Pres Day '09

Eep! I know I said I'd work on timely posting, but I have been quite busy with shit for Derrick Frazier and PAUL DIEHL (hottie on the left in the back row). Sorry, obviously this is not a post about my schoolwork, but I just want to brag that my Internattie Law (aka Nattie Law/NatLaw) professor PAUL DIEHL worked on the Correlates of War project. !!!!!!!!!! I just found this out yesterday, and I am so much more in awe of him that I stayed awake for the entirety of his lecture this morning. Anyway, none of you cared but at least you know I'm a total nerd now. That being said, sorry I got this up so late (that's what he said)!

This weekend, to celebrate the eternal greatness of men like George Washington and Babebraham Lincoln, we get to leave wet and windy Illinois for ... wet and windy San Diego!
Wait, what? Weather is no matter, I suppose, as the highly anticipated Pres Day is finally here. It will be a veritable who's who of women's college ultimate, and there is no such thing as a "cupcake" bracket. It's gonna be one hell of a weekend, and we kick off the weekend with quite a schedule. We start off Saturday morning against Ottawa, '08 Vegas champion and '08 Natties quarterfinalist. This team is nasty, its roster filled with Canadian Juniors players, as well as Capitals and Stella teammates. Of course, they also have Anne Mercier, considered by many to be one of the top players in college women's ultimate. I haven't seen this team play much, all I know is we're coming up against a team with a lot of experience and a lot of cohesion. Poor decision-making and hectic ass crazy shit just isn't gonna work.

There's no time to breathe after the Ottawa game because immediately following we play one of the top teams in the country in Oregon. This team is ridiculous, honestly. Even their group of rookies, which includes two Junior Nationals players, is ludicrously good. Oregon was one of three NW representatives at Natties last year, and lost in a heartbreaker to Wisconsin during pre-quarters. They've already played in the Bellingham Invite this year, at which they beat UBC, Washington, and Western Washington. The closest game they played (speaking strictly in terms of score) was a 13-7 win over Element, this year's Vegas champion. Yikes.

I know knowing about Cal State-Long Beach. Ordinarily I would creep around until I found something ... but let's pretend for a moment that I am leaving in about two hours, and I haven't packed or finished my paper yet. So no dice. Our last game of the day is against the Hellions of Troy. I don't know much about USC, but I know that numbers don't lie. This team played UCSB, Natties '08 finalist, pretty close at SW Regionals last year (according to the same write-up I read, they apparently like to throw a variety of junk and zone defenses, nice). This year, they played into the semis of Santa Barbara Invite, losing 11-12 to Cal. In the third place game, they lost another close one to UCSB (12-14), a team many consider to be in the top five. USC is one of those teams that plays in such a tough region that they might not really get the props they deserve, but make no mistake that they're good, and are moving their way up that region. All in all, it's gonna be a long day. Every game is gonna be a battle.

Whew. And those are just the teams we're playing on Saturday; imagine this: there are a shit ton more top 20 teams on the horizon. It might be a scary, intimidating thought, but it's go time. These last four weeks of hell? Work hard, get bank. Time to ball with the big girls.

I know we just got our unbelievable shorts, but let's fuck 'em up this weekend.


On a lighthearted note, this is quite an exciting weekend for me. Not only am I reuniting with part of a team of the Stanford '08 variety, it's Valentine's Day! Now, some Pres Day participants will be away from their significant others for said Hallmark holiday, but not me. In fact, I will be spending it with some of the greatest loves of my life (excluding Neil Hennessy, who will stay in Chicago pretending like we aren't a match made in heaven). BJs/Ds(?), scissors, slow jamz, Champaign kicks ... I got it all. It's a wonderful life.

But gentlemen (and ladies too, of course), if you see someone you like on Illinois, see a tight little honey you wanna holler at, don't try to come to our Honda Odyssey (which obviously SCREAMS "Attractive/desirable females be riding in me!") and pick her up unless you're going to bring your A game. Even if you did bring your A game, we might not be allowed to go out, so I wouldn't get your hopes up. But you know, maybe it's not all a lost cause. We (read: Alexis) might laugh at you at first, but persistence and a lot of luck just might do the trick. And if we turn you down and choose to spend our evening studying, watching dudes fight, eating Goose Bell tacos, scissoring, and playing Rock Band instead, don't be hard on yourself. Listen. (explanatory hand motions) Listen. It's not that we don't like you, and it's not that we're not looking for a little (b)romance. It's just that ... we like girls. Namely each other.


I'll see yous in San Diego.
Boom, West Coasted.