USA Ultimate Magazine - 2012 Summer by USA Ultimate

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OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF USA ULTIMATE — SUMMER 201 2

USA

ULTIMATE

WHAT’S INSIDE

COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIPS

D3 CHAMPIONSHIPS

HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS

VOLU M E X X X II ISSU E T H R EE

SUMMER ISSUE

6 College Open Coverage Women’s 20 College Coverage

46 High School Championships Coverage From Top: University of Wisconsin’s Colin Camp makes a diving catch at the 2012 USA Ultimate College Championships. PHOTO: CMBTcreative Jillian Goodreau catches the disc against Tufts in the semifinals of the 2012 USA Ultimate College Championships. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS Jason Finkelstein of Hopkins High throws the disc at the USA Ultimate High School Central Championships. PHOTO: PETE GUION/ULTIPHOTOS

ON THE COVER

MISSION STATEMENT

University of Pittsburgh’s Tyler Degirolamo celebrates a goal during En Sabah Nur’s victory over the Wisconsin Hodags at the 2012 USA Ultimate College Championships. PHOTOS: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS

To advance the sport of Ultimate in the United States by enhancing and promoting Character, Community, and Competition.

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Table of Contents 4 A Letter to Our Members

Open College Championship Coverage

6 B reaking Through: A Glimpse at Pitt’s First National Title

11 First! – A Trio of Open Teams Make Their First Trip to Nationals 14 Callahan Award – Open Division 16 Top 5 – Five Notable Observations by Ian Toner 17 The Open Division in Pictures

18 Open Division Stats and Final Standings

Women’s College Championship Coverage 20 Twenty-One Strong – Washington’s Team First Mantra Brings Element a National Title 25 A Champion in the Making? – Tufts Making Major Strides on the National Ultimate Scene 28 Callahan Award – Michigan’s Paula Seville 30 Top 5 – Five Notable Observations from the Women’s Division by Maya Ziv 31 The Women’s Division in Pictures

33 Women’s Division Stats and Standings

34 Through the Camera Eye – Another Look at the College Championships

D3 College Championship Coverage 38 Hammer of the Gods – Open DIII Coverage 42 R ising to the Top – DIII Women’s Coverage High School Championship Coverage 46 The Making of an Alpha – H.S. Centrals Girls Coverage 48 Proud to Play Hurt – Inaugural H.S. Centrals Coverage

50 A look at coaching styles in the Northeastern Girls’ Scene

52 Amherst’s Path to Victory – H.S. Northeast Open Coverage

54 Success in the South – H.S. Southern Girls Coverage

56 Chattanooga Champs – H.S. Southern Boys Coverage

58 Rocky Mountain High – H.S. Westerns Title Coverage

USA ULTIMATE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mike Payne – President Gwen Ambler – Vice President Kathy Hendrickson – Treasurer Sandy Park – Secretary Audrius Barzdukas Mandy Eckhoff Mike Kinsella Matt Farrell Greg Downey John Terry Ben Slade Colin McIntyre USA ULTIMATE STAFF Matthew Bourland – New Media Manager Melanie Byrd – Director of Membership & Sport Development Dr. Tom Crawford – Chief Executive Officer Will Deaver – Managing Director of Competition & Athlete Programs Julia Echterhoff – Administration & Finance Manager Byron Hicks – Athlete & Competition Programs Manager Andy Lee – Director of Marketing & Communications Michael Lovinguth – Education & Youth Programs Manager Richard Dana – Athlete & Competition Programs Manager Baker Pratt – Education & Youth Programs Manager Anna Schott – Membership & Sport Development Manager David Raflo – Events Manager David Mares – Membership Development Manager USA Ultimate is a non-profit organization and serves as the national Governing Body for the sport of Ultimate in the United States. Founded in 1979 as the Ultimate Players Association (UPA), USA Ultimate is one of the first flying disc sport organizations in the world and the largest, with more than 40,000 members and a national volunteer network. USA ULTIMATE USA Ultimate is the official publication of USA Ultimate, published quarterly. All ideas expressed in USA Ultimate are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of USA Ultimate, the National Governing Body. USA Ultimate assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.

60 What’s the Call?

Editor-in-Chief Andy Lee

62 Coaches’ Playbook

Advertising Complete rates and specifications are available online at www.usaultimate.org/ sponsors

64 Injury Prevention 66 News & Notes

Change of Address USA Ultimate is not forwarded by the post office. To update your address, please contact USA Ultimate.

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A LETTER TO OUR MEMBERS By: Dr. Tom Crawford, USA Ultimate Chief Executive Officer

Becoming a Community of Communities By now everyone is pretty familiar with the three C’s of our mission: Character, Community and Competition. After spending three years in the community (wow, time really does fly!), I want to use this column to share some reflections on the Community component of our mission, with a look forward to how we can all work together to build an even stronger infrastructure. First, please let me say that I consider these past three years a true life blessing, getting to know the community and meeting some really fabulous people. I have been struck by the smart, thoughtful and welcoming nature of the community, and have been impressed by one person after another. It’s been inspiring to watch the large number of volunteers we have all over the nation roll up their sleeves and get a ton of work done, all because of their love of the sport and community. And the local organizing committees that take on our big events and do it with pride and great energy are truly amazing. Is there more we can do to be an even stronger community? Yes, I believe there is. We are at a stage of growth where it is incredibly important that we begin to develop ”economies of scale,” and “economies of community” in order to successfully scale and grow the sport. “What in the world is Crawford talking about?” you ask. “Becoming a community of communities?” I believe we need to further strengthen our “Community” and leverage this important and cool component of our sport and mission. Through a variety of discussions across the U.S. where I ask naïve questions like “Are you guys

helping those guys?”, I have sometimes discovered an attitude or philosophy within the community of: “We just want to do our own thing.” As a result, there are teams, leagues, youth programs and tournaments formed – all independent of one another, even when they exist in the same city or region. That doesn’t feel like true community spirit, and is often why these various entities flow into and out of existence relatively rapidly. I sincerely hope we can modify this philosophy to truly maximize our potential as a sport and be an even stronger community. We need to really come together as a strong and unified community to achieve the growth and exposure goals in our new strategic plan. And as one smart, funny and passionate athlete recently commented to me: “There is a lot more to building a strong community than throwing a great party!” If we are truly a unified community, does it make any sense for two separate leagues, two separate teams and a tournament/event to all form in the same city and not all be part of one organization? Instead of pooling and sharing resources, they may end up competing for them. Imagine the economies of scale if the teams helped the league with youth clinics and programs; and the league helped the teams with fundraising and logistics; and the youth and their families became huge fans and supporters of the teams and athletes, who would become their heroes and mentors; and together they ran fundraising campaigns and outreach efforts. And, they all worked together to secure and organize usage of fields, and build positive relationships with key organizations in their city (Parks and Rec; Schools; local sponsors, YMCAs, the press, etc.), while USA Ultimate does the same thing at the national level. There a few great examples of this happening now, but we need more! Having been fortunate enough to have worked with and studied virtually every amateur sport in the U.S., there is a clear community infrastructure that develops in the most successful sports, which leads to strong and sustainable growth. The key elements are strong local organizations that are supported and led by a National Governing Body, and all of the athletes and even families involved are active in both organizations. A couple of examples: Lacrosse is the fastest growing team sport in the U.S., and has more than 600,000 members (It’s interesting to note that they are younger than us as an organization, and we have millions more athletes

playing our sport than lacrosse does, and yet we have only 40,000 members). All of these members are active members of both a local league, as well as U.S. Lacrosse. USA Swimming is also growing quickly, and has more than 300,000 members. All of those members are active members of USA Swimming and a local swim club. And, in both examples, the members are proud to be involved with both organizations. This infrastructure creates a true unified and strong community nationwide, with both local and national pride. There are many more examples, such as USA Hockey, with more than 600,000 members, and the same national/local community infrastructure. A community of communities! Moving us in the direction of this proven community infrastructure model is a top priority in our next strategic plan, and our Director of Membership and Sport Development, Melanie Byrd, is leading the effort. In 2013 we’ll establish affiliate models with at least five partner leagues (contact Melanie if interested: Melanie@hq.usaultimate.org) and each will work

Complete integration of Ultimate organizations in the same community is a key element to growth, especially at the youth level.

toward the goal of becoming an “Official USA Ultimate Organization”. This will come with many additional benefits and support from USA Ultimate, including access to a special grant pool, a new standardized and accessible technology platform, a more comprehensive insurance package including Directors and Officers coverage, and a heightened level of program support for youth, coaching, observer and tournament director education, as well as example economic models to guide the leagues, and help gaining formal non-profit status. It will also come with requirements and standards that will need to be met so that all official organizations operate within the same guidelines (e.g., operating a strong youth program, being a legal entity, etc.). The Community component of our mission is a very important and unique element of who we are as a sport. Let’s strengthen and leverage it together as we grow this amazing sport, and become a community of communities!

Members of Johnny Bravo and Molly Brown lend a hand to USA Ultimate’s Youth Camp in Denver. PHOTO: USA ULTIMATE

PHOTO: USA ULTIMATE

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SINCE FIRST QUALIFYING FOR THE COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2005, THE PITTSBURGH EN SABAH NUR PROGRAM HAS BEEN ON THE RISE. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE PROGRAM’S 2011 FINISH, FROM 2005 ONWARD, PITT HAS EITHER MATCHED OR BESTED ITS PREVIOUS SEASON’S FINISH. By Ian Toner

2012 COLLEGE SERIES

BREAKING THROUGH: A GLIMPSE AT PITTSBURGH EN SABAH NUR’S FIRST NATIONAL TITLE

Senior Tyler Degirolamo led the University of Pittsburgh to a National Title of the Wisconsin Hodags. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS

OPEN DIVISION COVERAGE

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UNPARALLELED PREPARATION NexGen Network’s expansion into the college circuit, along with Skyd Magazine’s coverage of other major tournaments, made in-season game footage of elite college teams more openly and readily available than ever before. Coach Kaczmarek and his team took advantage of this development to fine-tune its own performance and to study the habits of its top competition. By the time the Championships rolled around in May, Kaczmarek and company understood many top teams’ tendencies.

En Sabah Nur alum and eventual Ohio Valley Coach of the Year Nick Kaczmarek explained that, going into the 2012 season, “Pitt could, at best, only imagine what winning a national championship would take. So we decided to do everything we could this year.” “A lot of it comes from my pedagogical background in education,” said Kaczmarek. “Bottom line is this: when the bar is at a level that you’ve never been before, you cannot possibly know what achieving it entails. And if the bar is something you’ve already achieved, then what is the value in pursuing it? I think that is a realization that can really open windows to people. I repeat it about four times a day every day when I teach.” As Pitt had yet to reach that national championship bar, En Sabah Nur ramped up its scouting, its workout regimen, and its mental discipline.

PUTTING IN THE WORK “David Hogan deserves a ton of credit for designing the entire [workout] program for the team,” said Kaczmarek. “He was valuable.” Hogan, an En Sabah Nur alumnus, served as the workout director, film coordinator, and assistant coach. Given that Hogan came to Pitt to run on the track team (he would eventually leave track for Ultimate after injury), he knew a thing or two about whipping athletes into shape. “We had three workouts a week,” recalled 1st Team Ohio Valley Freshman of the Year and En Sabah Nur offensive line staple Max Thorne. “At nationals going into the semifinals, our whole team felt fresh. We could play as hard in that semifinals game as we had in our first game. This was the huge impact Hogan had on the team.” Once Hogan gave En Sabah Nur the structure to train within, the rest of the team and coaching staff embraced the grind and the chase after that elusive national title bar. “After we got the Skyd #1 ranking, we added ‘Hail to the King’ workouts,” explained Kaczmarek, alluding to the Skyd Magazine rankings article that put Pitt atop the college rankings after their Warm Up: A Florida Affair tournament victory. “We figured, if we are supposed to be the best, we might as well train up to that expectation.”

Top: Pitt’s Alex Thorne played a major role in En Sabah Nur’s first national title. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE Bottom: Junior Zach Kauffman helped pick apart the Hodag defense in a 15-10 win over Wisconsin. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE

At this past May’s College Championships, En Sabah Nur got over the proverbial hump and brought home its first national title.

Like Iowa prepared for Pittsburgh before the 2011 College Championships, Pittsburgh prepared for top contenders, like Wisconsin, before the 2012 College Championships. Kaczmarek was able to complete an unprecedented degree of game planning heading into the Championships, working against offenses and picking match ups well before either team stepped on to the field. When other teams typically need a few points or an entire half to feel out the competition and learn their strategies, this calculated preparation gave Pittsburgh a decisive advantage.

FINDING THE RIGHT MINDSET As En Sabah Nur has gained prominence, the team’s reputation and character have come under fire. “I think there has always been an ‘us against the world’ mentality for us,” said Kaczmarek. “Honestly, it came from being hated when we started. We were in the Metro East, we were seen as untalented, and we had to work really hard to get respect. So we had this huge chip on our shoulder—that I think we will always have. Us against the world can lead to some major disrespect in both directions. I think a lot of teams go through what we went through on their climb to the top, but it couldn’t keep going that direction. That attitude was actually really hurting us. So Haiders and Pitt this year definitely had an effort to turn it around. And it isn’t happening all at once, but we are working on it.” “The overall mindset of the team was consistent throughout the entire year,” asserted 2nd Team Ohio Valley Freshman of the Year, Southpaw veteran, and defensive stalwart Trent Dillon. “Coach Nick stepped in shortly after club nationals and basically took this mindset into his own hands. Any attitudes that weren’t conducive to winning a national championship disappeared right then. After that, everyone was 100% focused on and committed to achieving our goal. I don’t think that our mindset had to improve because— thanks to Coach Nick—it was in the right place all along.” SHEER TALENT At some point, players have to make plays to win games. Pittsburgh used its depth and talent to put everyone on its roster in the best possible position to succeed. The Ohio Valley All Region Teams (including FotY and CotY positions) contained eight Pittsburgh players and coaches. Isaac Saul was one of the country’s most effective distributors. His job was made easier by the incredible downfield chemistry of Callahan nominee Alex Thorne and Tyler Degirolamo, who always made space for and found each other. Julian Hausman, Jason Kunsa, and Colin Conner provided defensive sparks that helped Pitt win some of the toughest matchups in the country. And Pitt’s incredible freshmen cast, including Dillon, Max Thorne, Christian Pitts, and Pat Earles, stepped into game-changing roles on both sides of the disc in their first year with the program. If it is not readily apparent, an incredibly committed coaching staff facilitated Pitt’s preparation and framework. To be sure, for all of the work that Kaczmarek and Hogan invested in preparing their team, the players produced enormous returns on that investment by racking up six tournament wins, including a national title, during the 2012 season.

Top Right: Max Thorne was on the receiving end of four goals in the championship game. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE Bottom Right: Degirolamo also tallied four goals in the decisive game against the Hodags. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE Bottom Left: Ethan Beardsley celebrates a Pitt goal. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE

Top Left: Degirolamo and Pitt scored a 15-10 victory over Peter Graffy and Luther College in pool play along its route to a national title. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE Top Right: Max Thorne pulls in the winning goal from older brother Alex as Kelsen Alexander lays out on defense. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE Middle Right: Max Thorne celebrates Pittâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first national title. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE Bottom Right: Pitt hoists the championship trophies. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE

FIRST. By: Brian Kiernan

It’s what every college Ultimate player dreams of – earning the right to represent his school and region at the Championships.. This year three teams realized their dreams for the first time in the history of their programs: the University of California-Davis Dogs, the University of Central Florida Dogs of War, and the University of Minnesota-Duluth Northern Lights. Each of these teams chimed in on what it took to bring their program to the next level: Development of younger players – All three teams cited the development of their younger and/or lesser-used players as one of the biggest reasons they were able to make the push. Andrew Roca of UCF mentions that four first time A-teamers ended up on starting lines, and in a small program like Duluth, captain Jay Drescher can’t afford to cut anyone - making development an absolute must. Perhaps the best way to learn is through teaching others. Throwing – While people may be tempted to say defense and conditioning win championships (and this isn’t to say they don’t), these teams attributed much of their success to extra time spent perfecting throws. Robby Merk of UC-Davis believed his Dogs may have ended up with an edge over other regional teams because of polished throwing; when your already-small roster becomes plagued with mid-season injuries, it is huge to have second and third string guys step onto the field ready to contribute. Central Florida described their return on throwing practice as a realized synergy between throwers and receivers – that is, cutters cut more fluidly and with more confidence in their throwers’ abilities, which in turn allowed the throwers to truly see the whole field.

The University of Minnesota Duluth was one of three teams in the Open division that made its debut at the USA Ultimate College Championships. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE

Win the games you need to win – this seems like a no-brainer, right? Win the game to go to nationals. However, it takes much thought and planning to spend limited tournament energy in a way that best leads a team to its goals. Whether it is taking down a big team in an upset for a morale boost, or grinding out a win in harsh conditions, these teams figured out how to play the cards they were dealt. UC-Davis and UCF were able to pull it out in tough regions, but no one took this strategy to heart more than Duluth. Knowing they only needed to win that fifth-place game, they rested legs and conserved energy so that when late Sunday at Regionals rolled around, they had the fresh legs and drive to succeed.

Now that we know what it takes, each team had a fairly unique perspective on what it felt like to make it to the big show for the first time:

Andrew Roca, UCF Coach: “Simply put… relief. For years we have been one of those teams who set the goal for Nationals in the beginning of the season and fell well short of it. This year we set that goal for the first time actually believing we could achieve it … A personal life goal. To make it to the show.”

Jay Drescher, Duluth Captain: “We felt pretty confident going into the back door game against a tired Milwaukee team. Once that final point was scored for a 13-10 game, and the observers announced it was a goal, we had made Duluth history.”

Robby Merk, UC-Davis Captain: “Earning a trip to Nationals felt like some validation for years and years of Dogs keeping the program going and staying competitive. We have a long way to go, but checking this off the list feels pretty good.” And there you have it. Each team had their struggles: injuries, commitment, tough breaks and losses. What was their advice to all the teams out there trying to make the push? Throw every day, appreciate time spent with your teammates and friends, and in the words of Robby and Kevin Cissna: “just flat passes to open cutters”.

After a 15-15 loss to Pitt, Cal-Davis scored their only victory of the tournament against Luther. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ ULTIPHOTOS Duluth went 0-4 in pool play, including a 15-9 loss to Cal on the showcase field. PHOTO: CMBTcreative

Top: The University of Central Florida Dogs of War lost a close 14-12 game to Wisconsin in Pool Play in their first trip to the College Championships. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE

Middle & Bottom Left: Central Floridaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s John Best lays out for a nice grab against the Hodags. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE Bottom Right: Patrick Lahey comes up with the disc in a 15-12 loss to Texas. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS

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2012

NICK LANCE GEORGIA TECH UNIVERSITY What does it take to win? Hard work, dedication, focus, heart? Maybe a little luck? Georgia Tech captain Nick Lance shows us what it’s all about this year as he receives the Callahan Award: the highly prestigious ‘MVP’ of college Ultimate. After putting up a strong regular season, the Tribe (lead by Lance and other senior team members, including Jay Clark) earned their first nationals berth in 20 years. Unlike some past Callahan Award winners, Lance does not boast a privileged high school Ultimate pedigree. In fact, he really began playing in pickup games before college. “I just felt like it clicked for me,” says Lance. “I was able to understand the throwing motions and build up my throws pretty quickly.” Come freshman year at Georgia Tech, he had earned a top spot on the defensive line for his pulls and natural athleticism. It wasn’t until two years later though that his feel for the game really caught up with his abilities. “I hadn’t grasped the concept of dictating where I wanted my guy to go,” he says, emphasizing the importance of fundamentals in a one-on-one defensive situation. Soon however, Lance would find his role as a handler through the Tribe’s lack of throwing depth. It takes more than one talented player to make a team, and it takes a team to win games. Upon earning a roster spot on Atlanta’s Chain Lightning in 2009, Nick was able to bring a greater understanding of the game back to his college team. “We taught and ran almost exclusively vertical stack, which reduced the coaching burden that we faced,” Lance recalled. “With classes being so difficult and time consuming we often had low turnout at practice, which meant we had to waste lots of time re-teaching skills and strategy so everyone would know it. Simplifying what we taught helped bring the elements coached to club teams to the college game, while applying them to the personnel we have.” With a game plan down pat, Lance was ready to lead his team to the big show. The best part is that after a long and successful career, you would be hard pressed to find an opponent that didn’t speak fondly of Lance’s sportsmanship and love of the game. Because this is an honor voted on by his peers, it reflects equally as well on the community as it does on Lance himself.

Nick Lance led the way in Callahan voting. PHOTOS: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS

By: Brian Kiernan

Complied by Brian Kiernan

WITH NICK LANCE 2012 OPEN CALLAHAN WINNER WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT OF COLLEGE NATIONALS THIS YEAR (NOT INCLUDING WINNING THE CALLAHAN)? I guess beating rival UNC. And the scoober to win the game, it was dirty.

DID YOU SEE THIS LAST SEASON GOING AS IT DID? ANY MAJOR SURPRISES? It was a major surprise to see how much the University of Central Florida improved. We had set the goal of nationals so I guess it went to plan in the end, but not along the path we had expected.

WHO AND WHAT DO YOU THINK MADE YOUR CALLAHAN WIN POSSIBLE?

Well it’s impossible to say that the video didn’t play a part. It was well done from start to finish. But none of the plays would have been there had I not put in the work over the last 5 years to make the absolute most of what I can get out of my body. As far as people go, from earliest to latest would be Russell Snow, Mike Nash, Josh Ziperstein, Josh Markette (try to guard him), Dylan Tunnell and Greg Swanson, Kevin Minderhout for finding me amongst the crowded field of great players for NG2011, all of the players on the tour, Hogan McHugh (loyal film crew), GT Tribe, and Jay Clark among others.

WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON FOR CHAIN LIGHTNING? ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP?

I believe that making predictions this early has to be one of the dumbest things you can do. Too much can happen between now and Halloween. What I can say and what I know is that Chain has probably the highest motivation of any year I’ve played for them, some very good rookie pickups, and a workout plan that will leave even the best teams scratching their heads at our athleticism.

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE ULTIMATE PLANS? Have as much fun as I can before my body gives out. I love the sport and will continue to play it as long as I can.

Top: Lance gets the star treatment from sideline reporter Lauren Gardner of CBS Sports Network. PHOTOS: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS Bottom:Lance and his Tribe lost to Central Florida, 15-8 in the pre-quarters. PHOTOS: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS

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MOMENTS IN THE OPEN DIVISION As Told by Ian Toner

FIVE #FegoCon2012 – Tufts alumni descended on

TWO

Boulder with colorful shirts that identified them as part of an interesting clique.

FOUR

Pool Play Thriller – After a Cal red zone turn, Michigan State quickly hucked to a streaking Ryan Mariouw to propel Burning Couch to a double-game-point victory.

THREE

The Man, The Myth, The Legend – Henry Thorne, accomplished ultimate player and father of Pitt’s Max and Alex Thorne, made his presence known with consistent vocal support of his sons and their team.

FIVE

FOUR

The Dueling Grabs – Eric Johnson and Peter Graffy both made spectacular grabs late in the second half to help bring Luther back from an 8-4 deficit to topple Michigan in the first round of pool play, 15-14.

ONE

The Comeback – Before Pitt’s national title victory over Wisconsin, En Sabah Nur was down 8-3 to the Carleton Ultimate Team at half time in the semifinal game. Julian Hausman and Tyler Degirolamo put their team on their backs in Pitt’s 11-4 second half run to a 14-12 victory.

THREE

ONE

FIVE: Tufts fans watch their team and wear some interesting T-Shirts. PHOTO: CMBTcreative

TWO: An incredible catch by Luther’s Peter Graffy was one of the author’s top-five moments of the tournament. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE

FOUR: Ryan Mariouw gave Burning Couch a thrilling victory with a double game point catch against Cal. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS

ONE: Pittsburgh’s incredible comeback against defending champs Carleton in the semifinals set the stage for its title game matchup against Wisconsin. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE

THREE: Proud Papa: Henry Thorne relishes in Pitt’s championship, along with sons Alex (L) and Max (R) and wife Karen PHOTO: WILLIAM BROTMAN/ULTIPHOTOS

TWO

OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STATISTICS PITTSBURGH – 15 JERSEY # NAME

WISCONSIN - 10 GOALS

ASST

D’S

NAME

Joe Bender

Brian Novotony

Patrick Earles

Kelsen Alexander

Zach Kauffman

Jake Smart

Tanner Marshall

Lucas Simon-Wambach

Craig Cox

3 1

GOALS

ASST

D’S

1 1

Colin Conner

Michael Brenner

Julian Hausman

Tyler Kunsa

Jordan O’Neill

Jason Kunsa

Alex Simmons

Andrej Ababovic

Zach Ehler

Pat Every

Jerry McGinnis

Ryan Earles

Kyle Geppert

Max Thorne

Danny Stuligross

Trent Dillon

Brian Hart

Isaac Saul

Zach Alter

Alex Thorne

Sam Loveland

Christian Pitts

Nick Zeman

Ethan Beardsley

Dave Wiseman

Marcus Ranii-Dropcho

Aaron Speiss

Michael Van Ness

Shane Saddison-Bradford

Andy Polen

Dayu Liu

Aaron Watson

Dan Park

Tyler Degirolamo

Colin Camp

Daniel Wickens

Matt Becker

Ryan Del Casino

Thomas Coolidge

Scott Marsh

Peter Guerin

TOTALS

Pat Donovan

Ben Rehmann

Pleasant View Athletic Complex provides an idyllic location for USA Ultimate’s College Championships. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE

JERSEY #

TOTALS

1 3

4 1

2 2

2 1 1

1 1

OPEN FINAL STANDINGS 1 - Pittsburgh 2 - Wisconsin 3T - Carleton College 3T - Oregon 5T - Central Florida 5T - Luther 5T - Minnesota 5T - Tufts 9 - Colorado 10 - Texas 11 - California 12 - Georgia Tech 13T - North Carolina 13T - Washington 15T - Michigan 15T - Minnesota-Duluth 17T - Michigan State 17T - Ohio 19T - California-Davis 19T - Cornell

Above: Luther College eliminated the hometown Colorado Mamabird 14-9 in pre-quarters. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS 5.00 Georgia Tech* INDIVIDUAL 5.00 Minnesota-Duluth* SPIRIT NOMINEES 4.86 Wisconsin 4.83 California-Davis 4.83 Ohio 4.71 Texas 4.67 Washington 4.50

Central Florida

4.50

Michigan State

4.43 California 4.29 Colorado 4.17 Minnesota 4.17

Carleton College

4.17 Cornell 4.17 Luther 4.00 Tufts 3.83 Michigan 3.83 Oregon 3.71 Pittsburgh 2.92

North Carolina

* unbreakable tie

California – NICK OKITA

California-Davis – ROBBY MERK Carleton College – CLAY DEWEY-VALENTINE Central Florida – ALEX BULLOCK Colorado – NOAH BAKER Cornell – JESSE SIMONS Georgia Tech – RAMU ANNAMALAI Luther – PETER STORVICK Michigan – CARSON MAILLER Michigan State – JESSE ELLWOOD Minnesota – MATT MARINELLO Minnesota-Duluth – RYAN PEKARNA North Carolina – ADAM CARR Ohio – LUKE EASTMAN Oregon – MORGAN CLIBURN Pittsburgh – SCOTT MARSH Texas – MARTY MARTINEZ Tufts – MATT TAYLOR Washington – IAN HASH Wisconsin – SHANE SADDISON-BRADFORD

Pre-tournament favorites Wisconsin and Oregon met in the semifinals as the top-seeded Ego fell to the Hodags 15-10. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS

Despite the loss of Becky Malinowski (pictured), Michigan Flywheel is a solid contender for a title in 2012. PHOTO: SCOTT ROEDER

21 STRONG

WOMEN’S DIVISION COVERAGE WOMEN’S DIVISION COVERAGE

Jillian Goodreau makes a grab in Element’s 14-13 semifinals win over Tufts. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS

2012 COLLEGE SERIES SERIES 2012 COLLEGE

FROM THE GET GO, ELEMENT WAS FOCUSED ON BONDING THEIR TEAM TOGETHER. BY STARTING THE SEASON WITH FUN TEAM EVENTS AND AN INTENSE DEFENSIVE FOCUS, THE ELEMENT LADIES QUICKLY GREW TO LEARN TO PLAY HARD ON THE FIELD FOR THEIR TEAMMATES. By: Maya Ziv

One of Karlinsky’s key decisions for the team was inviting Drew Johnson, a Washington local player for Women’s Club team Riot, to join the coaching squad. The captains believe she helped them significantly with their mental toughness by instructing them through many focus exercises. Senior Erica Petru recalled their first practice with Johnson. “We were introduced to Drew by doing “Drew’s World,” an intense conditioning drill. This quickly led us to associate her with team accountability, something she emphasized throughout our season. She does a great job of getting us to work hard without yelling.” Johnson was in charge of coaching Element while Karlinsky travelled towards the end of the regular season. When he came back, he found his team proficient in their notable four person cup defense which Johnson had brought to the team from her experience with Riot. Element employed this defense frequently at Nationals, most significantly in their finals game against Oregon, to shut down huge throwers by effectively putting a wall of girls in front of them.

By the time the finals of the USA Ultimate College National Championships rolled around, they had effectively ingrained their mantra into each and every player: “21 Strong.” Element valued the importance of spending extra fun time together all year. The girls attended a retreat together at the start of the regular season, weathering the snow by spending time together at a teammate’s house playing games and cooking meals. This camaraderie carried them all the way through to the Championship Series. Captain Margo Kelly recalls a favorite bonding moment: On the Saturday of Regionals, the team could be found in their hotel room, tossing balls of gold and purple yarn to each other. As the gold ball was tossed, the team would say something they were looking forward to. Purple signified something they were proud of. The result was an intricate web of color, and each girl snipped off a piece of the strings to wear as bracelets. Kelly believes this event was the epitome of Element spirit, and she states repeatedly their goal became to “play for each other.” Both captains agree that they wouldn’t have gotten to where they were without their coaches Danny Karlinsky and Drew Johnson. Kelly stated that Karlinsky is fun and the team built off his relationships with the players developed in the previous year. “Danny is good at reading the game and picking up how to make quick adjustments,” she stated. “He did a great job of figuring out what was going wrong and making a quick switch. He’s clutch.” 22

Washington’s trip to Boulder started in the fall, focusing on recruiting a large set of new players, teaching them how to play and having fun. Right away they started out with defensive fundamentals to get everyone on the same page with an intense defensive focus that showed all the way through to Nationals. For example, they prepped themselves mentally at early season tournament Bellingham Invite, expecting sloppy O but stepping up to make big plays on defense. The team used tournaments such as Sundodger as tryouts, and the final roster was set by Thanksgiving break. In another example of strategic foresight, they decided to take almost three times the number of rookies than usual knowing that they had a large number of graduating seniors to better develop the program for years to come. This year also saw a new offensive approach: the horizontal stack. This style of play was new to Element, and not many players were confident in the beginning. Yet Kelly recalls a silver lining to this decision: “If we learned something new together, that would be a way to bring us together for the new year.” This decision proved wise, as the team worked through the kinks and developed one of the most consistent offenses in the nation. They first really clicked when they solidified their lines the week after Pres. Day Invite and got to know those specific teammates well. Their offense was bolstered by the addition of some stopped disc plays before Stanford Invite, where they took first place over Sonoma State University. Finishes at competitive tournaments like this had Washington at the top of the rankings for the majority of the regular season. Stanford Invite was Element’s last regular season tournament, giving them a few months before heading to the Series. An outsider might think that Element’s results

Sarah Edwards throws the disc during the championship game against Oregon.. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE

The foresight to develop a variety of offensive and defensive plays allowed the coaches to adjust game play on the fly – a key part of their road to the National title.

Top: Oregon’s Anna Almy gets the ‘D’, but the Fugue fell to Element 15-7 in the championship game. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS // Middle: Element celebrates their title and 7-1 overall record in Boulder. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE // Bottom: UW players receive their championship medals. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE

at the Conference Championships and Regionals were indications of how they’d do on a national stage. In reality, Element had felt confident enough in their ability to qualify for Boulder that they took the time to try some new tactics in high pressure situations. They played open rotations and stuck to man, working to pump each other up with big plays and smart offensive flow. They held back on showing off some strategies they had been working on. For example, it wasn’t until Nationals that they played with their four person cup. Having already qualified for the championships, they lost their last game at Regionals to Oregon Fugue 12-10. That was the fourth time that Oregon and Washington had faced each other at a sanctioned tournament, and Oregon had won every matchup since Pres. Day. Still, because of their strong results over the season, Washington came to Boulder seeded second overall, first in a very competitive pool. Their most notable game of pool play was the matchup vs. Iowa where Element lost 15-17, sending them to prequarters. Oregon was facing a similar situation in their pool, getting caught in a three-way tie having lost to Texas Melee. However, Iowa went on to put up a huge fight against Oregon in the quarterfinals, but eventually lost. While Washington confidently beat Texas, setting the two original top seeds back on track in the semis. Element’s semis game against Tufts was probably the most competitive they saw all weekend, but at this point, Element was ready to throw all they had at a dominant Tufts offense. Their multiple zones and fired up man defense gave the skilled Tufts throwers narrow windows to throw to, and Element was competitive in the air downfield. It was at this point that their deep roster started to really make a difference. The coaches felt confident playing everyone on the team, and having 20 girls to play with gives a significant advantage against teams like Tufts who play much tighter lines. After a close game, Element won and moved on to face Oregon for the fifth and final time this season. Right away they came out with tight defense, with players like Sarah Benditt and Leah Fury making huge contributions for the defense. Element had multiple players who not only stepped up on D but also dominated on offense, sending hucks deep time after time to their aggressive receivers. They also had some injured players (Barbara Hoover and Cailey Marsh) step up to play in the finals, motivated by the “21 Strong” mantra. The little bit of wind made throwers on both sides step up for their teams. Washington rode the wind with confidence knowing that Oregon had yet to see any of their zone defenses in their final forms, and believing in their handlers to take over and make smart throws. They frequently sent two people deep on both the trap and upwind sides to make sure they could make plays on deep throws. On defense, they were ready to match up

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with Oregon’s athletic cutters downfield and shut down deep shots from the likes of Sophie Darch and Katie Weatherhead. It was all but over when Washington threw the four-person cup zone and began to outrun the Oregon players more and more. They held their early lead and took the win with a convincing final score of 15-7.

Top Left: Amanda Kostic throws the disc during Element’s semifinal win over Tufts. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS // Top Right: UW celebrates their victory over Tufts after punching their ticket to the championship game. PHOTO: CMBTcreative // Middle Right: Cailey Marsh makes a catch. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS // Bottom RIght: Element fans packed the hillside to celebrate UW’s win over Oregon. PHOTO: CMBTcreative // Bottom Left: Erica Petru skies for the disc in Element’s semifinal matchup against Tufts. PHOTO: CMBTcreative

Washington is the epitome of a team employing full-season strategy. Their close-knit team played hard throughout the whole season, facing many different difficulties and coming out on top time and time again. Their motto of 21 strong paid off – 21 ladies walked away from Nationals with gold medals, pride and memories to last a lifetime.

A CHAMPION IN THE MAKING? By: Maya Ziv

Sixteenth-Seeded Tufts Loses a Heartbreaker in the Semis, but has a lot to look forward to. One of the enduring images of the 2012 College Championships is Claudia Tajima cutting a solitary figure on the showcase field, as the Wisconsin Hodags and Oregon Ego warm up around her, long after the rest of her Tufts teammates and victorious Washington Element opponents have retreated to the sidelines. Tajima led her team to within inches of the championship game, but her endzone throw to Emily Shields was just off the mark. A quick center to Leah Fury and huck to Margo Kelly sent Washington to the finals instead, and in the blink of an eye Ewo’s season was over. Tufts’ inspired run to the brink of finals did not begin in pool play. It didn’t begin in January. And it didn’t begin in August. After a surprise thirdplace finish at Centex in 2011, Tufts qualified for Nationals for the first time since 2007. “I was surprised by the level of parity at Nationals four years later and realized too late that we couldn’t really coast to winning a couple of games based just on talent,” said Tufts’ coach of ten years, Sangwha Hong. Tufts crashed out in pool play, finishing 15th. “This season started for us last year when we walked away from our last game at Nationals,” added Hailey Alm, one of Tufts’ four captains. Not satisfied with their “happy to be there” attitude, Tufts immediately dedicated themselves to being a stronger team in 2012 – stronger mentally, stronger physically, and with stronger bonds as teammates.

Claudia Tajima and the Tufts Ewo lost a 14-13 heartbreaker in the semifinals to the eventual champs. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS

Hong added Slow White’s Meriden D’Arcy as another coach, ran the team through workouts her players deem “insanity,” brought the team out to Stanford Invite, and kept the team focused all season long. “I think that the worst thing that teams can do is be static and rigid and not always asking if you could be doing something better,” Hong notes. “You have to recognize that each year, your key personnel are most likely going to change and it’s not always feasible to keep the same strategies, both on and off the field, from year to year.”

This Page: Qxhna Titcomb (top), Leah Staschke (bottom) and the rest of the Tufts squad entered the tournament seeded sixteenth overall and was a dropped pass away from making an appearance in the championship game against Oregon. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE Opposite: The young Tufts squad is returning nearly its entire roster and will enter the 2013 season as one of the teams to beat in the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s division. PHOTO: CMBTCREATIVE

That willingness to adapt kept Tufts resilient during the grueling tournament weekend, especially after going down to Virginia 8-2 in their first game. “We approached the Virginia game a little scared, like a team that didn’t trust that it truly belonged at nationals,” said freshman standout Qxhna Titcomb. “As the weekend progressed, I think our team proved to ourselves that we belonged among the top teams in the country, and from there we just started to click.” Despite losing to Virginia, Tufts upset Iowa State and California to go from the 16th seed overall to pool champions, earning a bye into quarterfinals. Alm chalked their success up to playing to their strengths. “We have really smart coaches and really smart players. [Our coaches] really noticed what the other team liked doing and told us what kind of strategy to use to take that away.” It was zone against Iowa State, backing Claire Desmond against California, and great straight-up marks against North Carolina in quarterfinals. After their semifinals finish this year, Tufts is not resting on their laurels. “EWO 2013 started after the semis against Washington,” Titcomb said. Alm agrees. “Now that they know what time and work needs to be put in, and now that they’ve seen the sick results than can come out of it, I think people will want to really work hard to get back to that same point, and further.” Tufts is returning nearly its entire roster, as well as picking up several juniors players. Of the seven players on for universe point against Washington, Tajima and Alm are juniors, Shields, Michaela Fallon, Mia Greenwald, and

Hannah Garfield are sophomores, and Titcomb is a freshman. This is not a team that’s going away any time soon. And despite missing finals by inches, Hailey Alm is not dwelling on what could have been, but what was accomplished. “I wanted to make it back to Nationals. But this time, I wanted to feel that we’d really left everything on the field. I wanted to be proud of our team. I am.”

2012

By: Robyn Fennig

PAULA SEVILLE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN In her tenure at Michigan, Paula Seville helped elevate Flywheel to become a women’s college Ultimate powerhouse. In 2010, Michigan brought one of the smallest teams to the College Championships in Madison, Wisconsin, but surprised everyone by finishing 11th overall among some stiff competition. Under Seville’s captainship, Flywheel turned its program around. In just one short year, Paula helped Michigan to overcome a roller-coaster regular season to enter the Championships seeded eighth overall. After a rocky performance during pool play, Flywheel shocked everyone by earning a trip to the finals in 2011, taking second overall behind UCSanta Barbara. Though she excels on both sides of the disc, she is best known for powerful hucks and precise break throws – part of the reason she led the 2011 College Championships with 48 assists. In 2012, Flywheel continued to build off of the foundation laid in 2011. Heading into the Championships, Flywheel did not finish a tournament with more than two losses throughout the season. Seville helped to lead her team to a semi-finals appearance in 2012, where Flywheel scored the first upwind point in a battle against the wind. Michigan finished fourth overall in RRI with a 47-8 record in 2012. Much of Flywheel’s offensive success can be attributed to Seville’s ability to distribute the disc among her receivers, and play unselfishly, despite the conditions. Seville’s passion for her teammates, the game of Ultimate, and Spirit of the Game radiates in every point she plays. She never compromises the value of sportsmanship despite being one of the fiercest competitors and most skilled players in the game today.

From Top Right: Seville accepts her Callahan Trophy. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS

Seville looks to pass around Sophie Darch of Oregon in the semifinals. PHOTO: ANDREW DAVIS

Seville plays defense against Oregon’s Bailey Zahniser. PHOTO: ANDREW DAVIS

Compiled by Robyn Fennig

WITH PAULA SEVILLE 2012 WOMEN’S CALLAHAN WINNER WHEN DID YOU BEGIN PLAYING ULTIMATE? I learned how to play during recess in elementary school, but did not play organized Ultimate until my freshman year of high school.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE VOTED THE 2012 CALLAHAN AWARD WINNER?

It is really rewarding to put so much of yourself into something and be recognized for it by your peers. These past two years with Flywheel have been truly incredible. It doesn’t just have to do with our success, although that helps. Something just clicked with this group mentally that enabled us to excel as a team. Winning the Callahan Award recognizes every one of my teammates and coaches who made me a better player and a better leader over the years and, more importantly, over the past two seasons.

WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE TO DEVELOPING YOUR BALANCE OF SPIRIT OF THE GAME AND HIGH LEVEL OF COMPETITION?

I’ve always been intensely competitive, particularly from playing basketball, but I have never of spirit and competition separately, to me it’s just part of the game. To play fair and honest is to play competitively. My opponents deserve fair play the same way.

ANY PERSON IN PARTICULAR YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

I would like to thank my coach this year and co-captain last year, Anna Maria ‘AMP’ Paruk. Her contribution to Flywheel should not be overlooked. We (and I) could not have done it without her.

Seville gets mobbed by her teammates after receiving the Callahan Award, talks to CBS Sports Network, and poses for a photo with the rest of her Flywheel team. photos: kevin leclaire/ultiphotos

MOMENTS IN THE WOMEN’S DIVISION

ONE ONE This year Tufts’ run told a Cinderella story: the team started as

the 16th seed overall but ended up tied for 3rd after an inspired run to the semifinals. Aside from attending the Stanford Invite missing several key players, Tufts did not play elite competition before Nationals. But at the Championships, Tufts improved in every game after a poor first half against Virginia, with the veteran leadership of captains Claudia Tajima and Hailey Alm, and skilled play from their experienced underclassmen Emily Shields, Mia Greenwald, and Qxhna Titcomb.

TWO Entering the tournament as the five seed in their pool, Ohio

State Fever won all their pool play games except for a 16-14 loss to the University of Oregon. Led by the play of Paige Soper and Cassie Swafford, Ohio State regrouped with a dominating 15-6 win over Wisconsin, earning a place in prequarters. A tight 12-10 win over Iowa State moved them on to quarters to face Michigan, where their road to the title was cut off after a 7-15 loss.

TWO

THREE The high wind conditions we saw last year came back for

just one women’s game – the semis rematch of Oregon vs. Michigan. Both teams realized quickly that deep shots would be thrown out of bounds – Michigan found some success with working the disc with sharp low throws, but in the end, Oregon’s Huck and D game paid off and earned them a spot in the finals.

THREE

FOUR Paula Seville from Michigan was named this year’s winner

of the Callahan award, and immediately thanked her team for their support over the season. She sat the award on the sideline of the Semis matchup vs. Oregon to motivate Flywheel to fight hard through the tough conditions.

FIVE The Southwest, though boasting the most bids to Nationals

from any region (5), had all their teams knocked out before Quarters. The top finisher was Cal, coming in at ninth. Last year, the Southwest teams finished first (UCSB, who didn’t qualify this year), T3 (Stanford), and 11th (California).

From Top: Tufts just missed a trip to the championship game. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS After solid pool play, the Ohio State Fever fell hard to Michigan, 15-7. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS High winds returned to Boulder and affected the Oregon vs. Michigan semifinal the most. PHOTO: CMBTcreative Seville’s motivational tactic wasn’t enough to push her Flywheel team past Oregon. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS

Despite five teams in the tournament, the Southwest region failed to put a team into the quarterfinals. PHOTO: JEFF ALBENBERG/ULTIPHOTOS

FOUR FIVE

From Top: Stanford vs. Florida. PHOTO: CMBTcreative Qxhna Titcomb of Tufts goes up for the disc over Washington’s Sarah Davis. PHOTO: CMBTcreative The University of Virginia Hydra battled to a 2-2 record in pool play, before finishing 17th overall. PHOTO: CMBTcreative Erica Petru gets the ‘D’ in Washington’s semifinal win over Tufts. PHOTO: CMBTcreative Christina Schueler leaps for the disc in Oregon’s championship game against UW. PHOTO: CMBTcreative

WOMEN’S FINAL STANDINGS 1 - Washington 2 - Oregon 3T - Michigan 3T - Tufts 5T - Iowa 5T - North Carolina 5T - Ohio State 5T - Texas 9 - California 10 - Iowa State 11 - British Columbia 12 - UCLA 13T - Florida 13T - Stanford 15T - Sonoma State 15T - Wisconsin 17T - Humboldt State 17T - Virginia 19T - Delaware 19T - Ottawa

Humboldt State and UCLA were among two of the other women’s teams from a pool of 20 making the trip to Boulder. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS 4.62 Washington

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT NOMINEES

4.57 UCLA

British Columbia – CRYSTAL KOO

4.50 Tufts

California – KATELYN BARRETT

4.50

Ohio State

Delaware – GRACE RELF

4.50

North Carolina

Florida – LILI MORRIS

4.67 Florida* 4.67 Virginia

4.50 Delaware

Humboldt State – NATALIE GREEN

4.43 California

Iowa – JUSTINE HART

4.40 Texas

Iowa State – DAISY VELASCO

4.38 Oregon

Michigan – ADRIENNE LEMBERGER

4.33 Michigan

North Carolina – AMY GILBERT

4.30 Iowa

Ohio State – CAITLIN HARLEY

4.29

Oregon – CLAIRE STEWART

Iowa State

4.17 Stanford

Ottawa – TESSA VAN LEEUWEN

4.17

Humboldt State

Sonoma State – ERIN MOSES

4.17

Sonoma State

Stanford – LESLIE ROGERS

4.14

British Columbia

Texas – DARBI DONALDSON

3.50 Ottawa

Tufts – ELIZA EARLE

3.17 Wisconsin

UCLA – KELLY WIESE

* won tiebreaker

Virginia – RACHEL SCHMIDT

Nikki Ross (Delaware) and Georgina Tetlow (Humboldt State) jump for the disc in a pool play game. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS

Washington – LUCY WILLIAMS Wisconsin – AMELIA CUARENTA

WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STATISTICS WASHINGTON – 15 JERSEY #

NAME

OREGON - 7 GOALS

Gabriella Meffert

Leah Fury

Alysia Letourneau

ASST

D’S

JERSEY #

NAME

GOALS

Katie Weatherhead

Angela Tocchi

Jesse Shofner

Rachel Karpelowitz

Bailey Zahniser

ASST

Margo Kelly

Jillian Goodreau

Kimber Coles

Barbara Hoover

Christina Schueler

Alex Ode

Ashley Young

Sophie Darch

Bethany Kaylor

Shira Stern

Marie Eberlein

Lucy Williams

Kirstin Gruver

1 5

8 4 2

Erica Petru

D’S

1 1

Ira Mavrodi

Kasey Harris

Alex Mathison

Molly Lanning

Sarah Davis

Molly Munson

Alex Fussell

Anna Almy

Sarah Edwards

Liz Jones

Aubri Bishop

Claire Stewart

Lily Herd

Sarah Benditt

Jenn Yeom

Cailey Marsh

Amanda Kostic

Jeena Huneidi TOTALS

4 1 2

1 2 15

1 15

TOTALS

1 1

PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS

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Left to Right, Each Line: Contestants compete to win a free couch from CORT furniture; the Sonoma State womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team; a commemorative disc signed by the 2012 Callahan Winners; Michigan fans support the team; the opening pull; a disc flies through the air; the Hodags prepare for battle, University of Ottawa in the team huddle, NexGen Network produces USA Ultimateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s webcast. PHOTOS: CMBTcreative

S U M M E R 2 0 12

WHITE

PMS 569C

PMS 388C

PMS 877C

THE GODS ANSWER. 38

BY: JIMMY LEPPERT

For the third straight year, USA Ultimate held its Division III College Open Nationals - this year in beautiful Appleton, Wisconsin on the 19th - 20th of May. In a hard fought tournament, it came down to the Puget Sound Postmen, led by Ky Lewis, against Carleton College Gods of Plastic, led by Rhys Lindmark. Both players had been dominating all weekend long; Lewis was the main handler for the Postmen while Lindmark was the superstar on both offense and defense for GOP. In a back and forth championship game it was the GOP who would come out on top after breaking upwind and then downwind immediately after the game was soft-capped to 14. Lindmark played a big factor in both breaks, including assisting on the upwind break which seemed to be the dagger in the heart of Puget Sound. Puget Sound played a close game to GOP though, closer than any other team on the weekend, but their reliance on the huck plays on offense ultimately killed them. One of the reasons those huck plays for Puget Sound, and many other teams on the weekend, were unsuccessful were the high winds in Appleton during that May weekend. The gusts varied at times, but they were enough to throw off each team from the strategies they had coming in, instead being forced to play upwind vs. downwind points. It was very important that a team could break another while going upwind, helping to swing both momentum and the outcome of the game. With the winds playing such a factor, it became clear that not every team present had the best fundamentals. Meaning that some teams that had players who could throw no matter the situation, (such as Lindmark, Lewis, Kenyon’s Jordan Rhyne, Rice’s Stephan Haff, and St. John’s Nihal Bhakta) were able to advance further than those teams who did not. In Ultimate, wind has been called the “ultimate equalizer”. In this tournament, it played as such for most games. Lindmark was clearly the best player on the weekend. In many moments, he would take control of what was going on by making the play his team needed. On Saturday in pool play, his shutdown defense against Kenyon made the

S U M M E R 2 0 12

difference in the GOP victory. On Sunday in quarterfinals, his offensive skills shined as he made a layout grab to score on the #1 seed St. John’s team while knocking them out of contention for the championship. And in the finals, his skills on both sides of the disc came through, throwing with poise and confidence as the game came to a close. And while on defense he made big plays to keep his team in the game. Lindmark wouldn’t have been as much of a difference maker without the strong team he had behind him, anchored by co-captains Jon Issac and Cory Fauver, but Lindmark stands out as the difference maker for both the GOP team and in their run to the championship. The other surprise to come out of Appleton was the fact that after Saturday, no top seed came out of its pool with a bye to the quarterfinals. Seeding didn’t turn out as planned for any of the pools in fact; with the most surprising being Lewis & Clark winning their pool while defending national champion Claremont College finished last. The wind obviously played a big part in seeding not going as planned. After the weekend though, it was clear that for a third straight year this event was a success. Lindmark will be in his senior year returning for the GOP squad; potentially marking them for a repeat champion. But many of the other teams at the tournament were built on young up-start talent, which should prove for many exciting DIII tournaments to come, especially if more teams elect to choose that route.

Opposite Page: Rice University was one of 32 teams that made the trip to Appleton to play in DIII Nationals. PHOTO: BRANDON WU/ULTIPHOTOS Tommy Li of Claremont College and Adrian Galvin of Kenyon College reach for the disc. PHOTO: BRANDON WU/ULTIPHOTOS

PMS 569C

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PMS 877C

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS

OPEN FINAL STANDINGS

WHITE

1 Carleton College-GOP 2 Puget Sound 3T North Park 3T Rice 5T St John’s 5T St Olaf 7T Bentley 7T Lewis & Clark 9T Reed 9T Stevens Tech 11T Kenyon 11T Rensselaer Polytech 13T Bowdoin 13T Wake Forest 15T Claremont 15T Georgia College

5 Claremont* 5

Stevens Tech

4.86 Bowdoin 4.86

Carleton College

4.8

North Park

4.8 Rice 4.67

Georgia College & State

4.6

Lewis & Clark

4.57

Puget Sound

4.2 Reed 4 Bentley 4

St Olaf

3.67 Kenyon 3.6

Rensselaer Polytech

3.5

St John’s

3.17

Wake Forest

* won tiebreaker

Puget Sound posted a 5-2 record, with losses to GOP in the finals and a pool play defeat at the hands of North Park. PHOTO: BRANDON WU/ ULTIPHOTOS

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT NOMINEES

Top Right: The Carleton College Gods of Plastic reached for a 14-12 victory over the Postmen of Puget Sound. PHOTO: BRANDON WU/ULTIPHOTOS

MAXWELL RICK - Bentley JAKE SHORTY - Bowdoin MATT GODFREY - Carleton College ZACH PURDY - Claremont CHRISTOPER HANNAH - Georgia College & State DAN KIPP - Kenyon BEN LOHRE - Lewis & Clark SEAN BURKE - North Park HENRY FUNK - Puget Sound MICHAEL BADR - Reed JOHN GROVER - Rensselaer Polytech SEAN MURPHY - Rice ALEX SELL - St Johns ERIC LARSEN - St Olaf MASON COMPTON - Stevens Tech BRETT KAISER - Wake Forest

OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STATISTICS CARLETON COLLEGE-GOP – 14 JERSEY #

NAME

Sam Feigenbaum

Mike Alexander

Reed Jordan

Scott Graber

Rhys Lindmark

8 9 10

Mike Chappell

Alex Walker

GOALS

PUGET SOUND – 12

ASST

D’S

JERSEY #

NAME

Daniel Mozell

Elliott Cohen

Taylor Smith

C.B. Wolf

Daniel Barter

Nitai Deitel

Brandon Taitt

Peter GeertzLarson

Ryan Baatz

Kyle Markwalter

Luke Jesperson

Rob Yeagle

Alan Henzy

Drew Holmen

Eric Hopfenbeck

Peter Rogers

Brahm Heyman

Charlie Cross

Peter Cellier

Ian Fischer

Spencer Sheridan

Niko Duffy

Travis Shetter

Devon Manber

Henry Funk

Matt Godfrey

Garrett Stanford

Michael Groeneman

Ky Lewis

Andrew Mark

Sam Berkelhammer

Walker Bohannan

Jack Derham

2 1

Cory Fauver

Jon Isaac

Will GagneMaynard

Max Willard

Anders Berglund

Alex Waltz

Sam Rosenberg TOTALS

8 2

2 2

Jonas Cole

ASST

2 3

GOALS

TOTALS

D’S

TO 11 1 2

1 1

2 6

5 4

Maxwell Rick of Bentley throws a pass at the DIII Championships. PHOTO: BRANDON WU/ULTIPHOTOS The Carleton College GOP poses in their Hawaiian shirts and the DIII Open Championship trophy. PHOTO: BRANDON WU/ULTIPHOTOS

S U M M E R 2 0 12

BY: ROBYN FENNIG

After being a favorite at the beginning of the regular season, Grinnell came to Appleton as the overall 13th seed. Throughout the years, Grinnell has fought many battles; cultivating growth in college women’s Ultimate, especially Division III, has been the most notable. The Sticky Tongue Frogs (or Stickies for short) have helped teams throughout the country to make connections throughout the Ultimate community to build capacity in their communities. To other teams and players: the impact has been profound. due in part to the team’s ability to use every player in the lineup. Not only did every team member play, they all touched the disc and contributed. This attests to the team’s unselfish nature when it comes to player development. Because Grinnell chose to stick to their season-long plan of helping newer players develop rather than focusing on short-term gain or individual game victories, Grinnell had a roller coaster regular season. The team performed well in the cold, windy conditions at Midwest Throwdown, but went on to finish 13th at Virginia is for Layouts, the team’s lowest finish throughout the regular season. Grinnell followed up by taking 3rd at College Terminus against some top-notch Division III competition, including Williams, a favorite out of the New England region.

The team has not only participated in skills clinics and development weekends, like Midwest Throwdown and Virginia is for Layouts, but also hosted an event on their campus, the Midwest Captaining Clinic in January 2012. Michelle Ng, founder of Without Limits and women’s Ultimate leader, says, “The Grinnell leadership has opened my eyes to a whole new world in college women’s Ultimate - a group of teams that is vastly underserved and that has been slow to get the recognition that they deserve. I am so thankful that they reached out to me 2 1/2 years ago, determined to find new resources and create opportunities for their team. They have been among my biggest advocates at the DIII level and in the Midwest; their desire to grow both their team and their community is commendable. I feel very lucky to know them and could not be happier about their well-deserved finals appearance this year.” In addition to having one of the most active teams in the Ultimate community, Grinnell also boasts a deep, active roster. After playing nearly every game of the weekend to hard cap, Grinnell looked fresh during every single point,

Grinnell created its own momentum heading into the post season and secured the second bid out of the North Central. Their rocky season set them up in an extremely difficult pool against Haverford, Princeton, and the overall one-seed, Claremont. The Stickies lost on universe point to Haverford after having been up by two breaks at the start of the tournament, and decisively lost in the next round to Claremont, but were able to battle back and put together a complete game against Princeton. Based on point differential, Grinnell secured the second seed out of Pool A and was poised to avenge an early season loss to Mary Washington in pre-quarters. Grinnell controlled the tempo of the game, scoring several points upwind against Mary Massacre. Grinnell took the path to the finals head-on, starting with Bowdoin in quarterfinals. Chaos Theory, the only undefeated team during the sanctioned regular season, was a clear favorite to be in finals. Because Pool B did not play zone defense, the game against Grinnell was the first time they saw a zone. Grinnell had an extremely deep roster, so the Sticky Tongue Frog zone remained fresh in order to challenge the top-heavy Bowdoin roster. In semifinals, Grinnell overcame Haverford by scoring

Above: Despite being Division III, there was no shortage of spectacular plays and athleticism. PHOTO: BRANDON WU/ ULTIPHOTOS

Opposite: Claremont edged Grinnell 13-12 for the DIII national title in the women’s division. PHOTO: BRANDON WU/ ULTIPHOTOS

Rising to the Top: WHITE

Grinnell Sticky Tongue Frogs PMS 569C

PMS 388C

PMS 877C

several upwind breaks on the Sneetches. This game was huge for the Stickies, who suffered a heart-breaking loss the day before. During pool play, Grinnell struggled to contain Haverford’s dominant handling line of Sara Taggart and Aly Lieberman on Saturday, but showed they could make the adjustments necessary on Sunday to contain their upwind throws and come out on top.

Grinnell’s experience in windy conditions paid dividends in Appleton. PHOTO: BRANDON WU

The wind picked up during the finals game. Claremont won the flip, winning the opportunity to score downwind first. Throughout the game Grinnell traded downwind points with Claremont, though both teams battled the wind and the opposing defense to get upwind. Handler Misha Ghadiri, who came out on top for assists the entire weekend, helped

In addition to landing in the finals, the Stickies won the Team Spirit Award, as voted on by their peers at the Division III College Championships. Grinnell’s women’s Ultimate team has reminded us that you do not have to sacrifice competitiveness in order to give back to your sport and uphold the ideals of sportsmanship. Grinnell found great support from the other powerful teams in the North Central region, who also had great success at the tournament. Grinnell, St. Olaf, and Carleton Eclipse clearly had experience in windy conditions and were able to handle the gusts that ruled the weekend. Carleton Eclipse, last year’s DIII Women’s Champions, entered the weekend seeded fifth and demonstrated their superior execution of fundamentals to work their way up. They broke seed the first day in pool play, relying on their patient, short passes to break through Pacific Lutheran’s zone in the wind. While they had a few stand out players, such as Mia Borden, Niki Tomita, and Jill Merkle, the entire team brought great athleticism and determination to challenge every opponent. They peaked in their final game against Claremont, working the disc through the wind to gain upwind points and shutting down most of Claremont’s in-cut options. A team where many of the strongest cutters are also Varsity Soccer players, Eclipse ran hard the entire tournament to take home third place.

5 Grinnell* 5

St Olaf

4.8 Hendrix 4.8 Valparaiso 4.6 Princeton 4.6 Stonehill 4.5 Elon 4.4 Bowdoin 4.4

Truman State

4.33 Haverford 4.33

Mary Washington

4.2 Willamette 4.17

Pacific Lutheran

4 Claremont 3.8

Carleton College

3 Lehigh * won tiebreaker

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT NOMINEES

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS

WOMNE’S FINAL STANDINGS

1 Claremont 2 Grinnell 3T Carleton College-Eclipse 3T Haverford 5T Lehigh 5T Valparaiso 7T Bowdoin 7T Truman State 9T Pacific Lutheran 9T St Olaf 11T Elon 11T Mary Washington 13T Princeton 13T Willamette 15T Hendrix 15T Stonehill

the team move the disc downfield with well-timed hucks while Carla Eckland, the top scorer of the tournament, helped complete passes in the endzone. Since neither team was able to score upwind, Claremont came out on top as the Division III College Champions.

TESS CHARDIET - Bowdoin CLAIRE LEICHTER - Carleton College JENYA KAHN-LANG - Claremont MORGAN CANNINO - Elon LINNEA VAN PILSUMBLOOM - Grinnell ELINOR HICKEY - Haverford ANNEMARIE BECK - Hendrix SARAH JOHNSON - Lehigh DEVON DAVIS - Mary Washington CHELSEA PAULSEN - Pacific Lutheran JULIA YUE - Princeton BRYNN RATHJEN - St Olaf RACHEL DAUER - Stonehill EMILY FIRSCHING - Truman State MANDI LAZZARO - Valporaiso SUSA LYNNE - Willamette

WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STATISTICS CLAREMONT – 13 JERSEY #

NN NAME ame

Nicole Yu

Alison Marks

Jennifer Schmidt

Julia Raney

GRINNELL – 12 GOALS

D’S

Clara Amarosi

Alicia Hendrix

Eliza Longnecker

Kate Speck

Laurel Estes

Catherine Raney

Elizabeth Duda

Rose Comaduran

Marlene Haggblade

Jenya Kahn-Lang

Paloma Garcia

Claire Tietelbaum

Erica Baken

McKenzie Floyd

Erin Childs

Tasha Arvanitis

Tessa Bertozzi TOTALS

ASST

Sam Rosen

Eden Marek

Mia Ritter

Carla Eckland

Julia Daniels

Cory Keeler

Julia Sauerhaft

Kelly Helbach

Carissa Shoemaker

Alexa Stevens

Ellie Honan

Eva Metz

Remy Ferber

Hannah Bauman

Misha Ghadiri

Sarah Farbman

1 1

NN NAME ame

1 2

JERSEY #

WHITE

GOALS

PMS 388C

D’S

PMS 877C

TO 2

3 7

2 2

2 7

Talora Martin

Nikki Pyle

Paige Hill

Linnea Van PilsumBloom

Kirsten Nelson

Bethany Clarke

TOTALS

PMS 569C

ASST

1 2 12

4 2

The Sticky Tongue Frogs on the awards podium. PHOTO: BRANDON WU/ ULTIPHOTOS

S U M M E R 2 0 12

GIRLS CENTRAL CHAMPIONSHIP

The Making of an Alpha: Holy Family Omega’s Seasoned Surety Brings Them the Girls Crown at HS Centrals

BY: MATTY SPILLUM

cooperative, we draw from a small total number of students but have the benefit of our Junior Ultimate program. This enables 8-14 year olds to learn the game.” These younger players are allowed to grow in the game before taking their place on the main Omega roster. Once there, experiences at tournaments like Chicago Invite and Paideia prepare them for the challenges of Centrals. In particular, Coach Fry looked to Chicago Invite for gaining extra insight into their Central Regionals competition: “We were hoping to see more of the Minnesota teams as well. Only one Minnesota team was able to come down to the Chicago Invite, so we knew we would be going to Regionals never having seen much of our competition.” This lack of familiarity did not, however, slow the Omega ladies down Saturday. As Coach Fry noted, “our two senior handlers (Kayla Fry and Courtney Roth) were able to keep our offense scoring consistently in spite of the fact that Colleen Morris (leading scorer at 2011 Easterns) was unable to travel to Regionals due to a family emergency. Kjersti Fry led our cutters and our younger girls leveraged their excellent preparation and previous tournament experience.”

Holy Family Catholic dominated the girls division in Chicago with a 13-5 victory over Cathedral. PHOTO: PETE GUION/ULTIPHOTOS

Over the course of the last decade, the growth of youth Ultimate has begun to shift from the early focus on outreach and growth to the development of strong, experienced programs. High School Centrals Girls Champions Holy Family Catholic Omega’s cohesive, tight-knit unit is an example of just such an evolution. With a central core of players who have worked together for several seasons now and have been battle-tested at many national tournaments, Omega’s capturing of the inaugural Centrals title should perhaps come as no surprise. According to Omega coach David Fry, “Omega was very excited to bring a tournament-seasoned team to the firstever Central Region championships. As a home-school

Going into Sunday’s final against St. Cloud Cathedral, Omega’s experience and preparation would be put to the test against a tall, athletic Cathedral squad. In the windy conditions, however, it would be the more prepared Holy Family side that would win the day: “A key for us was our ability to work upwind through the Cathedral zone. We had worked all year on our zone offense and it paid off here.” The additional tournament experience that events like Central Regionals provides is key to developing the polish and poise that make for great ultimate. Coach Fry credits USAU for this development: “Omega was very happy that USAU went to a regional HS championship structure. This should really help increase the competition in the region, especially for girls’ teams.” As youth Ultimate continues to mature, teams like Omega can become more and more the rule, and the fight to become alpha dog will become ever more exciting to watch.

GIRLS Kjersti Fry of Holy Family Catholic hauls in a pass against Cathedral in the finals. PHOTO: PETE GUION/ULTIPHOTOS

FINAL STANDINGS

TEAM SPIRIT SCORES INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT WINNERS

1 Holy Family Catholic 2 Cathedral 3 St. Paul Charter 4 Armstrong 5 Neuqua Valley 6 South 7 James Madison Memorial 8 Neuqua Valley-JV

4.67 Madison Memorial 4.17 Neuqua Valley-JV 5.17 South 4.00 Armstrong 3.67 Neuqua Valley 3.50 St. Paul Charter 3.00 Holy Family Catholic 2.67 Cathedral

ALLISON PROM - Cathedral KAYLA FRY - Holy Family Catholic MCKENNA BECKER - Madison Memorial SYLVIA REILLY - South ALEXA KACZOR - Neuqua Valley MEGAN HALVERSON - Neuqua Valley-JV MEG LAKE - Armstrong OLIVIA OLSON - St. Paul Charter

GAME STATISTICS HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC - 13 JERSEY #

NAME

GOALS

CATHEDRAL - 5 ASST

D’S

JERSEY #

Clare McCarty

Alisha Knutson

Courtney Jones

Rose Berg-Arnold

Ella Hackett-Reicher

Paula Kowitz

Natasha Pulliam

Hannah Detra

Hannah Lakmann

Annie Johnson

NAME

GOALS

ASST

D’S

Madison Wilker

Hayley Samson

Michelle Ragusa

Emily Reutener

Sara Friemoth

Courtney Roth

Andrea Willging

Gracie Francomb

Colleen Morris

Lucy Teller

Ellie Fishlock

Jessica Voight

Emily Dorsey

Alysson Prom

Katherine Fry

Carmen Ebel

Holly Koch

Allie Lenzmeier

Clara Fishlock

Samantha Meyer

Annie Folzenlogen

unknown

Kjersti Fry

Kayla Fry

Maddie Samson unknown

TOTALS

S U M M E R 2 0 12

2 1 1

TOTALS

5 3 2

3 2

BOYS CENTRAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Proud to Play Hurt: Hopkins Open Ultimate Churns out the Inaugural High School Centrals Open Champion

BY: MATTY SPILLUM

Once the province of only mainstream sports, the varsity/ junior varsity appellation has made its way, perhaps inevitably, to the world of youth Ultimate. Certainly, for Hopkins High School Hurt, 2012 Open High School Centrals champions, this has been a natural extension of having a junior high feeder program. “A lot of our kids have been playing pre-varsity since sixth or seventh grade,” says Hopkins coach Louis Abramowski. This experience certainly put Hurt in a good position for the competition at Central Regionals. With most of their kids returning from 2011, the Hopkins team had high expectations. “We had several fourth-year varsity players on the squad,” said Coach Abramowski. “A lot of people figured last year would be a rebuilding year for us. We didn’t see it that way, and we ended up taking third at Westerns. And since we really didn’t graduate anyone coming into this season, our expectations were high.” Another thing influencing those heightened expectations would be the relative familiarity of the teams at Centrals. “The teams knew each other so well,” noted Abramowski, “and that led to both a little bit more drama and way more respect being shown between teams.” As to how the tournament fared as an event, Abramowski continued: “Centrals did a good job, especially navigating the interesting juxtaposition of our tournament and the lacrosse tournament on nearby fields. It was pretty cool, actually, to be sharing space with another sport like that.” The reality of Hopkins’ growing progress toward legitimacy is likely to become more of the norm as the sport of Ultimate continues to grow. Creating opportunities for the sport to be treated just like any other is a part of that progression. Developing athletes who will become the sport’s future, like Hurt’s Sam Bumsted, Jason Finkelstein, and the always clutch J. J. Pira is part and parcel of creating vibrant, sustainable programs. And teams like Hopkins are not alone in this, as Abramowski praised the talent of many of the teams who took part in Centrals, singling out in particular Dan and Dom Schuster from Holy Family Catholic as being “just so talented and solid…they are definitely kids to keep an eye on in the future.”

Sam Bumstead brings in a pass at High School Centrals. PHOTO: PETE GUION/ULTIPHOTOS

So how does one transition from the talent of the varsity team into the aspirations of the junior varsity players? Nothing succeeds like success. “We really hit our stride at Paideia, and that success really translated into what we are instilling in our program. We try to give our junior high players a sense of the importance of what it means to be a part of Hurt; what it means to earn the uniform.” After capturing the Paideia Cup and Centrals, the sense of building pride and getting younger players to aspire to the varsity team must be getting easier.

GAME STATISTICS HOPKINS - 14 JERSEY #

NN NAME ame

GOALS

ASST

D’S

Zac Merie

Jeff Lifson

Jason Finkelstein

Jordan Taylor

Ryan Franklin

Danny Gollin

Braden Spencer

Sam Kaminsky

JJ Pira

Michael Seffren

Jacob Brandys

Trey Taylor

Aaron Raskin

Joel Ratner

Adam Caskey

BOYS 1

Wyatt Mekler

Zach Mekler

Adam Shapiro

Benji Mosow

Sam Bumsted Jeremy Steinman

Aaron Blaser

2 1 3

unknown

TOTALS

NAME

James Morris

Ricky Vandegrift

Eddie Hoffmann

Cory Woodruff

Eli Smith

GOALS

ASST

D’S

Daniel Schuster

Dominic Schuster

John Beatrice

Jp Bort

Braden Dorsey

Jay Ratajczak

Nicholas Bissonnette

Joe Beatrice

Ben Ragusa TOTALS

S U M M E R 2 0 12

1 3

2 1

7T James Madison Memorial 9 De Smet 10 Harry D Jacobs 11 Como Park 12 Ames 13 Neuqua Valley-B 14 Monona Grove

TEAM SPIRIT SCORES 4.5 Harry D Jacobs 4.4 St. Paul Charter 4.2 Monona Grove 4.0 South 3.8 Cathedral 3.67 Ames 3.67 James Madison Memorial

3.6 Holy Family 3.6 Neuqua Valley-B 3.5 Edina 3.4 Neuqua Valley 3.33 DeSmet Jesuit 3.25 Hopkins 2.0 Como Park

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT WINNERS

HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC - 4 JERSEY #

1 Hopkins 2 Holy Family Catholic 3T St. Paul Charter 3T Neuqua Valley-A 5T Minneapolis South 5T Cathedral 7T Edina

1 1

FINAL STANDINGS

BRADY BRINKMEYER - Ames MITCH HAGAN - Cathedral SONNY ERICKSON - Como Park TOM ZITKO - De Smet Jesuit IAN ANDRE-KNUDSEN - Edina JAN SZMANDA - Harry D Jacobs DANIEL SCHUSTER - Holy Family Catholic ZACH MEKLER - Hopkins GREG MADDOX - James Madison Memorial ANDREW EVERTS - Monona Grove JOHNNY SANIAT - Neuqua Valley ADNAN AHMAD - Neuqua Valley-B PIERRE-ANTOINE MASSCHELEYN - South ALEC OLSON - St. Paul Charter

14 49

Devens MA

GIRLS NORTHEASTERN CHAMPIONSHIP GIRLS

No One Way to Coach Girls’ Ultimate

BY: MATT GOISMAN

As the Amherst Girls’ team captured its sixth title in the last eight years, Matt Goisman takes a look at the leadership styles of H.S. girls Ultimate coaches. When the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts girls’ Ultimate team struggles at the High School Northeastern Championship, coach Brian Cook encourages singing and cheering on the sideline. When the Watchung Hills Lady Warriors play nervous and turn the disc over, coach Terence Chen asks sternly if “playing scared will keep you from losing.”

knows all about that.

When the team murmurs “no,” Chen simply responds, “Then change,” and walks away.

Meanwhile, a laid back coach might fail to develop an otherwise talented team, but such a team could easily generate its own intensity and commitment. Such is the case with Columbia, whose coach, Pat Morrissy, never played competitive Ultimate himself.

“I’m your coach first, I’m not your friend,” says Chen. “I think that establishes really the attitude that we want.” Amherst coach Josh Nugent focuses on strong fundamentals and intense defense. Mt. Lebanon coach Ellie Shaul keeps it fun. “The higher you go up into club [Ultimate], the more serious it gets,” says Shaul. “But I think at the high school level, it’s important to keep it fun, as it’s not a varsity sport.” Is one coaching style better than another? Hard to say. Nugent’s Hurricanes cruised to yet another championship in the evergrowing pile of Amherst Ultimate accolades, averaging better than a 9.5 scoring differential in seven games. Watchung Hills took second, while Mt. Lebanon upset Amherst JVA in pool play and qualified for the semifinals. Any coaching style’s effectiveness, of course, depends as much on the players as the coach. A coach who demands too much of a team still learning Ultimate’s basics will likely scare his or her players away, not make them better. Stuyvesant coach Leila Tunnell – whose team won the Spirit Award at Northeasterns but finished 10th overall –

“My biggest interest is just getting them to be assertive and confident athletes,” says Tunnell. “So a lot of what we do is just getting them comfortable in their bodies, getting to run around a lot, working on coordination, and getting them to be confident in the way they interact with each other.”

“I have two senior captains who are really great strategists, and both really good on-field leaders,” Morrissy says, referring to Hannah Hart and Gabriela Cincotta. “I rely on them, and I let them do that level of leadership. When it comes down to tournaments, I always stress, ‘Let’s go back to basics.’” And Pennsbury doesn’t even have a coach. Captain Kathleen Raftery runs that team. “It’s really challenging to get a lot of respect from players that are your own age,” Raftery says. “We’re all in high school, I’m good friends with a couple of girls on the team. As an adult, it’s more of an authority figure, as compared to a teenager.” Columbia finished eighth at HS Northeasterns, while Pennsbury finished ninth. The top four girls’ teams – Amherst, Watchung Hills, Haverford and Mt. Lebanon – all have coaches with clearly defined, though not always similar, styles and goals. “You can see that definitely the teams with the stronger coaches are the stronger

teams,” says Cook. “Coaching makes a huge difference in this sport. I feel like other sports you can pick up relatively easier without a coach.” Different coaching styles work with different kinds of players. A system as established as Amherst’s attracts athletes open to rigorous training. Cook, who went through the Amherst Ultimate system, has even tried to extend that coaching style to PVPA, with positive results. “They ask us [for tougher training],” Cook says. “They’re like, ‘Don’t coddle us. Don’t baby us. Tell us when we’re doing things wrong.’ They want to be those players, to be able to run and play with the boys and be at that level.” Everyone who joins Ohio State’s football team or Kentucky’s or UConn’s basketball teams knows exactly what he or she is getting into. The same applies to Amherst, Watchung Hills, or any of these Ultimate schools with well-established track records. “The things we do are really just working on a lot of fundamentals really fast, and trying to have maximum efficiency during practice,” says Nugent. “All the drills we do have minimal downtime, minimal waiting in line, maximum disc exposure. We try to have our pregame routine be fairly intense so we can come into the game as if we’re already playing.” Even Watchung Hills’ Chen, whose style appears at first glance to put undue pressure on his players, knows he can’t press that hard all the time, which is why the team has three coaches. continued on p67

Kethrellan Peterson catches the disc in the championship game. The Hurricanes celebrate another title.

Amherst vs. Pioneer Valley Performing Arts. ALL PHOTOS: BURT GRANOFSKY/ULTIPHOTOS

FINAL STANDINGS

TEAM SPIRIT SCORES

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT WINNERS

1 Amherst Regional 2 Wachtung Hills 3 Haverford 4 Mount Lebanon 5 Amherst Regional-JVA 6 Allerdice 7 Pioneer Valley 8 Columbia 9 Pennsbury 10 Stuyvesant 11 Andover 12 St Johnsbury Academy

4.67 Stuyvesant 4.33 Amherst Regional-JVA 4.33 Watchung Hills 4.17 Amherst Regional 4.17 Andover 4.17 St Johnsbury 4.00 Pioneer Valley 3.83 Allderdice 3.17 Columbia 3.17 Haverford 2.83 Mount Lebanon 2.50 Pennsbury

LEAH BERLIN - Amherst Regional GLORIA MILLER - Amherst Regional-JV LISA QIN - Andover KEELY ZHANG - Columbia KELLY MILLIGAN - Haverford JANE URHEIM - Lower Merion RACHEL GREENWALD - Mt. Lebanon BETHANY TESARCK - Pennsbury IZZY ORAM-BROWN - Pioneer Valley VICTORIA LOPEZ - St. Johnsbury VICTORIA CHEN - Stuyesant JORLYN LEGARREC - Taylor Allderdice ANNIKA CHAN - Watchung Hills

GAME STATISTICS AMHERST REGIONAL - 13 JERSEY #

NN NAME ame

Anna Kaplan

Maya Norman

Audrey Gould

Lucy Salwen

Caroline Jones

Angela Zhu

Dalila Bennett

Mei Reffsin

Leah Berlin

WATCHUNG HILLS - 7

GOALS

ASST

D’S

JERSEY #

Kristy Huang

Milonee Mehta

Sheree Liu

Evey Le

Audrey Luo

Julie Park

Lauren Sinski

Olivia Hampton

Annika Chan

3 1 1

3 6

NAME

GOALS

Tulsa Douglas

Jessica Hoffman

Amelia Mead

Kathleen Lo

Molly Lawlor

Tammy Shen

Zoe Freedman Coleman

Marissa Schwartz

Lindsay Levin

Rosa Melchiorre

Anna Seterdahl

unknown

TOTALS

S U M M E R 2 0 12

D’S

ASST

3 2

2 1

unknown

TOTALS

Devens MA

BOYS NORTHEASTERN CHAMPIONSHIP BOYS

At the beginning of the 2012 season, many questions lingered about the historically dominant Amherst Hurricanes. They had graduated 12 seniors, more than they had lost in one year since the 1990s. Made up largely of new additions from their JV program, many wondered if they would be as strong as they had been in years past. Just 8 weeks later they won the inaugural USAU Northeasterns tournament, going 7-0 and giving up a mere 16 points over the course of the weekend. What began as a raw, unpolished group became a team of focused competitors that no team wanted to face. In March Coach Tiina Booth saw herself faced with a team that had potential, but lacked cohesion. “After the first few practices, they were trying their best to play at a high level, but there simply was not enough shared experience,” Booth remarked, “The effort and fitness were there for the most part, but we were still a raw team.” The team’s physical fitness was the result of relentless off-season training. Players train together during the winter to prepare for the spring season, but because of the New England weather, full field games are nearly impossible. Harnessing the potential built up in the winter would be the biggest challenge that the team would face. Captains Wes Chow, Jordy Diamond, Ethan Kannel and Danny On led a group of players that were physically and mentally dedicated, but lacked game experience. Because of this, the team got on the field as much as possible in the early season in order to work out the kinks. College tournaments played a key role in bringing younger players up to speed. Amherst competed in the New England Open after practicing together fewer than five times, a fact Coach Booth was aware of when evaluating the success of such tournaments. “Our goal at college tournaments was to get everyone some playing time but mainly to establish what our team presence would be all season: an active

Taking Control of the Northeast: Amherst’s Path to Victory

BY: GENE BUONACCORSI

engaged sideline and a smooth offense,” she said. Although the Hurricanes struggled at times, the experience they gained was invaluable as they worked towards their goal of peaking late in the spring. When Northeasterns rolled around, though, it was clear that the team had indeed peaked. Captain Danny On saw this fact clearly, saying, “The week of practice prior to Northeasterns was possibly the most competitive of the season. When it was time to play, we were well prepared and came out with power.” The power was evident in every aspect of Amherst’s game, as they did not only execute physically, but mentally as well. In their semifinal match against Hampton the Hurricanes went down 2-0 to start the game. With calm poise, they scored on offense and then ran off a series of breaks that ultimately led to a 13-3 victory. Moments like this exemplify the team’s goals of mental toughness and focus. The Amherst team that took the field at Northeasterns was clearly unique, independent of the group that performed similarly at Easterns last year. “I don’t think we like to use the idea of stepping in roles, rather we lose roles and create new ones,” said Captain Wes Chow. Throughout the weekend the team operated like a cohesive unit in a way that they hadn’t at earlier tournaments. “I can’t really remember any specific individual because that was the weekend we became the Hurricane team we had been working toward,” claimed Coach Booth. Their performance showed that every player on the team was finally ready to perform at the highest level. Athletic cutters Danny On and Dylan Wight gave opposing defenses trouble all weekend, while Wes Chow’s consistent pulls were the catalyst for the team’s relentless defense. Over the course of bracket play Jordy

The Hurricane’s Jordan Diamond makes a play a the Northeastern H.S. Championships. PHOTO: BURT GRANOFSKY/ULTIPHOTOS

Diamond’s mark gave other team’s handlers trouble, allowing the Hurricanes to get blocks on high stall throws. Ethan Kannel was a workhorse on offense, displaying pinpoint throws to both deep and under cuts. While individual performers are easy to note, the overwhelming message that the Hurricanes’ performance sent was that they were a top to bottom group. As Booth put it, “I could pretty much have put any player out there at Northeasterns and things would run smoothly.” Watching Amherst’s finals victory against Needham High School it was clear that the Hurricanes had realized the potential that Coach Booth saw in the players that first took the field together in March. The talented Needham squad was impressive all weekend, displaying similar dominance on their path to the finals. Amherst, however, was firing on all cylinders. “We came out strong and never looked back. The players on the field ran with all their hearts, and the sideline was one hundred percent invested the entire game,” said Danny On. With the score 7-0 at halftime it was impossible not to admire the way that the Hurricanes had progressed. What started as a young, shaky group of individuals at the Paideia Cup had become a fine tuned machine whose focus and execution was second nature. As Wes Chow put it, “We weren’t thinking, we were just playing.”

FINAL STANDINGS

TEAM SPIRIT SCORES

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT WINNERS

1 Amherst Regional 2 Needham 3T Hampton 3T Longmeadow 5T John Jay 5T Sharon 7T Columbia 7T Pennsbury 9 Fieldston 10 Xavier 11T Watchung Hills 11T West Windsor-Plainsboro 13T Mount Lebanon 13T St. Johnsbury 15T Falmouth 15T Radnor

5.00 Columbia* 5.00 Falmouth 4.83 Longmeadow 4.80 St Johnsbury 4.71 Fieldston 4.60 Amherst 4.57 Xavier 4.50 Sharon 4.40 Watchung Hills 4.33 John Jay 4.20 West Windsor 4.17 Hampton 4.00 Radnor 3.60 Needham 3.17 Mount Lebanon 2.40 Pennsbury

WESLEY CHOW - Amherst Regional ALEX BRUNING - Columbia AIDAN PENN - Fieldston CHLOE ROWSE - Falmouth RICHIE GIZA - Hampton LAURENT ROSSIGNOL - John Jay GRIFFIN CRAFTS - Longmeadow MICHAEL RICCI - Mount Lebanon DANIEL MODER - Needham TOM ROPER - Pennsbury CHAUDHRI USMAN - Radnor PAUL SOUTHARD - Sharon JULIAN GRANT - St. Johnsbury DYLAN MA - Watchung Hills WESLEY CHEN West Windsor-Plainsboro ZAC CAMNER - Xavier

* won tiebreaker

GAME STATISTICS AMHERST REGIONAL - 13 JERSEY #

NN NAME ame

NEEDHAM - 2

GOALS

ASST

D’S

JERSEY #

NN NAME ame

Johann Becker

Ben Tseytlin

Isaac Weitzman

Ben Sadok

David Julien

Jacob Nikolajczyk

Jake Light

Ryan Sickles

Gabe Kaufman

Yeehin Li

Nate Kane

Jonathan Park

Jordan Diamond

Lucas Denit

Aidan Bohan

Danny On

1 2

Jim Heger

Daniel Moder

Eric Silverman

Alex Caulfield

Scott Groux

Ryan Colarusso

Tim Bobrowski

Stephen Keeler

August Miller

Jackson Gillenwaters

Dylan Wight

Jordan Kaufman

Eli Sandler

Ethan Kannel

Daniel Goldstein

Jeremy Katz

Leland Rege-Colt

Ben Kaufman

Aaron Hurlburt

Jason Freedman

Elliot Jerry

Walker Mayerchak

Wesley Chow

TOTALS

S U M M E R 2 0 12

TOTALS

GOALS

ASST

D’S

TO 2

1 1 2

GIRLS SOUTHERN CHAMPIONSHIP

SUCCESS IN THE SOUTH YHB Varsity Dominates in Chattanooga

COMPILED BY USA ULTIMATE

The inaugural USA Ultimate High School Southern Championships boasted a small but talented field of competitors looking to earn the region’s first title since USA Ultimate expanded from two regions to four this season. And given Yorktown/HB Woodlawn’s penchant for top-three performances at High School Easterns in the past, as well as the fact it had two squads in the tournament, chances were good that YHB would stand atop the podium at the end of the weekend.

hung on as long as they could as shot after shot was taken down field. Despite a valiant effort by Durga, YHB finally did what great teams do and closed out the game with a 9-7 win with one final score.

Entering the tournament as the highest seeded team, YHB’s Varsity squad was marked as the team to beat by the other four entrants – Chapel Hill, Grady High, University School of Nashville and YHB’s JV outfit. And after Saturday’s pool play that followed seed, YHB Varsity entered Sunday’s bracket play with a perfect 4-0 record – a derivative of its superior experience, depth and talent. On paper, it looked as though Chapel Hill would be the only team that could give YHB Varsity run for its money. After rolling through its first four games, 13-2, 12-2, 13-1 and 13-1, YHB posted a much closer 7-4 victory over Durga, slightly giving the second-seeded team a glimmer of hope in the championship bracket. With just five teams on hand, Saturday merely served as a way to seed teams for Sunday’s bracket play. The first round of the day featured a play-in game between University School of Nashville and YHB’s JV girls. The theme in this game was youth, as USN featured five freshmen against the younger YHB team. However after winning the round 9-5, their “reward” was a matchup with the other team from YHB. And although the opponent was from the same school, the result was much different. Varsity kept their dominant streak alive with a 13-0 blanking in the semifinals to set up the final everyone expected after Saturday’s play. In the semifinal on the opposite side of the bracket, Chapel Hill earned a rematch with YHB after a solid 12-6 win over Grady. Knowing that they played YHB tough the previous day and confident they could add a blemish to Notorious’ record, Chapel Hill battled to an 8-7 deficit when the hard cap horn blew. Needing to score to keep their hopes alive, Chapel Hill

Top: Andrea Green of YHB looks to catch the disc ahead of an USN defender. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS Above: YHB battled to a 9-7 win over Chapel Hill. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS

GAME STATISTICS YHB - 9 JERSEY #

NN NAME ame

GOALS

ASST

Jessica Valarezo

Margaret Atkinson

Grace Denney

Anna Toth

Carey Petro

Hannah Hauptman

Jojo Emerson

Beni Yuzawa

Allison Hahn

Maddie Preiss

15 16

D’S

TO 6

3 3

2 1

Sarah Baker

Hannah Littmann

Ibby Han

Andrea Green

Liza Gibbs

Mari Watada

Kelsey Moffitt

Jenna Behringer

Kelly Willner

Catie Mitchell

TOTALS

1 1 3 1

GOALS

ASST

D’S

CHAPEL HILL - 7 JERSEY #

NAME

Laura Fradin

Dominica Sutherland

Katie Cubrilovic

Kiara Dean

Joy Chen

Kelly Rigsbee

Michelle Gay

Audrey Copeland

Hally Bohs

Jane Carsey

Klara Calderon-Guthe

Taylor Fisher

GIRLS

FINAL STANDINGS 1 YHB 2 Chapel Hill 3 Grady 4 University School of Nashville 5 YHB-JV

TEAM SPIRIT SCORES 5.00 YHB-JV 4.83 Chapel Hill 4.43 YHB 4.33 University School of Nashville 3.60 Grady-AIS

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT WINNERS DOMINICA SUTHERLAND - Chapel Hill KALLIE MONROE - Grady SOPHIA JELSMA - University School of Nashville KELLY WILLNER - YHB AMANDA PRESSMAN - YHB-JV

1 5

1 3

unknown

TOTALS

30 Grace Denney makes a pass during the championship game against Chapel Hill. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS

S U M M E R 2 0 12

BOYS SOUTHERN CHAMPIONSHIP

CHATTANOOGA CHAMPS: University School of Nashville Claims Inaugural H.S. Southerns Open Title

COMPILED BY USA ULTIMATE

• Seeded fifth in Pool B, Lakeside High knew they were a major underdog, but didn’t let that bother them, winning their first two games over higher seeds Brookwood and Carolina Friends before taking care of business and beating LC Bird. Lakeside’s only loss on day one came at the hands of the upstart Fayetteville squad.

USN, Pool B’s top seed and fresh off their Tennessee State High School title, looked to continue its success and posted a perfect 5-0 record on Saturday, firmly putting a stake in the ground and cementing themselves as the team to beat heading into Sunday. Zach Stern sets his sights on the disc. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ ULTIPHOTOS

With the captain’s meeting approaching early on Saturday morning, players from the 11 teams competing in USA Ultimate’s first H.S. Southern Championships could feel the humid air lurking. It was just another challenge that stood in the way of a regional title as teams not only faced high late-spring temperatures and the cramps and dehydration that went with them, but also a list of the top high school Ultimate teams from across the southern United States. When seeding was announced, a handful of teams were confident with their placement, while others wanted to prove themselves beyond the number that was listed in front of their names. Unlike the girl’s division, which went exactly according to seed, Saturday’s open division games included a bunch of upsets and notable moments, including:

• Independence,

the seventh overall seed, opened up Pool A with a forfeited win over Cypress Bay, followed by a difficult loss to Madison Central before things began to click. In the third round, they beat their in-state rival and number three seed Blackman before dispatching the tournament’s overall top seed, Grady High School.

• Fifth-seeded

Fayetteville High School opened play against its pool’s top seed, University School of Nashville and narrowly lost a 10-9 nail-biter on universe point before posting a come-from-behind win over higherseeded Brookwood thanks to smart handling by Abe Gambert (5 assists) and good cutting by Clayton Adams (4 goals). After the initial loss to USN, Fayetteville found their groove and went 3-1 to set themselves up for a shot at the title on Sunday.

Following pool play, the stage was set as the final four featured two number-one seeds (Grady and USN), as well as three and four seeds Fayetteville and Independence respectively. Given the upsets of the previous day, the tournament’s top two seeds would square off in one semifinal, while the dark horses would meet in the other. USN kept up its smart and fluid offense and beat the once-favored Grady High School 13-8 to earn a trip to the championship game. Opposing them would be Independence, who won a close 9-8 game over Fayetteville in the other semifinal bracket. Down four goals after the first half, Independence roared back to tie it at eights when sophomore Carter Reed threw a beautiful bending forehand as the hard cap horn blew and in the end zone teammate Cody Allem caught the game winning score to cap a 6-1 run and set up an all-Tennessee championship game against USN. The final game was a rematch from the Tennessee State High School Championships, where USN earlier scored a 13-10 victory. Playing at the regional level would determine who the best team in Tennessee truly was. Both teams knew their opponent and each other’s game plan well. At this point in the tournament, is was just as much about who had anything left in the tanks as it was about who the better team was. In the end, history proved to be an accurate indicator as the USN “Brutal Grassburn” posted a 13-7 in over their in-state rival to capture the inaugural USA Ultimate High School Southern Championship.

GAME STATISTICS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE - 13 JERSEY #

NN NAME ame

GOALS

ASST

D’S 1

TJ Lewis

Rosario Falzone

Jack Spiva

Eli Motyka

Andrew Bridgers

Connor Seitz

MIro Hurdle

Alden Neeley

Brandon Awh

Hayden Roche

Mitchell Lutz

Grant Given

Alex Russel

Matt Hoffman

Zach Stern

Isaac Gabella

Thomas Chickey

Grant Eidam TOTALS

NN NAME ame

Mac Mcclellan

Paul Jensen

Chase Hammond

Brad Tyrrell

Micah Howard

Lydia Lay

Hunter Smith

1 1

GOALS

ASST

D’S

TO 2

Carter Rae Nick Miller

Jeremiah Daniels

Samuel Howard

Taylor Jones

Riley Borough Trevor Presson

Cody Allem

Thomas Davis

Liam Weaver

Austin Steward

Zac Cohen

Foster Foy

Daniel Krenz TOTALS

S U M M E R 2 0 12

1 University School of Nashville 2 Independence 3 Grady 4 Fayetteville 5 Blackman

6 Lakeside 7 Brookwood 8 YHB 9 Caolina Friends 10 Madison Central 11 LC Bird

4.83 Grady* 4.83 Carolina Friends 4.75 YHB 4.43 Fayetteville 4.33 Lakeside 4.29 University School of Nashville

4.20 Independence 4.17 Brookwood 4.14 LC Bird 4.00 Blackman 3.67 Madison Central * won tiebreaker

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT WINNERS

FINAL STANDINGS

TEAM SPIRIT SCORES

INDEPENDENCE - 7 JERSEY #

BOYS

1 4 6

ZACK AVELLO - Blackman MAC MOTHORPE - Brookwood CRISPIN WHITTIER - Carolina Friends JORGE DE GOUVEIA - Cypress Bay CARLIN PURCELL - Fayetteville ALEX GLICK - Grady MAC MCCLELLAN - Independence JOE BOGAN - Lakeside JERICHO PAYNE - LC Bird SPENCER BROWN - Madison Central MIRO HURDLE - University School of Nashville JAY BOYLE - YHB

1 1

15 57

WESTERN CHAMPIONSHIP BOYS

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH Denver East Scores High School Westerns Title COMPILED BY USA ULTIMATE

With the USA Ultimate High School Western Championships heading to Ogden, Utah last spring and previous participants either not making the trip or playing in one of the other high school regional tournaments, a streamlined field of six teams west of the Mississippi battled it out in the Open division at Lakeside Sports Park. Half the field hailed from Colorado – Boulder, Denver East and Monarch – while Summit, Berkeley and Brighton High Schools represented Oregon, California and Utah respectively. With a 13-6 record, Denver East entered the tournament as the top seed and the team to beat. Boulder High, which lost to Denver

East in the semifinals of the Colorado State High School Championships just weeks earlier came in as the number-two seed and early expectations seemed to point towards an all Colorado final before a handful of upsets on Saturday shook up the rankings heading into Sunday’s bracket play. Fifthseeded Summit High School managed to crank out a 3-2 record in pool play, including upsets over Berkeley and Monarch, to break seed and earn a spot in Sunday’s fourteam championship bracket. The other three teams – all from Colorado – included the perfect 5-0 Denver East, Boulder and Monarch.

In the top half of the championship bracket Denver East faced a familiar foe in Monarch and scored a 12-9 victory to punch its ticket to the finals. In the bottom half, Boulder High School earned a 10-9 victory to set up a rematch of the state championships semifinal – this time for the title of USA Ultimate High School Western Champions. In the end, Denver East held seed and validated its reputation as the top team in Colorado (and the western United States) with a 13-8 win and a perfect 7-0 record. The boys from Denver East captured the championship in dominant fashion over local rival Boulder. PHOTO: ANDREW BUHSE

FINAL STANDINGS

TEAM SPIRIT SCORES

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT WINNERS

1 Denver East 2 Boulder 3T Summit 3T Monarch 5 Berkeley 6 Brighton

5.00 Brighton 4.83 Berkeley 4.83 Monarch 4.33 Summit 4.33 Denver East 4.17 Boulder

DYLAN OWENS - Berkeley JOSHUA ARMITAGE - Boulder SEAN ROBERDS - Brighton MARK RAWLS - Denver East HAYDEN HAUN - Monarch BRAEDON PETRUS - Summit

GAME STATISTICS DENVER EAST - 13 JERSEY #

NN NAME ame

BOULDER - 3 GOALS

ASST

Jaremy Harker

Will Lynn

Conor Curtis

Alex Shock

Andrew Post

Maxwell Bessesen

Mitch Carson

Micah Levi

Mo Scott

Bryce Igo

D’S

JERSEY #

NN NAME ame

Sawyer Gilbert

Josh Armitage

Nate Mankovich

GOALS

ASST

D’S

Dylan Hamilton

Jean-Philippe Millard

Nate Dana

Henry Martinez

Bryson Leach

Ben Van court

Taylor Ivey

Will Nelson

Alex Bacon

Graham Buhse

Steven Pearlman

Dann Indermill

Benjamin Lamport

Eric Miller

Azen Joffe

Oak Nelson

Jordan Lamport

Zach Baumann

Samuel Taylor

Jonathan Stirk

Mark Rawls

Henry Miller

Riley Carpenter

Kevin McGuire

Joe Kase

Ugljesa Janjic

Blaine Heller

88 ?

2 1 4

Jeremy Snyder

unknown

TOTALS

1 1

1 13

S U M M E R 2 0 12

unknown

TOTALS

1 1

W H AT ’ S T H E C A L L By: Jon Bauman, Chair of the USA Ultimate Standing Rules Committee

As players of a self-officiated sport, it is our responsibility to know the rules. This column features answers to your rules questions and clarifies common misconceptions about the rules.

If the time limit has been reached, do you still keep playing until a point is scored?

ANSWER

Unless there are special event rules in effect, yes. You always finish the current scoring attempt. The scoring attempt begins when the previous goal is scored, so even if the time limit is reached prior to the pull, the point is played to completion even though the outcome of the game may not be in doubt. Full details are in section V of the rules.

I was told by a knowledgeable Masters player that if there is a turnover and the disc lands in the end zone you must bring it to the line at a constant pace. For example: if I picked the disc up and started to walk it to the line, but then sprint the disc to the line to put it in play right away it would be a violation. Is that true?

ANSWER

No, there is no rule like this. The only thing that is close is the rule prohibiting intentional delaying (XIX.B):

It is the responsibility of all players to avoid any delay when starting, restarting, or continuing play. This includes standing over the disc or taking more time than reasonably necessary to put the disc into play. According to that rule, walking too slowly could be a violation, but changing to a faster pace would not. Any time someone tells you something you don’t know about the rules, I would ask them to show you in the rules where it says that. It may help to carry around a rulebook in your Ultimate bag. The thing about knowing the rules is that it’s a constant process. We generally don’t remember the exact text in our heads, just our interpretation of it, which tends to get skewed over time. That’s why it’s important to actually look at the rules regularly when you have a question because it keeps your recollection fresher.

Always keep playing until a point is scored regardless of the time limit. PHOTO: CMBTcreative

A throw goes to a receiver in the middle of the field of play. A defender appears to foul him in the act of catching the disc. The receiver calls, “foul”, catches the disc, and immediately turns upfield and throws an incomplete pass. The foul had no effect on the throw: it definitely happened before the thrower began any act of throwing. Is this a turn?

ANSWER

The applicable rule hinges on the time of the call relative to the establishment of possession. Most receiving fouls are called before possession is established, in which case it is a play-on according to XVI.C.2.a.2. If the call was after possession was established and before the act of throwing, XVI.C.1.a.1 applies, which is also a play-on. In either case, it’s a play-on and therefore a turnover.

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C O A C H E S P L AY B O O K

P R E S E N T E D B Y:

BY: Kyle Weisbrod Presented by: Five Ultimate

Dealing with Wind Considering the conditions of the College Championships this year and the frequent wind at Sarasota and pretty much every tournament ever in the North Central, dealing with the wind seems like a relevant topic. This article discusses how to throw well in the wind as well as a little defensive strategy for playing in the wind.

THROWING IN THE WIND There are three keys to throwing in the wind – Get spin on it, keep it flat, work with the wind, and release IO when hucking.

Get spin on it: Throwing a disc is all about physics. And I’m no physics major (heck I’ve never taken physics in my life), but 20 years of playing Ultimate tells me that when a disc loses spin its flight path is more impacted by the wind. The reason for this is that the spin keeps the rotation tight and lack of spin makes the disc wobbly. The more wobbly the disc is, the more opportunity the wind has to impact the flight of the disc. So, the more spin you can put on it, the longer that it will hold its edge. Spin is generated primarily from your wrist snap. Practice throwing short throws with lots of spin. Adding spin to your throws will give you additional edge control in all conditions. Keep it flat: Similar to getting spin on the disc, keeping the disc flat is all about minimizing how much the wind can impact the flight of the disc. This is a

simple concept – the less that you expose the disc to the wind, the less impact it can have on it. A perfectly flat disc is going to have the least amount of contact between the air and the disc. So, avoid “putting shape” (throwing OI or IO) on the disc where possible and definitely don’t open up the front lip too much.

Work with the Wind: The best wind throwers put the front lip of the disc up a little bit, even when throwing flat throws in the wind. The key here is to make sure that you’re using the wind to work with you. If you are throwing into the wind with the front lip up, the wind is going to get under the disc and push it up. Similarly, when throwing downwind, the wind will hit the top of the disc and push it down. Work with the wind by releasing low when throwing upwind and high when throwing downwind. As an added benefit, the wind near the ground is slower moving and so those upwind throws don’t have quite as much wind hitting them.

Release IO When Hucking: The Discraft Ultrastar discs we play with are “overstable.” What that means, is that when thrown flat, it will fade away from the direction of the spin. So a flat forehand thrown by a righty will fade to the left. In wind, that fade will open the disc up to the wind and blow it off course. In order to counteract it, throwers must release the disc with an inside-out (IO) edge. The added benefit of the IO edge is that you can use your body and put additional power behind it.

This article would have been helpful for teams competing in the last two College Championships. PHOTO: ANDREW DAVIS

There are a lot of ways to practice the cues and improve your wind throwing, but the number one way is throwing in the wind. Don’t let wind be a deterrent to practicing. If you or your team needs better throws in the wind (and who doesn’t), maximize throwing opportunities in drills when it’s windy. The beach is almost always windy, so if you are going this summer, bring a disc and get some practice. I’ve also found that in tremendously windy situations, there are some mental tricks you can do to improve your throws. Throwing upwind is not too different from throwing for long distances. Try tricking yourself in to imagining a receiver 25 yards away is actually 45 yards away and throw. This can help you begin to feel what you need to do to dial in your wind throws on a windy day.

DEFENSIVE STRATEGY There are several different approaches to playing defense in the wind but I think that all of the strategies fall in to one of two buckets: • Force teams into a position where they have to throw the most difficult throw possible • Force teams to throw as many throws as possible

Force Difficult Throws

Force Teams to Keep Throwing The other strategy is to give teams relatively easy options as resets or swings but make downfield throws difficult. This encourages teams to throw a lot of throws with the idea that the wind is making even easy throws low percentage enough. The goal is that, with enough throws, a team will eventually turn the disc over. Here there are several options but a standard three-person cup zone, a flat zone, or a soft-handler man defense can be effective. A flat zone can have either two or three people in the cup. The mark is force middle but flat and a step off. The off point should be backed up to allow the straight across swing but prevent throws through the middle more. This should make resets and swings easy but be ready to work to contain and prevent big throws once the swing is complete. A soft-handler man defense for these purposes should be straight-up and the mark should be a step-off the thrower. The other handler defenders should be poached in to the lane but ready to hustle to put a big, flat mark on when their person gets the disc. Downfield defenders can be varied depending on threats and a team’s individual strategy. Again, the idea here is to encourage lot of throws that gain little or no yards while making long throws difficult to get off.

There are several throws that become more difficult in the wind. Throws from the downwind sideline are WHICH ONE TO USE? challenging because every throw is an upwinder. Long Which approach you take is dependent upon your throws downwind can be hard because the wind is opponent and what skills you have. If your opponent going to accelerate the disc and make it hard to catch. is going to struggle with downwind hucks, regardless The two most frequent strategies used to force difficult of marks, and you feel confident in your ability to work throws are force one-way with fronting downfield and the disc a long way in the conditions, you may choose trap zone. Forcing one way with fronting downfield and to encourage downwind hucks. If you really need a tight dump defense will force teams to put the disc short field turnover to punch the disc in, you may deep (particularly for a team going downwind, this can choose a flatter defense that allows many throws with be a challenging endeavor). A trap-zone attempts to the hopes that you get a turnover near your endzone. lure a team to the sideline and then clamp down – putting three or four defenders around a thrower in The key to both offensive and defensive strategies one of the toughest positions on the field. This can is to make sure that everyone is on the same page. work on either the upwind or downwind sideline, For many teams, you don’t get a lot of opportunity but working out of the downwind sideline can be to practice your high-wind strategies so making sure particularly difficult. everyone understands both the goals (“no short field turnovers, don’t let them huck it”), as well as the strategy and roles (“we’re still going to try and work it up”) is critical. If you combine both strong skills and strategy in the wind, you’ll blow them out.

S U M M E R 2 0 12

INJURY TIMEOUT By: Jamie Nuwer, MD

Sports Nutrition for Ultimate I’ve had a lot of questions about sports nutrition lately so I figured it’s time to re-visit this important topic. In order to determine how many calories you’ll need take in, you first have to calculate your energy spent during a day of Ultimate.

STEP 1:

Estimate your resting metabolic rate using any resting metabolic rate calculator on the internet. This is roughly equivalent to how many calories you would burn if you stayed in bed all day.

STEP 2: Estimate how much time you actually spend doing each type of exercise during a typical day of Ultimate. PHOTO: CMBTcreative

STEP 3: Calculate the calories you burn per minute during each type of exercise using the following equation: Metabolic Equivalent Task (MET) Table

ACTIVITY

MET

Standing quietly

1.2

Walking slowly (2mph)

2.5

Jogging (12-minute mile speed)

8.0

Running (8-minute mile speed)

12.5

Sprinting

18.0

Energy Expenditure (cal/min) = 0.0175 x MET (from table below) x weight (in kg)

STEP 4: Multiply the energy expenditure for each type of exercise by the number of minutes you estimated in Step 2. Add these calories to your resting metabolic rate from Step 1 and you’ve got your total “energy out” for that day. For example, let’s say an average point lasts 1 minute from pull to score. During that point, the players spend 50% of the time sprinting and 50% running. Between points there are 2 minutes of walking and standing, again split 50/50. If we assume a game lasts 1 hour 30 minutes and we subtract 15 minutes for half time, timeouts, and calls, we have a game that is 1 hour 15 minutes long.

If we assume (again for simplicity) that a player plays every point of the game, of the 1 hour and 15 minutes, they will spend: 1/6 1/6 1/3 1/3

of of of of

the the the the

time time time time

sprinting (12.5 minutes) running (12.5 minutes) standing (25 minutes) walking (25 minutes)

For a 5’10”, 25 year old, 70kg male, that would be an expenditure of: Sprinting: Energy Expenditure = 276 calories Running: Energy Expenditure = 191 calories Walking: Energy Expenditure =77 calories Standing: Energy Expenditure =37 calories

TOTAL:

581 calories per 1.5 hour game per player-playing-every-point. That’s 2,324 calories for four games of Ultimate in one day. Note that this is in addition to the approximately 1,700 calories burned that day due to that 25 year old male’s resting metabolic rate. In order for the body to perform at its best, the player will have to take in over 4,000 calories that day! Once you have determined how many calories you need for one day of Ultimate, then you have to get those calories in a way that’s useful to the exercising body.

Carbohydrates are the most important source of calories when exercising and should make up 55-65% of your total calories. Some carbohydrates are converted rapidly to provide energy and others are converted slowly to provide energy later. The glycemic index (GI) ranks carbohydrates based on their conversion into rapidly available energy. Use this website to look up the glycemic index of various foods: www.glycemicindex.com. Protein and fats should comprise 10-15% and 25-20% of an athlete’s calories, respectively. Pre-tournament nutrition: eat a balanced diet, just like you should on any other day. Fat and protein requirements are the same on regular and tournament days. The only change is the amount of carbs. Post-tournament nutrition: in the first hour after exercise, you should try get a carbohydrate snack with a high glycemic index to replenish your carb stores. Researchers have found that in the first hour after exercise the body can absorb more nutrients than it can after this timeframe ends.

NEWS & NOTES TEAM USA WINS 4 MEDALS IN JAPAN

Team USA captured the gold medal in the Open division at the World Championships in Sakai, Japan. PHOTO: NEIL GARDNER

Team USA returned from the WFDF World Ultimate Championships in Sakai, Japan last month with three medals, including a pair of world titles in the Open and Women’s Masters divisions. In the Open division, Team USA crushed Great Britain, 17-5 in the championship game after narrowly defeating the Canadians 17-16 in its preceding semifinal. In the title game, Team USA was led by Beau Kittredge (2 goals, 3 assists), Mark Sherwood (1 goal, 3 assists), and Martin Cochran (3 goals). Team USA went a perfect 10-0 throughout the tournament, including a 17-7 victory over Finland in the quarterfinals.

Georgia Bosscher (3 goals, 1 assist) and Manisha Daryani (3 goals), Team USA couldn’t avenge its earlier 16-14 loss to Japan in pool play. Overall, Team USA went 9-3 in the Women’s division, including a pair of losses to Japan, a 17-10 semifinal win over Canada, and a trio of dominant performances (17-0 over Finland and Mexico and 17-1 over Singapore). In the other two divisions, Team USA placed fourth in both the Mixed and Open Masters categories. In the Mixed division USA lost its semifinal matchup against Canada, 17-6, then fell to Japan 15-13 in the bronze medal game. Team USA suffered the same exact fate in the Masters division, also losing to the Canadians in the semis and Japan in the consolation game, 17-12 and 17-14 respectively. In the Mixed division, Team USA finished with a 7-3 record, while the Masters squad finished 5-4. Overall, Team USA finished third in the overall medal count, winning three Ultimate medals. Canada led all countries with five, followed by Japan with four. Team USA and Canada tied for the most gold medals with two apiece.

2012 WFDF WORLD ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIPS MEDAL COUNT Division

Gold

Silver

Bronze

The Women’s Masters squad gave the U.S. its second gold medal with a 15-13 win over Canada. Led by Vivian Zayas (6 assists), Miranda Roth (3 goals, 1 assist), and Dominique Fontenette (2 goals, 2 assists), Team USA posted a 6-1 record, its only blemish a 17-8 loss to Canada.

Open

USA

Great Britain

Canada

Team USA also won a silver medal in the Women’s division, losing to host country Japan 17-13 in the championship game. Despite solid efforts from Alex Snyder (5 assists), Cree Howard (3 goals, 1 assist),

Women’s Masters

Japan

USA

Canada

Mixed

Canada

Australia

Japan

Open Masters

Canada

Australia

Japan

USA

Canada

Japan

Women’s

INAUGURAL U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS & CONVENTION IN THE BOOKS The inaugural edition of the U.S. Open Ultimate Championships and Convention (set to be featured in our fall magazine), took place in Colorado Springs July 5-8. Boulder Colorado’s Johnny Bravo took home the title in the Open division over Atlanta’s Chain Lightning. In the Women’s division, Seattle’s Riot outlasted Washington D.C.’s Scandal. Also, the Polar Bears from the Bay Area captured the Mixed division crown over Boston’s Slow White. In addition to the title of inaugural U.S. Open Champions, each winning team took home $1,500 in prize money from USA Ultimate. Deemed a success in reviews from participating teams and convention attendees, the U.S. Open Ultimate Championships & Convention attracted the top teams in the country, as well as several international squads, while the convention 66

The inaugural U.S. Open Ultimate Championships were held in Colorado Springs last July. PHOTO: CMBTcreative

featured speakers and presenters on a variety of topics including USA Ultimate’s forthcoming Strategic Plan, marketing and media, youth leadership, league development, team and athlete development, and an interactive workshop on maximizing athletic

potential in conjunction with the National Sports and Conditioning Association. Look for a complete wrap-up of the tournament in the fall edition of USA Ultimate, along with insight from convention sessions and news about the 2013 event!

NEWS & NOTES CORT FURNITURE SUPPORTS ULTIMATE CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway Company and the world’s largest provider of rental furniture recently inked a deal with USA Ultimate to serve as an official sponsor of USA Ultimate and its college championships. As part of its activation, CORT provided a player lounge for attendees of the 2012 USA Ultimate College Championships in Boulder, gave away a couch in a contest during halftime of the Open division final, and awarded $12,000 to the winning teams in Boulder and the USA Ultimate Division III College Championships in Appleton, Wis. CORT also co-hosted an interactive “chooseem challenge” on USA Ultimate’s Facebook page as contestants won special CORT-branded college championship gear from VC Ultimate.

Devens MA

“CORT is extremely pleased to be an official sponsor of USA Ultimate”, commented Bob Buzzell, CORT Vice President of Marketing. “We believe that Ultimate is a fast-growing and dynamic sport, one

GIRLS NORTHEASTERN CHAMPIONSHIP continued from p50

“All of our styles mesh well,” says Chen. “Sometimes you need a little bit more GIRLS of me; sometimes you need a little bit more of [Ken] Karnas; sometimes you need a little bit more of [Mike] Porter. It’s not just, you know, one thing all the time. [The girls] get a mix, and I think they respond really well too that.”

CORT Furniture dished out $5,000 to each of the winning teams at the College Championships in Boulder. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS

which represents a non-traditional and non-corporate athlete and fan base. Much like Ultimate, CORT student rentals represents something different, in our case a way to furnish apartments which requires no moving, no assembly, no need to search for furniture either online or abandoned in alleys, and no need to dispose of furniture after graduation. Since Ultimate is a hugely popular college sport, we felt that our sponsorship would communicate our commitment to the college student market.”

USA ULTIMATE ON SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook.com/usaultimate Twitter.com/usaultimate Youtube.com/usaultimate

The Lady Warriors would probably agree. “Porter is definitely the more upbeat coach,” says senior Julie Park. “He has a very positive motivation for everyone. Karnas, he can buckle us down but at the same time have fun. And Terence is basically the one who forces us to focus more, and he gives us intensity.” Adds Park, “Each practice is so different when we’re practicing with each different coach. But I think getting a taste of different types of coaching styles, it helps us balance our mental game.”

S U M M E R 2 0 12

Whatever the style, true success in girls’ Ultimate comes from synchronization between coaches and players. Whether that’s recruiting players already wanting to work hard, making one’s demands clear from the start, or adapting coaching to the players’ skill sets, getting everyone on the same page is essential to ending a chapter in a team’s history successfully.

NEWS & NOTES USA ULTIMATE AWARDS 41 STATE HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 24 STATES Girls

Mixed

Pioneer Valley Amherst JV

Sheldon South Eugene

MAINE Open

PENNSYLVANIA Open

Fryeburg Cape Elizabeth

Fox Chapel Lower Merion

Girls

MINNESOTA Open

Girls

Monarch Broomfield

Hopkins Minneapolis South

GEORGIA Open

Girls

CALIFORNIA Open Alameda Bruce Kirby

COLORADO Open Fairview Denver East

Collins Hill Grady

Cathedral St. Paul Charter

Open D2

MISSOURI Open

Lambert Decatur

De Smet Priory

Girls

NORTH CAROLINA Open

Atlanta International Grady

IDAHO Mixed Borah Boise

INDIANA Open Center Grove Bloomington

ILLINOIS Open

Chapel Hill Carolina Friends

NEW JERSEY Open Columbia West Windsor-Plainsboro North

Open D2 East Brunswick Manalapan

Girls

Neuqua Valley Harry D Jacobs

Watchung Hills Columbia

Girls

NEW YORK Open

Geneva Neuqua Valley

MARYLAND Open Calvert Hall Winston Churchill

MASSACHUSETTS Open

John Jay Fieldston

OHIO Open Holy Family Catholic Bexley

Girls

Amherst Varsity Lexington

Holy Family Catholic Ursuline

Open D2

OREGON Open

Hartsbrook St. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Preparatory

Open D3

Xaverian Brothers B Amherst Middle 68

South Eugene Sheldon

Girls Sheldon Corvallis

Radnor Allderdice

TENNESSEE Open University School of Nashville Blackman

TEXAS Open James Bowie Colleyville

UTAH Open Lone Peak Sky View

VIRGINIA Open YHB Woodside

Girls

YHB WT Woodson

VERMONT Open St. Johnsbury Academy BFA Fairfax

Girls St. Johnsbury Academy BFA Fairfax

WASHINGTON Open Northwest School University Prep

Girls Seattle Academy Northwest School

WISCONSIN Open Madison West Memorial Top to Bottom: Colorado. PHOTO: WILLIAM BROTMAN, Georgia. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT, Minnesota. PHOTO: ALEX FRASER

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