I didn't write anything about Vegas for good reason. The tournament didn't happen. Maybe I jinxed it, or maybe Cultimate is completely incompetent at handling inclement weather. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.
I don't have a good excuse for not writing after Mardi Gras. Synopsis: Standing water up to my shins capped by a layer of ice. We lose to Tennessee, and I consider quitting ultimate until we beat Notre Dame. Due to Saturday craziness, we end up being the strong favorite on our side of the bracket (next to Iowa State). Get blown out by jacked up Wisconsin team in finals. On to Centex!
Continuing the tradition of rain before/during Cultimate tournaments, Friday night / Saturday morning was marked by thunderstorms and heavy rain. For those of us trying to catch an hour of sleep in the car at the fields, this was less than helpful. The tournament is eventually pushed back and relocated to San Antonio for the day. This was an hour and 45 minutes from our hotel, and games did not start till 2 as a result. Upon arrival, we were greeted with 20-30 mph winds and temperatures in the low 40s. (Sidenote: I know I shouldn't complain about the weather when Chicago Invite went the way it did, but I will anyway.) The fields were oriented almost completely straight upwind - downwind, so winning the flip was vital.
First up was UCLA Smaug. We won the flip, and proceeded to score downwind until it was over. The O-line threw the disc away a lot in this game just trying to figure out how to manage the gusts. UCLA ever mount much of a successful attempt to work it upwind. They tried starting the disc off with their "backhand guy" who would fake backhand over and over until attempting to jack a backhand to the breakside. As you can imagine, there were lots of handblocks in this game. In fact, I stopped a huck with a faceblock. Final score: 7 - 6 Illinois.
Second round bye because Kansas bitched out.
Warmups before the third round had a dark cloud over them. Those of us who have been in the program for a few years know that playing Florida is not only extremely unpleasant, it is downright dangerous. Without observers, and with the active coaching of Cyle, Florida ultimate approached an all-time low. The wind had picked up at this point, and Florida had just lost to UCLA via flip. What this meant to us, is that we needed to win the flip to avoid the possibility of a 3-way tie all with zero point diff. (Everybody winning or losing their game by 1, and Kansas forfeiting all rounds.) With this outcome, I'm pretty sure that pool placement is decided by roshambo. Yikes. Anyway, Florida chose wrong, so we won the flip. Our D-line scored upwind against them early in the game, due to some Zubair-esque treatment of the cup by Smith and Kurt. This point was capped off by a McKinley assist to Kevin Bruns for the punch spike, which was promptly called back on a travel. This lead to the opportunity for an immediate McKinley - Bruns pass for the elbow spike onto a helpless (but oh-so-deserving) Florida defender. Since our O-line was also broken, the W in this game can be attributed soley to the D-line. Thanks guys. Lowlights: Cole Sullivan. Cole running by the mark and taking the disc out of Walden's hands. Cole tackling Sid from behind on an in-cut then contesting the foul. Cole hip-checking Kurt as he tries to crash the cup. Cole pushing Smith out of bounds within the first few stall counts against the cup. Cole knocking Walden to the ground during the game winning pass, then arguing that the foul was before the throw. None of the good guys were hurt during this game, but I still hope that the state of Florida disappears into the ocean. ...After our spring-breakers return. Final score: 9-8 Illinois.
First day of Centex? Check. I'll be back to write up the rest sometime before tomorrow night, and that's for real real.
Austin
Warmups before the third round had a dark cloud over them. Those of us who have been in the program for a few years know that playing Florida is not only extremely unpleasant, it is downright dangerous. Without observers, and with the active coaching of Cyle, Florida ultimate approached an all-time low. The wind had picked up at this point, and Florida had just lost to UCLA via flip. What this meant to us, is that we needed to win the flip to avoid the possibility of a 3-way tie all with zero point diff. (Everybody winning or losing their game by 1, and Kansas forfeiting all rounds.) With this outcome, I'm pretty sure that pool placement is decided by roshambo. Yikes. Anyway, Florida chose wrong, so we won the flip. Our D-line scored upwind against them early in the game, due to some Zubair-esque treatment of the cup by Smith and Kurt. This point was capped off by a McKinley assist to Kevin Bruns for the punch spike, which was promptly called back on a travel. This lead to the opportunity for an immediate McKinley - Bruns pass for the elbow spike onto a helpless (but oh-so-deserving) Florida defender. Since our O-line was also broken, the W in this game can be attributed soley to the D-line. Thanks guys. Lowlights: Cole Sullivan. Cole running by the mark and taking the disc out of Walden's hands. Cole tackling Sid from behind on an in-cut then contesting the foul. Cole hip-checking Kurt as he tries to crash the cup. Cole pushing Smith out of bounds within the first few stall counts against the cup. Cole knocking Walden to the ground during the game winning pass, then arguing that the foul was before the throw. None of the good guys were hurt during this game, but I still hope that the state of Florida disappears into the ocean. ...After our spring-breakers return. Final score: 9-8 Illinois.
First day of Centex? Check. I'll be back to write up the rest sometime before tomorrow night, and that's for real real.
Austin
2 comments:
At least you're not in the same region as those asshats.
Is there any other way to truly break a cup?
Post a Comment