Great Lakes Regionals

Firstly: So I'm sitting in PS 240 this morning, flipping open the Daily Illini, and what? Jen "One Handed Catch" Weizeorick in the corner of the front page of the DI? NICE.
Secondly: God, writing this blog makes me the creepiest person alive with the amount that I have to Google/Creep. Stalkershit, Lisa Nowak driving with a diaper on-lookin' ass. Help me.

Anyway.
If you can believe it, the tournament we've been talking about and preparing for will finally be here in two short days. I know I say that about every tournament I write about, but I really do feel like Regionals creeped up on me this year. I feel like I've only been at the complex fields for a week or two, and now here we are, ready to storm into Detroit and make a name for ourselves. There are no seeds or pools up yet, but in the interest of putting this up before we actually leave for Detroit, I'm going to do this right now. So here goes, in alphabetical order:

Case Western Reserve
There isn't a whole lot to be found on the Case Western Fighting Gobies. They've got a colorful website that lets us know that they have 18 girls on their roster, and that their captains are Ashley Gan (AHAHAHAHA) and Rebecca Ciciretti. Players to look for on offense may be Ashley Gan and Megan Norr, and the player to look for on defense may be Elaine Leung. I found this through a newspaper article, and the pictures through their website. Though I can't find a roster for them, some of the Case Western girls may play with WhoDat?!, I don't know. The team's most complete score results come from the East Plain Sectionals, where they took the fifth and final spot to Regionals. During pool play, Case upset Oberlin, 10-8, and was able to advance all the way to the semifinals before getting smashed by Ohio State 13-3.

Chicago
I wrote a few weeks ago before Roll Call that we needed to crush Chicago to just get it in their heads that we are better than them. We did nothing of the sort at Sectionals, instead we barely eeked out a one point win after coming out strong. We just didn't finish in that game, something we had trouble with all weekend. We can't let that happen again, because this team is fired up. They think they can hang, and they had a pretty good Sectionals. They ended up fourth, with their only losses coming to us and Northwestern in two very close games.

Players of note are Emma Fuller, a 2006 Junior National alternate who played high school ultimate at The Northwest School, Nemesis players Yaya Tang and Servia "Beef" Rindfleish, and Nadine "Rhodes Motherfucking Scholar" Levin. I'm not sure people actually call her that, but I do. We're actually best friendsies because we appeared in a photo together. She is my fav. UChicago player, obv. But all that aside, something we know they like to do is that up-the-line handler cut. Something I noticed about their play is that they like to have two handlers back at all times, with one handler always at the front of the stack. When the disc is swung, that third handler looks first for the up-the-line cut, or the straight back for the swing. That third handler almost never cuts any other way.

The way I characterize UChicago is by this one play I remember from the weekend:
Deep ball to Beef, who is guarded by both Jayne and Catherine. Illinois smacks the D, but Beef lays out and still gets it. Just when you think you've got it in the bag, you don't. We can't let them back in the game, at any cost. Just finish shit.

Indiana
After a long season of hearsay, we finally met up with Indiana at Sectionals last weekend, ready for a dogfight. Indiana has been talking all season long about going to Nationals, about how we always skip out on tournaments when we're about to play them, etc. etc. We won that game, 15-7. We started out the game trading points, but after half, we turned it on, and we began peaking at the end, exactly what we should have been doing all day Saturday and Sunday. That being said, Indiana is probably pissed. They probably think shit was a fluke, and I'm willing to bet that they're going to come out fired up and ready to go this weekend. Some players of note will be #11 Dena Slattery, #4 Juliet McNamara (lefty, big backhand fakes), 2007 FOTY Jessie "Face" Yaeger (THIS NICKNAME WAS INSPIRED BY DUDES WATCHING OUR GAME, NOT BY ME. I REPEAT, I DID NOT COME UP WITH THIS NICKNAME.), and that tall chick, #8, I think. I don't really remember though.

Overall, Calamity Jane had a pretty successful Sectionals, getting 5th. Their closest game was a 11-10 win over North Park, with losses only to us, Chicago (9-13), and Notre Dame (10-11). Like I said, I know they're going to be coming at us hard if we meet up with them. Let's handle things the same way we did Sunday.

Loyola-Chicago
I never have very much to say about LUC. Their handling core consists of Rachel Garrett from Briefcase and these two other handlers (yellow hat or something like that?), as well as this one fake baller receiver who wears a bandanna. While earlier in the season they weren't exactly impressive, they didn't have a bad Sectionals. They beat UIC, who had a great CI, 13-7. They also beat incoming fourth seeded Wheaton 15-8. In their losses, they also played teams close, losing to North Park twice (8-9, 6-11) and Notre Dame (8-10).

Michigan
Michigan Flywheel. Goodness. Every time we meet up with them, we think we're better prepared, we've learned more, we're different, but it appears not, because each time we've played them, we've gotten straight blown out. It's like we can't figure them out, or we just don't ever show up to play against them. It looks like we'll have to though, if we want to get to Nationals.

Flyhweel has been playing great ultimate all year long. They won CCC and Elite Eights amidst great competition. That winning streak seemed to bleed over into the spring season, the early part of which it seemed like they were unstoppable. At their indoor tournament, no team was able to put up more than three points on them. At Queen City Tune Up however, Michigan met its match in North Carolina, and was beaten 10-3. At Texas Throwdown, Flywheel went in as the top seed, but went down in pool play and then in the finals to Wisconsin, in 10-13 and 10-15 losses. At Centex, Flywheel didn't exactly blank anyone, but went 3-1 in pool play, before losing 10-11 to North County in pre-quarters. At Michigan Sectionals, Flywheel just went in and took care of their business. Their closest competition was Michigan State, who managed at most 5 points on them. In general, Michigan has had a very good year, and a really great year against us. The two times we played them we got crushed, each time.

Roster-wise, this is a very upperclassmen-heavy team, with 13 grad students and seniors. Players of note include handlers #48 Katka Bodova and co-captain #10 Jenny "JChan" Chan (Seriously? So many almost Ashley's), and of course, the MOJO teammates and '07 All-Region players #6 Sarah "Surge" Griffith and #23 Emily "Ebae" Baecher. Surge is a huge threat in the cutting lanes, and I expect Ebae with her arsenal of big throws (in a lot of the write-ups I've read about Michigan, it seems like her backhand huck is the shit) to be looking for her downfield a lot. Michigan is a fast, athletic, smart team with a group of very capable handlers, and I don't think they really have an apparent "weakness" that we can really exploit. They're one of the best teams in the nation for a reason.

Michigan-B
Michigan-B Flywheel's roster is comprised of 18 girls, a third of which is upperclassmen. At some unknown tournament earlier this spring, Michigan-B got the chance to meet up with many of our regional foes, including Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio, and Northwestern, all games that they lost by sizable margins. Michigan-B won third place in the Michigan Section, beating Kalamazoo big 15-3.

Michigan State
We've had a little experience with MSU at Chicago Invite this year, having played them twice, once during pool play and as well as in the semifinal game. Both games were 13-6 Illinois wins. If I recall correctly, both games were won by cleaning up our game. We traded points, but the moment we played better defense and made better decisions with our throws, we pulled away and there was little they could do about it. Infamous also met up with other regional opponents early in the spring at the Michigan Indoor Tournament, with losses to Michigan and Indiana, and wins over Northwestern and Ohio. At Vegas, MSU went home with a bagel, but won Spring Tide with a perfect record. Despite having a rough Saturday at Chicago Invite, MSU was able to close out the weekend in third place by virtue of a 10-4 win over North Park. They had considerably better luck at Whitesmoke, which they won. They blanked DePaul in quarters, and beat up on Notre Dame 15-1 in semis before beating Wheaton 15-8 in finals for the title. MSU also had a successful Michigan Sectionals, but was just not able to figure out Michigan, losing twice to Flywheel by large margins.

(They don't have a UPA roster up and their website pictures are sort of small, so I won't really know very many names.) It's been a while since CI, but from what I remember, their main handlers are Kim Sabo of Mr. Briefcase and Skinny Sideways Trucker Hat with a Nose Ring. God I wish I knew her name. I'll know her when I see her, but for now, that's all I've got. At CI, it was pretty obvious that their offense ran through Kim Sabo, and she kept them close with a lot of beautiful puts. If you recall, Red Gloves was the speedy receiver who got most of their looks. Oh, and just for funsies, it is pretty clear to me that Karen Ziemianski has the BEST interests of anyone I have ever met ("Hobbies include going to KoRn concerts, getting backstage passes to KoRn, rocking out black accessories, and all things hardcore." Let's be best friendsies Karen Ziemianski!)

North Park
As Ashley mentioned, sometimes we treat North Park like a joke (they are the self-proclaimed "fattest kids at camp"), because of their affinity for stylishly (falsely assumed on their part) mismatched clothing, high release flicks sometimes by choice and sometimes out of desperation, and traveling. But it should be noted that they actually did have a pretty good year. They took 6th at Sectionals, beating both UIC (13-8) and Loyola (11-6). I don't know that they have had any "marquee" wins thus far, but they have had a very consistent, successful spring season, with finishes of 4th at Chicago Invite, 5th at Whitesmoke, and 9th at Roll Call.

Oh, and they've also got this blog, kind of like mine, but with all these videos and the suchlike. WELL IN CHINA YOU PAY A DOLLAR TO POO IN A HOLE IN THE GROUND. MY BLOG DOESN'T NEED YOUR NEW-FANGLED TECHNOLOGY, NOR DOES MY BLOG NEED VIDEOS OF YOU CALLING MEG/GOOSE A "JERK". I'll kill you.

No I'm serious, I'll go apeshit on your ass. I'll pee in your bag, is what I'll do.

Northwestern
Forgive me if you don't agree with me and think I'm being tactless, but talk about sandbagging. I guess it helps to get your younger players some valuable experience, but whatever, I'm over it. That being said, the Northwestern of old is back, minus a few faces (Vanessa Fajardo, Courtney O'Brien, etc.). They retain #2 Meghan Kirby who is the player they look to deep (although I'm almost positive that if you make it even a little hard for her to get the disc, it's going to throw her off) and #12 Sarah "Smalls" Kong (like I said, big threat as a cutter, not so much as a thrower). I remember #44 Victoria Gunderson and #26 Georgette "Jet" Moyle throwing up some beautiful flicks for their receivers to chase down. They've also got something of a revolving door of handlers with #15 Kim Streff, #77 Sara Miller, and #11 Tiffany Davis to complement Jet.

This is a big team that will fill up both sidelines with their constant talking. They've been to Nationals before, and I know they want to get back. But they too have their weaknesses. We've seen what happens when they start making stupid little mistakes, when we start to frustrate them. You-Know-Who invokes the wrath of THE ALMIGHTY and starts getting pissed and will start screaming at her teammates. On a personal note, even if we did beat them at Sectionals, I know that I still have a bitter taste in my mouth from last year. You all know how I feel about Northwestern. Beating them at CI, at Fall Out, and at Sectionals -- none of those matter to me. I'd rather beat 'em when it counts.

Notre Dame
We haven't played Notre Dame all year, but for first impressions, they are JACKED. Womb will be led by captains #17 Shannon Morrison and #13 Loretta Brown, as well as the cutting of #24 Megan Franke and the handling of #19 Katie Bilek. They also have #3 Katie Morin, 2007 FOTY.

This is the only team we haven't met up with at all this year, and it looks like they're having a really good season. They won Ultimax, advanced to the quarters of Southerns and Whitesmoke, and won the Central Plains Sectionals. Most of their games, however, were pretty close ones. For example, they beat Indiana 11-10, a team that we beat 15-7. That being said, they still won Sectionals. We didn't.

Oberlin
Oberlin Preying Manti -- another team that has decided to make my job difficult and has helped build my creeping ways. According to their website, Oberlin has 25 girls on their roster, a majority of which are juniors and first years. Some player notes of interest are that senior Caitlin Cordell's favorite ultimate play is the give & go and then a huck, and junior Anna VanderHorst likes playing in the cup, and her favorite ultimate memory is beating Illinois at Sectionals or Regionals, she can't remember. WELL THEN OBVIOUSLY IT WASN'T THAT GREAT OF A MEMORY. Most of Oberlin's score reporter is red from their trips to College Southerns, Roll Call, and East Plain Sectionals. At Southerns, they were smashed by practically everyone, but pulled out wins over Middlebury (14-3) and Haverford (9-7). At Roll Call, Oberlin played in a lot more closer games. The team never lost by more than three, and won a squeaker over VCU 13-12. Finally, at Sectionals, they underperformed in their pool, going in as the third seed overall, but only finished 1-2 in their pool. The next day, they bowed out early in quarters after losing to Wooster, 8-9.

Ohio
Ohio Stacked is another team that I had to creep on hardcore in order to find any information. Captain Beth Ann Borsz was All-Region last year, and apparently also took part in the '07 Poultry Days All Star game, where she had a couple catches and layout D's. It looks like they've got about 20 girls (I didn't count, their website says "about 20 girls") and they practice four days out of the week. It looks like they've been to a few tournaments this spring, including College Southerns. There, Stacked went all the way to the finals of the 13th place bracket, losing big to Cornell-B 15-5. They have also played in a few unnamed tournaments, where they got to play against teams like Michigan, Northwestern, Indiana, Michigan State, North Park, and Wheaton, all losses. At EP Sectionals, however, Ohio goes in as the top seed and plays like it for most of the tournament until the finals (no team scores more than 4 on them), when they are ousted by OSU in a close one, 10-11.

Ohio State University
Ohio State Fever are another team that I couldn't find much information on. Although I couldn't find a roster for the life of me, I do know they had an All-Region player last year, Sarah Schumacher (don't know if she's still on the team), and that they are coached by MOJO's (a team made up of players mostly from Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, so maybe some of these girls play on that team?) Deanna "Can't Stop" Ball(in'). At Hellfish Bonanza, OSU lost to only one team -- Salisbury, the eventual champions. Otherwise, they mostly blew out teams like William & Mary, Mary Washington, and Swarthmore. Before the shitstorm that ended Terminus after a few games, OSU gave Wake Forest, a team I predicted to go to Nationals, in a very close game that they eventually lost, 11-13. Finally, at East Plains Sectionals, OSU went undefeated in pool play, and all the way up until the finals, no team scored more than five points on this team. In the final, they won a tight game 11-10 over top-seeded Ohio to finish first in their section. Again, I don't know very much about this team, but they are coached by Deanna Ball, who has been playing ultimate for almost 20 years, and has been to Club Nationals as the captain of MOJO. They are obviously taught very well, and we really haven't seen them since last year, so we don't really know what to expect out of them.

Wooster
Wooster Betty Gone Wild is a very young team, started just a few years ago. I don't think their roster is very up-to-date, but if my speculation is correct, Amy Wadsworth should still be around as their captain. Amy Wadsworth and Emily Hilty (who might have graduated? Years-old rosters will be the death of me) are two women who played with the Wooster open team until the women's team was started. Based on their nearly two-year old roster, I'm going to guess that a lot of their players are juniors and seniors by now. At the East Plains Sectionals, Betty Gone Wild broke seed, going in seeded fifth and came out of the tournament third. They advanced all the way to semis before falling to Ohio, the top seed going in.

There are two bids to Nationals. Nationals. This is what we've been working for all year. Everything we've worked for, everything we've been thinking about ... and the time is now.