Nationals '08 (FINALLY)

[In case you're reading this within 10 minutes of my posting, I realize that it's just a blob of text. I lost my formatting because of that damn Asian emoticon. I'm frantically fixing everything right now.]

Two new polls, ya'll. Do it to it. Oh, and if for whatever reason you haven't already, GO VOTE for Callahan. Megan J. Hofner, Courtney Kiesow, and Sarah "Surge" Griffith. Meg's the one who just sent a perfectly-placed hammer 45-yards upwind (after meticulously directing you to the best place on the field for you to receive it), making sure to drop it ever so daintily into your waiting hands. Courtney's the one who just tooled you on an in-cut and before you could even catch up to put on a mark, turned around and effortlessly sent a perfect flick into the endzone for a score. Surge is the one who just D'd you in the cup and then flew downfield for the sky 'n score in the endzone before you could even find the "6" on her back (that's all you ever really see of her anyway). In case you didn't remember who I was talking about. (MIDWEST HYPE MACHINE HOLLA)


Anyway, sorry guys, long time no relevant post. I have no excuse, I've just been getting settled back in Chicago (getting settled = sleeping away 80% of the day). So, Natties '08. Two-time spectator. Hey, can you give me a sec? I think Disappointment and Depression are knocking at my door, I gotta go see what they want. Oh, and Heartbreak was here a while ago, he says hi.


Okay, now that it's understood that I'm writing this with a heavy heart, here goes nothing.

[Keep in mind that I wrote these last week ... instead of my final papers >.< The Show:

1. UCLA
This is really close. I can't decide whether to put UBC or UCLA as first, but because I'm a true Blu fangirl, UCLA is at the top of my list. No stranger to the national limelight, UCLA has been here many times before (I want to say this is their third trip to Natties in a row). In 2006 they were the National runner-up, and last year they played in the National Championship game as far as I'm concerned in quarters against Wisconsin.

Despite losing a drop-dead baller senior class last year (don't even get me started), they come back with a very good group of returnees. When people talk about All-Region and Callahan nominations from UCLA, there is always more than one name that is mentioned -- I've heard Angie Sanan, Annie Banks, Cheryl Prideaux, Yvonne Leung, and Andi Coleman (Can we discuss this picture for a few minutes? Cool, thanks.) all being thrown around. I've also read a bit of RSD rookie hype about their freshmen cutters Adrienne Baker and Katie Falk, so it looks like Blu has no shortage of playmakers.

Another reason I have UCLA here is because I feel like they have been the most consistent team all year. Their score reporter is awash in green, and that's saying something, as I think they've been a contender at every tournament they've played this year -- a list that includes Vegas (2nd), Pres Day (1st), Stanford Invite (1st), and Centex (3rd). I feel like their issue is against teams from the Northwest, but they won't have to worry about Stanford anymore, who gave them two losses on the year. They have beaten 8 (Wisconsin, UCSB, Carleton, Texas, UBC, Northeastern, Oregon, and Washington) out of the 15 other teams going to Nationals. As for the other six, well they lost at the finals of Vegas to Ottawa, and they have yet to meet the remaining five teams. But, as I know better than anyone, your wins and losses pre-Series don't really matter. As long as you get the 'W' at Regionals, you've played well enough to get a bid to Nationals (see both Illinois men and women). That being said, I think that even though most of UCLA's tournament wins came early in the spring season (this makes it sound like they "fell off" or something, which they didn't), there shouldn't be too much to worry about in Blu Nation. I think their year-round exposure to top level competition and their big-game experience will really show up in Boulder. Like I've said before, you can't teach experience, and UCLA has had experience going deep into this tournament, so I expect more of the same from them.

Oh, post script? Cheryl Prideaux was the one who laid down that ridiculous bitching on me at Vegas after our gross mismatch. It was sick, trust me. I think first she skied me on an in-cut, and then she got this big layout grab in the endzone while I was trailing something like four miles behind her (not poaching, just slow). God, how did that (mismatch) even happen? Oh well, add that to the list, I suppose. Noelle Peterson, Cheryl Prideaux, who else out there?

2. UBC
Like I said, it was really hard for me to decide who to put as the top seed, UCLA or UBC. UBC is a ridiculous, ridiculous team. UBC has also been to The Show three years in a row, and I like their chances this time around. This is one of those teams that I've only ever heard a lot about, but don't really know too much about. Even so, I believe the powerhouse known as Kira Frew is every bit as ridiculous as she is hyped to be. I watched UBC play Wisco last year, and Kira's throws straight left me with my jaw on the ground. She's got every throw in the book, and she's got them down to an art. She was also phenomenal on D -- her speed and tenacity just made her a nightmare on defense. From what I've read, she's the heart of this team, and it's a safe bet that she'll put this team on her back if she has to.

This isn't to say though, that UBC doesn't have other ballers. This team benefits from having Canadian Junior Worlds players on their team, including Tory Hislop. Apparently Tory wasn't present at Stanford, which made a big enough difference that they lost 9-13 to UCLA. From RSD hype, I've gathered that she's another big offensive player for UBC, with big, accurate hucks. For some reason, I keep remembering UBC as a team that played really great D (maybe it was all those hours in the car on the way to Columbus). I don't know if I'm remembering correctly or not, but either way, this is obviously a talented, athletic, and experienced team, and you've all heard me sing the praises of experience.

UBC has had a pretty successful season thus far, with good showings at Trouble, Stanford, and Centex. At Trouble and Stanford, the common denominator in UBC's losses was UCLA, who has handed UBC three losses on the year. The Thunderbirds more than made up for it with a great Centex. They had an absolutely dominating run to the finals, crushing teams left and right, with their smallest margin of victory being five. In the finals, they won a close one 9-7 against Washington. A few weeks later, at Wash/BC Sectionals, Washington got the better of UBC twice. At Regionals, UBC came back and took care of business, beating Washington 12-5. There have only been two teams all season to hand this team losses, and they have been Washington and UCLA. I think it's obvious that UBC is a team capable of domination, but will UCLA and Washington pose big challenges to this team?

3. WASHINGTON
A few weeks ago, before Regionals, I made a bold claim that I didn't see Washington losing anytime soon.

Ok, so I was wrong when I said that, but I still think this is a hot team. They've been playing very good ultimate all season long, playing deep into every tournament they've played in (Vegas, Stanford Invite, Centex). They've demonstrated that they can run with any team in the country This spring, they've played nine of the fifteen other teams that will be present at Nationals, with good results. They lost to UCLA early in the season, but beat them by six at Centex. They've had a good back and forth going on with UBC, losing to them at Trouble and Centex, and then beating them twice at Sectionals. Then, a few weeks later, they lost to them again at Regionals. If everyone plays to seed, there's a possibility that these two teams will meet up with each other again, and that's a game I'd pay to see. (I probably won't though, too Jewish.)

Behind the throws and cutting of Seattle Riot teammates Claire Suver and Shannon O'Malley respectively, I see this Washington team going very far. Both of these players have the ability to dictate the flow of a game, and while they're both ballers for sure, they have the luxury of a lot of help from Washington's stacked roster.

4. OTTAWA
I think it was Match Diesel who said that in seeding, you have to be able to defend your selections. I've heard a lot about Ottawa. I've even heard that they were going to win Natties. They won Vegas, and they pwnt at ME Regionals (no opposing team scored more than 3). That might be the case, but I can't put them above teams that have have brought it all year long. I can only make judgments based on who's showed up, not who might show up. I mean, Ottawa could very well show up and mess everyone up, but I only have one major tournament to go off of (Vegas), while with many of these other teams, there are a lot of results to look at. It's hard to seed based on hype, especially with a team as good as Ottawa.

That being said, the Lady Gee-Gees have a roster of absolutely recockulous players. They have a slew of Canadian Junior Worlds players, and many players that have made quite a splash on the Canadian club scene. Alex Benedict, Anne Mercier (She's only a sophomore? I feel like I've heard/read her name many, many times before), Kate Crump, and Carrie Lugg are all names to be looking for this weekend. Like, I said before, prior to the College Series, Ottawa played in only one major tournament, Trouble in Vegas, and they pretty much dominated. They haven't lost a game yet this spring, and it might even turn out that they won't lose any.

5. WISCONSIN
So it's obvious that I'm a major Bella fangirl. You all know it, I'm absolutely shameless, I've found love, familiar story, etc. etc. That being said, I think Wisconsin has a great shot at playing spoiler this weekend. It seems like they lost a little bit in their step a little later in the season, not performing as I had expected at Stanford and Centex, but I think this is a team that knows when to regain their footing, much like Stanford.

Wisconsin has a roster stacked with super stars and fantastic role players. They've got great athletes up and down their roster, and everyone on that team has solid throws. Wisconsin has the talents of the incomparable Georgia Bosscher, who is a flat baller (it's okay, we don't have to argue about it), Laura Bitterman (Bitterman vs. Surge, is the word on the RSD-streets) who is a freak, fastest kid alive (How could Truman State not get the reference?!), and Emelie McKain, to name just a few on a roster stacked with ballers. And no offense to anyone reading this who fancies themselves pretty good at ultimate, but Emelie McKain probably has better throws than you. Not only that, but I'm willing to bet that she gets more layout D's than you too. From the few times that we've played Wisconsin, she's always played like a complete stud, and she was even a co-Texas Throwdown Baller Bids winner.

But the person I'm looking at to really be the difference maker for Bella Donna is Courtney Kiesow. She's like your cool, level-headed friend who bails your ass out of the dumb situations you find yourself in. What I mean to say, is that I expect her composure and level-headed decision-making to really lead Wisconsin. On top of all that cool, her combination of speed and pin-point accurate throws will make her an extremely difficult match-up for many teams.

Courtney also has a nice Callahan vid, by the way, which only cemented her as one of my votes. Oh, and whoever edits the videos? Your use of Tegan & Sara in an ultimate highlight video almost caused me to shit myself with joy. Like, I had to change my underwear, just as a precaution; I lost control over the muscles in the lower portion of my body. So excited.

6. UCSB
I'm ashamed to say that I don't know much at all about UCSB, especially since I saw them play a few times at Nationals last year. I've heard/read quite a bit about their two big players, seniors Andrea Romano and Katie Barry. I guess Andrea's been out for much of this season with a foot injury, but she's back at just the right time. Katie Barry looks like an all-around threat, as a dominant cutter, a top defender, and throws to boot. OH, and I think we sat by Katie Barry's mom in the stands last year. I seem to remember that Katie Barry was out for the Championship game, and this woman sitting by us was telling us about her daughter on UCSB, who got hurt and couldn't play. Haha, just a funny tidbit.

In an IC Ultimate article about Katie Barry, it said that this Skirts team was looking pretty green at the beginning of the year, with mostly first and second year players. It looks like that fact hasn't stopped them from playing very well this season. They finished fourth at Santa Barbara (losing by margins of only 1 and 2 points to Stanford, UCLA, and Cal) and sixth at Vegas (beat Colorado x2 and Oregon, lost a close one to UBC 12-13). They also played really well at Stanford Invite, upsetting Wisconsin and winning their pool, advancing all the way to semis, where they were edged out by the slimmest of margins by UBC. At Centex, they again won their pool, until they fell in bracket play in close games to Pitt and Wisconsin. Like I said, I don't know very much about UCSB (or most West Coast teams, while we're at it), but this is another team that benefits from playing top competition all throughout the spring season, and I think that big-game experience translates into greater composure and a better ability to just take care of business when the time comes.

7. MICHIGAN
There are teams that have speedy players, and there are teams that are just really fucking fast. Michigan is the latter. I thought chasing around Tania and Melissa at practice would prepare me for all the fast players out there -- well shit was I wrong. On that first point against Michigan, my girl ran me ragged up and down that field and then dragged my body around, with its limp arms wrapped around her ankles, wiping up bird poo and day-old spit (80% of which was probably mine) and sweat, damn. So yeah, Michigan's fast.

A lot of that speed comes in the form of a 5'5 receiver they call Surge. She'll play in-your-shorts D and then blaze you for the deep ball. You can know everything about a person's game -- their tendencies, their weaknesses, but when they're as fast as Surge is, it almost doesn't matter. It's just plain difficult to guard someone with that kind of speed. Emily "Ebae" Baecher is as good as advertised. She's fast, athletic, and her throws are HUGE. Her throws are pretty, and damn they are accurate (I've seen them with my own four eyes). But if shutting her down is your strategy, then you're forgetting about someone else on that team with throws as big as as my spare tire now that my season's over -- Katka Bodova. This lefty's got enough break throws to go around, and she too, can huck the shit out of the disc.

While EBae gets all the ink for being straight balling, Jenny Chan is also an invaluable part of Flywheel's offense. She's smart and quick, and whenever Michigan needs a reset, she gets it for them. It doesn't hurt that her throws are smooth as butter, too. Helen Huang is another player who doesn't get a lot of attention but does a lot of the intangibles for Flywheel. In our finals game against Michigan, I swear to God, Helen was all over the field. She was coming up with D's and making catches when it mattered. She's one of those people who you love having on your team, but as an opposing team, you just watch her do little thing after little thing and you can't do anything but smack your forehead over and over.

This season, Michigan has been playing deep into most of the tournaments that they've played in. They were upset by North Carolina at QCTU in semis, but bounced back with a second place finish at Texas Throwdown, where they lost to Wisconsin twice. While they beat two Natties teams (Carleton and Wake Forest) at Centex, they lost big to UBC, and also lost to Oregon and North County, finishing 11th. After that though, Michigan became untouchable. At both Sectionals and Regionals, no team was able to score more than 5 points on them. They were just plain dominant, hulksmashing their way through regionals. I think Michigan's speed and veteran handlers can help them make a splash this weekend.

8. OREGON
Geez, another team I don't know very much about. Sadly I actually have this to say about a couple more teams on this list, but that's how it goes, I suppose. Oregon has played in all the top tournaments this spring, including Vegas, Stanford Invite, and Centex, facing many of the most competitive teams. They beat Texas, Michigan, and North Carolina at Centex, have lost close ones to UCSB (7-9, 11-12) and Washington (9-11, 6-8). Perhaps most indicative of this team's talent is that they made it out of the absolutely unreal Northwest Region. Despite losing to UBC and Washington, they beat a tough team in Western Washington twice, and not only had they beaten them earlier in the season, but they also beat Stanford when it mattered, 13-12 for the ticket to Boulder. We'll see this weekend if they live up to their Baller Status, as proclaimed on score reporter.

9. TEXAS
Texas is another team that has really put in the mileage this spring, making its way all across the map. They played in and won the Florida Winter Classic. They then made the trip to Vegas, where they lost some tough ones to UBC (6-8) and UCLA (4-5). At Texas Throwdown, they were knocked out in quarters by regional foe, St. Louis. At Stanford Invite, they avenged their 9-11 Throwdown loss to Wisconsin with a 12-11 win. They also beat Carleton, Cal, and Brown, but dropped games to Washington, Oregon, and a close one to UBC. They still couldn't figure out Oregon in ninals at Centex, as Fugue handed Melee one of their three losses on the weekend. Despite dropping to A&M at Sectionals, Texas won it when it mattered at Regionals, getting the only bid out of the South to Nationals. No team came closer than six points.

Melee retains seven players from its 2006 Nationals team, with some added ballers. While older players like Becca Shelton, Michelle Ng, Natalie Espino, and Gina Phillips will be the ones running the show, I wouldn't be surprised to see younger players like Janel Venzant step up and make plays. Texas has really put in the effort to see as many top teams as they can before Natties, and like I've said time and time again, it pays off. Close losses help a team learn, and like a kid that's gotten a sneak peak at the test, I think Texas' experience of playing teams close in big games puts them ahead of the learning curve.

10. WAKE FOREST
Wake Forest is a team we've never played, and a team I never even heard of before this spring. This is yet another team I have little knowledge about, and so I apologize if this is short. Lucia Derks is supposed to have skills to pay the bills, but again, I've never seen Ruckus play, so I don't really know too much about her. Early on in the season, Wake won QCTU, in the process beating two Nationals teams in Maryland and North Carolina. While Ruckus didn't win a whole lot at Centex, they did beat Carleton and Texas. They really turned it on come Series time, as at Sectionals, no team was able to get closer than 6 on them, and at Regionals, they beat North Carolina, who I thought would be their biggest competition, by a whopping 10 point margin.

11. CARLETON
Quietly, Syzygy has made five trips in a row to Nationals. I have no clue what their secret is, but they've been pretty under the radar this season, despite traveling to some of the biggest tournaments. At Stanford, they beat regional foe Wisconsin by two, and they also beat North Carolina in a close one, 12-11. All their losses were close ones, 9-12 to UCSB, 10-11 to UCLA, and 9-13 to Texas. They dominated their section, and at Regionals, lost a really, really close one to Wisconsin, 13-15, before going on to beat a very good Eau Claire team 15-11 in the backdoor finals.

Continuing in my shorter and shorter team blurbs and complete ignorance about the teams I'm writing about, I know nothing about this team. One name I've read a lot is Megan Molteni, who has been described as a "squirrelly" handler, whatever that means.

12. MARYLAND
Helpful Corn has been rolling in green most of this spring season. They won Huck of the Irish and Roll Call in dominating fashion, completely blowing away their competition in the finals of both tournaments. It seemed like they were untouchable all the way until their finals match-up with Ottawa at Regionals, which they lost 2-15. That being said, I'm curious about how Maryland's lack of facetime with the top teams will affect them. Other than Ottawa, they haven't played any of the top ten teams late in the season.

One player I remember is Amy Hudson. At CCC, she was a good player, not necessarily a marquee player, but by the time Roll Call came around, she looked like a different player. I don't know, maybe it was the Underarmour she was wearing, but it definitely looked like she had better throws at Roll Call. If she has continued to improve, she could be a tough match-up for teams. Charlie Mercer is definitely a player to watch for. She was able to do everything for Maryland, with her cutting and especially her throws. She has biiiiiiig throws, and as someone who took one of her hucks off the wrist, she's got a cannon on her. Someone else to look for is Heather Smith. She is definitely a speedster. She's tireless in the cutting lanes, and she's a real deep threat. It seems like she's always all over the field -- I know, I got taken out of commission while trying to chase her down on D.

13. UNC
We beat UNC way earlier in the year, in fall, actually, at CCC, so I have no clue what they look like now. They lost big in the finals of the Florida Winter Classic to Texas, but found themselves losing in the finals of QCTU to Wake Forest. But also at QCTU, they were the team that upset Michigan, the tournament's top seed, in semis by a score of 10-3. UNC made the cross-country trek to Stanford Invite, and even though they didn't win many, they lost close ones to Wisconsin (12-13), Carleton (10-11), and UBC (9-12). They also finished 13th at Centex after beating Stanford 9-8 and Colorado 10-5. For the most part, they dominated during the Series, not running into too much trouble against most teams, but the one team they couldn't beat was Wake Forest, who has had their card since QCTU. While they haven't had a lot of success against the top teams, UNC has made the effort to go out and play them, which could make a difference this time around.

Kate Scott was definitely Pleiades' go-to player. She was (well, she is a lefty, but we played them in November, so you know what I mean) a smart, aggressive lefty with big throws, and she definitely wasn't afraid to put 'em.

14. MICHIGAN STATE
Oh, no bias here, whatsoever. God, you guys act like I'm impartial or something. No, but really, I actually couldn't decide between MSU or Northeastern for 14th. But I have MSU here for their speed and downfield players. Of course, it's been a while since we played Northeastern and I can't remember much about them, but I feel like MSU's cutters had more of a stake in their game than Northeastern's cutters. Both teams have great handlers, but MSU's cutters were faster and really took control of the cutting lanes in our game against them.

But then again, MSU will have to languish in the bottom three because firstly, which Infamous team will show up? The one that showed up to Chicago Invite looking like a bunch of rookies, or the one that showed up to Regionals, and "beat Illinois when it mattered"? (Had to bite my lip hard on that one) Secondly, MSU hasn't really seen very much of the top level competition. They've played Michigan a few times, but that's it. While there are teams like Northwestern '07, who go into Natties as the last seed and just shock everyone, I think the advantage in most cases goes to teams that know how to handle the pressure, teams that have been there and done it all before. MSU's lack of knowledge of the game at that level might hurt them.

That being said, Kim Sabo is the real deal, and her throws are sick. Her I/O flick broke a lot of marks at Regionals, and she's fast to boot. She also has really nice puts, it's a matter of whether or not her receivers come down with them/are able to chase them down. But it really seemed like their offense lives and dies by that up the line cut and a quick throw downfield -- how well will that work against some of the top teams in the nation?

15. NORTHEASTERN
Another team I don't know much about, surprise surprise. We played them at Roll Call, but I think in a fit of repression, I don't remember very much about this game. Anyway, they have made it to the finals of two tournaments this spring, Pres Day, where they fell 11-15 to UCLA, and Roll Call, where they dropped to Maryland 4-15. They lost to Cornell in the third place game at Yale Cup, but cleaned up come Series time, not losing a game at Sectionals or Regionals. I wish I had more to say about this team, but like I said, big-time repression. Besides, all I really remember about Roll Call was falling on my face and getting hit in the face, so what I remember from that tournament is probably unreliable anyway.

16. MIT
Honestly, I don't know anything about MIT, except that they went to Nationals in 2003, and two years ago one of our "rookies" was a grad student from MIT (Oh, Cathy). I'm ashamed to say that I don't have much to say about MIT, because like I said, I really wasn't looking for them out of the NE. Really got blindsided on that one, no offense to sMITe, just that I'm pretty NE-ignorant, so I just assumed Dartmouth or someone like that would be getting the second bid. Eh. Anyway, a little creeping on my part resulted in a discovery of MIT's blog. After a little skimming, I've gleaned that they've been putting their great Boston resources to good use in order to prepare for Nationals, practicing against their men's team and also scrimmaging against Brute Squad. It seems like there's no real "in-between" on this team, as there are no juniors and only one senior, but a lot of grad students and underclassmen. I don't really know what to expect from MIT, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind a Northwestern '07 Cinderella story.


Ok, so real pool talk.

For the most part, I see all the pools playing to seed. UCLA will take Pool A, but UCLA/Michigan should be a good game. They haven't played each other yet, and I'm interested in seeing how these teams will match up. Both are very fast, athletic teams, but I think UCLA might have more downfield options than Michigan. In Pool B, I think UBC is going to dominate, no question. Pool C is where I see the most possibility for an upset. While I think Washington is top-dog in that pool, I really think Wisconsin has what it takes to unseat them. Washington doesn't seem as invincible as I had originally thought them to be, and Bella Donna will be full strength this time around (I heard they were without a lot of players at Stanford, a tournament I had them pegged to win). These teams haven't met yet this season, and you best believe that when they play each other on Friday, I'm going to be there. Finally, I think Ottawa is a wolf hiding in a 4 seed's wool, and I don't think any team in Pool D will be upsetting them.

I've been reading a lot about the altitude difference and how it affects performance, and it'll be interesting to see how teams will adjust. As always, I think it'll come down to which teams are at their physical peak, and which teams have been putting emphasis on conditioning and fitness. In the end, I think all four top seeds will be the last ones standing. I think Ottawa will advance to the final, but I'm a little undecided between UCLA and UBC. UCLA has beaten UBC a few times, but I've heard that UBC was without Tory Hislop those times. I don't know, but I'm geeked to see how things are going to shake down.

As for the men, well, I think Goose got it pretty dead-on: "Illinois wins 6 straight DGPs". >_< Illinois/Florida -- I can't wait for that rematch.

It's going to be a fun weekend, and in all honesty, I'm pretty pumped for all this, as pumped as someone who got their ticket taken away can be. It looks like it's going to be an exciting weekend. Other than Ottawa, who I don't know very much about, it seems like every team is beatable. This isn't to say that there are going to upsets galore, just that I feel like anybody could lose. There is no one team that is necessarily heads and shoulders above everyone else and there is no one you can really just count out, and that makes this tournament very interesting. I guess that's what sick about Natties though, is that there are no cupcakes and every game is going to be a hard one.

But yes, you all know that I'm pulling for UCLA and Wisconsin (both teams I've picked to win tournaments, both times I was wrong) because I'm a shameless Blu/BD fangirl, and Michigan, because I want our Great Lakes representatives to do well, and because I have mad pride in the Midwest (as "backwards" and "old-fashioned" as people seem to think it is). Gotta love teams that get to practice in the snow. ("Get to" ... a-ha, a-ha)

While I'm really bummed we're not playing at Nationals, I'm not going to let my trip to Bro-ulder, Colorado go to waste. I mean, Nationals last year was absolutely ridiculous. From what I remember, on the first night, Jen locked her car keys in the trunk of her car, resulting in three hours of throwing in the parking lot of a Meijers. So while we throw/while Mary pushes me around in a shopping cart while I throw Spashley's dragon poppers at Tania and multiple other Caucasians, Jen goes in to buy something with which to jimmy open the lock. So what does she get? A PROTRACTOR. Best moment of my life. Anyway, after multiple encounters with curious Ohioans, we were finally rescued by some Meijers employee's brother who was supposedly a firefighter. Shady. That night, we began a big throwing session/game with some of the guys from the men team on the baseball field in front of our hotel. I don't remember much, except that I cared very little about the outcome of the game, and I gave MaryKim a piggyback ride. The next night, after dinner at Applebee's or Chili's or wherever we were at, where Scott spilled water in my lap and then Tania checked on/out my wet crotch multiple times, a few people went out to the movies while the rest of us stayed in with a fridge full of alcohol. I won't go into dirty details, but that night saw people's eyes mysteriously swelling up, people's shirts inexplicably coming off (not mine, but the person who "lost" their shirt is also a closet meat-eater and loves the movie "Slingblade"), and me dragging Spashley's air mattress into the stairwell with Tania and Kelly, bodies scattered on the ground of the landing. Good God.

Also, I will probably be vomiting all over myself during the College Alumni Showcase game. Two of my favorite players playing on the same team? SHIT. Gotcher poster on my wall, you're my background photo lookin' ass -- by the way, I challenge ANYONE at Natties to a Lookin' Ass competition. Bring it.

Welp, in case anyone needs me, I'll be standing on the sidelines of women's and/or Illinois men's games with my camera and mouth agape, asking you to sign my disc and pose for a picture with me (you really think I'm kidding); I'll see you all there, and best of luck to all participating.

Please discuss (seedings, Callahan picks, Lookin' Ass competition, etc.), thnxk.


P.S. Speaking of photos, Matt Lane has such a good sense of humor. He is truly the master. And as if I wasn't a fan of Wisconsin Ultimate already, this picture sends it over the edge. I thought I was a hard-ass Mean Mug, but Will Lokke's face is brilliant. His face and the kid to his left, SO GOOD.