Here's my official return from hiatus. For reals this time. The ladies of Fugue harassed me this past weekend to deliver the written goods. Since they won a little tourney in San Diego called President's Day, I'll make this post my present to them.
PRESIDENT'S DAY
Before I get to the past weekend's events and the different teams I saw, I want to extend kudos to UC San Diego and all of the teams in attendance at Pres Day. For the second year in a row, the quality and depth of the women's field at President's Day far eclipsed that of Trouble in Vegas. Neither of the elite Canadian teams (Ottawa and UBC) were in attendance, but Wisconsin, Washington and Western Washington made the switch to San Diego this year.
Given all of the problems with this year's TiV tourney (certainly, the weather was not Cultimate's fault but there are certainly other areas where they have dropped the ball), the decision to go to Pres Day was clearly the right one. The weather was perfect, the format guaranteed a number of high quality games, and all of the major needs were taken care of. The TDs did a good job of collecting the scores and reporting them promptly on the UPA score reporter.
I would love to see Pres Day remain an elite-level tourney, and I hope that the tourney organizers continue to elevate the quality of the tourney. Here are a few areas where the tourney can improve:
1) Fields - Originally, the D pool was going to be split between two locations since the RIMAC fields can only fit seven full-sized fields. I think their solution to squeeze another field was the right one for the weekend, and this avoided the headache of having teams shuttle back and forth (and potentially wreak havoc with cap times).
While I liked that the entire tourney could fit at the one field site, I think it's preferable to have full-sized fields. Perhaps most of the teams would disagree with me on this point, but I think UCSD would be smart to get everyone's opinion on this matter.
Considering the relative importance of this tourney, the women's division should have had the two extra fields be located at the same site (Muir or the other field site) and avoid the scheduling / field dimension issues.
2) Scoreboards - They had scoreboards on Monday but not for the prior days. I think this was because the open division was using them. Again, priority should be given to the women's division if the division continues to be of much greater significance than the open division.
3) Observers - I know it's tough to get observers in general, but having observers for the pre-quarters and beyond would be a tremendous start. Having observers at Stanford and Centex last year was great, especially for teams expecting to make the trip to the College championships.
4) Publicity - This is a premiere tourney and better coverage of the games would go a long way to growing interest in the women's division. An improved website, tourney photographers / videographers and game recaps would be a big step in the right direction.
I want to be clear that I'm writing all of the above suggestions because I want to see continued growth for the women's division. Set higher standards, work harder to achieve them, and reap the rewards when you see the division grow in scope and quality.
All right, let's get to the teams.
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I'll focus on the teams that finished 1-10 at Pres Day. If I have time, I'll write up a part three detailing thoughts on the other teams. Of the top 10 teams, the only one I didn't see firsthand is Wisconsin, undoubtedly one of the strongest squads in the division this year. Hopefully, I'll get to see them at Stanford.
Tier One - Oregon, UCSB, Wisconsin
Hello, Big Three. These were the three teams that I thought were going to be strongest coming into this season, and the results of this weekend fully validated my predictions. None of these three teams are completely bulletproof to the teams in the tiers below, but barring major injuries or a big upset in pool play (resulting in a brutal quarterfinals matchup between two of these teams), these three should be in the semifinals in Madison.
Oregon
Fugue was my pick to win the tourney (... um, I mean out of all of the teams that aren't named USC...). Several people commented to me this weekend that their roster looks exactly the same as it did last year. While this isn't completely true, it is mostly true. And it is also only mostly true that they could field a line of super-seniors (5/7ths, I think).
Molly Suver? Check. Shannon McDowell? Check. Jenica Villamoor, Julia Sherwood, Tina Snodgrass, Morgan Zajonc? Check, check, check, check (I'm running out of checks here). Bailey Zahniser and Kimber Coles? Only sophomores? Damn.
There is no one single player you can key in on, but I think there's a decent argument for Julia Sherwood as the biggest difference-maker on this squad. She presents a very tough matchup when she is operating in the backfield. She covers a lot of ground, is extremely quick and moves the disc exceptionally well. She's also a fantastic defender. What's not to like?
As their games against Stanford and UCSB demonstrate, Fugue can be beaten, but this squad has a lot of the similar components possessed by last year's championship squad from UCSB. They have depth, a ton of elite-level experience, a great deep game, and a top-notch coaching staff. Their biggest challenge going into Stanford Invite and Centex is handling the pressure that comes with having the big bull's-eye on their back. The fact that Fugue is one of the most easygoing, fun-loving teams in the elite ranks will only help them over the course of the season.
UC Santa Barbara
UCSB also has the look of a team remarkably similar to last year's championship roster, but there is a sizable difference between the 2009 and 2010 versions of the Burning Skirts. Aside from no longer having Andrea Romano, Katie Barry and Kristie Bowen on the roster, Steve Dugan is no longer their coach. Losing the leadership offered by Dugan, Romano and Barry is really hard to measure, but it is substantial.
Fortunately for UCSB, they have oodles of talent to overcome this. Kaela Jorgenson and Carolyn Finney, the Wonder Skirt Twins, are back as their 1-2 punch, but it is Marie Madaras who is now their underappreciated star player. As Fugue learned in the semifinals in Columbus, Madaras is an athletic cutter and defensive playmaker who is now gaining confidence as a thrower. Sophomore Stephanie Karba may be the tallest handler in the women's game and will be a big part of their success this season. Bri Cahn, Shannon Bubb, Emily Bass, Erin Mordecai and Arianne Johnson are all very solid contributors who have the confidence of champions.
Wisconsin
With the College Championships in their backyard this May, the stage is set for this year to be Bella Donna's year. Reigning Callahan winner Georgia Bosscher is back and looking to add a college championship in the same year she won her first club championship. As most people know, Bosscher is a phenomenal player, but it is a huge mistake to overlook how talented the rest of the squad is.
Emilie McKain can dominate for extended stretches and provides a lot of the fire for this squad. Laura Bitterman, Jenny Gaynor and Elizabeth Vu offer a wealth of experience and talent. Bella Donna will only get better when Frances Tsukano returns from her injury.
Though they lost Amber Sinicrope (didn't return to school), Bella Donna made a major addition with Brandon Malacek and Courtney Kiesow taking over the coaching reins this year. Malacek brings a champion's mentality to the team and could give them the vital piece they've been missing the past few years.
In San Diego, Wisconsin took their first major step by dismantling their pool on Saturday, including a 13-4 win over a talented Stanford squad. They fell back to Earth a bit with a narrow win over UCLA, and a loss to Oregon in what was a highly anticipated matchup. Their 13-4 trampling over a very up-and-down Cal squad demonstrated what this team is capable of, but they came up short in their matchup with the Burning Skirts.
The pressure is definitely on Wisconsin to make the finals of either Stanford or Centex. Both Oregon and UCSB already have the confidence of a champion. Wisconsin certainly has the talent and experience, but a win over either squad in Palo Alto or Austin is close to being necessary in order to conquer their demons at the biggest stage.
Tier One Point Five - Washington
Befitting a team led by Shannon O'Stripey, Element is in a tier all by itself. The only one seed to falter in pool play, Washington is going to be interesting to follow all season. This team has plenty of talent, but right now, as O'Malley and Lindsey Wilson go, so go the rest of Element. This team could join the top tier, drop into the second tier or detonate over the Puget Sound and end up as enigmatic as the ending of Akira.
As if their current dynamic weren't interesting enough, everyone's favorite controversy-generator, Cyle van Auken, is now the head coach for Element. Ron Kubalanza has moved to Chicago and is currently coaching the Northwestern women. Last year, the two coaches seemed to balance each other well, leading Element to the finals. This year, it remains to be seen how this dynamic plays out.
I saw the many faces of Element in our pool game on Saturday. There were times when Element looked very balanced and utilized players 1 through 7. At others, they relied heavily on the O'Malley / Wilson combo. As we fought back and got a couple breaks, their two big playmakers were pressing quite a bit and their supporting cast seemed to be thrown out of sync. I continue to be impressed by Cailey Marsh who transferred from UCLA. She came up with some critical plays and was a steady handler for them during crunch time. They'll need players like her to be the difference makers if they are to seriously threaten the top three teams.
On our end, the win over Element was a huge step forward, the kind for which we've been hungering a long time. Our game was the last one going on Saturday, so a number of teams came to watch the end of the game, adding to the excitement of the game. We came back from a four point deficit during an 8-2 run that catapulted us to a 13-11 win. Tied at 11s, we took the game by scoring on a big flick bomb from Jesus to T-Stamp. On the final point, Jaws got a layout D on a reset and Uzi finished the game off by launching a backhand to Screech (who initially misread the disc but was able to spin around and get the disc on a second effort).
Though we lost to Cal in the first game on Sunday (rendering our UW win moot for the purposes of quarterfinals matchups), the win still meant a ton for our confidence and the future of our young program. The list of elite teams we've never beaten got a bit smaller after Pres Day, and we're eager to shorten it even more at Stanford.
