Trouble in Vegas '09

This weekend, while the rest of the country toils through yet another (for some of us, wet and freezing) weekend, a group of teams will be waste-deep in hedonism, soaking up the sun, The Strip, the beverages, and the ultimate in Las Vegas. Trouble in Vegas couldn't have come sooner, as this blogger was running out of shit to shoot about.

TiV is one of the first major tournaments of the spring, and some of the nation's top teams will be out there getting warmed up and showing off what they got. Defending champs Ottawa will not be present, but two teams that almost took the title last season, Washington and UCLA, will be. Three teams that I consider to be the top teams in the nation -- the aforementioned two and Wisconsin, will obviously be the teams to watch, but a lot of teams I foresee getting on the up and up this season will also be interesting to watch, including Western Washington and Colorado (but split up in X and Y, apparently).

For the sake of time, I'm only going to look at Pools A-D. Pool A is UCLA's to lose. I don't know much about Tufts this year, but I can sort of vouch for Northwestern, a little bit. Gung-ho has got some talented players that know what to do with the disc in their hands, but without their heart and soul upfield, Sarah "Smalls" Kong, this weekend will be a good test for their cutters. So UCLA wins Pool A, easy. Another easy call is Wisconsin in Pool C, as well as Western Washington in Pool D. Now, I don't foresee any major upsets on Day 1, and I expect Washington to take Pool B, but I'd keep an eye out for UChicago. Sure, they graduated a Rhodes Scholar, but they're keeping some studs. Rachel Diederich is a speed demon with great hands who catches basically anything that goes her way, and Emma Fuller is just a straight badass, so they could surprise some people.

So I know the pools and brackest for the rest of the weekend are up and I could just go through and fill teams in, but I don't have that sort of time/patience. That being said, I'm calling Wisconsin and Washington in the finals right now. I know UCLA's top seed and everything, but i just have my reservations. I mean, to be sure, I'm still a Blu Fangirl, in case you were wondering, but I obviously haven't seen anyone play yet this season, so I don't know what they're looking like this spring. What I really mean to ask is if anyone knows if their big ballers from last year are coming back. If they are, then I'd say UCLA and Wisco in the final, but if not, I'm sticking with my original choice: a Wisco/Washington final, a Natties '08 pool play rematch.

What I like about Washington is that they've just got a top to bottom solid team. Their upperclassmen are prison, but that doesn't mean you can sleep on their young guns either. So many of those girls have already played in high school and have a background of solid fundamentals. I feel like I couldn't just name a few killers on their team, I'd probably have to end up naming the entire roster. Let's just go with names like Northwest FOTY Lindsey Wilson, Claire Suver, Roberta Abbott, Nora Carr, Shannon O'Malley, etc. etc. ... I mean, it's ridiculous. Wisconsin has a similar "problem" with their loaded roster. '08 Callahan Courtney Kiesow (that picture is precious, I still haven't gotten over it), WonderDread, Emelie McKain, Laura Bitterman, Amber Sinicrope ... and again, I could go on and on about their roster. They have an incredible balance of experience and young talent, and I really can't say enough about the people they've got behind the disc. I mean, there is really no slouch on Bella Donna, and the fact that the girl who just threw a flick bomb on you can and will also bust up the field and tool you on an in-cut ... it's scary. Wisconsin is athletic, fast, and talented, and I've already called it but I'll say it again -- this just might be the year for them. Even so, I'm going to pick Washington over Wisco in a reeeeeeal squeaker. I really like both teams, and it's hard to pick just one team to win, but that's the way it's gotta be, so that's how I'm picking. Also, EVERY TIME I picked BD to win last year, I was wrong! So maybe if I pick someone else, they'll win? I don't know, whatever, we'll see.

To those of you who are playing this weekend, good luck! And to those of us who have to wait yet another week ... we're almost there ... we're almost there ...