Cultimate, in their quest to separate themselves from the UPA, have decided to try a new tournament format. They eliminated pool and bracket play to create a format based on “parity”. I have no opinion on this format. It really shouldn’t change any team’s strategy, since winning games is still the key to winning the tournament. Every team plays 6 games, and your record in those six games determines what place you play for in the seventh game. Skip and his crew designed the six game schedule so that each team has a highly competitive game in each round.
Another difference from the past is the fact that Centex has more teams than last year. It still attracts the top talent, but Cultimate has opened up the bid process to expand beyond the top 24 teams. 33 will be attending this year.
The Illini will be coming into this tournament riding a wave of improvement. We still have some questionable areas when it comes to key injuries, but I don’t foresee these injuries having a major impact on our team performance. We’ve put a lot of work into technique and strategy. Stick to what we’ve practiced and this tournament will go well for us.
Our schedule is as follows: Washington, Western Washington, Maryland, UCSD, North Carolina, and Colorado. Of these six teams, I know nothing of Western Washington and Maryland. This is a good thing since the point of these national tournaments is to play teams across the nation. Good work Skip.
We were embarrassed by Washington in Vegas. They went after every disc and we just sat and watched as their longs came down with every swill huck, 50/50 discs, and lucky plays. I can guarantee that the Illini will not sit back and watch that happen again. This game will be completely different from the one we played in Vegas. Illini win by 3, and Washington can’t live up to the hype of a 4 seed.
UCSD has a strong program, and this year seems to be no different than the past. They’re coming into this tournament as an 11 seed, which is underrated if you ask me. These guys are smart, and if I remember correctly, these guys are also tall. The Illini will have their hands full, but it’s good opportunity to prove that we’re a national contender this year.
Teams from North Carolina do not get along with Illinois. This mostly stems from discord sown by Pappy, but we still think they’re tools and they still think were douchebags. I say live and let live, but whatever. Illini win by 5.
I love playing Colorado. The games are usually highly competitive and come down to either one or two points. They are not the same team we’ve seen in the past, but then again, we aren’t the same team either. This game will provide a good benchmark for where we are as a team.
My overall prediction: The Illini go 4-2 and play in either the 3rd or 5th place game against Iowa (Bring it on Jake Bradley).
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