UUCC Mixed Preview
Posted
Here is the Mixed Preview.
Slow White (NE1, Boston)
Roster additions:
Dave Truesdale
Jasper Hoitsma (Ironside)
Rosie Ano
Rusty Ingold-Smith (Ring of Fire)
Christina Kelley
Lauren Gloede
Alex Trahey
Liz Hand
Cody Rebholz
Zirui Song
Julie Eagle
Roster departures:
Tim Warden-Hertz
Kendra Frederick (District 5)
Matt Greytak
Becky Malinowski (Overhaul)
Emily Baecher (Riot)
Bethany Dutra
Erin Kelleher
Elliot Gould
Alex Morrone (District 5)
Frank Fellone
John Korber (District 5)
Results:
Boston Invite – 2nd (11-15 District 5)
Philly Invite – 2nd (10-12 District 5)
Emerald City Classic – 2nd (12-15 District 5)
Chesapeake Open – t-3rd (Jukebox Hero)
East New England Sectionals – 1st (13-8 Quiet Coyote)
Northeast Regionals – 1st (15-4 District 5)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 9-4
Analysis:
Slow White had some major additions this year, bringing in Jasper Hoitsma from Ironside and Rusty Ingold-Smith from Ring of Fire, and the results showed by reaching the finals in 5 of the 6 tournaments they played this year. What is interesting to see is that the only time they beat District 5 is when it counted, at Regionals.
With only 1 loss on their record this year to someone not named District 5 (13-9 to Bucket at Chesapeake), Slow White certainly looks primed to get back to the finals at Nationals. Pool play should go to seed for them, and they will be awaiting Bucket, in a game to avenge that loss at Chesapeake, in power pools. As long as they avoid District 5 before then, I fully expect Slow White in the finals.
District 5 (NE2, New Haven, CT)
New team in 2010
Jeff Ho
Emily Estrada (Axis of C’Ville)
Mary Glickman
Dwight Harris
Chris Mazur
Liz Middleton
Brandon Redding (Hooray for Coed, Hooray)
Maren Schultz
Karin Burghardt (Hooray for Coed, Hooray)
Sterling Dumas
Justin Segool
Liz Harrison
Zac Roy
Kendra Frederick (Slow White)
Kelley Miller
Will Murphy
John Korber (Slow White)
Mary Kate Hogan (LA Metro)
Judy Winglee
Andy Bosco
Jacob Kravitz
Kevin Garrity
Rafe Steinhauer
Ryan Strobel
Nick Scheiner
Sara Zuba
Jordan Kravitz
Alex Morrone (Slow White)
Results:
Mixed Easterns – 5th place
Boston Invite – 1st (15-11 Slow White)
Philly Invite – 1st (12-10 Slow White)
Emerald City Classic – 1st (15-12 Slow White)
Chesapeake Open – 1st (12-11 Bucket)
Metro New York Sectionals – 1st (14-13 Depends on the Jersey)
Northeast Regionals – 2nd (15-8 Snowbirds)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 14-2
Analysis:
District 5 was certainly the darling of the mixed season until their meltdown in the finals at Regionals against Slow White (15-4). D5 has had a dominant regular season, winning all 4 major tournaments they were in, with the only hiccup being a 12-10 loss to AMP in pool play at the Boston Invite.
They should do well in pool play, provided they’ve correct whatever went wrong at Regionals. The Polar Bears will be a strong challenge for top seed in the pool (lone matchup this year was 14-12 D5 at ECC), but they should cruise through to power pools. Anything less than a semi-final appearance would be a shocking upset.
Bucket (SO1, Atlanta)
Roster additions:
Jessica Cohen
Andrew Carter
Jeremy Majors
Adrienne Tecza
Michael Arenson (Sub Zero)
Emily Mitchell
Taylor Nilan
Dani Kaplan
Jess Cofrin
Sam Gainer
Madeline Roorbach
Abigail Schuster
Matt Kafonek
Roster departures:
Kyle Weisbrod
Shimrit Paley
Brian Cornelison
Josh Klehr
Theo Beck
Nick Fiske
Calli Ray
Sara Gravelin
Chris Gwinner
Greg Schwartz
Michelle Young
Alisha Kramer
Results:
HoDown XIV – 1st (15-9 Clean Plate Club)
Chesapeake Open – 2nd (11-12 District 5)
East Coast Sectionals – 1st (15-8 Nooga By Nature)
South Regionals – 1st (15-7 Conspiracy Theory)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 4-1
Analysis:
Bucket, looking to improve on last year’s 8th place finish, certainly had a lot of roster turnover (although what else is new in the mixed division?). Having only played in 1 significant regular season tournament, I’m a bit surprised to see them seeded 3rd overall, but wins over Amp, Overhaul and Slow White, all potential power pool play opponents, and a 11-12 loss to D5 in the finals is certainly impressive. They should be able to cruise through pool play, but wresting top seed from Slow White will be tough going.
Drag’n Thrust (CN1, Minneapolis)
*Last year’s roster unavailable*
Jeffrey Trosvig
Tom Bomberg
Patrick Niles
Matt Holzer (Ironside)
Alexander Baker
Missy Klajda
Martha Harris
Jake Henderson
Anna Hettler
Austin Lien
Alex Stanislaw
Jeanine Kooman
James Hron
Peter Carr
Dave Klink
Mike Petersen
Lindsay Pastor
Josh Hemmesch (Sub Zero)
Melissa Jordan
Jaime Glader
Alexander Delegard
Robyn Fennig
Laura Steinkraus
Michael Berseth
Elijah Edwards
Kirsta Jeske
Results:
Philly Invite – 3rd
Cooler Classic – 2nd (12-13 Chad Larson Experience)
Chicago Heavyweight Championships – 1st (14-7 Overhaul)
Northwest Plains Sectionals – 1st (15-7 Evil Twin)
Central Regionals – 1st (15-13 Overhaul)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 8-3
Analysis:
Drag’n Thrust certainly owes this seeding to Overhaul, as Drag’n Thrust was able to win their region without facing reigning World Champions Chad Larson Experience, thus necessitating they be seeded ahead of CLX.
An impressive regular season, though they are 0-2 against the teams seeded ahead of them; they are going to have a very tough time getting to power pools with CLX and Snowbirds (a mix of WUCC 2nd place ONYX and 10th place RIP) also in their pool.
Chad Larson Experience (CN2, Ames, IA)
Roster additions:
Kathryn Sanders (One Trick Pony)
Chelsea Twohig
Andrew Strikwerda
Jessica Erickson
Doug Jacobs (One Trick Pony
Steph Jacobs (One Trick Pony)
Blake Larson (One Trick Pony)
Andrew Wimer
Jeremy Meyer (One Trick Pony)
Kyle Gill
Roster departures:
Steven Meyer
Mark Groteluschen
Zach Eastland
Steven Hanson (MethOD)
Seth Bartel
Sarah Solarz (Pop)
Lana Seiler
Christine Rosen (Pop)
Michael Brisbois
Results:
World Ultimate Club Championships – 1st (17-10 ONYX)
MUDI – 1st (15-13 Ben Lyons & the Blowfish [NOTE: Drag’n Thrust split squad])
Cooler Classic – 1st (13-12 Drag’n Thrust)
Chicago Heavyweight Championships – t-3rd (MethOD)
West Plains Sectionals – 1st (15-5 MethOD)
Central Regionals – 2nd (15-8 Overhaul)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 5-2
Analysis:
Chad Larson Experience are the reigning World Champions, and were it not for Overhaul, they’d be looking at an undefeated season, and the likely top seed in this tournament.
Look for Kevin Seiler, Amy Sheldahl and Kurt Brorsen to be the focal point of the offence for a team that is looking at making up for last year’s shortcomings, and take home a USAU Championship.
Mischief (NW1, San Francisco)
Roster additions:
Matt West (End Phase)
Sarah Carnahan (LA Metro)
Jen Schmerling
Sam Law
Melinda Lee
Justin Safdie (JAM)
Lisa Vampola (Zeitgeist)
Roster departures:
Angie Sanan (LA Metro)
Andrew Hagen
Wes Chao
Emily Gauthier
Kari DeLeeuw (Fury)
Eric Greenwood
Heather Wolnick
Annie Banks
Kitt Hodsden
Results:
Boston Invite – 3rd
Emerald City Classic – 5th
Labor Day – 1st (15-14 7 Figures)
Northern California Sectionals – 2nd (15-10 A.I.R.)
Northwest Regionals – 1st (14-13 Polar Bears)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 4-5
Analysis:
Mischief has done a nice job returning to Nationals, after finishing 3rd in 2008. Adding Justin Safdie from JAM gives this team fantastic experience and leadership. A strong regular season, they have only 3 losses to teams that aren’t Slow White or D5: 14-12 to Swagger at ECC, 15-14 to Operation Kapow (a team led by former Fury star Enessa Janes) at Labor Day and 13-10 to Polar Bears at Sectionals.
Mischief was able to avenge the loss to Polar Bears at Regionals, and are a good bet to continue their momentum into power pools, taking the top spot out of pool C.
Polar Bears (NW2, Bay Area, CA)
New team in 2010
Michael Liu (Strike Slip)
Robert Gormley (End Phase)
Bekah Sexton
Greg Marliave (End Phase)
Emily West
Jacob Serrano (End Phase)
Elijah Kerns
Ernst Westphal (End Phase)
Aj Shankar
Natasha Won
Alexa Kirkland
Matt Sung
Emma Dobbins
Daniel Naruo (End Phase)
Lisa Pitcaithley
Lucas Dallmann
Clay Miller
Kwai Philpott
Adam Raty (End Phase)
An-Chi Tsou
Brenda Shaylor
Results:
Santa Barbara Classic – 2nd (9-15 Ambush Paddington)
Emerald City Classic – t-3rd (Swagger)
Labor Day – 5th
Northern California Sectionals – 1st (13-10 Mischief)
Northwest Regionals – 2nd (15-9 Swagger)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 5-4
Analysis:
Another contender for top overall seed until they lost to Mischief at Regionals, the Polar Bears are 1st year team, that has a strong Downtown Brown contingent, and did a nice job picking up players from the now defunct End Phase from the Open division.
Expect the Polar Bears to breeze into power pools, where a fantastic day of power pool play awaits them with District 5, CLX and Snowbirds/Drag’n Thrust likely rounding out that pool.
Overhaul (CN3, Ann Arbor, MI)
New team in 2010
Colin McIntyre
James Highsmith (Hybrid)
Ryan Purcell (Ironside)
Kristin Essary
Ryan Heffernan
Thomas Haynes (Hybrid)
John Collins III
Matt Wilken
Logan Braun
Jessica Sipperley
Oliver Honderd
Kimberly Sabo
Nathan Solon
Ross Welch (One Trick Pony)
Darren Galligan
Becky Malinowski (Slow White)
Paula Seville
Serina Mazzoni
Lindsey Stewart (Hybrid)
Jules Cooch (Hybrid)
Kaiser Shen
Spencer Jolly
Erin Schran
Eric Witham (Hybrid)
Seth Buchsbaum (Hybrid)
Juggles Zagel (Hybrid)
Results:
Down With the Clown – 1st (5-0)
Philly Invite – 6th
Motown Throwdown – 1st (15-11 B.O.I.)
Chesapeake Open – t-7th (Hooray for Coed, Hooray)
Chicago Heavyweight Championships – 2nd (7-14 Drag’n Thrust)
East Plains/Michigan Sectionals – 1st (15-6 B.O.I.)
Central Regionals – 3rd (8-15 Chad Larson Experience)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 4-8
Analysis:
Overhaul, a new team, but formed from last year’s Hybrid team, are the 1st team from Michigan to make Nationals in any division since Big Ass Truck qualified in the Open division in 2006.
While they have beaten CLX twice this year, those are their only wins against teams seeded above them at this tournament, and have 4 losses against non-qualifiers this year.
This team will need to bring their ‘CLX” game to be able to advance beyond pre-quarters, where they could meet up with regional rival Drag’n Thrust (0-3 against DnT this year).
AMP (MA1, Philadelphia)
Roster additions:
Dan Cavanaugh (A.I.R.)
Jesse Gormley
Alex Grintsvayg
Andrea DeSabato
Jeff Truskin
Kenny Furdella
Melanie Berlin (Zeitgeist)
Harrison Treegoob
Michael Zargham
Ben Pelleg
Kevin McCormick
Keith Torrey
Krista Winalski
Brian Acquaviva
Dave Darowish
Kyle Golrick
Petter Abrahamsson
Megan Kuhfuss
Kathi Jenkins
Katie Barry
Roster departures:
Alex Peters
Jonathan Tew
Allison Cameron
Dave Brandolph (Southpaw)
Dan Furfari (Southpaw)
Brian Felt
Marc Stachowski
Ben Kleaveland (Ironside)
Brian Lo
Matt Glazer (Southpaw)
Alison Cohen
Whitney Viets (Bent)
Stacey Janz
Sean Murray (Southpaw)
Nurit Bloom
Ricky Chung
Jeff Laarz
Eddie Peters (Southpaw)
Pam Winkler
Dan Heckman
Results:
Boston Invite – 4th
World Ultimate Club Championships – 7th
Philly Invite – 9th
Chesapeake Open – t-11th (Backfire)
Founders Sectionals – 1st (13-8 Blueprint)
Mid-Atlantic Regionals – 1st (15-6 wHagonweel)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 2-7
Analysis:
AMP has had a particularly impressive season. Kicking it off with a 7th place finish at WUCC this summer, they lost 5 players with the formation of Southpaw in the Open division, but managed to not miss a beat, qualifying for Nationals again.
Their regular season has been mixed (pun not intended), with a forgettable Chesapeake Open performance (1-5), but turned it on at the right time, going undefeated in the series.
LA Metro (SW1, Los Angeles)
Roster additions:
Angie Sanan (Mischief)
Anne Ohliger
Kief Zangaro
Benjamin Bergen
Kara Scheu
Alex Korb
Gordon Stecklein
Frances Ajo
Lexy Sinnott
Erin Mordecai
Daniel Walton (Brown Chicken Brown Cow)
Yvette Fisher
Matthew Hennessy
Katie Killebrew
Roster departures:
Chad Christensen
Robert Severson
Franklin Rho
Mark Miller
Martha Uhl
Simon Margolis
Lindey Cross
Sarah Carnahan (Mischief)
Gerene Garcia (Barrio)
Mary Kate Hogan (District 5)
Jen Chen
Holly Schwarz
Sarah VanWagenen
Matt Welsh
Results:
GRUB XIX – t-5th (Golden Spike)
Emerald City Classic – 8th
Labor Day – 11th
Southern California Sectionals – 2nd (6-15 7 Figures)
Southwest Regionals – 1st (15-13 7 Figures)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 3-4
Analysis:
Like AMP, LA Metro had an unimpressive regular season, with 9 losses to non-qualifying teams, but they turned it up during the series, only losing once, in the finals of Sectionals, before avenging that loss to 7 Figures in the finals of Regionals.
LA Metro is facing a very tough pool, with D5 and Polar Bears, and matching last year’s 11th place finish would be a big accomplishment for a team with such a large roster turnover.
Barrio (SW2, Tucson, AZ)
Roster additions:
Deborah Oslik
Mark Hammond
Kathryn Miller
Kasi Kiehlbaugh
Ryan Hummel
John Marcy
Brendan Shean
Gerene Garcia (LA Metro)
Brice Dixon
Roster departures:
Trisha Thoms
Chris Shepard
Chris Baldyga
Kelly Swiryn
Laura Prelsnik
Harding Brumby
Jess Thoms
Erik Gafni
Results:
GRUB XXIX – t-3rd (Trollhaveners)
Emerald City Classic – 6th
Labor Day – 6th
Desert Sectionals – 1st (15-12 Red or Green)
Southwest Regionals – 2nd (15-13 7 Figures)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 1-7
Analysis:
Barrio, coming off a 6th place finish at Nationals last year, had what they have to consider to be a disappointing regular season. Without any roster departures of note (and by ‘of note’ I mean that I could not find those players on another top roster), it would appear that Barrio would be able to build on last season’s success.
While they played a very good schedule, they continued to come out on the losing end of the top matchups, and to be able to turn that trend around against teams like Bucket and Mischief will be a tall task.
Conspiracy Theory (SO2, Dallas)
New team in 2010
Dana Leclaire
Sara Caffey
Peter Doyle
Gina Leclaire
Christina Robinson
David Trett
Jason Caffey
April Grady
Elizabeth Sellers
Amanda North
Lenny Correll
Aron Phillips
John Martin
Brian Shumard
John Grzywinski
Kelly Robinson
Pamela McLemore
Jake Gross
David Brooks
Tom Etchison
Michael Smith
Blake McGlaun
Results:
Texas Sectionals – 2nd (10-12 Codename)
South Regionals – 2nd (13-10 Dirty Birds)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 3-1
Analysis:
A team with no regular season results, or team history, it is rather fitting that they are in the same pool as the Snowbirds. Without much to go on, it is difficult to peg where they will finish, but they are in an incredibly difficult pool, and a 15-7 loss to Bucket at Regionals would lead me to believe that this team will be pleased just by qualifying for Nationals.
Snowbirds (NE3, Montreal)
New team in 2010
Jean Francois Mauger
Julie Beaulac (RIP)
Mathieu Bordeleau (ONYX)
Eric Dion (ONYX)
Philippe Gannon (RIP)
Jessie Grignon Tomas (ONYX)
Stephane Payeur (RIP)
Jean-Francois Paul (RIP)
Alexandre Levesque (ONYX)
Andrew Batchelor (RIP)
Audrey St-Arnaud (ONYX)
Hugo Lafrancois (RIP)
Nicolas Vanasse
Mathieu Vinette
Janique Arsenault (ONYX)
Marie-Andree Imbeault (Stella)
Julie Tremblay (RIP)
Jerome Boucher (ONYX)
Gabrielle Tremblay (ONYX)
Raynald Nemours (RIP)
Annie-Claude Brien Chicoine (RIP)
Kate Beaulieu (ONYX)
Julie Blais (RIP)
Jean Phillips Gerin (ONYX)
Yan Bouchard (RIP)
Results:
West New England Sectionals – 1st (15-9 Enough Monkeys)
Northeast Regionals – 3rd (Forfeit by Quiet Coyote)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 0-2
Analysis:
Yet another intriguing Canadian team! (Who says Canadian teams should be banned from the USAU series?)
As most of you know, the Snowbirds are a mix of ONYX (2nd at WUCC, 1st at CUC) and RIP (10th at WUCC, 2nd at CUC), but have no regular season results as a group. They had a fairly impressive regionals, losing twice to D5 by identical 15-8 scores, but also beat Quiet Coyote (4th at WUCC, 3rd at 2009 UPA) twice before advancing via the dumb (my opinion) rule that you can’t play a team 3 times at a single tournament.
The Snowbirds will upset some teams this weekend, and make people wonder why they were seeded so low. I would be shocked if they didn’t make quarters, and a semi-final appearance is not out of the question. The only concern would be that ONYX and RIP started their seasons very early (in comparison to their US counterparts), and one wonders when the wall will hit.
wHagonweel (MA2, Raleigh, NC)
New team in 2010
Jordan Moore
Jenny Rogers (Olio)
Chris Kelly
Nick Poore (Ring of Fire)
Brad Thornton
Beth Gifford (Olio)
Evan Bowles (Olio)
Lauren Williams
Brandon Jones
Andrew Ryan
Jesse Overby (Olio)
Debbie Lowther
Stacey Waldrup
Missy Overby (Olio)
Peter Linnartz
Julie Morris (Olio)
Kurt Chapman (Olio)
John McNaughton
Kate Irons (Olio)
Joey Connelly (Olio)
Derrick Marcey
Alison Murray
Andrew Moore
Adam Pike (Olio)
Rob Sayre-McCord
Results:
Philly Invite – 5th
Glazed Daze – 1st (14-12 Captain Zero)
Chesapeake Open – 9th
North Carolina Sectionals – 1st (15-12 TAU)
Mid-Atlantic Regionals – 2nd (15-10 Renegade)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 2-4
Analysis:
wHagonweel, the rechristened Olio, is a) driving my spell checker insane and b) coming off a successful 1st season. With wins over 2010 qualifiers AMP and Overhaul, and 2009 qualifiers Jukebox Hero and TAU, they’ve shown that they can play at this level. Consistency is the one thing that has been eluding them this season, and beating seed is a strong goal to build on for next season.
Dirty Birds (SO3, Various, TX)
New team in 2010
Hugh Daschbach (Chewbacca Defense)
Laney Gloria Bevill (Chewbacca Defense)
Kevin Gaffney (Doublewide)
Crystal Willis (Chewbacca Defense)
Kristi Mellerski
Jason Fortner (Chewbacca Defense)
Casi Cook
Stephanie Redfern (Showdown)
Judy Le (Chewbacca Defense)
Charlie Stavlo
Meg Hofner
Emily Scholten
Matthew Clark (Doublewide)
John Peter Lewis
Travis Wright
Alfonso Acosta (Chewbacca Defense)
Matthew Stephens (Doublewide)
Nick Polito
Matthew Stone (Chewbacca Defense)
Tal Tversky (Chewbacca Defense)
Greg Clark
Results:
Labor Day – 9th
Texas Sectionals – 3rd (13-3 Cameron Williams and the Heartbreakers)
South Regionals – 3rd (14-7 Rival)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 1-4
Analysis:
Dirty Birds (oddly, not from Atlanta), are an amalgamation of Texas players, founded from last year’s Chewbacca Defense. A lack of regular season results doesn’t give much to go on, but having players from Doublewide and Showdown certainly add big game experience to this team whose goal, much like wHagonweel’s, is likely to beat seed.
MethOD (CN4, Iowa City)
New team/returned from hiatus in 2010
Steve Hanson (Chad Larson Experience)
Alex Versackas (ICE)
Jake Bradley (ICE)
Kristen Appelson
Nick Moore
Nick Sanchez
Ross Sullivan
Sergei McNulty
Andrew Edwards (ICE)
Garrett Brander (ICE)
Sarah Danilson (ICE)
Tara Olds
Kelli Parsons
Megan Nimmo
Liza Minor
Chris Sedgwick
Jake Short
Katie Johnson
Joe Reed
Jen Nowak
Jake Kersten
Katie Morin
Sara Francis
Sean Parket
Results:
Chicago Heavyweight Championships – t-3rd (Chad Larson Experience)
West Plains Sectionals – 2nd (5-15 Chad Larson Experience)
Central Regionals – 4th (15-8 scottyface)
Record vs USAU Championship teams: 0-7
Analysis:
Meth (renamed MethOD, then Scientific Method by the UPA because we don’t want all those mainstream advertisers and sponsors to get offended), are making their Nationals debut, taking full advantage of the Central region receiving a 4th bid, in part thanks to One Trick Pony’s performance last year.
Having beat out Winnipeg’s scottyface to qualify, this team has some big hucks, and the speed to run them down, but are certainly here to enjoy the experience.
Overall:
I feel the Mixed division is very deep this year, not just because of the general volatility of mixed Ultimate, but there are a lot of strong teams. I think any of the top 7 seeds could make finals, and anyone making perfect brackets this year is pulling their selections out of a hat. That being said, my predictions:
Champion – Chad Larson Experience
Finalist – District 5
Semi-finalists – Snowbirds and Polar Bears (NOTE: this would be all 4 teams from the F power pool)
Quarterfinalists (directly from pool play) – Slow White, Mischief and Bucket
Quarterfinalist (from pre-quarters game) – AMP
Pre-quarters participants – Drag’n Thrust and Overhaul