.
The teams "traded" the next few. British Columbia changed up their defense, running a tight four person cup, with two wings that cover the poppers and a deep-deep. This slowed down UC Santa Barbara's deep game and led to a Callahan by Iris Wong (off the D by Nikki Short). On the next point, stuck behind an aggressive cup with little movement, Dugan told Barry, "Katie, do it. Do it, Katie, do it!" This despite very tight coverage from British Columbia's deep deep (in this case Short), in which Short and Briana Cahn are essentially standing beside each other in the endzone. Barry's backhand sailed higher and longer than either player expected, and Cahn managed to turn around, sprint, and catch the goal to make it 7-5 UC Santa Barbara. The next point was a long huck-fest that had the observers sprinting. Finally, UC Santa Barbara settled into their zone offense and patiently worked to outside the endzone. Romano called a time out, and off a vertical stack it was Romano to Jorgenson to Finney for a layout score to take half 8-5.
Game film will show what Chow told her players in the huddle. With hindsight, the seeds of the comeback started in the first half, when British Columbia switched to their four person cup that slowed the handlers. But Chow made a further adjustment - she put two defenders deep deep, instead of just one. And this wasn't a short deep and a deep deep. This was two players standing next to the offensive deep player, side-by-side 50 yards away from the disc. This created a huge amount of space between the cup and the deeps in the middle of the field, space that Chow assigned Frew to cover. As the offense would swing the disc, Frew would sprint 25 yards to cut off the next easy throw. This worked well against UC Santa Barbara. Though there was plenty of space on the offside to hit a popper, British Columbia's cup was tight enough that holes were hard to find. And they never once went over the top. UC Santa Barbara had the most success when they ran a handler crashing through the cup and then immediately hit a popper - once behind the cup, they were off to the races. However, by the time the offense started to move the disc more efficiently, it was too late. The younger players on UC Santa Barbara had lost confidence, and even after working it well, there were often drops.
British Columbia, besides running a good defense, also began to play more efficient offense. Hislop in particular became a huge factor in the second half. She continued to huck, this time finding her receivers (often Short or Candice Chan). She was also adept at
moving the disc, throwing and going in transition and thus not allowing UC Santa Barbara to set their zone. Meanwhile, UC Santa Barbara had some turns within 20 yards of their own endzone leading to quick, easy scores. On the 9-0 British Columbia run, Frew had six assists and a score, and Hislop had two assists and at least three hucks to set up scores.
UC Santa Barbara was not ready for the game to be over, and at 14-8 the point was long and hard fought, with layout D's from both teams. Both teams also hucked with little success, and after many turns UC-Santa Barbara worked it through the zone and Jorgenson threw the score. But they had run out of time and knew it. Given the disc after a British Columbia turnover, facing man defense for the first time in the game, they were too tired to make a run. They turned it back over near their endzone, and British Columbia called a time out then calmly scored it. Screaming and cheering, they lifted their MVP Kira Frew up above their huddle and celebrated winning the finals of the UPA College Championships, 15-9.
DAY TWO
by: Neva Cherniavsky
Prequarters
Saturday morning dawns bright and sunny, with virtually no breeze. The fields are less full than Friday, since the morning is only the prequarter matchups and many teams don't play for at least a few hours. But this is win-or-go-home game for the eight teams here, and they take their time warming up and working out the kinks from the hard matches yesterday.
On one side of the bracket, Ottawa faced North Carolina for the right to see Washington and Michigan faced Wake Forest for the right to see British Columbia. From the get-go, Ottawa was efficient. Their handlers converted miscues by North Carolina into quick scores. As usual, Ottawa's cuttters looked slightly less athletic than their Carolina counterparts, but their big throwers more than made up for it. Anne Mercier, the 19-year-old leader of Ottawa, is simply unstoppable. She plays good D, often slightly poaching then getting the run-through catch, but she really shines on offense. She throws confidently to both sides of the field regardless of a mark. And her cuts as a handler are extremely valuable. She sells her move completely, so that defenders often bid too hard, and she is wide open for an easy dump. Once the disc is in her hand, she is the playmaker. North Carolina ran hard, and their players never gave up, but they simply made too many mistakes. Ottawa was up 8-4 at half and seemed to be running an open rotation; they closed out the game 15-7. Afterwards, Mercier said, "They had some pretty good handlers with good hucks, but we had good matchups on their deeps. On offense it was a lot easier for us - they didn't pressure us much. We'd like to minimize some unforced errors, but in general we felt good about the game."
The Michigan-Wake Forest game was much closer, though it didn't start out that way. Michigan easily scored the first three points, converting turns by Wake Forest into goals. After jumping to a 3-0 lead, the teams traded, and it seemed as though Michigan would slowly start to pull away. But at 7-4, Wake Forest threw a four person cup that Michigan struggled against. Katka Bodora put up huck after huck against the zone, but Lucia Derks came down with them all. Meanwhile, Michigan ran a 1-3-3 against Wake Forest, on which Wake mostly went long. Their receivers excel at pulling down swilly throws, and Michigan's tall defenders struggled in the air. Wake Forest scored the next four in a row to take half 8-7. Janet Jin, Michigan's coach, said "Wake got momentum the last part of the first half. They're good at firing themselves up. #3 [Lucia Derks] owned every long put, and that forced us to change our strategy. We started playing more of a short game, and putting in tall players, and our handlers were more patient." The teams essentially traded the rest of the way, Michigan running a 1-3-3 on Wake Forest and Wake Forest throwing their four person cup. When Michigan worked it instead of hucking, they scored; when Wake Forest came down with Derks's hucks, they had the advantage. Michigan, the better team skill-wise, finally pulled away after an unexpected drop by one of Wake Forest's best receivers. The final score was 15-13. Looking to their upcoming match against British Columbia, Sarah "Surge" Griffith said "Our game against UBC at Centex was not a good showing, and we're excited to play them again." Coach Martha Carlson added, "It will come down to who makes fewer mistakes." And Jin had the last word with "our girls definitely believe."
On the other side of the bracket, Carleton took on Michigan State for the right to play UCLA, and Wisconsin faced Oregon for the right to play UC Santa Barbara. The Carleton-Michigan State game was perhaps the quickest of Nationals. Michigan State, having played a great game against Texas, looked tentative and jittery when confronted with the possibility of making quarters. Error after error led to quick Carleton scores; often, Michigan State would receive the pull, throw a couple of passes, then have an easy drop. In roughly 45 minutes, Carleton dismantled Michigan State, 15-3.
Wisconsin versus Oregon promised to be much better game and didn't disappoint. After trading for the first few passes, Oregon built up a first half lead of 8-5. Oregon is stacked with playmakers. Around the disc, Julia Sherwood had a huge game, and Molly Suver was a reliable reset that often caught discs seemingly out of reach. Christina Norton was big in 
the air and Jenia Villamor was a tireless cutter and defender. In general, the heat seemed to be affecting Oregon, and their lines were not as deep as Wisconsin's. Oregon took half 8-5 and the teams essentially traded the next few, with lots of turnovers per point. Oregon's handlers worked it well and their D was super tight. They ran a side-isolation play off the pull a lot, hitting Sherwood or Venus Huynh, who could then turn and huck. But Wisconsin was never out of it and Georgia Bosscher was working hard to fire her team up. Their cutters were well-matched against Oregon's. At 11-8, Courtney Kiesow, the other Wisconsin captain, got a big D for Wisconsin. Bosscher's huck to reward her fell incomplete, but on the next throw Emelie McKain got a sick waist-high layout D on Norton and then caught the score. 11-9. On a short pull by Wisconsin, Oregon worked it to the goal line and called time out; good cuts from the back in a vertical stack give them the score, 12-9. Oregon threw a zone the next point that never truly got on, and left cutters open down the line. A loopy pass skirted just above Norton's outstretched hand, and Wisconsin scored, 12-10. Wisconsin, totally fired up, took advantage of a drop by Oregon on the next point for a quick strike, McKain to Laura Bitterman, 12-11. The next point was long, with multiple turnovers by both teams; finally, Bosscher was open coming under for the score. 12-12, huge spike, Wisconsin rushed the field, girls screaming. The next three points, Oregon had numerous miscues - dump throws out of reach, drops, high passes sailing over receivers. Wisconsin, tasting quarters, took advantage (though not without turnovers of their own). McKain, all over the place during the comeback, fittingly caught the final score, 15-12 Wisconsin. After the game, Bosscher commented "We were glad to pull through but we definitely didn't play our game in the first half. Sometimes it takes us getting down to get going." Kiesow added, "It was a very physical game. By the end, it seemed like Oregon was a little tired."
Quarters
The hardest match of the round was widely predicted to be University of Washington versus Ottawa. These teams saw each other at Vegas, where Ottawa prevailed. Mercier noted, "We've beaten them once but it was a long time ago. We know most of their players from college and club, and we've played against them a number of times, so we know what to expect, which is different from the other teams we've seen at this tournament. We had a couple of injuries last game, so we'll need to minimize that. Alex [Benedict] hurt her left shoulder on the last point of the game, but I think she'll play - we don't have any more games if we lose."
Washington started out this game on fire and never looked back. They scored the first 3 points, all on D, before Ottawa got on the board. Alex Benedict played but other Ottawa players were rumored injured. Fundamentally, Ottawa didn't seem to have an answer for Washington's numerous speedy receivers. Nora Carr owned the air, making lots of big plays on D and also catching several throws in traffic on O. Meanwhile, the regulars on Washington - Suver, Shannon O'Malley, Lindsey Wilson, and Lisa Niemann - continued their solid play, and had many hucks to younger rookie players. Though Ottawa made some of their classic long plays, they looked tired and their rotation lacked some of their more experienced players. Washington's man D didn't let Ottawa's cutters get open. Suver said "We got the first three breaks and we carried that momentum and confidence throughout the game." Indeed, Washington took half 8-4 and Ottawa never threatened in the second half. Final score 15-9.
One field over, British Columbia took on Michigan. Before the game, British Columbia captain Kira Frew said "We know they just came off a tough win, but we also know that last year we saw Northwestern coming off a prequarter and they came out fired up. We saw them at Centex and won by a lot, but we expect this game to be more of a challenge." The game started close, with numerous turnovers by both teams. For those in the know, the Callahan nominee matchup of Frew on British Columbia versus Sarah "Surge" Griffin on Michigan was something to see. Both are quick cutters and great defenders. Michigan relies more on overall team chemistry rather than individual superstars, but Griffin is a big receiver for them. British Columbia, on the other hand, is much more reliant on Frew, who runs the offense. Frew has a wicked high release backhand, makes many defensive plays, and is often involved in scores. That said, British Columbia is an extremely deep team. They seem to have an endless cast of tall receivers that come down with everything in traffic. Notable in this game was handler Tory Hislop, cutter Candice Chan, and receiver Nikki Short. (The Michigan sideline was heard to comment, "She's tall". Yes, and she also jumps.) Moreover, their spread offense is very effective at creating space, so that their handlers can send floaty away passes to cutters, who end up with a chance at an unmarked huck. As British Columbia made fewer mistakes, they scored more quickly and more often. The game was firmly in hand as British Columbia took half, 8-4. Final score 15-8.
The other side of the bracket was more of the same. In the UCLA versus Carleton game, Carleton looked overmatched from the beginning. Carleton wasn't nearly as comfortable with the disc as UCLA, and had some early turns that UCLA converted to scores. UCLA threw a couple different junk D looks and Carleton seemed unwilling to go over the top, even though the wind was light. Early on the score was 7-2 and UCLA looked at ease. Carleton worked hard to stay in the game, playing tough D and moving the disc repeatedly down the line. Megan Molteni was the primary player for Carleton, catching every other pass and moving the offense. But the less experienced players made mistakes, particularly on dump passes. Alex Korb, the coach of UCLA, said of Carleton, "Megan Molteni is definitely Callahan-worthy. She ignited her team with spirited play. We were just firing on all cylinders." The final score was 15-8.
Wisconsin highly anticipated their matchup with UC Santa Barbara. Georgia Bosscher said, "We've seen them before, early in the season. We can't let ourselves get down like we did in the Oregon game. They definitely handled Ottawa yesterday, and Ottawa has a good deep game like we do." Her co-captain Courtney Kiesow noted, "Their handlers are really good. They look to them a lot. We're really cutter dependent so we'll need to adjust. They have a great zone, but we love zone offense. We're super excited to play them." Both Wisconsin and UC Santa Barbara are athletic, fast teams that like to huck it, but Santa Barbara has a more accurate deep game overall. Constantly in this game, Wisconsin would work it really well, then turn it over, often with a big huck out of bounds. Bosscher played well, but her teammates needed to step up more to make it competitive. That said, there were D's and drops on both sides, and lots and lots of hucks. The big handlers on Santa Barbara - Katie Barry, Carolyn Finney, Andrea Romano, and Kaela Jorgenson - moved the disc well, with lots of hucks and catches between them. The final score was 15-9.
Semis
Battle of the titans. All four teams in the semis won their pools. All four held their quarterfinal opponents to single digits. All four hail from the west coast. In fact, it's even more unique than that - each semi was a Sectional rematch between the #1 and #2. British Columbia held the 3-2 advantage over Washington in their five matches this season; their last game was a big British Columbia win over Washington to take first place in the region. On the other side, UCLA had beaten UC Santa Barbara in each of their three games this season. These games promised to be barn-burners, and didn't disappoint.
British Columbia and Washington played a tight match from the get-go. Each team has stifling defense, and they know each other so well that even dump passes are highly contested on both sides. The points in the first half were turnover-heavy, with no team establishing more than a two point lead. Washington kept their lines tight; Claire Suver, Shannon O'Malley, and Lisa Niemann played nearly every point, and Lindsey Wilson and Nora Carr saw significant time. British Columbia seemed a bit more open in their rotation, but Kira Frew, Tory Hislop, Candice Chan, Nikki Short, and Robyn Fashler all played quite a bit. British Columbia took half 8-6, but the game didn't seem dominated by either side.
In the second half, all that changed. Washington had some trouble with British Columbia's junk defense, and their cutters looked stagnant, the same problem that plagued them against Texas. British Columbia hit Robyn Fashler to go up 10-7, Washington called a time out, and an incredibly long hell point followed. Each team kept hucking it long; there were drops, throwaways, careful working of the disc only to turn it on the goal line, and tight, tenacious D on both sides. 
Everyone looked extremely tired. British Columbia lost tall receiver Fashler to an injury in the back of the end zone. Finally, British Columbia won the point to go up 11-7, and now Washington's best players were exhausted. On the next point, Washington turned it and Chan sent up a long, curving flick huck to a streaking Frew, covered by O'Malley. O'Malley, slightly out of position, tried to make a play with a huge bid in the air; Frew, with the better read, also laid out high. There was no contact, and Frew came down with the disc, and her sideline erupted in cheers - until they realized O'Malley was writhing on the ground. She had hurt her shoulder and was taken off the field in the trainer's cart. The next few points happened quite quickly - Washington turns were converted in British Columbia scores, with Frew to Nikki Short and Chan with a layout D and score. At 14-7, another hell point ensued. The other semi was over and other teams were cheering for their favorites - Oregon's Molly Suver leading the charge for her twin sister, and Ottawa encouraging their Canadian brethren. This point went on for probably ten minutes, with many, many turns, some on Ds, other just miscues. Both teams wanted to end it, but neither was willing to give an inch. After yet another British Columbia turn in their endzone, Suver picked up the disc. Her tired teammates were not able to get open on British Columbia's D, and she was stalled. Frew threw it to Hislop for the score and the game, 15-7 British Columbia.
One field over, UCLA and UC Santa Barbara fought for finals. Alex Korb, the coach of UCLA, said before the game, "We're excited about it because we have a lot of history with the Burning Skirts and it's a rematch of last year. We're looking forward to it." In last year's semis, UCLA lost by one point and they were definitely looking to avenge. But since they had the three game regular season advantage, they might have underestimated UC Santa Barbara. The underdog shocked UCLA by jumping out to a 3-0 lead to start the game. In contrast to the other semi, each point was quick, and there were very few turnovers overall for either team. When UCLA had early miscues, UC Santa Barbara took advantage with quick scores. UC Santa Barbara does a nice job with their horizontal offense; defense must respect their deep cutters, since their throwers put it so often. Consequently, cutters are open underneath for 25 yard strikes. Often those cutters also have hucks (e.g., Romano and Finney), and are not afraid to send it to streaking receivers. At 4-1, UCLA starting clawing back and eventually took the lead 5-4, as Taz made plays with her throws. But UCLA's junky zone D was shredded by UC Santa Barbara on the next point, and then Taz threw a huge hammer to make it 6-5 UCLA. UC Santa Barbara scored their next offensive point to tie it, then took advantage, twice, of UCLA mistakes to take half 8-6.
Trading to start the second half, at 10-8 UC Santa Barbara threw junk D and got a turn. Finney, who really turned it on at this point, did give-gos with receivers to score. Korb called a timeout to settle his team, which seemed to work, as UCLA scored two in a row and brought it to 11-10. UC Santa Barbara shredded the junk D on the next point to go up 12-10, and then a UCLA miscue led to a huge huck from Finney to Shannon Bubb. UCLA scored quickly on the next point, with Taz and Kix featured. Then Taz had a huge poach layout D that fired up her to team, and Gizmo threw the score to Jorgenson. UCLA, now down only one point, seemed poised to come back and win the game. Their sideline believed it. Their rookies believed it. Their veterans believed it, and were ready to make it happen. The only ones who didn't believe it were the UC Santa Barbara women, who refused to let UCLA back in the game. After receiving the next pull, UC Santa Barbara worked it to the goal line and called time out. They then calmly scored on a Barry pass to Emily Bass. 14-13. Time is running out for UCLA. Kix hucks a big inside-out backhand to Gizmo, who caught it just outside the endzone. After a timeout call, the UCLA handlers calmly work it four or five passes to score, 14-13. But UC Santa Barbara received the pull to win the game, and didn't look nervous about the prospect. They work it down the field and score on an easy pass to Briana Cahn. UC Santa Barbara wins 15-13, and will take on British Columbia in the finals.
DAY ONE
by: Neva Cherniavsky
The day dawned cloudy and cool here in Boulder, CO, as sixteen teams began the three-day fight for the College Ultimate Championship. Eventually, the clouds would clear, the wind would pick up, and some teams would be left bruised but still standing, while others would see their dreams of the title slip away.
Pool A
Pool A featured the number one seed of the tournament, UCLA, widely believed to be the best team at Nationals. Coached by Alex Korb, the UCLA Blu have had a dominant season despite the loss of 12 players, including Callahan winner Anna Nazarov. Remarkably for such a young team, UCLA played a very open rotation in early games. Their top players include Angie 'Taz' Sanan, Andi 'Gizmo' Coleman, and Cheryl 'Kix' Prideaux, but rarely in pool play were all three in on the same point. Instead, Korb seemed content to sit on a 3 point lead, and let his tall freshmen gain Nationals experience. While UCLA played close games with all three other teams in the pool, they were never down after the first few points of the match.
UCLA's first game was against North Carolina, the second seed out of the AC region and 12th seed overall. North Carolina is an athletic team that works hard for every point, regardless of the score. Their offense runs through Kate Scott, a lefty handler who makes huge throws and catches at crucial times. However, the rest of the team is less skilled, North Carolina as a whole was prone to miscues the entire day. They ran a vertical
offense without a dump, described by one West Coast observer as "straight out of the 80s". Their game against UCLA was fairly close, within 3-5 points for the vast majority of the time; but Korb never seemed stressed out, and his players embodied the same worry-free attitude. At one point, it seemed like UCLA might have relaxed too much; winning 13-7, Korb sent in several all-rookie lines. North Carolina took advantage and brought it back to 13-10. The subbing tightened, but the veterans had lost some focus, and North Carolina reeled off two after mistakes by UCLA's best players. North Carolina, fired up and ready to take down the one seed, came down on defense and Suzanne Willis had a huge point block to give her team the disc and the chance to tie it up. But a long forehand sails wide, and UCLA calmly picks up the disc and walks it up the field. The next two scores are classic UCLA, easy-looking offense with both goals thrown from Taz to Gizmo.
On the next field over, 8th seeded Michigan took on 13th seeded Maryland. Michigan, a solid team that relies mainly on chemistry and depth, had no trouble with Maryland. They came out with a zone and jumped to a 6-0 lead, and essentially never looked back. Maryland, the two seed out the Metro East, had not seen any Nationals competition and came out jittery and nervous. Worse, their best player, Katie "Charlie" Mercer, couldn't play due to back spasms. Described by other teams pre-tournament as "a great thrower and playmaker" and "absolutely relentless on both sides of the disc", Mercer would not come back until halfway into their UCLA loss (when Alex Korb expressed surprised that the woman subbing in for an injured teammate was the best player on Maryland). Without Mercer, Maryland struggled to move the disc, and several players looked uncomfortable being marked.
The second round saw UCLA versus Maryland and Michigan versus North Carolina. By seeding, the first should have been a blow-out and the second a closely fought match, but instead it was the opposite. Sort of. Korb continued to run a fairly open rotation. UCLA was only up 5-4 early in the game, but Taz shredded the zone thrown by Maryland, and Maryland struggled against UCLA's three person cup. Maryland's handlers were unwilling to exploit the space behind the cup by going over the top. This was one of the longest games of the round, even though the outcome was never in doubt. Eventually UCLA built its 3-5point lead and sat on it. For Maryland, handler Amy Hudson and cutter Clara Morris did their best to make it close. One field over, Michigan made it look easy against North Carolina, scoring efficiently off of North Carolina errors and winning by a wide margin.
That set up the highly anticipated round 3 match between UCLA and Michigan. Plenty had called for this to be an upset, and given Michigan's dominance of the other two teams compared to UCLA's relatively poor performance, the one seed seemed ripe for the pickings. Michigan began by meeting expectations, jumping out to a two point lead, led by Emily Baecher's excellent throws. Asked what was happening, Korb said "Emily Baecher is making some aggressive decisions that are working. They play hard, tenacious D." UCLA scored the next point then threw zone, perhaps to slow down Michigan's speedy offense. Meanwhile, Michigan seemed huck-happy, which worked when it worked but often did not. UCLA kept their lines tight, and their handlers, led by Taz, broke the mark with ease. Patiently their offense worked the disc downfield, with few big throws but lots of breaks and open cuts underneath. UCLA scored four in a row and seemed to be in control of the game for the rest of the way.
The North Carolina-Maryland game turned out to be a barn-burner; a very close, but not very pretty, game between fairly evenly matched teams. Both teams had lots of turnovers on every point. Maryland was up 7-5, but North Carolina always seemed to have the edge both in athleticism and skill. Furthermore, the North Carolina roster was much deeper than Maryland's. The close game wore down their players, and North Carolina fought back to take the lead and win, 15-10.
Pool B
The top two seeds in Pool B both hail from the Northwest region - British Columbia, a team featuring club players from Vancouver, and Oregon, returning to Nationals after a four year absence. Oregon threw their regional game against British Columbia, in order to win their games in the backdoor and qualify for Nationals; they were eager to show they are better than that lopsided score. Meanwhile, more drama is supplied by the three seed, Carleton. Currently uncoached, Carleton has struggled to perform at the top level since coach Lou Burruss left. Burruss, a Carleton alum, coached the team to three finals appearances and the 2000 National championship. Nowadays Burruss resides in Oregon and coaches their women. This is the first year he's had to coach against his old team at the College Championships. Pool B is rounded out by Northeastern, a virtual unknown but the top team out of the New England region.
The first matches were British Columbia versus Carleton and Oregon versus Northeastern. British Columbia took over the game early and was up 8-4 at half. Their offense, led by Kira Frew and Tory Hislop, is simply at a much higher level than your typical college team. Frew and Hislop are both solid throwers and look to break or huck to open cutters, particularly Candice Chan. Carleton is scrappy and athletic, and Rebecca Sheridan in particular made a number of defensive plays. But British Columbia is so efficient that you cannot give them the disc back, and Carleton was a little more sloppy.
Meanwhile, in what would become a theme, Northeastern gave Oregon a harder game than expected. Northeastern is dominated by Tabitha Bennett, who is everywhere on both O and D. After grabbing the 8-3 lead, Oregon relaxed enough to let Northeastern back in it. Coach Jason Adams said of Oregon, "Their deep game has been killing us. But we've been making adjustments, trying to make them beat us in more than three throws." Northeastern utilized their own game to bring it to 8-6, and had it on their goal line several times to bring it to 8-7. But ultimately, the Northeastern women never seemed like they thought they could win the game. They were tentative against Oregon's aggressive marks. Oregon, led by Molly Suver, Jess "Venus" Huynh, and Julia Sherwood, ran their horizontal offense efficiently and athletically, and Christina Norton made some impressive plays on D. The points were long but got shorter, and Northeastern looked overmatched in the end.
It was British Columbia's turn to be somewhat surprised by Northeastern. Though Northeastern never won any of these games, they sure know how to make their opponents look inefficient. It's not clear if the higher level teams play down to Northeastern, or if their style of play (lots of hucks and catching lots of swill) is simply disconcerting to western teams more used to moving the disc quickly and efficiently. Regardless, British Columbia found itself playing long points with lots of turnovers. At 6-2, the point went on for something like fifteen minutes; hucks back and forth, miscues, throws just beyond the reach of receivers, and plenty of drops. On the sideline during the point, an irritated UBC player pronounced Northeastern "a weak team, but we're playing down to their level." Softening, she said, "They're good considering it's their first time here; they've never seen this level of competition." True enough, and both British Columbia and Northeastern would finish the day where they were seeded. Northeastern won the hell point 6-3, British Columbia decided enough was enough, called a timeout, and settled into their usual efficiency.
One field over, the game started with a fired up Oregon team getting a layout D against Carleton, and grabbing a 5-3 lead. Oregon looked strong and Carleton fans looked worried. But the wind started to come up in this round, and Oregon's horizontal offense struggled. Normally crisp throws sailed behind or in front of receivers. Burruss kept his lines tight, solid players made uncharacteristic mistakes, and Carleton converted every turn. Megan Molteni and Beth Mynar were huge, making beautiful throws (in particular a long high-release backhand to the break side, used multiple times) to wide open receivers. Oregon's defenders didn't seem comfortable with Carleton's vertical stack. After taking half 8-5 they were ridiculously efficient, running off quick scores to put the game out of reach. In the end, Carleton scored twelve in a row to beat Oregon, a remarkably lopsided upset.
And now the pool is looking different, and not so hot from Oregon's point of view. Three seed in the pool, not the end of the world, you say? Well, what if Northeastern upsets Carleton? Just this scenario became more and more realistic, as Carleton became the latest team to have their offensive efficiency interrupted by Northeastern. Meanwhile, British Columbia and Oregon played tight, matched point for point. This wasn't a repeat of the regional blowout. Moreover, Oregon seemed delighted to be playing wide-open horizontal offense and defense, and to have regained confidence in their throwers and cutters.
So - suppose Northeastern beats Carleton. If Oregon wins, they are 2-1, British Columbia is 2-1, and Carleton and Northeastern are 1-2. It goes to head-to-head, and Carleton would be out and Oregon would be the one seed. If Oregon loses, British Columbia is 3-0 and retains the one seed, and the other three teams are 1-2. It then goes to point differential and the relevant question becomes "by how much?" Since Oregon had beat Northeastern by a wide margin but lost to Carleton by a wider margin, they needed Carleton to win or not lose by too much. Otherwise, they drop to four and are out of the running for champion.
As he strolled the sideline, his players slowly starting to lose to British Columbia, Burruss glanced at the scoreboard every time there was a goal on the other field. He said "I'm well-aware of the implications of that game", and indeed, Carleton's cowbells must have been music to his ears. Northeastern took half 8-7 on the same huck-and-catch style of play that had sustained them thus far. But eventually, after being tied at 12s, Carleton settled into the same offensive efficiency that had rolled Oregon. This, together with pressure D on Northeastern's small core of handlers, led to a 3-point run to end the game. Oregon lives to play another day.
Pool C
Had enough of the drama? Then, whatever you do, don't read about pool C. But if you're curious about the best games, biggest upsets, and worst heartbreaker, read on.
In retrospect, it's obvious that this was the toughest pool of the tournament. Washington, second out the Northwest region, would have been seeded first at Nationals had they beaten British Columbia at Regionals. Wisconsin and Texas were both picked as underrated by their competitors pre-tournament. And Michigan State proved to be far more athletic and tenacious than they appeared.
In the first round, Washington seemed fairly in control of a close game with Texas, up 7-5. Both teams were hucking a lot, often unsuccessfully. The altitude probably didn't help, nor the breeze pushing discs out the back of the endzone. Texas turned it on at this point, and scored three quick ones in a row to take half 8-7. Michelle Ng was huge in this game, making plays for her team on offense all day. Gina Phillips was also big
on both sides of the disc, particularly handling. Often those two would huck to Stepanie Redfern, a short and extremely fast receiver. On Washington, handlers Lisa Niemann and Claire Suver ran the show, and relied on a corps of receivers, most especially Shannon O'Malley. These three are excellent players that have extensive club experience. Texas held onto a slim lead for the next few points as the teams traded, both playing hard defense and having to force throws. Washington tied the game at 11s with an assist from Niemann, but Texas came out the next point with renewed energy. Ng in particular seemed fired up and her energy was contagious. Texas scored the next point and continued to come out with hard D; Washington fought hard, but their cutters were stagnant and their handlers pressured by the lack of movement downfield. Washington's younger players in particular appeared intimidated. Texas ran off the next four to win it, 15-11. Asked about the win, Ng said "Both teams were running really hard. We saw them at Stanford and got killed, and we really concentrated on fixing the things that went wrong in that game." Lindsey Wilson, Washington's star freshman, said "Texas played hard D. It was hard all around. They played awesome." And when Suver was asked what they needed to do now, she answered in two words: "Play hard."
In the other game that round, Michigan State played Wisconsin surprisingly close. Wisconsin has many good, athletic players, but they tend to be overshadowed by Georgia Bosscher, who is fantastic. Bosscher gets open at will, has a mean long flick, and plays layout D on the other team's best players. Wisconsin jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but Michigan State started playing a zone D that took advantage of Wisconsin's impatience with the disc. Forcing Wisconsin to throw short passes around and through the cup led to quick turns, and Michigan State capitalized nearly every time. After Michigan State took the lead 5-4, Wisconsin called a timeout and reset their offense. The next few points, and particularly in the second half, Wisconsin started breaking through Michigan State's zone, finally leading them to abandon it altogether. Then it was back to the dominance of the more athletic team.
Any who saw Texas beat Washington was excited for their next round match versus Wisconsin. Texas and Wisconsin didn't disappoint, showing a huge, loud sideline the best game of the day. Both teams are athletic, defensively-oriented, and huck-happy. Each point was filled with layouts, long hucks just barely caught by receivers sprinting at top speed, and tight, top-notch D. The best players on both teams stepped it up this game - Bosscher on Wisconsin and the trio of Ng, Phillips, and Redfern on Texas. The game was tied the whole way, with no team ever establishing a lead. At 14-13 Wisconsin, Texas received the pull and hucked it, and it sailed downwind just beyond the reach of Redfern. Wisconsin patiently worked it up the field, hitting open cutters coming under. Bosscher cut in, covered by Phillips, and Phillips lays out for the D, stands up - and promptly crumples to the ground. She is helped off the field by her teammates. Texas, perhaps shaken by the loss of one of their best players, turned it over after a few passes, and Wisconsin again patiently worked it in for the score and the win.
On the other field, Washington seemed to have recovered from their loss. Michigan State threw zone, but the Washington handlers are very used to aggressive four-person cup, from club and their own practices, and they broke it with ease. Miranda Roth, coach of Washington, opened up the rotation to give her stars some rest, so the score was
closer than the game.
Due to Texas's loss at the buzzer to Wisconsin, Washington's sole chance for first place now lay in beating Wisconsin by at least seven points. At first blush, this seemed to be a tall order. After all, Wisconsin is a quality team and had just shown themselves superior to Texas, who in turn had already shown themselves superior to Washington. On the other hand, the Texas-Wisconsin game was very tough, while Washington had played a relatively sedate game against Michigan State. And who knows what Roth said in that huddle, but they came out fired up to win. They scored quickly, they scored often, and Wisconsin was reeling from the get-go. Washington runs a stifling four person cup defense, which was especially effective against Wisconsin. Turnovers became easy goals, and all of the sudden Washington was up 11-2. And still the entire team remained fired up. The younger players, who had looked so overmatched against Texas, came up big in this game, with grabs in traffic, layouts, and tough man D. The final score was 15-6, plenty of margin, and the Wisconsin sideline was in tears...
...but in the end, it didn't matter. Washington just had to win to retain their seed, and Wisconsin kept theirs, too. Because, a few fields away, the unthinkable happened - Texas lost to Michigan State.
Michigan State was never expected to go to Nationals - indeed, Jessica Sipperley, one of their best players, was supposed to do this write up. Some of their players had to be convinced that the expensive trip to Boulder was worth it. But their small rotation plays well together, and their zone had already given Wisconsin trouble.
Wisconsin and Texas had played the best game of the day, but it took a lot out of both teams. Texas came out slow, flat and tired against Michigan State. Michigan State, athletic, fearless, and with nothing to lose, came out strong, and established a 6-0 lead. Ng said after the game, "It's tough to come back from that kind of deficit, no matter what team you're playing." Jessica Sipperley had a number of assists in this game, most often to freshman Stephanie Kotsiris; Kimberly Sabo, another strong handler, had a Callahan. Texas never threatened and lost 15-4.
And so, despite taking down the number one seed in the pool, and playing the number two to a very, very tight 2 point loss, Texas is out of the running for the championship. It is heartbreaking, especially after watching them play so well all tournament long. On the flip side, one team who everyone counted out will be in the prequarters.
Pool D
D is for Death, it often seems - the D pool, featuring the overall 4, 5, 9, and 16 seeds, is usually the most competitive pool at the Championships. This year it was Ottawa, UC Santa Barbara, Wake Forest, and MIT.
Ottawa was a contender for the number one seed, as they came into this tournament undefeated, but their relatively light schedule relegated them to four. Ottawa is led by Anne Mercier, who is a force on both sides of the disc, and Alex Benedict, one of the best throwers here. They carry a small roster whose top half features club players and whose bottom half struggles with fundamentals. Before starting the first game of the day against Wake Forest, Ottawa cheered "Let's go guys, UPAs!" - the proper name of the tournament that everyone else calls "Nationals".
Both teams run a ho, but Ottawa does it much more efficiently. In fact, when Ottawa scores quickly, it's a thing of beauty - usually working of the disc for one or two passes before a lovely, long huck to a tall, open receiver. Easy. But sometimes Ottawa gets bogged down, and points take forever, and then their short roster gets tired. The game against Wake Forest should not have been close, but any point with more than a couple of turnovers went to Wake Forest. Down by three early in the game, Wake Forest handler Becca Stephens said, "As a team, we're not playing as well as we should. We have a lack of patience on offense and they are fast in transition, and our defense is not picking up. But I think it's going to be a lot closer than people thought." This game was a long one of the round, and UC Santa Barbara watched the second half with interest after finishing their game against MIT quickly. The final score was 15-9.
In the next round, Ottawa won easily against MIT after a close start to the game. Meanwhile, UC Santa Barbara had a tough time with underdogs Wake Forest. Lucia Derks of Wake Forest is simply a phenomenal player. She's phenomenally fast; she's phenomenal in the air, playing a reliable deep deep at 5'5"; and she's a phenomenal cutter, getting open at will and making things happen with her throws. She was all over the place in this game, a fact recognized by Steve Dugan (coach of UC Santa Barbara), who constantly talked to her defender and ran a zone-and-one D on her. Against this D, Lucia moved to popper and Wake Forest's handlers were able to swing the disc until she found a hole. Tied at 9s, UC Santa Barbara forced some Ds and converted, and finally seemed to be in control of the game. Wake Forest received the pull at 13-11 and quickly moved it downfield to score, 13-12. UC Santa Barbara received, worked it up, a player saw a streaking receiver, Dugan yelled "Think about it!" - but alas, she did not, and the upwind flick huck was D'd by Derks. After another two turns, Derks throws and goes, throws and goes, and finally scored with a short pass to Kennedy Wolfe. Tied at 13s, UC Santa Barbara's Andrea Romano decided it was a good time to win the game and did her own version of throwing-and-going - this time, from the dump down the line, every other pass. Wake Forest received the pull down 13-14 and Derks's huck was no good. Romano again took over, and threw a beautiful backhand huck upwind to the open receiver for the win.
Tired after this game, in the next round Wake Forest played a tight game against MIT. The points were turnover-heavy. Jennifer Barry of MIT scored deep, repeating a pattern from the Ottawa game, but Wake Forest seemed to have the game well in hand at 14-10. Then, all of the sudden, MIT loosened up and started playing with nothing but heart. The women sprinted to the line and played the nose game to see who got to play; they stopped stressing and started to score. In a surprising and gutsy comeback, they tied the game at 14s before Wake Forest scored again. Then the teams traded, and finally Wake Forest won, at the cap, squeaking out a 17-16 victory over a very spirited MIT squad.
Now for the most anticipated game of the pool, Ottawa versus UC Santa Barbara. Both teams play huck-friendly horizontal offenses, and match up well 
in height and skill level. Both teams know how important this game is: the winner earns a bye into quarters and sees Wisconsin or Oregon; the loser must first beat North Carolina, then faces Washington in the quarterfinal. UC Santa Barbara has superior depth, speed, and athleticism, but Ottawa's top are superstars - club players with Nationals experience, and some of the best throwers in the game. UC Santa Barbara took half and was up 12-8 when Ottawa went on a run. Ottawa scored two in a row and suddenly it's close...except, wait a minute, that wasn't a score. In a bizarre sequence, Sonia Komenda of Ottawa laid out, caught the disc for the score, then dropped it as she hit the ground and was injured. The observers ruled it a non-score, but no one was paying attention. It was minutes later, as UC Santa Barbara was on the line awaiting the pull, that everyone realized that the point wasn't over. It was still 12-9. Kaela Jorgenson hucked it to Romano, who got on her horse to make the play and score the point, 13-9. After an Ottawa turnover, the stall got high on UC Santa Barbara and they throw a break mark backhand that's caught in the back of the enzone. 14-9. Ottawa scored their next offensive point, but it was too late. UC Santa Barbara worked it down and Romano threw to Erin Mordecai for the win.
