Regionals Recap

I love it when my predictions come true.

The Illini started off the day looking rather shaky against Kenyon. The Illini went up two breaks to start the game, but then traded points and breaks the rest of the way. We didn’t look bad, we just didn’t look great. We won 15-13. It would be the closest game all day, score-wise.

We faced North Park in the quarterfinals. We had discussed our defensive strategy which included putting pressure on Luke’s hucks and forcing dump throws into the wind. Turns out there was no wind and no Luke. Apparently, he was out of state for a wedding and his flight got delayed, or at least that’s the rumor. Without anyone to huck to Lars, North Park had to find some alternative offense. They did. Give and gos followed by hucks to everyone and anyone that was or wasn’t going deep. They ran it well and put up a good fight. We won 15-12. Good game North Park. I’ve had a lot of fun playing against you guys this year.

The Semi-finals of this tournament played out exactly as I thought. Michigan expected us to be the same team that they beat 13-2 at Huck Finn about a month ago. Surprise!!! The Illini came out on fire. Hidaka ran down hucks. Phenom ran down hucks. Denis threw hucks. Lamp threw hucks. Pavan got D’s. Kennedy got D’s. Sid caught skies. Pavan Caught Skies. Everyone did something awesome. The sideline stayed in it all the way. It was sick. Michigan probably still doesn’t know what hit them. Perhaps they think we played out of our minds. Let them think that. The Illini know that we’ve had that type of play in us all season. We’re peaking at the right time and it shows. We beat Michigan 12-9.

Looks like RSD is wondering, “Who is making plays for Illinois?” Everyone is making plays: Faceless Army.

Championship Sunday

The weather could only be described as perfect for ultimate. The Illini arrived to the fields about an hour and a half early and did somewhat of an extended warm-up just to get the nerves out of our heads before our match-up against Ohio State. It must have paid off. The Illini came out on offense and went the length of the field in a matter of minutes. Lead Belly scored on the next possession almost as quickly. Our O-line did work again, and this time our defense generated two breaks in a row. That started a fire of energy that Ohio State could not put out, and the Illini kept on rolling. We took half and then a few more breaks after half. At 14-7, Ohio State put up a bit of a fight, but the Illini closed it out with and upline score to win the Region 15-10.

Some highlights to be noted:

Hidaka laying out over and between two defenders to catch an errant pass.

Sul running down a full field huck from Lamp

Sul catching a disc that Pavan missed in the endzone

Chuck skying Lamp and another defender

Kennedy with a sick layout D when Lead Belly was near the goal line

Dan catching an ugly 30 yard blade from Lamp in the End Zone

Max getting a handblock

Highlights from other games:

Sid skying two Michigan Defenders for a score. “Sid, your poptarts are ready!!”

Sid throwing a vertical blade to Pavan for the final point against Michigan