UUCC Women’s Preview

Finally, a preview of the ultra competitive Women’s Division.

Riot (NW1, Seattle)

Roster additions:

Rohre Titcomb (Brute Squad)

Calise Cardenas (Underground)

Heidi-Marie Clemens (Underground)

Caitlin Cordell (Underground)

Emily Baecher (Slow White)

Erin Gallagher (Shazam Remains)

Claire Suver (Underground)

Roster departures:

Alejandra Torres

Karen Brimacombe (Fury)

Gretchen Muller

Emily Grad

Results:

Texas Shootout – 2nd (14-16 Fury)

World Ultimate Club Championships – 3rd (14-12 Brute Squad)

Emerald City Classic – 2nd (11-14 Fury)

Labor Day Championships – 2nd (10-15 Fury)

Washington/BC Sectionals – 1st (13-7 Traffic)

Northwest Regionals – 1st (15-12 Fury)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 14-5

Analysis:

As always, a top contender in the Women’s division, Riot is looking to improve upon last year’s disappointing 3rd place (yes, when you’re that good, 3rd place is disappointing) finish.  All 6 (including WUCC) of their losses this year have been at the hands of Fury, but Riot also holds 3 wins over Fury, including the key one: finals at Regionals.

Not a lot of turnover from this team, other than some promotions from the feeder team, Riot is certainly going to have some great chemistry, and they will need all of it to take down Fury again when it matters.

There’s absolutely no reason to think that Riot will drop a game in pool play, and Brute Squad (2-0 this year, including the bronze medal game at WUCC) and Traffic (4-0) are the only teams standing in their way of holding seed into the championship bracket.

Fury (NW2, San Francisco)

Roster additions:

Karen Brimacombe (Riot)

Kaela Jorgenson (Burning Skirts)

Kari Deleeuw (Mischief)

Robin Knowler-Davis

Roster departures:

Lyrica Hammann

Julie Baker

Results:

Texas Shootout – 1st (16-14 Riot)

World Ultimate Club Championships – 1st (16-15 UNO)

Emerald City Classic – 1st (14-11 Riot)

Labor Day Championships – 1st (15-10 Riot)

Northern California Sectionals – 1st (13-7 Zeitgeist)

Northwest Regionals – 2nd (12-15 Riot)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 15-3

Analysis:

Even a more dominant season than Riot has had (even though Riot accounts for all 3 of their losses, Riot is also the victim of 6 of their wins this year), Fury is the BMOC that no one has figured out in 4 years.

Like Riot, not much in the way of roster turnover, but one huge addition is Kaela Jorgenson of the UC-Santa Barbara Burning Skirts.  She and Georgia Bosscher should help ensure Fury wins the next 4 championships as well.

Brute Squad (NE1, Boston)

Roster additions:

Jessica Blanton (Lady Godiva)

Chelsey Burrows

Julia Echterhoff

Sarah Cook (Lady Godiva)

Maureen McCamley (Lady Godiva)

Vicky Chow (Lady Godiva)

Tracy Woo (Lady Godiva)

Roster departures:

Mackenzie Fazekas

Ellie Graeden

Lauren Childs

Rohre Titcomb (Riot)

Lucy Barnes

Results:

World Ultimate Club Championships – 4th (12-14 Riot)

Emerald City Classic – 3rd

East New England Sectionals – 1st (13-2 Hatch)

Philly Fusion – 1st (14-12 Capitals)

Northeast Regionals – 1st (15-10 Bent)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 9-3

Analysis:

Brute Squad, coming off a fantastic silver medal performance at last year’s UPA Championships, are back and likely even better, after picking up players from the now defunct Lady Godiva (in particular, Canada’s own Vicky Chow).

Brute Squad has but one loss this year to a non-Fury/Riot squad, 12-11 to Scandal at Philly Fusion, and are looking very good in their quest to break into the big 2.  Dory Ziperstein and Dominique Fontenette continue to lead the squad, but keep an eye on Tracy Woo, who, allegedly, at 6’5” (she may have grown 4 inches in the offseason, according to Score Reporter) should be a matchup nightmare for all teams in this tournament.

Capitals (NE2, Ottawa/Toronto)

Roster additions:

Shannon Becker (Stella)

Sarah Kidd (Lotus)

Martha Paterson

Marie-Celine Alexander (Stella)

Dominique Rioux (Stella)

Roster departures:

Kathryn Pohran

Jenna McBride

Alison Flynn

Sheri Madigan

Chantal Mayotte

Monica Kerr-Coster

Heather Adams

Hadiya Roderique

Results:

Philly Fusion – 2nd (12-14 Brute Squad)

Upstate New York Sectionals – 1st (15-0 Lady Spuds)

Northeast Regionals – 2nd (15-5 Bent)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 5-4

Analysis:

A much smaller roster than in years past, with significant names not making the trip this year (Alison Flynn and Hadiya Rodrique stand out for me), the Capitals, a mix of Lotus (3rd at CUC) and Stella (2nd at CUC), are perennial contenders at the UPA Championships.

Still lead by Alyson Walker, Anne Mercier and Carla DiFilippo, the Capitals will be looking to repeat their big upset in power pool play last year, this time taking down Fury.  With the smaller roster, and the weather expected (mid 80’s and humid), I don’t think they’ll have the legs to do it this year.

Scandal (MA1, Washington)

Roster additions:

Marie Laurenza (Loose Cannon)

Allison Maddux (Lady Condors)

Crystal Davis (Casual Encounters)

Ashley Daly (Hybrid)

Octavia Payne (Wildcard)

Trudy Philip (Wicked)

Johanna Neumann (Random Acts of Violet)

Heather Smith (Hooray for Coed, Hooray)

Maureen Hsia (Nemesis)

Jill Bingham (Axis of C’Ville)

Molly Roy (Dartmouth/Princess Layout)

Roster departures:

Sarah Smith

Jenny Hong

Megan McVey

Sarah Farnham

Susan Peine

Lisa Helvin

Sarah Itoh

Rachel Borchardt

Jennie Yang

Alanna Tievsky

Beth Stankevich

Courtney Wang

Abby Elbow

Results:

Winston Cup Challenge – 2nd (13-15 Phoenix)

Chesapeake Open – 1st (13-7 Bent)

Philly Fusion – 3rd

Capital Sectionals – 1st (13-0 Georgetown)

Mid-Atlantic Regionals – 1st (14-13 Phoenix)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 10-3

Analysis:

Scandal, having finished 11th last year at Nationals, made a number of changes to their roster, and the difference was noticeable.  Having finished no worse than 3rd in any tournament this year, and an impressive record against other finalists this year, Scandal has shown that they are worthy of the 5 seed heading into this tournament.

However, having not played any of the Northwest teams has me wondering if they may not be quite as good as their record would indicate.  Much like their male counterparts on Truck Stop, they appear to be a team on the rise, and this tournament will show whether they are ready to take the next step of reaching the quarterfinals.

Traffic (NW3, Vancouver)

Roster additions:

Ashlee Davison (Zephyr)

Catherine Hui

Jessie Wu

Jaimie Kot (Zephyr)

Beverley Porter (Zephyr)

Neilu Rishi (Zephyr)

Crystal Lok Koo

Amira Maddison

Roster departures:

Tory Hislop

Manny Chanoine

Stephanie Chow

Nikki Short

Mel Harder

Jill Calkin

Megan Atkinson

Anne-Marie Carey

Results:

Summer Solstice – 1st (15-11 Further)

Emerald City Classic – 4th

Labor Day Championships – 5th

Washington/BC Sectionals – 2nd (7-13 Riot)

Northwest Regionals – 3rd (15-8 Zeitgeist)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 3-8

Analysis:

That 3-8 record against qualifying teams stands out, but a closer inspection shows that 0-7 against the top 3 finishers from last year (the one exception being a 14-12 loss to Pop at ECC).

Having picked up a number of players from Zephyr (16th at WUCC), I would imagine Traffic wants to use this tournament as a springboard for next season, and the bid to represent Canada at the 2012 World Ultimate and Guts Championships, and a breakthrough to the semi-finals would certainly send them on their way.

However, that 0-7 record against Fury, Riot and Brute Squad stands out, and despite the presence of stars Kira Frew and Sarah Bobak, it’s hard to believe that they are anything but a notch below the top teams at this point.

Phoenix (MA2, Triangle Area, NC)

New team in 2010

Sharon Tucker (Backhoe)

Kelly Tidwell

Juliette McNamara (TAU)

Jessi Jones

Sara Dieter (Olio)

Janna Coulter

Jessi Witt (Nemesis)

Teresa Rouse (Backhoe)

Jennifer Waldrup

Jennifer Joyner

Claire Calise (Olio)

Cate Foster (Backhoe)

Leila Tunnell (Backhoe)

Whitney Morgan

Nicole Chauvigne (Backhoe)

Lindsey Hack (Backhoe)

Christina Beauchamp

Sasha Resnick

Tania Reitz (Backhoe)

Heather Zimmerman

Frannie Goodrich (Backhoe)

Britta Jones

Katy Harris (Backhoe)

Lindsay Lang

Lauren Gardner (Backhoe)

Melissa Gannon

Kate Morrison (Backhoe)

Results:

Texas Shootout – 5th

Winston Cup Challenge – 1st (15-13 Scandal)

Chesapeake Open – t-3rd (Hot Metal)

North Carolina Sectionals – 1st (14-8 Sweet T)

Philly Fusion – 5th

Mid-Atlantic Regionals – 2nd (10-4 Showdown)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 6-9

Analysis:

Along with fellow long time UPA Championship qualifiers Lady Godiva and the Lady Condors, Backhoe also bid adieu to the Ultimate world this year, after a 9th place finish at WUCC.  From the ashes of one team springs another, and thus Phoenix was born.

Owning 2 wins against teams seeded ahead of them at this tournament (Scandal and Capitals), Phoenix has shown they are ready to pick up where Backhoe left off, and are a dangerous team for any of the top seeds to face.  A spot in the quarterfinals is certainly attainable, and a likely goal for this team.

Molly Brown (SW1, Denver/Boulder)

New team in 2010

Sara Hill (Box)

Emily Hanson (Box)

Yelena Onnen (Box)

Sophie Herscu (Rare Air)

Leslie Schein (Rare Air)

Lindsey Cross

Dena Slattery (Nemesis)

Shannon Waugh (Rare Air)

Kath Ratcliff (Zeitgeist)

Anne Pogoriler (Rare Air)

Anna Schott (Rare Air)

Amanda Good

Jamie Anderson (Box)

Beth Goldstone (Box)

Kelley Kneib (Rare Air)

Stephanie Shea (Box)

Jana Krutsinger (Rare Air)

Michelle Groscost (Box)

Kelly Bolt (Rare Air)

Leah Borsheim

Results:

Colorado Cup – 1st (15-7 Pop)

Labor Day Championships – 9th

Rocky Mountain Sectionals – 1st (15-9 Jack Wagon)

Southwest Regionals – 1st (15-5 Knock Out)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 4-2

Analysis:

Molly Brown, an amalgamation of Rare Air and Box, (A women’s team named Box isn’t as off-putting to advertisers as MethOD is?  Really?) is looking to build something long term in Colorado.  Early results have been mixed (an undefeated Colorado Cup, followed by 4 losses at Labor Day), but have shown that Molly Brown is on the right track.  Advancing to power pools will be a great next step for this squad.

Showdown (SO1, Austin, TX)

Roster additions:

Amanda Berens

Katie Blyth

Whitney Miller

Lilly White (Texas A&M)

Holly Gruenke

Shelby Kuni

Meredith Hicks (Chewbacca Defense)

Jess Huynh

Marjo Manalang

Ashley Greiwe

Janel Venzant

Roster departures:

Lisa Short

Jessica Guffey

Stephanie Redfern (Dirty Birds)

Austine Lin

AJ Moore

Frances Tsukano

Natalie Guimard

Johannah Sanchez-Adams

Leda McDaniel

Becky Brindley

Lindsay Lowe-Worthington

Results:

Texas Shootout – 4th

World Ultimate Club Championships – 15th (17-12 Zephyr)

Chesapeake Open – 5th

Philly Fusion – 6th

Texas Sectionals – 1st (13-1 Inferno)

South Regionals – 1st (11-8 Ozone)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 6-12

Analysis:

Coming off a 5th place finish last year, Showdown made quite a few roster changes this year in an attempt to join the next tier of teams such as Traffic and Capitals.  They certainly scheduled for it, as their 18 games against fellow USAU Championships teams are second only to Riot’s 19.

However, the victories failed to come, and only one of those victories came against a team seeded higher than them this week (12-11 over Scandal at Philly Fusion).

I do believe the more difficult schedule will help them in the long run, and this weekend, as they should be used to playing in pressure situations, and that will help them get past Molly Brown for a berth in power pools.  Repeating last year’s performance, however, will be a tough challenge.

Nemesis (CN1, Chicago)

Roster additions:

Erin Percival

Lien Hoffman

Brit Belsheim

Mel Lau (Spicy Tuna)

Christine O’Brien

Kate Fasbender

Alyssa Kelly

Adrienne Ohler

Sara Miller

Roster departures:

Leah Berry

Megan Sweas

Jessi Witt (Phoenix)

Dena Slattery (Molly Brown)

Momo Hsia

Kim Streff

Josie Ferrell

Kelly Rippl

Results:

Colorado Cup – 3rd

Emerald City Classic – 6th

Chicago Heavyweight Championships – 1st (15-9 Pop)

Central Plains Sectionals – 1st (15-3 Spicy Tuna)

Central Regionals – 1st (13-5 Pop)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 7-3

Analysis:

Nemesis is riding a 16 game winning streak coming into Nationals, but only 5 of those wins are against Nationals calibre teams, and all of those 5 are against teams seeded below them.  They’ve shown they can beat up on inferior teams, but having not played a tight game since August, will they be able to turn it on now?

Pop (CN2, Minneapolis)

Roster additions:

Michelle Verant

Sanna Beek

Brit Gartner

Rebecca Enders

Sarah Solarz (Chad Larson Experience)

Beth Bernhardt

Elise Rasmussen

Sarah Hoistad

Christine Rosen (Chad Larson Experience)

Krissy Morin

Roster departures:

Sarah Dikeman

Julie Schmitz

Alyssa Olson

Lisa Fenske

Sarah Berseth

Katie Wilson

Jeanine Kooman

Trish York

Meghan Cain

Anne Lightbody

Krissy Thatcher

Results:

MUDI – 1st (6-0)

Colorado Cup – 2nd (7-15 Molly Brown)

Emerald City Classic – 7th

Chicago Heavyweight Championships – 2nd (9-15 Nemesis)

Northwest Plains Sectionals – 1st (15-1 Surly Women)

Central Regionals – 2nd (5-13 Nemesis)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 4-7

Analysis:

Pop is making their 3rd consecutive appearance at Nationals, but have yet to breakthrough to the quarterfinals.  Key pickups Sarah Solarz and Christine Rosen (both from CLX) provide a great boost in talent (Rosen had 14 goals at WUCC for CLX).

4 wins against Nationals teams is a nice building block, but they appear to still be a ways behind regional rival Nemesis (0-3, average margin of defeat: 7 points), and they need to clear that hurdle before they can tackle quarters.

Bent (NE3, New York City)

Roster additions:

Amanda Lobel (Bashing Pinatas)

June Bae (Bashing Pinatas)

Whitney Viets (AMP)

Linda Dolan

Marika Austin

Rowan Sill

Kelly Hyland

Roster departures:

Mari Oshiro

Amanda Davis

Angela Tong

Chris Hung

Keri Dorko

Palak Shah

Jackie Booth

Katrina Krasnansky

Emma Frankel

Results:

White Mountain Open – 1st (Win over Storm)

Emerald City Classic – 8th

Chesapeake Open – 2nd (7-13 Scandal)

Philly Fusion – 4th

Metro New York Sectionals – 1st (15-5 MissCONNduct)

Northeast Regionals – 3rd (5-15 Capitals)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 6-12

Analysis:

A team that scheduled hard, their 6 wins include 4 against teams seeded ahead of them at Nationals, including a 12-10 upset of Capitals at Regionals (who head up Bent’s pool on Thursday).  Pulling off that upset isn’t out of the question, but facing Capitals right out of the gate, it’s doubtful that Bent would be able to catch them off-guard.

Safari (SW2, San Diego)

Roster additions:

Goldamer Thach

Brittany Cabriales

Sarah McNees

Amy Besek

Amy Little

Melissa Spalding

Amy Chang

Rosalind Tsao

Lauren Silverman

Katherine Miles

Ruth Chen

Kristen Boles

Patricia Anderson

Roster departures:

Erika Swanson

Taiala Carvalho

Anahid Brakke

Mary Ann Polityka

Taylor Pence

Stephanie Jong

Lisa Bittner

Heather Kinkhead

Arthi Padmanabhan

Gina Phillips

Minh Huynh

Melody Gall

Astrid Manning

Jennifer Jacobsen

Results:

Emerald City Classic – 9th

Labor Day Championships – 8th

Southern California Sectionals – 1st (15-3 Knock Out)

Southwest Regionals – 2nd (15-9 Knock Out)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 1-9

Analysis:

Safari rounds out pool D and, after retooling a large portion of their roster this year, spent the summer going head to head with the best teams on the west coast.  I’m of the opinion that getting beat by great teams is a greater learning experience than beating up on inferior teams are, and Safari should be able to use this experience to their advantage against Bent to try and get out to a strong start in the bottom pools on Friday.

Unfortunately for Safari, Bent has done the exact same thing, going head to head all year with the best teams on the east coast, and I think Bent’s better record against the top competition is a better indicator for success this weekend.

Ozone (SO2, Atlanta)

Roster additions:

India Stubbs

Kirsten Shell

Michelle VanHandel

Kate Wilson

Roster departures:

Julia Echterhoff

Sandra Davis

Lane Seidor

Kristen Lamm

Heather Waugh

Cara Hauk

Anna Bucher

Amanda Strout

Deb Cussen

Sarah Owenby

Haley Reese

Shanye Crawford

Results:

Winston Cup Challenge – 8th

Chesapeake Open – 6th

Shawn Adams Memorial – 1st (15-1 hot box)

East Coast Sectionals – 1st (8-7 DeSoto)

South Regionals – 2nd (13-6 Top Shelf)

Analysis:

Ozone, a perennial qualifier for Nationals, is shockingly coming to Nationals with only a roster of 14 AND without legend Deb Cussen.  I hope that this isn’t a sign that Atlanta women’s Ultimate is coming to a close (a la Lady Godiva, Lady Condors etc.), but it sure doesn’t bode well for the team’s outlook this week.  A win over Pop in pool play may set them up for a run to pre-quarters, but there’s no way they can get further than that with such a small roster during a humid week in Sarasota.

Storm (NE4, Montreal)

Roster additions:

Christine Lord

Melanie Gagne

Marie-France Hivert

Marie-Helene Audet

Isabelle Lemay

Helena Skrotzy-Boisvert

Roster departures:

Carmen Lee

Stephanie Beaumont

Laurence Vincent

Melanie Prescott-Gagnon

Jessie Tomas Grignon (Snowbirds)

Rachel Moens

Audrey St-Arnaud (Snowbirds)

Alison Fischer

Results:

White Mountain Open – 2nd (loss to Bent)

World Ultimate Club Championships – 13th (17-14 Leeds, Leeds, Leeds Women)

West New England Sectionals – 1st (15-4 Mystik)

Northeast Regionals – 4th (15-4 Hatch)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 0-4

Analysis:

Reigning Canadian Women’s champions Storm make their 1st ever appearance in Sarasota, thanks to the Northeast region receiving 4 bids this year.  Genevieve Dufresne and Rachel Moens lead the Storm attack, and with a favourable pool (Phoenix, Fury, Nemesis) could see themselves in power pool play on Friday.  Anything beyond that would have to be considered a Cinderella run.

Revoloution (CN3, St. Louis)

New team in 2010

Abby Stephens (One Trick Pony)

Lindsey Gapstur

Laura Halfmann

Danielle Blatt

Kate Wilson

Megan Greenwood

Kami Groom

Tasha Parman

Ellen Miller

Kasey Sudkamp

Emma Harty

Britt Gott (One Trick Pony)

Kara O’Malley

Michelle Place

Sam Huo

Megan Epperson

Hilary Biggar

Tricia Wong

Katie Bilek

Mel Huegerich

Theresa Chan

Results:

MUDI – 2nd (5-1)

Cooler Classic – 1st (14-9 Dish)

Chicago Heavyweight Championships – 3rd

West Plains Sectionals – 1st (15-7 Filthy Gorgeous)

Central Regionals – 3rd (Dish)

Record vs USAU Championship teams: 0-4

Analysis:

I’ve always wondered why a large city such as St. Louis doesn’t have consistent good club teams, and here’s hoping that Revoloution is able to take advantage of the flux that is the middle of the women’s division and make themselves a perennial participant in Sarasota.  Enjoy the moment ladies, may it be the 1st of many.

Overall:

I think the Women’s division is going to be fairly “boring”, in that the more things change, the more they stay the same, and I don’t see anyone knocking out Fury or Riot, or preventing Brute Squad from getting to the semi-finals.

The intrigue is going to be in the middle portions of this tournament.  With so many teams having folded, or merged/started anew, there is a lot of opportunity for some new women’s teams to stake the claim as being the next dominant program over the next few years.

Call-me-out-after-the-fact-prognostications:

Champion – Fury (boring!  But until somebody beats them…)

Finalist – Riot

Semi-finalists – Brute Squad and Traffic

Quarterfinalists (straight from power pools) – Capitals and Scandal

Quarterfinalists (from pre-quarters play) – Storm and Showdown

Pre-quarters participants – Phoenix and Molly Brown