Texas Throwdown Preview

(Thanks to Meg for helping me out with some roster research!)

This upcoming weekend, a good old fashioned throwdown will be going down in Columbia, MO. Texas Throwdown will be bringing together some of the top women's teams in ultimate to face off. We've been placed in the same pool as Wisconsin, Truman State, and the mysterious "Blue Team". On Saturday, we'll be meeting up with this mystifying Blue Team. Our second game of the day is Truman State, followed by Wisconsin. Sounds a little bit like what we're used to seeing on Sundays. Only now it's Saturday. Hot shit.

Let's take a look at some of our competition:

Who is Blue Team? Honestly, I haven't the slightest, but they're in the power pool, so we can't take them too lightly. Other than that, I can't really speculate too much about them.

We've played Truman State a few times, and it feels like we just can't beat 'em. I'm thinking that this is the weekend we git 'er done. The team that they beat at Glory Days and MLC is nothing like the team they're going to see this weekend. TSUnami is a very gritty, tough team that beat Texas in the South Region last year to go to Nationals. They are a very tall, fast, and athletic team. This is a relatively young team with a lot of freshmen and sophomores who went to Nationals last year, but they have some really great leadership in co-captains Amanda Carron #8 and Mona Baucom #9. They are both baller handlers who keep the Truman State offense running smoothly.

Some of TSUnami's major players in the cutting lanes will be Noelle Peterson #17, Emily Tobias #5, and Morgan Shahan #11. I couldn't for the life of me find a picture of Morgan Shahan to jumpstart my memory as to who she was, but according to an Elite Eight's review she was dominating the cutting lanes, so watch out for #11. From recollections of playing her as well as looking at pictures of her play, Emily Tobias is an intense player on both sides of the disc. She's quick and very aggressive, and she will be a very tough matchup on O or D. Noelle Peterson ... ahhh Noelle Peterson. If I recall correctly, it was sort of gloomy at Glory Days. Lost in the haze of that gray Naperville sky, I was somehow matched up with Noelle, who is approximately seven feet taller than I am. She could also probably bench press me, and then snap me in half over her knee just for funsies. Well, long story short, Truman State's little coach-man (who tries altogether too hard, I mean, come on bro, seriously) started ever so tactfully yelling, "NOELLE'S GOT A HUGE MISMATCH! NOELLE'S GOT A HUGE MISMATCH!", which caused me to cut myself a little and cry black tears into my pillow. And then I got ROCKED. Glory Days? More like Sad Days. On a more serious note, Noelle is tall, quick, and athletic, and will be tough to contain on O.

The score reporting at Mardi Gras wasn't too great, and so I don't really have too much information about how Truman State did, but the one score that is up is that they lost to Vanderbilt, 11-9. We've been practicing our over-the-top throws in practice a lot in the past few weeks, and we should be able to put them to good use against Truman State's four-man cup. We've also given both our man and zone defenses practice at Trouble in Vegas, so I think we can disrupt their offense. But for realsies, we're seeded higher than them, and we've lost to this team enough. Let's make this the weekend we beat Truman State.

On (to) Wisconsin (points for the reference). Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin. You'll find that this team "blurb" will actually be sort of long, mostly because I'm a huge Wisconsin FanGirl, but also because it's just really easy to do the research on this team. Wisconsin Bella Donna will be playing at all of the sickest tournaments this spring. They won Mardi Gras, and finished third at Vegas. Along with Texas Throwdown, they will also look to contend at Stanford Invite and Centex. Talk about a full schedule. Despite suffering some major losses in the handler core of Callahan runner-up Holly Greunke, Anna Schott, Stephanie Knell, and cutters Julia Sheahan (supaman that ho!) and total beast Claire Mowbray, Bella Donna is back in black (and green) and still looks as studly as ever.

Captain Georgia Bosscher #19 can pull full field. Georgia Bosscher can throw flick BOMBS with just the flip of her wrist. Georgia Bosscher will layout D you. Georgia Bosscher will play in her underwear against you and still look good. Georgia Bosscher will humiliate you, posterize you, and shame you, and when she's done she'll shake your hand cordially. Georgia Bosscher is the number one stunner. We all know that.

But when you're busy fretting about Georgia Bosscher (heretofore referred to as "Georgia" or "GB", because it's my blog and I can pretend like I'm best friends with her if I want), that allows Courtney Kiesow #99, the other Bella balla (sorry, I'm sure you knew this one was going to pop up somewhere) to play her game, cool as the other side of the pillow. Courtney was co-captain with Holly Greunke last year, and is co-captain again this year for good reason. She's a very composed leader with super sweet throws who seems to be wreaking havoc on every square inch of the field at all times. Something to watch for, though, is that she will take you deep and cut back in every time.

Emelie McKain #17 is a sick NASTY (let's count the number of times I've used "sick nasty" in this blog ...) freshman handler who played high school ultimate at Andover. Not only that, she was one of the youngest people on the USA Junior National team in 2006. She was a Junior National player at the age of 16. Whaaaaaaaat. You might see her 4'11 self on the field and be like, "Meh, my shrimpy little brother is taller than her." ERRONEOUS. ERRONEOUS ON ALL ACCOUNTS. She will fuck your shit up. She's got sick break throws and will use them whenever she damn well feels like it, and she lays out on D. If I recall correctly, she was also laying down some GB-like pulls at Glory Days. Just because she's a Bella newcomer doesn't mean that you can leave her alone.

Some other main handlers that Bella uses are Shira Klane #4, Megan Vingers #26, Lucille Strawn #42, and Elizabeth Vu #1. Shira Klane is a sophomore stud who has the experience of handling in big games at Nationals last year. If I'm not mistaken, she also played ultimate in high school, so she too is experienced. She's athletic, and very physical on defense. On one particular point at Vegas, I was able to get a break off on her, but not without her completely laying out in every attempt to stop it. Elizabeth Vu is a grad student, and is the taller Asian on this team. She's very level-headed, doesn't panic, and is quick on her feet. She's also got some buttery-smooth, smart throws. I couldn't find a picture of her, but last we met she was wearing a visor, if that helps. Lucille Strawn, who typically wears a thick headband, is another very experienced member of this team. She's a senior with the throws, and also plays tough D. Word on the street is that she came up with a sick point block on North Carolina at CCC on UNC's goal line, so you know she's big time and ready to bring it. Megan Vingers, who was rocking the backwards trucker at TiV, is a small, quick player who will also be dropping back to handle.

Some of the main cutters working the lanes will be Laura Bitterman #3/#8 (I've seen her wear both numbers this season), Frannie Tsukano #7 (thick headband), and Kari Rongstad #22 (short, bleach-blonde hair). Frannie is one of Wisconsin's quick, crafty receivers. She has been a pretty big receiver for them for at least the last two seasons, and she's got the wheels for both taking you deep and cutting in hard. Even though she's not very tall, she can work you all over the field if you let her. Kari is a receiver in much the same mold as Frannie. She's a fast, aggressive cutter who can also play D. Ok, so Laura Bitterman. First off, I just want to say that I'm really, really jealous of her. Why, you ask? Because she's got a name that was just ripe for nicknames, I mean, come on. Little Bit/Lil' Bit, Bit Bit, Kibbles n' Bits (this would work better if someone on the team had a last name that had "Kib" in it, so they could be a tag team), Bittie, Bits/z, etc. Also, not that I asked her or anything, but I'm fairly certain that she's totally Jewish, and I gotta holla, or, challah, at my fellow Jews.

Oh God, it would be highly unfortunate if Wisconsin ever found out about this blog -- they would think I'm such a d-bag. But I don't mean it, for realsies. Ok, ok, but seriously.

The main thing about Laura Bitterman is that she's fast. She dominated the competition at Fastest Woman at Nationals last year. But let's not forget that we're fast too, so don't get intimidated. She will bring it on both sides of the disc and she will bid for a lot of stuff on O and D, as we saw in the last game.

Wisconsin has a wealth of very talented experienced players and athletic rookies. Many of them also played on the Madison Jazz club team together, further cementing their chemistry. Wisconsin is a very fast, disciplined, athletic team, and most of them have throws. I hope that they remember though, that we played them really close at TiV. I'm talking, they were excited and probably very relieved when they were finally able to score a break on us. But just because they're Wisconsin doesn't mean we're just going to roll over and let them dominate.

On a totally unrelated note, upon review of Wisconsin's Mardi Gras highlight reel, it became apparent to me that our CCC bid theme song, "Harder Better Faster Stronger", was duplicated, some might even say stolen. NOT COOL, BRO. It's ok though, because Daft Punk's version is leagues better than Kanye's sampled version. Sorry Kanye, "Graduation" was nowhere near as good as "The College Dropout". ALSO. Can we talk about the use of music in this baby? The transition between "Stronger" and "Music is My Hot Hot Sex" was rougher than my legs. ALSO. The use of that Electric Six song made me want to cry: 1) Because now I'm going to be listening to that song non-stop for the next week, and 2) The song itself just makes me sad because the only fire that should ever happen at Taco Bell is the sauce. Damn, bro. I do have to say though, I like that they were listening to Feist in the car. That being said, I'm still a big BD fangirl (mostly because I think green and black are cool), and I like playing them because I think they're a pretty clean, extremely competitive team that brings out the intensity in our team. I'm also a big UCLA fangirl (as noted by the audible gasp I let out when I read Meg's forward from Anna Nazarov.), but I'm sure nobody knew that, because I'm sooooo subtle about it. ANYWAY.

Texas is a team we've heard a lot about but have yet to play. They dominated the competition at the Florida Winter Classic, beating quality teams in Florida, Wake Forest, and North Carolina. However, they didn't do very well at Trouble, not even making it into the championship bracket after losing three straight to UBC, Washington, and UCLA. Earlier in the year at CCC, they took third. In Chattanooga, they played Michigan and Wisconsin to 11-7, and also beat Vanderbilt 11-6. No matter what their results, Texas is another stacked team. They have a lot of returning talent in seniors and grad students in Natalie Espino #54, Marjo Manalang #15, Michelle Ng #44, Gina Phillips #23, Mindy Rosenberg #11, and Becca Shelton #22.

Becca Shelton was All-Region in 2006, and has elite club experience with Showdown. She is a true baller, and will bring it on both sides of the disc. She's a tough defender, and will shred you both as a handler and as a cutter. Shelton also has great chemistry with Michelle Ng, a grad student who currently balls with Texas but previously balled hard with Berkeley. Both have great throws and will beat you with their break throws. Marjo Manalang, Shelton, and Gina Phillips are all players who went to Nationals with Melee back in 2005, so they know what it's like to play on the big stage. Melee is coached by Cara Crouch, a former Texas star who also currently plays for Showdown, so this team has probably been taught very, very well. According to a few tournament write-ups, Texas is very athletic top to bottom, and I don't doubt that they have some talented rookies. One rookie of note is Janel Venzant #99, who is apparently a beast on D.

On Texas' website, they have a list of links to the websites of who they consider to be "Top Teams". We are on that list. We didn't get the chance to meet up with them at CCC, and we finished better than them at Trouble in Vegas. They're acknowledging that we're someone to keep an eye on, so let's not disappoint them, eh?

Vanderbilt is sort of a strange team. At Mardi Gras, they beat a lot of teams we've lost to in very close games, including Iowa State 12-10 and Truman State 11-9. However, they were straight up trounced by Wisconsin, 13-1 (and were beaten earlier in the season at CCC by Wisconsin by a similar score). If you recall, they were the same team with the janky four-man cup that beat us at CCC.

Katie Patterson #14 is the baller of this team. She apparently has got some slick throws and she is always down for a huck. Jamie McCormick #7 is another handler for this team, who enjoys the low-release forehand, "especially when it breaks Truman State's really annoying trap." Come on now, Jamie! That's really just the pot calling the kettle black, silly goose. A popular target for the VUDU handlers may be Erica Zwisler #9, who is a distance runner with an affinity for laying out.

All in all, I have a personal distaste for Vandy. I still can't believe we lost to them at CCC, and I'm still convinced that they're a fluke. I mean, they seriously think they have a rivalry with Wisco. For realsies guys? You sort of have to at least play them close to make it a rivalry. Wisconsin destroyed you, bro. So janky.

Pittsburgh will also be there, and they were a team to watch earlier in the fall season, doing pretty well at Elite Eights. Like Michigan, they have a core of experienced, smooth handlers who run the show, led by Lucy Gillespie #8. They also bring back 2007 All-Region player Jen Kacin #2, and they too play a four-man cup. Danger also did pretty well at QCTU, losing only to Georgia and beating teams like North Carolina and Emory.

Finally, Michigan. Michigan and that fucking cowbell. Ugh. As we all remember, Michigan rolled through the competition and won CCC and Elite Eights this past fall. Instead of playing TiV, they played Queen City Tune Up. They destroyed everyone in pool play, with their closest score being 13-8. But then, Michigan was beaten in semis by North Carolina, 10-3. What happened? There isn't a write-up about it, and I don't know anyone on Michigan or North Carolina, so it's hard to tell. QCTU was a topsy turvy tournament. Michigan was unseated in semis, and just when you thought North Carolina would win, no, it was Wake Forest. Who? No idea. But the point is that Michigan is not invincible. As good as they seemed earlier this fall, they were beaten by another team that we handled at CCC. Anything can happen. That being said, Michigan is a very experienced team. The team has 13 grad students and seniors. It seems like their website roster hasn't really been updated too much in the past four years, but we know that they have a good number of ballers. One major player is handler Emily Baecher #23. She played her high school disc at Amherst, was a Junior Worlds player in 2004, and is like, a poster girl for NUTC. She also has valuable club experience playing a primary handler position with MOJO at Nationals this past season. The girl is a beast, and she's only a junior. She's got mad throws, will break you at will, and she can send deep bombs with the best of them. She will definitely be a player to watch. Her partner in the handler core will be lefty grad student Katka Bodova #48 (I think she's the redhead, I'm not 100% sure though). Sarah "Surge" Griffith #6 is another baller status player on Flywheel. She is probably going to be the main target for a lot of Michigan's throws, so playing her smart and tight will be key. Like Wisconsin, Michigan is another fast and athletic team full of smart players who all have throws. Michigan has the deep shots, but is also adept at moving the disc up the field patiently. But the team that Michigan beat at CCC is different from the team that Michigan will see at Throwdown. If we want to go to Nationals, it's Michigan that we have to go through. We've been running our asses off and practicing hard, and we should be pumped to meet up with Michigan again. We've brought it to some West Coast teams that Michigan has yet to even see, and we've hung around with some really tough teams that probably would have pummeled us in the fall. Let's show Michigan that there's more than one team in the Great Lakes, and that that annoying-ass cowbell is a bad, bad choice.

Due to time constraints and one fucking ridiculous Chinese T.A., I won't be able to do a very in-depth writeup on the other teams that will be at Throwdown, but I can say that St. Louis has a very upperclassmen-heavy team with one player who has four brothers who've played ultimate. Also, two teams from our region will also be present: Indiana and Chicago. We know that both Indiana and Chicago think they can battle but uh, let's remind them otherwise.

We've been working really hard at practice, pushing ourselves to keep getting better and better. At this past Tuesday's practice, we did some intense running that really pushed me. I was never closer to seeing my Zorba's gyro in regurgitated form. With each lap, I felt my body getting more and more tired, my lungs working harder and harder, my breaths getting shorter and harder to come by. The dry air of the Armory wreaked havoc on my body and I just wanted to fall over after every lap. But Goose said something that I think we should really let marinate in our heads: Don't worry about the pain -- let Michigan worry about it. Don't think about how much it hurts, just keep making Michigan hurt. We've been really busting ass, and I'm not sure that Michigan has been working as hard as we have. Even if they have been, don't even think about that. Think about all the times you threw outside when the wind was about to take your face off, and think about all those squats you did and all those laps you ran. It's time to meet up with Michigan again and let all that hard work pay off.

On that last lap on Tuesday, looking up at Goose and Tania in front of me, knowing that Kristi was right next to me ... it was nuts. I was going out of my mind delirious and that gyro was pushing its way up my esophagus and I kept pushing hard because, well, that's what you do, but I also found myself pushing hard because I knew everyone else was too. Those girls running with me aren't about to let up, so I shouldn't either. They're hurting and huffing and puffing just as much as I am, and they're going to keep pushing. Just because I slow down and take it easy doesn't mean anyone else will, and I sure as hell don't want to get left in the dust. Let's bring that mindset into this weekend. Don't ever give up on the field because your teammates won't either. We pick each other up. We push each other. We hurt for each other. That's what a team does.

We are playing in this tournament's power pool, and we've been ranked on NUMP two weeks in a row (we've slipped two spots since Vegas). I don't really believe in the word "deserve", so I won't say that we "deserve" to be higher or lower on that list. I'm just going to say that, in the words of Kanye (because I bashed him earlier), let's be A-list, and not someone who just barely made it on a list.

Are you ready? Let's go throw this shit down.


P.S. I saw this picture and then I saw this one and I seriously lulz-ed a little.
P.P.S. If you make me a mix cd, I'll make one for you, I swear. I'll call it the "Joann Wong" Starter Kit, a la Seth Cohen circa Chrismakkuh during the first season of "The O.C.". Yeah, I really did just make that reference.