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Day 4 Recap: November 1, 2009
2009 UPA Club Championships
Sarasota, Fla.
Open Division
By Dan Heijmen
Championship Game
Chain Lightning 15, Revolver 11
Throughout the 2009 UPA Club Championships two teams have risen above the rest, living up to their No. 1 and 2 seedings. Each team has put on an offensive clinic this year and has shown a high level of versatility. Whether hitting their speedy cutters long, working the break-side space, or simply jamming it up the sideline, both Revolver and Chain have shown a great deal of confidence, and a understated swagger.
No. 1 seed Revolver, out of the Bay Area, had displayed a level of precision unrivaled at this tournament. Their handlers have been on point with their deep shots and are working the middle of the field with beautiful inside/out throws. This strength is not lost on Chain superstar Dylan Tunnel, who said that stopping their i/o’s would be a key to the game. Revolver seemed confident during their pre-game warm-up with Captain Mike Payne asking his teammates “What are you preparing for?” with emphasis. It would be key for Revolver to handle Chain’s sideline pressure and be able to quickly move the disc off the line with consistency. Revolver feels good about how they match up athletically with Chain, and if they are able to win some 50s deep, they will have a great shot at this year’s title.
On the other side of the field we had Atlanta’s Chain Lightning. The boys from down South had ripped through their games so far, going through or over their competition. Teams had been trying to stop Atlanta’s deep game all tournament and Revolver defensive stopper John Levy said they were “going to stop the hucks from the mark, and play them hard man-to-man.” Chain’s defense has been on fire this weekend, getting big-time blocks from nearly every player on the roster. They have also been able to score after these turns with a higher percentage than any other D-line.
Revolver started on offense, and attacked upwind with Chain on defense. Chain forced flick to start and forced the disc to the sideline. Revolver was able to work it back to the middle after a high stall. Tom James found Adam Wise with a nice lefty backhand after a Chain goal line defense meltdown for the opening score 1-0.
Revolver came down on their first d point in a junk zone, featuring a straight-up mark with the dumps sagging the cutting lanes. Swanson missed a huck with No. 10 Robbie Cahill coming down with a big deep “D.” Chain got the disc back however on a missed backhand from Adam Wiseman. After a high stall count Hammond unleashed a floaty hammer that Revolver blocked for their second possession of the point. Josh Markette got the “D” back with a nice deep “D” himself. Dylan Tunnel finally found Jay Hammond and Jit Bhattacharya completely whiffed at the block. It would be a familiar trend for Revolver all game, only converting two of their six break opportunities. Revolver had their chances and displayed quite a bit of pressure, but Chain held on to tie the game 1-1.
Beau Kittredge played 3 points in a row, as the Revolver leadership sought to establish their big man’s presence. The ensuing point featured some great breaks by Robbie Cahill who threw two pretty inside out flicks to Mac Taylor. On the second one Taylor hit Tom James in the back corner and he had an impressive grab while toeing the line to get the score 2-1 Revolver.
Tyler Grant then got a huge d on a huck from Dylan Tunnel, as Revolver was able to force a turn for the second consecutive d point. Mac Taylor then ripped a backhand to mark Sherwood who made an amazing play to track down and lay out for the disc but couldn’t manage to hang on after his body slammed into the ground. Dylan Tunnel eventually found Asa Wilson with a massive flick to get it to two all.
The following point Joel Wooten got a tremendous deep “D” off a huck from Taylor to Beau Kittredge. Rob White then went up huge for a score, but as with Sherwood from the point before, he couldn’t quite hang on as he came down from orbit. On this, their third “O” possession, Revolver showed their first signs of sloppiness with two turnovers when they turned the disc over. Jonathan Monforti secured the break when he hit Poole Mark with a laser lefty backhand to bring the score to 3-2 Chain.
Revolver came back with their offense and looked smooth until Mac Taylor’s flick sailed too long for Robbie Cahill, with the wind picking up a just a bit. Ziperstein then jacked a huck to Tunnel who was fouled on the play by Cahill. The disc was tapped in and Tunnell pivoted out wide to find Peter Dempsey with a controlled backhand, cutting through the wind and hitting his target in stride, which bumped the score to 4-2. Chain was the stronger defensive offense in the early stages, getting the disc back to secure holds. Revolver’s “O” unit looked a little slow off their own turns and not quite as hungry as their counterparts.
After Revolver worked the disc side to side for a few throws, Chain’s “D” broke down and allowed Kittredge to get to the end zone alone for the hold 4-3. Chain made their offensive unit work however, and denied some of the easy breaks that Revolver counted on throughout the tourney. Chain responded when Hammond jacked a backhand that the wind knocked down a bit, but Ziperstein was able to adjust better than his defender and after a dump, Asa Wilson scored the goal 5-3.
Chain came out then with a flick force, but dropped the open-side dump into the open side lane to force Revolver to swing right away. Revolver worked a patient point up to the red zone and Cahill zapped a flat break up the gut for the hold.
The Bay Area team bombed its next pull and pinned Chain back, deep in their own end zone. Tiarsmith dropped a nice hammer from Swanson on a throw that would have alleviated the pressure, and Revolver’s D-line finally cashed in for their first break on an inside/out flick from Sherwood to Beau 5-5.
The momentum was in Red’s favor but Chain was unrattled to say the least, displaying their confidence with a 70-yard flick missile from Tunnel to Asa Wilson. Chain has been able to stay incredibly loose this weekend, being totally unphased by all the hype surrounding them. I asked Rob White if that fun-loving attitude comes naturally to them and he replied that if they “weren’t having fun, it wouldn’t be Chain Ultimate.” Revolver showed their patience again and worked it down right to the goal line. Beau dumped it in to the end zone to Taylor for the score.
Revolver defensive specialists Nick Chapman laid out aggressively on a Ziperstein in-cut on the next point. Revolver seemed to take the last point personally and came down with more intensity on “D.” In one of the most exciting plays of the game featuring some of our sport’s best Ultimate athletes Beau, Ziperstein and Tunnel all went up together for a floaty disc. Kittredge skied huge for the “D” as they crowd went berserk. The Revolver momentum was short-lived however as Sherwood mishandled the next throw after the turn and Greg Swanson (guilty of the previous turn) made up for it with around flick gem to Zip for the goal, staying ahead 7-6.
Cahill didn’t seem too stressed the next point and fired an absolutely perfectly huck to college teammate Tom James to tie it up. The next point would take the half.
Revolver called a timeout to rest some of their studs and aimed to get back to even at half time, having started the game on offense. Their D-line personnel made no difference as long-time teammates and friends Jay Hammond and A.J. Tiarsmith linked up for another strike and goal. At the half: 8-7 Chain.
Halftime Analysis: Chain had success bombing away to their receivers. Dylan, A.J., Zip, Poole all found space deep for goals. Each team dealt well with the other’s pressure since some early sloppiness, perhaps due to nerves (being each team’s first UPA Club Championships finals) and has found their rhythm. Revolver fired some deep hucks but also looks good working the under, and break lanes well.
Chain started the second half on offense, and headed upwind against the Revolver zone, a three-man cup around the disc but Chain’s Swanson fired a blade over the top to break it open and scored when Swanson sliced a forehand to Tunnel for the first goal of the second half, 9-7 Chain.
The Chain sideline barked like a pound of rabid dogs when Peter Dempsey got a huge layout block on a throw to Cahill, nearly catching the Callahan. It wouldn’t matter that Dempsey couldn’t hold on, as Monforti would quickly find Russell Snow for the break.
Revolver’s day wasn’t getting any easier as Tom James laid out, but missed an underneath pass. Tunnell wasted no time, and went straight for the jugular hitting a streaking Joel Wooten with a bendy flick upwind for yet another break. Chain had all the momentum at this point, having scored the last four points to extend their lead to 11-7. Chain has been shutting down Revolver’s flat stack well with hard, smart marks and an aggressive, fronting style of “D” that has been their bread and butter all weekend.
Chain came down the next point and Brandon “Big Poppa” Perales dangerously laid out for a poach “D” and was rewarded with a shot from Eric Halverson. Another giveaway by Revolver as a flicked sailed past a horizontal Mac Taylor. They seemed to be a few inches away on a number of easy unders. Chain displayed an incredible amount of patience on their possession, but Revolver stunted the attack with great downfield defense, and eventually forced Chain to take a timeout. Out of the timeout Brandon Perales immediately hucked to Josh Ziperstein who sprinted deep off a “parting of the seas play” (the back two cutters in a vertical stack cut out wide, with Zip as the third cutter taking off deep) and made a ridiculous layout stick after the huck was tipped by a Revolver defender, Chain 12-8. Zip was totally horizontal and caught the disc inches off the turf. The play of the game!
Revolver answered when Robbie Cahill unleashed a humongous huck to Mac Taylor who beat Tunnel for the deep goal. The game was incredibly clean through 20 points and not many calls were taken to the observers.
Chain worked the disc on the next point up the field from the flick sideline to the backhand, and back again to the flick with Josh “Cricket” Markette hitting Asa Wilson for the easy hold, 13-9 Chain.
Cahill jacked yet another beauty, this time to Beau Kittredge who raced down the throw to bring it to 13-10. Revolver called a timeout to refocus and up in the booth you could hear the fiery Jit Bhattacharya urge his teammates to give everything they had for the last part of the game.
Revolver subbed in a stud d line with Taylor, Beau, Robbie, Sherwood, Wiseman, James and Tyler Grant. Chain wasted no time attacking and Tunnel chucked a flick to Ziperstein, who out-positioned Wiseman for the catch, but was unable to keep his feet in bounds on the back line. (This would be Chain’s only turnover of the second half). Revolver worked the disc off the trap sideline back to the middle of the field and former Mixed Division monster Tyler Grant put a powerful flick to Mac Taylor for a desperately needed upwind break. Revolver wasn’t going anywhere and despite being down late continued to fight.
But Chain was unflappable the next point and jammed the disc up the line for six unders in a row. Every Chain offender touched the disc and showcased their speed with lightning quick cuts and precision throws. It was 14 to 10 Chain and the Atlanta squad smelled victory.
Robbie Cahill continued to shine for Revolver and delivered an incredibly confident hammer to Adam Wiseman, 14-11 Chain. Cahill stepped up huge for Revolver all game taking the brunt of the offensive responsibility, and did all he could to keep his squad close. He was one of the few Revolver offenders unphased by the intense Chain pressure.
Chain received on the final point and showed again their cool confidence. The disc was swung from side to side and then beautifully worked up the backhand sideline until a deep shot opened up for Greg Swanson. The Georgia alum launched an amazing upwind backhand huck to college teammate Dylan Tunnel to win the championship, 15-11. The team rushed the field and the celebration was on.
Chain’s defense proved to be the difference and capitalized on five of six turnovers by Revolver’s offense. On the contrary, Revolver’s D-line was only able to cash in on two of their turns, despite having forced six turns. Revolver’s inability to score their early breaks put too much pressure on their “O,” who cracked under the smothering Chain “D.”
Chain standout Dylan Tunnel was clearly emotional after the game, and very proud of what his team was able to accomplish: “This is my 10th season with Chain and when I started playing the team hadn’t been to nationals in the previous seven seasons. This is so rewarding because we’ve been through so much together and have lost so many games. This is really an incredible feeling.”
The cheers came up loud from the Chain huddle (WHAT’S THAT SPELL? A-T-L. WHAT’S THAT SMELL? A-T-L), and the East Coast can celebrate finally wresting the title back from the west for the first time since 1999. Congratulations to Chain Lighting, the 2009 UPA Club Champions!
Day 3 Recap: Saturday, Oct. 31
2009 UPA Club Championships
Sarasota, Fla.
Open Division
By Dan Heijmen
As the third day of competition began at the 2009 UPA Club Championships, teams knew that every point could be the difference between an early exit and a chance to inch closer to that elusive Club title. Two grueling days of intense competition were behind the eight remaining teams, and they would need to dig deep to find those energy reserves in order to crack the semifinals. Sockeye D-liner Andrew Fleming summed it up, saying: “The first two days you play hard. We (Sockeye) are in a great place and we’re going to fight hard for three games.” At this point in the tournament players have to push all other factors out of their minds, and focus on what they had to do individually, and as a team, to get the desired results.
Quarterfinals
Revolver 15, Johnny Bravo 12
The No. 1 seed Revolver matched up against Johnny Bravo in their quarterfinal match-up, a game that would feature a number of former teammates squaring off. Former Colorado Mamabird and Johnny Bravo standouts Beau Kittredge, Mad Taylor and Martin Cochran have all made the move to the Bay Area in recent years, and all have crucial roles for their new team. Their absence from Johnny Bravo has been well documented this season, and the significance of their departure has forced Bravo to adapt in new ways: looking first for the underneath, rather than being able to count on Mac and Beau for long scores. Bravo captain Jolian Dahl said that playing against former teammates has “fired up a lot of our guys, looking to win personal battles.” He added that Bravo knows “Revolver’s downfield is very strong. We want to make them throw a lot of throws, push the disc to the sideline and contain it from there.” The game opened up with both teams holding until Bravo got an early break after an Andrew Mangan footblock. The two offenses looked smooth with Robbie Cahill hitting a streaking Adam Wiseman with a deep flick and Bravo countering with a quick point of their own, flying up the open side.
Johnny Bravo vs. Revolver
Photo by Bil Elsinger
Johnny Bravo got their second break of the game after Cahill hung one up to Kittredge, allowing three Bravo defenders to sandwich Beau for the turn. Steve Rouisse then hucked a flick to Hylke Snider for a huge sky over college teammate Mac Taylor. Rouisse got it back and bent a nice flick to Jolian Dahl for the break, 7-5. Johnny Bravo was amped up and Revolver did not seem like the same confident team that had been rolling through the field. But, as all great teams do, the Bay Area boys found a way back into the game, scoring their next O-point and getting two “D’s” on successive points from Jit Bhattacharya (on a hammer) and Robbie Cahill, who laid out for a block on the dump. Wiseman found Tom James with a pretty around-backhand for the break to take half 8-7.
The beginning of the second half saw Revolver punching in two more breaks to Bravo’s one, and after Cochran scored deep Revolver was up, 13-11. Revolver’s Josh Greenough said before the game that they wanted to “drive Bravo’s handlers up field, away from the disc,” and the strategy seemed to work. On the next point No.16 Kim Van Berkel then got an absolutely monstrous layout “D” in the end zone for Revolver, and John Levy found Jit with a sick i/o forehand, linking up Stanford alums from different eras. Bravo, down but not out, answered with a Rodrigo Valdivia goal and even got a break back after two “D’s” and the goal by Brian Bogle. But in the end, Revolver capped it off with a flick huck out to space from Cahill to Kittredge, ending it 15-12.
Sockeye 15, Doublewide 12
Doublewide opened up their quarterfinal game against Sockeye with a quick 3-0 run. Kurt Gibson was huge in the early stages, despite evaluating himself at “about 70 percent.” He skied deep for their first break and then foot-blocked Sockeye handler Ben Wiggins and scored again from a nice around-flick from Doublewide’s Stephen Presley. Doublewide veteran Sean McCall said that Presley was going to be a huge factor for his team after missing the first two days of action with a work conflict: “Stevie’s going to be running the show for our transition defense.”
Sockeye vs. Doublewide
Photo by Bil Elsinger
McCall added that Doublewide would have to “get some early turns and get aggressive” once they got the disc. From this estimation, their strategy was working perfectly, but with so much experience you can never count Sockeye out. The Fish subbed in their D-line on the next offensive point to score, and immediately backed it up with a break to get back in the game. The teams traded for the next few points, highlighted by a big-time grab by No. 24 Joe Sefton of Sockeye. Doublewide was reeling a bit and, after two goals in a row by D-line stud Nate Castine, Sockeye regained total control of the game 7-5. Gibson was doing his best to keep Doublewide in the game and found Jake Anderson with a backhand huck to keep the game in reach.
In the early stages of the second half both teams found their groove on offense and traded points until the very end. Each team scored on some beautiful hammers until Sockeye eventually broke Doublewide when Thomas Sebby found Spencer Wallis with a forehand for the win 15-12. Sockeye was not without its setbacks despite winning the game. Long time offensive cutter and team leader Sammy Chatterton-Kirchmeier went out with a broken clavicle on an attempted greatest, and rookie Tyler Kinley broke his hand trying to stop a huck. Still, Sockeye looked strong in their comeback and ready to give regional rival Revolver all they can handle in their Semifinal game.
Chain Lightning 15, Jam 10
In talking to Jam’s Justin Safdie before their quarterfinal game versus Chain, it sounded like Jam was going focus on stopping Chain’s deep game, and force them to play small ball. Similarly, Safdie added that “they (Chain) are used to playing against the deep game, so we’re going to play a bit smaller too.” In the early going of this quarterfinal it seemed that Jam’s experience playing this type of team would pay off as they opened the scoring with a smooth, composed O-point, to go up one to zero. Chain would counter with a deep shot from Dylan Tunnel to Asa Wilson as Jam struggled to put their strategy into use. The next point saw Chain’s first block of the game as Joel Wooten knocked down an underneath throw and Rob White found Jason Simpson in the back of the end zone for an early break and a 2-1 lead. Chain would never look back, getting three more breaks in a row highlighted by a two nasty layout blocks by Peter Dempsey and Brandon Porales and a gargantuan backhand huck from Chain veteran Jason Simpson to Mark Poole.
Jam found a way to stay close and put their initial strategy to work to get a couple of breaks back. Jeff Eastam got two layout blocks for the defending champs and they were able to patiently work the disc in for scores to make it 8-6 at halftime. The teams opened up the second half with a score apiece until Russel Snow got a sneaky poach “D” and Jonathan “Frito” Monforti quickly put his lefty flick blade to Rob White for another break to go up 11-7. Veteran Rob Barret then caught an errant backfield throw from a Jam handler and flipped it to Snow for Chain’s second break in as many points, and the game was all but over. Jam did all they could to stay close including a superman “D” by Idris Nolan, which was greeted with shock from both sidelines. Chain would eventually end it on a throw to Asa Wilson, as Jam was unable to recover from Atlanta’s constant defensive pressure.
Ironside 15, Ring of Fire 11
The Ring of Fire vs. Ironside game features two teams with distinctly different styles. Ring is a team that plays best while riding its emotions; playing hard, physical man defense and letting the disc fly when on “O.” On the other hand, Ironside is a very disciplined, focused squad, which prefers to remain calm and on point when on the field. Jacob Goldstein noted that “space and execution” were the keys to Ironside’s success and Ring D-liner Nick Poore said his team was talking a lot about “focusing the first time we get the ‘D.’” The game started with Ring on “O” and Dave Snoke found a streaking Thomas Ward with a beautiful huck for a 1-0 lead. Ironside answered with a score to Sam Rosenthal who toed the line to tie it up.
Boston got its first break when David Hoel hit Seth Crockford from a few yards out, and from there started to roll. Ring was having issues converting after their defense got the turn, and you could see the frustration mounting on the faces of their O-line players. Ironside jumped out to an 11-6 lead after big blocks by Will Neff and Ryan Purcell, and had yet to surrender a break. Ring made a late push to get back in it when Jared Inselman found Kyle Foreman for the score on offense, and their defensive unit finally broke through with two breaks in a row, including a diving hammer grab by Ken Porter from Brett Matzuka. Ring got as close as 11-9 but after a nice patient offensive point calmed them down, Ironside rolled to win the game 15-11.
Semifinals
Revolver 15, Sockeye 11
In a rematch of the Northwest Regional final, Bay Area’s Revolver was pitted against Seattle’s Sockeye in today’s first semifinal. Revolver’s Mac Taylor seemed excited but focused before the game and offered some insight into what the No. 1 was going to do against the Fish: “We want to move them around with pump fakes. We know they have aggressive marks, and we want to move them around with fakes and pivots to open up the break-side space.”
He also talked about some important match-ups for them, including speedster Nick Chapman on Sockeye stud Mike Caldwell, and Mark Sherwood on Tim Gehret. In speaking with Gehret before the game, he expected Revolver to poach the middle cutting lanes of Sockeye’s flat stack, saying: “They like to sag in the middle so we’re going to hit out rails (sideline cutters) early rather than the middle guys in our flat stack. We’re looking for the outside guys to initiate.”
Sockeye vs. Revolver
Photo by Bil Elsinger
Sockeye drew first blood when Thomas Sebby found Blaine Robbins with a nice hammer after an uncharacteristically sloppy point by Revolver that included a silly drop by playmaker Robbie Cahill. They would respond the next point however when Mark Sherwood put it into overdrive to run down a huck that appeared uncatchable initially. It seemed like all they needed was a little spark and Sherwood seems to be up to the task for them time and again. At 4-all Sherwood raced down his man who had beaten him deep for a monster “D,” and a few throws later Eric Halverson found John Levy with a buttery flick huck for the score and break to go up 5-4. Revolver had been pressing a bit on defense, getting turns on Sockeye who seemed to looking for the huck a bit too much. The teams would trade into halftime, but not without a share of highlights like Sockeye newcomer Joe Sefton going up large over Revolver’s Tyler Grant for a goal to keep Sockeye from falling behind.
Just as in their quarterfinal game against Johnny Bravo, Revolver came out of half time fired up and focused, getting a block off a floaty Mike Caldwell backhand and then hitting Nick Chapman for the break to take control 9-7. Revolver added yet another break as Sockeye was unable to connect on its deep shots with any regularity. The Fish were able to stay close, but only after burning a time out to sort out their offensive issues. Revolver, on the other hand, was having no problem at all and looked equally comfortable working the disc patiently or just bombing away. Tom James skied for a Cahill backhand and easily dumped it to a teammate who had sprinted down to follow the play. All over the field Revolver was winning the little battles; playing close dump defense, throwing the swings early and always hitting open hands. After a Mac Taylor layout dump “D” and ensuing score to go up 13-9, it was clear that the better team was going to come out on top. Fittingly, the win was capped off with a backhand strike from Cahill to Kittredge for the score and finals berth.
Chain Lightning 15, Ironside 11
In the later semifinal, Atlanta’s Chain Lightning squared off against Boston’s Ironside in a rematch of last season’s Semifinal; a game Ironside won. D-line handler Seth Crockford had this to say about meeting Chain in the semifinals: “We know their deep game is good and we need to stay behind them and force them to throw a lot of passes. On offense we need to continue to throw deep to be successful, and we’ve been pretty good. Jim Foster has been catching lots of deep goals with no pressure around him and Jeff Graham is . . . Jeff Graham.” Chain captain Jonathan Monforti said that “at Chesapeake they liked the around throw a lot, so we’re going to try and take that away and stay tight downfield.”
The first point couldn’t have going any better for Chain (or any worse for Boston) as a floaty dump gave Robert Runner just enough time to get in position to sky for the catch “D,” then find Peter Dempsey for the layout score and early 1-0 lead. After the goal Jay Hammond claimed “Zip called it! We’re gonna lock down and get the break upwind to start.” The second point wasn’t much better for Ironside as Brandon Perales got a sick block on an underneath cut. Monforti then found Russel Snow for the second break in a row. Chain 2-0. Boston turned the disc again for their third offensive point but after a turfed throw, Jim Foster found Jasper Hoitsma to get Ironside on the board. All weekend Chain has shown that they have the ability to totally lock down late in the stall count with tight dump defense and aggressive, but intelligent marks that prevent bailing out the thrower with a silly foul call. Ironside would come back with a big D-line stand and monster huck from Teddy Browar-Jarus to Colin Mahoney for the break to tie the score at twos.
The teams traded the next few scores with Chain bombing away from former Brown teammates Paul Vandenberg to Josh Ziperstein for one, and Jacob Goldstein sneaking one in to veteran Sam Rosenthal. At 4-5 Boston dodged a bullet as a tipped disc was snagged by an incredible layout grab by Jim Foster, who came out of nowhere when it looked like the disc was headed for the grass. This play sparked Ironside who came back with a great D-point, getting a turn off a poor Chain huck and scoring when Will Neff found Adam Sigelman for the goal to get the game back on serve. Despite the momentum, Chain found a way to answer, and Ironside never got closer. After putting in their next O point, Chain would break twice in a row to take half, with Dylan Tunnel directing a beautiful flick over the Ironside defense to John “Kid” Hammond to make the score 8-6.
The first point of the second half saw Chain famously jamming it up the sideline until A.J. Tiarsmith found Tunnel, who came up and around big Colin Mahoney for the goal. After a Boston hold on offense, Ironside had two possessions to get a break back, but couldn’t convert. The teams continued to trade points until finally Ironside broke through after Browar-Jarus flew through the air for a completely horizontal goal-line block. He then found Matt Holzer for the score to bring Ironside to within one point, 12-11. It would prove to be the last goal they scored this season. A.J. came back with a sky over his man and hit Frank Wooten, in for his first point of the game, for the goal to bring the score to 13-11. On the next point Greg Swanson fired a gorgeous blade to Rob White after a turn by Ironside on the goal line, and captain Monforti capped the semifinal victory off with a blade that was tipped but still caught by Mark Poole. The game was incredibly hard fought by both teams, but in the end it was Chain’s pressure defense and ability to punch in breaks with a high percentage that was the difference.
Day 2 Recap: Friday, Oct. 30
2009 UPA Club Championships
Sarasota, Fla.
Open Division
By Dan Heijmen
Pool E – Revolver / Ironside / Doublewide / Truckstop
Revolver vs. Doublewide
Revolver opened up this match up receiving the disc, and promptly worked it down the break-force side for the opening score 1-0. Doublewide answered with a score of their own but not without a number of stoppages due to hard physical handler “D” by Mark Sherwood and Jit Bhattacharya. This pressure was a sign of things to come for Revolver all day. The teams traded score for score with relatively clean points, including some stellar play from Doublewide handler Max Cook. That was the case until just before the half when Revolver’s pressure began to pay off. Josh Wiseman told me that their “D really clamped down; fronting and stopping their lane cutters.” He added that “Sherwood is shutting is down their handlers, he’s got two ‘D’s’ already.” Revolver rode their ‘D’s’ play to open up a 13-8 lead on the Texas boys. Doublewide fought to the end and had some nice scores late, including a nice huck from Kevin Gaffney to a Jeff Loskorn to make it 13-9. But in the end it was all Revolver, who capped off the win with an outside-in flick huck from Cassidy Rasmussen to Josh Wiseman who bobbled the disc but came down with the score and a 15-10 win.
Ironside vs. Truckstop
Speaking with Colin Mahoney before the game, he mentioned that Ironside was going to “throw deep a bit more of offense and shut down their (Truckstop’s) i/o throws.” The strategy paid off in the beginning with Ironside breaking to start the game on a throw from Ryan Purcell to Teddy Browar-Jarus. The teams traded O scores for the next few points highlighted by a huge flick huck from Boston’s Matt Rebholz to Jeff Graham. Toward the end of the half Truckstop really started to clamp down, forcing multiple turns on Boston and taking half 8-6. Boston responded out of half scoring their first O point and rattling off two breaks in a row to take a 9-8 lead. Ryan Purcell noted that “(’09 Callahan winner) Will Neff had two big ‘D’s’ to spark their run.” Truckstop continued to fight with George Hughes-Strange scoring on a pretty away cut, and even got a late break on a nasty inside out backhand from Ben Cohen to Ryan Morgan. But in the end, Boston’s handlers were able to close it out with Jacob Goldstein finding Rebholz on an upline cut on the front corner of the endzone for a 15-12 win.
Doublewide vs. Truckstop
In the second round Doublewide faced Truckstop in a battle to see who would make it straight into quarterfinals, and who would have to play in the dreaded pre-quarters game. The wind had picked up between rounds and both teams were playing a bit of zone. Despite connecting on a couple deep shots (one on offense, and one on defense) Doublewide’s Kiran Thomas said that “most of the points have been grinders,” Thomas and the rest of Doublewide were aware of Brian Stout’s presence as the deep in Truckstop’s zone and didn’t feel like testing him long would pay off. Instead they played the patient game and took an 8-6 lead into halftime. Truckstop, as they have all weekend, continued to fight and got a sweet layout block from captain Noah Eden on the dump to spark a run. Eden was then awarded the double happiness as Ben Cohen found him with his clever lefty i/o backhand for the break and emphatic spike.
The Texas boys answered the bell on their next possession with Max Cook playing well above his 5-7 frame coming down with a huge grab in the endzone over a pile of players. Doublewide came back on “D” and put in a couple breaks to get some breathing room and capped off the victory with a backhand huck from David Melancon to Pat Eberle who went up and over two defenders for the goal, and victory, 15-11.
Revolver vs. Ironside
The match-up that would decide who would take the No. 1 seed into elimination play started with a bang when Colin Mahoney found a streaking Ryan Todd for a break on the first point of the game after a missed huck by Revolver. The teams traded for the most part until 7-7 when Mark Sherwood came up big again with a deep “D” on Adam Simon as Boston was trying to take half. Mac Taylor then hit a streaking Tyler Grant who threw a short goal to take half up 8-7. Revolver came out hungry for the second half with Robbie Cahill hitting Grant again with a nice forehand to go up a break 9-7. Boston hung tough despite Revolver’s seething “D” and managed to get a break back after Revolver misses deep.
Their “D” team showed a tremendous amount of patience and discipline using both sides of the field and the break lanes until Adam Sigelman found Purcell for the goal to tie the game at 11s. The teams exchanged scores with Boston showing their patience and Revolver their deep game. However at 13-12 Revolver come up with a clever deep “D” by Mac Taylor who exploited a poor decision from Ironside. Beau Kittredge found Martin Cochran for the break 14-12, and Ironside was all but done. The Boston boys seemed to falter a bit under the pressure and relied too heavily on their deep game when it seemed the underneaths were working better. The following possession Revolver capitalized on a backfield turnover and Josh Greenough hit John Levy with a nice flick for the 15-12 win. Boston Coach Ted Munter could be heard in the huddle after the loss reminding his team “that we only have so many opportunities and we have to battle and remember to win with our legs, not our throws.”
Ironside vs. Revolver
Photo: Matt Lane
Pool F
Chain Lightning / Sockeye / Johnny Bravo / Ring of Fire
In Pool F Chain took on Johnny Bravo in what promised to be a highly athletic game with big throws and gritty defense. The teams traded breaks in the first 12 points and Chain was up (on serve) 7-6 when Rob White got a huge layout “D” on a Bravo in cut. Chain called a timeout to set up what they wanted to run which apparently was a huge huck right away, to a sprinting Joel Wooten who went up for a humungous grab and ensuing throw for the break to take half 8-6. Out of half the two teams traded points until Chain capitalized on some silly Bravo mistakes to take a 11-8 lead. At this point it looked like Chain would easily pull away as they had throughout the tournament, but Bravo really stepped up with some great defensive plays. At 11-9 David Belsheim and Jolian Dahl came up big for Bravo with two ridiculous “D’s,” and eventually punched in the break to make it 11-10. That was as close as Bravo would get however. A.J. Tiarsmith scored deep on a beautiful full field strike and Wooten again came up big with another goal to break Bravo’s offense for the win 15-12.
In the other Pool F match up, Ring gave Sockeye all they could handle and nearly pulled off a huge upset. The teams traded until 5-5 when Ring took over, scoring the last three points of the half. Ken Porter had a big-time sky to spark Carolina and was generally ridiculous all day. This newcomer on the Club stage was absolutely absurd, skying for “Ds” all over the place and catching over defenders who were significantly taller than the 5-9 Porter. Ring D-liner Chris Gibson said that Ring “forced middle at the end of the first half and fronted downfield” adding that they would keep fronting until “they (Sockeye) threw it deep.” Ring was fired up out of half and had two chances to break for 9-5, but couldn’t convert. Ray Ilian ended the point for Seattle, finding Mike Caldwell with a deep flick for a crucial hold.
Ring was playing great defense but was unable to score after the turn and allowed Sockeye to hang around a bit too long. Seattle went zone the next point, getting a break back and clawed their way back into it, eventually taking the lead after Seth Wiggins found Ryan Seguine to go up 12-11. Ken Porter answered with another spectacular play, this time coming in on the O-line and skying deep to tie it at 12s. Sockeye was humming though and starting to connect on their deep shots finally, eventually winning 15-13 despite a superhuman effort from Porter. Sockeye captain Ben Wiggins was clearly impressed by the young Ring player saying that “he probably caught more of my passes than my cutters did.” Wiggins added that “this was the most spirited Ring team he’d ever played against” and applauded their defensive strategy which Sockeye was only able to figure out late.
Ring vs. Johnny Bravo
Johnny Bravo veteran Steve Rouisse told his teammates in the huddle leading up to their game against Ring that “this game will be won by the grittier team. They (Ring) love to fight, we love to fight.” There is no doubting Bravo’s competitive drive, but this game would be all Ring early on. Taylor Pope was huge in the early stages getting a deep D and hucking a backhand to Josh Berkowitz to go up 2-0 and following it with a deep goal of his own to start out 3-0. Bravo scored only once in the opening half when Rouisse caught a goal from Tim Paymaster, but otherwise it was all Ring. Nothing seemed to go right from the Rockets, who turned over in nearly every way possible, from drops to footblocks. Bravo began to turn things around in the second half scoring an O point and finally getting their defense on the field, which scored three consecutive breaks to bring the game to 13-10.
But Ken Porter would have no more of it as he caught a huge sky over the Bravo defense and came back next point with a shoulder-high layout “D” on a seemingly perfect throw by Parker Krug. Bravo would get one more goal on deep goal by Jolian Dahl, but Ring would end it on a composed “O” point with captain Jared Inselman finding Thomas Ward to end it 15-11. Ring looked impressive today with handlers Inselman and Dave Snoke controlling the tempo on O and Pope and Porter getting big blocks on “D.” They are going to be a force to be reckoned with come tomorrow morning.
Ring of Fire vs. Johnny Bravo
Photo: Matt Lane
Chain vs. Sockeye
Chain would open up against Sockeye with a break, setting the tone in what would be a long game for the Fish. The Atlanta boys seemed always to be a step ahead of Sockeye and were able to score goals and end points in a variety of different ways. Despite being known as solely a run-and-gun or “huck-and-play-D” (Jay Hammond) team, they were surprisingly patient against a usually stingy Sockeye zone. Chain was able to use their overhead throws extremely well with Handlers Greg Swanson, Jay Hammond and Josh Markette finding targets A.J. Tiarsmith, Dylan Tunnel and Josh Ziperstein downfield. Sockeye hung tight early on and were hitting their hucks with Ilian and Mike Caldwell unleashing some beauties.
Chain’s defense continued to pressure Sockeye and got some big-time blocks including a completely horizontal “D” by Georgia alum Peter Dempsey. Chain rode their D-line’s intensity and offensive chilliness to an emphatic 15-9 win over Sockeye. In talking to Josh Ziperstein after the game, he sighted Chain’s ability to shut down their opponents’ resets as the key to their success: “In our minds, Boston, Sockeye, Revolver all run through their handlers. They all have great cutters too, but if you shut down their resets, it’s over.” On offense Chain also proved that they have the discipline to work the disc into the endzone if they have to, but Zip made sure to give me a smile adding that they will always love “the deep ball baby!”
Pre-Quarterfinals
Jam vs. Truckstop
Defending champion Jam struggled through the lower-seeded pools today, but after victories over Madison Club and Chicago’s Machine found themselves with a chance to get back to quarters. This was each team’s third game of the day, and after a full day yesterday and the Florida heat, this game would be won by the better-conditioned team. In the opening stages, it was all Truckstop, who scored on a huck from Ben Cohen to former Pittsburgh standout Brent Bellinger for a quick 1-0 lead. Jam looked tired early on, giving up a quick break on their first offensive possession to go down quickly 2-0. The Champs were able to will their next point into the endzone and trade for a couple until 6-4 Truckstop. Up until this point Truck had been controlling the disc effectively with Sean McComb, Damon Taylor and Ryan Morgan quickly moving the disc through Jam’s tired D.
But at 6-4 Jam held and proceeded to score seven more in a row, eventually running their lead to 12-6. During this run Truckstop’s offense seemed to totally stagnate and Jam found the energy in their legs to run past Truckstop defenders. Bart Watson had a huge game, controlling the disc for Jam and working the disc into the endzone for break after break. Jam rookie Will Chen was also all over the field, catching and throwing bombs for his new team. Truckstop finally stopped the bleeding with a Brian Stout goal to make it 12-7 and added a break to bring their total up to eight, but that’s all they would get. Former Callahan winner Jim Schoettler would score the final goal on a nasty grab off a huck for the win, and a spot against Chain in tomorrow’s quarterfinals.
GOAT vs. Johnny Bravo
In the early stages of this match up it looked like Bravo was going to have a repeat of their previous game versus Ring. The Canadians, who came out of the lower pools over Streetgang, Pike and Bodhi on point differential looked strong early, coming out with three breaks in a row. Graham Withers had a beautiful layout block and John Hassel was scoring deep for GOAT until Steve Rouisse found Mitch Schminke to get Bravo on the board. Bravo would get a break back before half when Clark Bishop found space deep, but would give it right back while falling behind 8-5 at half. At this point, Bravo saw their season slipping away and found a way to will themselves back into the game. Jeff Berget ran down a nice deep shot from Dave Belsheim to bring the score closer, but GOAT kept a healthy lead.
Hassel found Sam Kennedy deep to push the lead to 13-9 and it seemed that Bravo might be out of steam. However, after holding on offense Bravo ramped up the energy again and made one final push to get back into the game. At 13-11 Josh “Richter” Ackley made the play of the game with an absolutely incredible layout catch “D” in the endzone on a throw that seemed well out of reach. Bishop followed it up with a “D “of his own, and eventually Ryan Farrel found Rouisse to bring the score closer to 13-12. On the ensuing possession a missed GOAT huck quickly led to another Bravo break as Jolian hit Belsheim, who simply ran by his defender for an easy open-side goal. At this point the Canadians were reeling, and weren’t able to do much more than throw long and hope to come down with some 50/50 discs. And twice they did, only to turn it over right on the goal line on back-breaking throwaways. In the end it was Brian Bogle scoring from Matty Zemel to complete the comeback 16-14, sending Bravo into quarters, and GOAT into the consolation bracket.
GOAT vs. Johnny Bravo
Photo: Matt Lane
Day 1 Recap: Thursday, Oct. 29
2009 UPA Club Championships
Sarasota, Fla.
Open Division
By Dan Heijmen
Day One in the Open Division at the 2009 UPA Club Championships showed that the deeper teams are looking the strongest.
Pool A: Revolver / GOAT / Truckstop / Pike
Revolver certainly looked like the team to beat in their first day of the 2009 Club Championships. Despite giving up a comfortable lead to Truckstop (up 9-3, eventually brought to 11-10) they remained the disciplined, balanced team they pride themselves in being. Their ability to work the underneath throws and quick handler movements on some points tighten up their opposition’s defense enough to allow big throwers like Mac Taylor and Robbie Cahill to find space deep later on. They stormed back after letting Truck into the game to take it 15-11. In their next two matchups, against GOAT and Pike respectively, Revolver showed no signs of slowing down, holding their opponent in each game to single digits, with a combination of smooth “O” and quick transition scores.
As the second seed out of their pool, Truckstop showed that they are ready to make the jump to the top tier of Open Ultimate. Despite eventually falling to Revolver, they showed incredible grit in pulling themselves out of a major hole and nearly tied the game. They get their defensive momentum from Brian Stout who sparked this run with a huge layout block on Mac Taylor and the ensuing hammer to his brother Michael for the score. They showed no signs of fatigue later in the day, handling GOAT by a surprising margin. Daniel Noll said that the last time the two played they “scored a bunch deep so it opened up the unders” for them today. The game stayed close in the early going, but Truck opened it up with some nice offensive flow after their “D” team got the turn. Truckstop ran away with it in the later stages with GOAT’s offense unable to score against the intense handler pressure and deep defense. Truckstop followed up this game with a solid effort against Pike, perhaps taking the fourth seed a bit too lightly in the early stages, but turning it on later in the game and eventually winning 15-11.
GOAT entered the 2009 UPA Club Championships as a team many thought could make a deep run, but today they just weren’t clicking. The wind wasn’t much of a factor all day, but they seemed to struggle a bit against teams taking away their deep shots. They played a bit more conservatively than I’ve seen them in the past, and it looked like the grinding took its toll. John Hassel continued his stellar play, finding himself on both ends of deep throws including a beauty from No. 81 Adrian Yearwood. Their defense was stifling at times, but struggled after the turn to cash in on breaks. They knocked off Pike in their first-round game and will carry that into their lower pool tomorrow, and would be an unwelcome pre-quarters match-up for any of the top seeds.
Pike entered today with an incredibly tough draw and seemed to always be a few points away from making a serious run at an upset. Their first-round game against GOAT may have been their best chance as they kept it close in the second half with some clever break mark throws from handlers like Ian McClellan. They had a forgettable game against Revolver in the second round and kept it close enough to be interesting with Truckstop, before their regional rivals took care of business.
Pool B: Chain / Jam / Ring / Madcow
Chain Lightning began their day with a hotly contested first half against Ring, each team sighting some poor calls by the other. The first half was nearly without a deep look from Chain who seemed more than content to work the unders with speedy, smart cutting from Josh Ziperstein and A.J. Tiarsmith. After trailing at half 8-7, Chain stepped up their defensive pressure and began to assert their collective will. They ran away with the game in the second half while opening up with a 3-0 run, highlighted by a bomb from Jason Simpson to the speedy Rob White. They continued to find some deep space with Paul Vandenberg finding former Brown teammate Josh Ziperstein for a huck over two Ring defenders. Similarly to Revolver in their pool it seemed that Chain got stronger as the day went on, tapping into their bench and continuously putting in fast, hungry defenders. They cruised through their games against Madcow and defending champs Jam without much trouble, and are looking good for power pools tomorrow.
Jam struggled today to find a good rhythm offensively, as evidenced by their opening point of the day against Madcow when Bart Watson missed his intended receiver and was unable to recover until the Ohio team had scored their first break. They eventually recovered in this game, winning 15-11, but certainly did not display the focus or assertiveness that won them the Championship a year ago. Jam’s day went significantly downhill after their first-round victory with back-to-back losses against Ring and Chain. It seems that their midseason injuries have come back to haunt them a bit, with players not on the same page. Bart Watson remained positive, however, saying that they still “expect to win every game” they are in. They enter the lower pools and if they are able to get that cohesiveness back could still be a force later in the tournament.
Raleigh’s Ring of Fire came out today pumped up and took it to Chain in the first half of their opening round game, 8-7. As previously stated they were unable to maintain their high level throughout the game, but nevertheless seemed to gain some confidence. No. 00 Ken Porter really stood out on their D-line today with some huge grabs including one on Chain Lightning giant Joel Wooten. On offense it was all about Jared Inselman and Dave Snoke controlling the play and throwing through overly aggressive marks to find space for teammates like Thomas Ward who, along with Porter, was big for Ring all day. Ring handled Jam with some smart defensive adjustments on the mark to frustrate Jam’s throwers and force some tricky turnovers. They finished up their games with a nice effort over Madcow, closing the game on a 7-3 run, and look strong for tomorrow’s power pools.
First time Championship qualifier Madcow looked strong all day, yet couldn’t quite find a way to put together a complete game. Captain Rodger Oakes said that their first-round game was “disappointing that (they) couldn’t convert more break opportunities” against Jam’s mistake-prone offense. They hung tight against the defending champs, but couldn’t get that second-half run they needed to make it really interesting. They followed up this with a weak showing against Chain, who was beginning to click before taking on Ring in the last game of the day. Madcow answered the call in the first half, breaking to stay close before the Carolina boys began to assert themselves in the second half. Overall they played strong throughout the day and showed that they definitely belonged among Ultimate’s elite teams.
Round 2: Chain Lightning vs. Madcow
Photo: Bil Elsinger
Pool C: Ironside / Doublewide / Bodhi / Streetgang
Boston’s Ironside came out incredibly strong in their first-round game against Bodhi, taking half at 8-2 and eventually winning 15-5. Everything seemed to be working in their opening-round game, which may have led to a bit of overconfidence as they squared off against San Diego. Ironside had some uncharacteristic mental mistakes and was immediately punished by Streetgang’s transition. Ironside found themselves down 6-2 in a flash, and were never able to recover, losing 15-12. The sharpness and precision that was on display through the season seemed to vanish for a game, but they remained positive into their last-round game against Doublewide. The contest stayed close early, with each team getting a break apiece in the first half, until Ironside found their rhythm again, and blew the game open to win 15-10. When their “D” team is clicking and working quickly this is a very dangerous team, yet showed that they have the ability to mentally disappear at times.
Doublewide’s day went according to seed, yet the Texas boys feel they let the pool slip out of their grasp with a last-round loss to Ironside. Kurt Gibson was back playing but said that he was only about 70 percent after recovering from an injury, and was reduced to playing behind the disc and throwing rather than receiving deep throws. Doublewide showed brilliance at times and are athletically as strong as any team in this year’s field, but also that they are capable to giving points away on careless throwaways. Still, they did enough to move on into power pools with quality victories over Bodhi and Streetgang where their creative throwers like David “Salad” Melancon were able to carve up the opponents’ “D.” Kiran Thomas had a strong day offensively for Doublewide and Jake Anderson was owning the skies for their “D” team, getting deep blocks and catching a healthy number of hucks.
Bodhi, out of western Mass., came out against Boston incredibly flat and was immediately steamrolled. But in true Bodhi fashion, they could still be heard laughing and pumping each other up, knowing that the day was long and anything could happen. Unfortunately for them they ran into a Doublewide team that was playing almost as well as Ironside, and couldn’t quite match the Texans’ height or athleticism. In their final game Bodhi took on Streetgang who was fresh off their victory over Ironside. Bodhi was able to match San Diego’s intensity and the game remained close until the very end. Up 14-11 Bodhi gave up a two-point run to narrow the game to 14-13. After a marathon point with multiple turns by each team Sam Kanner found Brent Anderson with a perfectly placed flick huck for the goal, and the win. Bohdi enters tomorrow’s games with the goal of reaching pre-quarters, and if so their on-field intensity and positive attitude could work in their favor against an exhausted, emotionally drained team who has to face them after power pools.
San Diego’s Streetgang is a team looking to make the jump from Regional to Nationals power and they took a major step forward today with their victory over Ironside. Streetgang came into their second-round game after losing to Doublewide, but had made a nice run at the end to bring the game a bit closer. Perhaps they were still riding this momentum, but for whatever reason they absolutely took it to the finalists from last year in the opening stages of the game. No. 80 Kevin “Dollar” Smith was dropping bombs all over the place, and seemed to do no wrong against Ironside’s struggling O-line. Streetgang looked to transition quickly, often hucking after the second or third throw off a turnover. Some wondered whether they would be able to maintain their stellar play in the second half after taking the first, 8-4. Well . . . they did. Riding their intense defense, Smith’s dimes and Adam “Wormser” Bunn’s timely deep cutting, they shocked the tournament with a 15-12 victory. Unfortunately the glory was short-lived, and after losing a heartbreaker to Bodhi they’ll have their work cut out for them if they want to make it out of their pool and into pre-quarters.
Pool D: Sockeye / Johnny Bravo / Madison Club / Machine
Sockeye found itself in an unfamiliar position this season, outside the top-three seeds, and thus in the D Pool, historically the pool of death. They came out hungry and fast as always and put together a strong day, finishing 3-0, yet none of their games carried with them a typical Sockeye beatdown. They allowed all their opponents to hang around a bit more than they would have liked and even mentioned that they were “exploited deep” by other teams’ D-lines. Yet despite their struggles they finished the day perfect, capping it off with a strong win against Johnny Bravo where their “O” looked scary good at times. Seth and Ben Wiggins were controlling the tempo for the Fish and Sammy CK and Mike Caldwell showed that despite not playing much together this season that they still seem to possess an ingrained awareness of each other on the field, linking up for huge gainers and a few hucks for scores.
Round 3: Sockeye vs. Johnny Bravo
Photo: Bil Elsinger
Johnny Bravo had flashes of brilliance today and felt that, had a few things gone their way, they would be 3-0 and the pool winners. They looked sharp against Machine and Madison in their first two rounds yet, like Sockeye, didn’t register any dominating performances as they have in the past. They were fairly patient in their first two games, content to take the unders, knowing that teams were still aware of their stellar huckers like Parker Krug and deep threats Ted Tripoli and Jolian Dahl. Before their last game Mitch Schminke told me that they were “going to open it up a bit, tap into their deep game” a little more. He seemed comfortable that even if it didn’t work out for a victory that it was still important for their later match-ups. The deep shots looked good against Sockeye but had a few more turns than their opponents, which was the difference in the end.
Madison Club returned to Club Championships with a team ready to show that it is not just a college Ultimate power. They opened up with a break against Sockeye that set the tone for their day. Madison Club veteran Jaden Scullion had a huge day for Madison’s D-line, getting deep “D’s” and finding himself throwing and catching a number of goals today. They hung tight against Sockeye and Bravo, getting 12 and 11 points on the perennial powers. They were able to rattle off breaks with a certain amount of regularity but gave their opponents the disc too often to pose a serious threat. Still captain Hector Valdivia asserted that they “are not intimidated by any team” and showed on the field that they could play with the big dogs. Their final game against Regional-rival Machine also showed that Madison is never out, as they rallied from 12-9 down to take the game 17-15. A sick layout d from Matt Young sparked the comeback and Ben Feldman throw the game winning to Captain Seth Meyer who leaped over two Chicago defenders for the goal and the victory.
Chicago’s Machine ended day one with a disappointing 0-3 record and certainly will be licking their wounds after letting Madison back into a game they clearly had controlled. They were able to string together stretches against Bravo and Sockeye but never enough to give their opponents serious worry. When they were clicking it was their athletes like Vijay Menon, Hensley Sejour and Matt Wilken making plays defensively and Joe Ferrari, Tyson Park and Tim Halt controlling the disc on offense.
2009 UPA Club Championships
Open Division Preview
By Dan Heijmen
We are within a week from the 2009 UPA Club Championships and questions abound: Who are the favorites? Where are the cupcake games? Which pool can actually be labeled as the dreaded "Pool of Death"? And most importantly: who can we expect to see playing Sunday afternoon in the Floridian sunshine? These questions wouldn’t be asked if they could be answered easily, and come Thursday morning, the speculation will cease and players will have to play.
Pool A
(1) Revolver, (8) GOAT, (9) Truck Stop, (16) Pike
Revolver
As the tournament’s overall No. 1-seed and sexy pick to win it all, Revolver looks to equal the result of their Bay Area neighbors a season ago. Much has been made of Bravo transfers Mac Taylor and Beau Kittredge (and rightfully so), but if Revolver wants to be playing on Sunday they must be able to fall back on their Stanford-influenced discipline and team balance. At this point the only chink in Revolver’s armor may be itslack of experience reaching a UPA finals and their Stanford contingent’s recent history of Semifinal exits. Yet a strong effort in their Regional Final vs. Sockeye shows that Revolver might be ready to put their past behind them, and look toward a celebration on Sunday.
GOAT
How good is John Hassel, and how do they grow so tall up in Toronto? With 17 of their 27 players listed at 6-0 or taller, and a man many are calling the best player in the game, GOAT is ready to show that despite Furious’ lack of attendance at the past two Championships, Ultimate in Canada is not regressing. The giants from up North have also added a World-Class handler in Derek Alexander who opens up the entire field with his break throws and a first step that makes defenders look silly. If their deep game is clicking on offense, and their defense can get some early breaks, GOAT is a team to be feared.
Truck Stop
Coming off what many consider a surprising win at Mid-Atlantic Regionals, Truck Stop wants to show that their fifth-place finish in 2007 was no fluke. The core of that 2007 remains, but they were also responsible for a forgettable 15th-place finish last season. Still, Truck Stop has the players to give any team fits, and if they can control their emotions they can be dangerous. On offense veteran Damon Taylor’s (playing with a missing ankle ligament) backhand opens up the field for athletic cutters like Ryan Morgan and “Gorgeous” George Hughes-Strange. After the turn it’s all about Brian Stout, a.k.a .“Mr. Slam," who combines huge skies with monster pulls that can pin the opposing offense deep in its own territory.
Pike
Pike is a relative unknown this season despite having a strong history out of the Mid-Atlantic region. It are also the only team in this year’s field without a victory over another qualifier. Yet after the controversy surrounding the third spot out of their Region, Pike is looking to quell the notions that they don't belong. With savvy vets like J. Dono, Pike certainly knows what it takes to win at the Championships and will seek to repeat their dream run to semis in 2004.
Pool B
(2) Chain Lightning, (7) Jam, (10) Ring of Fire, (15) Madcow
Chain
It seems that Chain have finally realized how good they are. Coming off an impressive ECC (despite missing several key players) and a victory over Boston at Chesapeake Open, Chain has all the tools in place to make a run at a Championship. Lured back by the potential glory this season, veterans A.J. Tiarsmith, Rob Barret and John “The Kid” Hammond lead a team full of athletes and playmakers. It’s a given at this point that Josh Ziperstein will have at least one “wow” play a game and the bearded Rob White loves to take advantage of teams that still don’t realize how good he is. Keep an eye on handlers Jonathan Monforti and the aptly nicknamed Josh “Cricket” Markette going deep from the backfield. Did I forget to mention Dylan Tunnel?
Jam
A dream run at last year’s Championship lifted a 20-year curse off of Bay Area Ultimate. This season has seen some familiar faces retire; yet many still remain. An up-and-down regular season, due in part to key injuries, has left many wondering if Jam will be able to pull it together in time for another title run. They still have top-level talent in U.S. National Team standout Bart Watson, and enough experience and talent across the board to beat anyone. The question is: Will they?
Ring of Fire
Ring is back at the Championships this year with what some have said is their strongest team since their finals appearance in 2002. However, a disappointing loss to Truckstop in Mid-Atlantic Regional Finals has left people wondering what to expect at the Championships. What we do know is that the Carolina boys will bring a heavy dose of fire, physical defense and those (in)famous white tights. Jared Inselman leads a team known for a defensive grittiness that will keep them in any game. Opponents must be ready for a high-octane, high-emotion game. If their handlers are connecting on their hucks, and Taylor Pope establishes himself deep, Ring will be playing meaningful games far into the weekend.
Madcow
Despite being a first-time qualifier, Madcow is not simply happy to be here. Knocking off a Sub Zero team that made semis at Labor Day was an impressive feat, and their close scores against top competition at Chesapeake Open show that the Columbus boys are ready for this test. Expect Phil Roebuck and Roger Oakes to lead this team on either side of the disc, and Jeff Kula is a tireless cutter who will grind his matchup down over the course of the game. If Madcow can keep the game close through the first half, don’t be surprised to see them knock off a team in this pool that might not be prepared for their hard-nosed D and huck-happy Offense.
Pool C
(3) Ironside, (6) Doublewide, (11) Bodhi, (14) Streetgang
Ironside
Boston knows that this could their year. Their run to finals last year left them encouraged at the steps they’d taken since the DoG years, yet bitter that an opportunity passed them by. Ironside capped off an impressive regular season by tearing through their Region, crushing a very good GOAT team, 15-6, in finals. The team hummed like a well-oiled machine and seemed to have a never-ending supply of athletes like Jeff Graham, Colin Mahoney, Jim Foster and recent Callahan winner Will Neff. Despite this stable of playmakers, Coach Greg Connely knows that if they want to bring the title back to Boston it will rest on the play of their handlers, particularly on their O-line. With talented throwers like Jacob Goldstein, Jasper Hoitsma and newcomer Matt Rebholtz they clearly have the talent, but they’ll need to deliver when it counts.
Doublewide
It’s often said that for a team to reach the highest level in Ultimate they need a few years together to truly gel. If this is true then Doublewide is a team that could be ready to make a surprise run at a title. Their nucleus of Mike “Tank” Natenburg, David “Salad” Melancon, Max Cook and Stephen Priestley all have the ability to bomb hucks from any part of the field, and the rise of Kiran Thomas this season has added yet another weapon to an athletically stacked team. This season Doublewide has also added college and club standouts Rory Orloff and the dynamic Kurt Gibson, who have been integral in the team's regular-season success. If Kurt is healthy (recovering from a broken ankle at Labor Day) and dominating the skies as usual, Doublewide is as good as any team out there.
Bodhi
They aren’t as young as their opponents want them to be, and a year after their creation Bodhi is very hungry. After stomping a talented PoNY team in the game-to-go out of the Northeast Region, Bodhi is ready to show the rest of the field how badly they want it. Leading the way for the boys from Western Mass. are Sam Kanner and Andrew Hollingworth. Each is comfortable with the disc in their hands or cutting downfield for huge chunks of yards. After the turn don’t be surprised when Bodhi’s D-team goes straight for the jugular, routinely throwing 70-yard bombs to speedy receivers. Great on- and off-field chemistry anchor this team and Bodhi also boasts a dynamic zone that could be a major force if the winds are a factor.
Streetgang
The Ultimate scene in San Diego has always been packed with talent, but not until this season did they all decide to get along. The merging of Last Call and PBR Streetgang has propelled San Diego Ultimate into the Championships for the first time since 2005. Streetgang combats their relatively short roster with incredible speed and hunger on D. Their D-Line will get turns on anyone at the Championships, but like many new teams, their offensive chemistry is unreliable. Streetgang is led by Matt "Thoopa" Heffernan and Adam "Wormser" Bunn on Offense and defense, respectively, and will look to these two for the spark that will lift them past teams that take them too lightly.
Pool D
(4) Sockeye, (5) Johnny Bravo, (12) Madison Club, (13) Machine
Sockeye
After an early exit in Quarterfinals last season, Sockeye wants to show the rest of the World that the best Ultimate team resides in Seattle. This season has brought some major changes for the Fish. Gone is Chase Sparling-Beckley, and they are missing defensive standouts Andrew Fleming and Alex Nord due to injuries. Sockeye also claims to have its highest number of rookies since its 2004 Championship season. Many of the familiar faces are still in place however, and the Wiggins brothers, Sammy C.K., Tim Gehret and company are looking to build on their Labor Day victory and bring another Championship back to the Emerald City.
Johnny Bravo
Like Sockeye, Johnny Bravo looks like a much different team from years past. Departed are standouts Mac Taylor and Beau Kittredge (to Revolver), Adam “Chicken” Simon (to Ironside), David Popiel and Matt Lipscomb from the team that reached semis last year and finals in 2007. However Bravo is quick to remind the rest of the field who remains: Jolian Dahl, Ted Tripoli and Josh “Richter” Ackley are just a few of the talented core of athletes coming back. They also boast two of the most talented handlers at the Championships in Parker Krug and Stephen Rouisse. The hunger is certainly there in Boulder, but after an up-and-down season, Bravo has work to do if they want to claim what was nearly theirs in 2007.
Madison Club
After a six-year hiatus, Madison Club is back at the Championships, fresh off their victory at Central Regionals. The commuting experiment with Sub Zero is over and it has certainly paid dividends for the boys from Wisconsin. Back are Hector Valdivia, stepping into a leadership role, and Brandon “Muffin” Malecek who possesses perhaps the biggest weapon of all in Sarasota (and won’t be afraid to tell you about it). Muffin’s forehand percentage will be the stat to watch for Madison this tournament, and if he can consistently hit long targets like Jon Gaynor, David Schleicher and Tom Murray, then opposing teams will be in trouble. But if the deep shots aren’t there, Madison will need to relax and trust their less huck-happy handlers like the smooth Tom “Animal” Annen to move the disc quickly and find the break lanes.
Machine
Chicago’s Machine is back at the Championships again, having the longest Nationals streak out of the Central Region. Machine has had another up-and-down season, highlighted with wins over Bodhi, Truckstop and Streetgang. Chicago certainly possesses the experience needed to compete with the big boys but has shown a lack of discipline in the past that has gotten them into trouble. If they want to make noise at the Championships this year it will take a great effort from lightning-quick players like Tim Holt and Tyson Park, who will look to come underneath and exploit the opposition with big throws from both wings. Hensley Sejour is one of the most entertaining players to watch in all of Ultimate with his circus layouts and gritty handler D. Look for him to spark Chicago if they want to upset any of the top teams.
