The Top Teams 2009

Now that the spring season has begun, I feel compelled to give my opinion on which teams look to dominate the college division this year. Most of my thoughts are based on the championship bracket from Trouble in Vegas, combined with what I saw at TiV. Yes I know it’s not good to only have one source of information, but somehow I’ll make it work.

Wisconsin is no longer invincible. They’ve lost quite a bit of talent and quite a bit of swagger. Their work ethic and effort hasn’t waned much, but this team is not used to losing and it’s obvious. They seemed to get frustrated too easily, which caused them to become impatient. Impatience leads to mistakes, which leads to playing consolation games instead of a quarter final matchup.

Florida still has a team of tools. Don’t get me wrong, these guys are still stellar players, but the general attitude of this team is do anything to win anything. Everybody loves to hate them, but you cannot deny that they have a pretty good shot of making it to the title game again. They’re hungry for a championship. I really hope they starve.

Colorado looks about 4 inches shorter than they have in the past; however, 6’2” is still pretty tall. This team started rebuilding last year and made it to the semifinals at nationals. This year could be scary for all their opponents.

Carleton is still Carleton. They have a program, and this year is no different than any other year. They’re good, but not great. Luckily for them, there are no great teams in the college division this year.

Oregon seemed to be having the most fun of any of the teams at Vegas this year. They reminded me of the team the Illini sent to Vegas last year. These guys love ultimate, and they love winning. Most people are good at what they love. Ego is no different.

Arizona, Pitt, Santa-Barba and Cornell round out the quarterfinalists. I have a very good feeling that Zona will be better than I originally thought. Their hucking game is solid because they have the throwers and the cutters to make it happen. When I watched them at Vegas, 90% of their hucks hit their receivers in stride. They also did a very good job of setting up the big throw with their in-cuts and handler movement.

Pitt also had a huck game, but I don’t think it will take them as far. Their hucks were rarely on target, and their longs were more lucky than good at coming down with the disc. Any team that can make a defensive adjustment to prevent desperation hucks will shut Pitt down.

I didn’t get a chance to see Cornell or Santa-Barba play, but making it to quarters at a 100 plus team tournament is a big deal. The real trick is making it through the season without burning out.

If I had to pick two favorite teams, I would say Zona and Oregon. Both seem to have fun being good at Ultimate. And that’s what it’s all about.