Striking a Balance

As of late, I have been doing a great deal of reading in the prep basketball scene in my home state, Wisconsin. There has been a lot of really great coverage on some smaller teams. I think my favorite article has been this one.

It talks about Jerry Petitgoue, the Boys Basketball coach at a small school in Southwestern Wisconsin. Most of you who do not drive through that part of the state as often as I do, probably have never heard of Cuba City, Wisconsin. Its school boasts an enrollment of 271 students.

Petitgoue, originally from Dubuque, Iowa, had a love for the game but lacked the skill to play at a higher level in college. He learned as much as he could and secured his first coaching gig in Gratiot, Wisconsin.

I see a lot of parallels between Petitgoue's story and college ultimate. This man has created a ton of excitement around basketball in this tiny town--but enough interest that people from all the surrounding towns flock to watch his boys basketball team near the top of the Division IV rankings every year. Kids from all around the state attend the basketball camps he runs in the summer.

As I pack to head to Midwest Throwdown, I can't help but think of how we are paralleling the same story. Throwdown started its Roundup Division and a small "Division 1" a few years ago. Now, it has balloonned into boasting a couple hundred participants and a huge skills clinic. Michelle Ng, with the support of many others, has done miraculous things to create this atmosphere of excitement. The hard part was engaging the community. But once she built it: we all came.

The article describes his leadership style as a balance between cheerleader and disciplinariaon, always "striking the right balance to maximize his players' efforts." Isn't that what we try to do as captains and coaches. Being successful is about striking a balance. We see the best coaches and captains as able to attain that balance, and maintain it throughout the season. They are able to get everything they can out of their players, and seem to do it effortlessly.

The article also goes on to discuss how he has adjusted his game plans over the years to play to the strengths of his players. Division 3 and smaller school leaders: Take a close read at this. Having to fight the good fight and determine what was successful. Cuba City competes at the Division IV level in the state of Wisconsin: the division for the smallest of the small in terms of enrollment. There are some schools at the D4 level that have as few as 53 students. Talk about a small talent pool to draw from.

I often hear the best players at smaller schools talk about leaving their schools to go to a big school powerhouse. I think that Petitgoue has some great insight into that:

Petitgoue says he has been tempted to leave Cuba City just
once. In 1997, he received an offer to coach at his alma mater, the University
of Dubuque. The team had won just once in the past 50 games, but Petitgoue's
son, Ryan, also was a player on the team.

Petitgoue turned down the offer.

"People always say the grass is greener on the other side until
you get there and you find out it's burnt out, too," Petitgoue says. "I always
felt we had something special here. I felt I was made to be a high school
basketball coach and probably not a college coach."

Even when it gets hard to fight the good fight. Keep doing it. You were made to lead and you were made to pioneer the way for others at your school to be excited about ultimate.

If you're at Throwdown, come say hey. And give Michelle a huge thanks.

Robyn's North Central Musings (Revised): Last 4 bids and Seedings Discussion

**NOTE: I have edited this post. Bids to D3 Nationals have been revealed and I have rethought seedings a bit.

Where are these bids going? I mean here's who we've got going where...as of what I know
(Only including teams eligible for regionals for discussion purposes)
D1 North Central Regionals: 12 bids total
D1 West North Central Conference: 5 bids**
1) Iowa State**
2) Iowa**
3) Carleton College**
4) Minnesota**
5) Nebraska**
6) Winona State (DECLINED)
7) Minnesota-Duluth (DECLINED)

D1 Lake Superior Conference: 2 bids allocated**; 1 bid reallocated$$
1) Wisconsin-Eau Claire**
2) Wisconsin**
3) Wisconsin-B$$
4) Wisconsin-Milwaukee (pending acceptance$$)
5) Wisconsin-Stevens Point

D3 North Central Conference
1) Luther**
2) Carleton-B--Accepted bid to D3 Nationals
3) Grinnell--Accepted bid to D3 Nationals
4) St. Olaf--Accepted bid to D3 Nationals
5) Macalester (pending acceptance)
6) Gustavus Adolphus (DECLINED)
7) Drake
8) St. Bens

Question 1: Who gets the next 4 bids?
So last night, Beth Nakamura gave me a lesson in "team wait list." So after the bids go to the original place they are allocated, they must go through a "waitlist" process. The next highest team in the waitlist gets an offer. In our Region it has gone something like this: 1) West North Central (WNC), 2) North Central D3 (NCN-III), 3) Lake Superior (LS) until the bids are all awarded. After the D3 teams accepted bids to D3 nationals, their bids were reallocated as follows:

WNC--Winona State (declined)

NCN-III--Macalester (Pending)

LS--Wisconsin-B (accepted the bid to D1 regionals)

WNC--Minnesota Duluth (declined)

NCN-III - Gustavus Adolphus (declined)

LS - Wisconsin-Milwaukee (pending)

WNC--No teams eligible

NCN-III--Drake

LS--Wisconsin-Stevens Point

There are rumors flying around that the location of the regional tournament (Appleton, WI) seems to have discouraged teams to attend with such short notice? Perhaps. I think it is the low number of players on each of these teams, and missing 2-3 due to work schedules means they may only have 5 players.
Question 2: Seedings?
The top 6 teams have crazy results.

Iowa
*must be below Iowa State, but ahead of Carleton
-1-0 vs. UWEC
-3-1 vs. Iowa State (has to be seeded behind ISU from Conference results)
-2-0 vs. Wisconsin
-2-0 vs. Carleton (has to be seeded ahead of Carleton)

Iowa State
*must be ahead of Iowa and Carleton
-1-3 vs. Iowa (seeded ahead of Iowa)
-0-1 vs. Wisconsin

Wisconsin-Eau Claire
*must be ahead of Wisconsin
-0-1 vs. Iowa
-1-0 vs. Wisco

Carleton
*must be below Iowa State and Iowa
-0-2 vs. Iowa
-1-0 vs. Wisconsin

Wisconsin
*must be behind Eau Claire
-0-2 vs. Iowa
-0-1 vs. Eau Claire
-1-0 vs. Iowa State
-0-1 vs. Carleton

Minnesota
*must be behind Iowa State, Iowa, Carleton
-1-1 vs. Carleton
-0-1 vs. Iowa State
My thoughts:

1) Iowa Stateàwin in the Western North Central; beats Iowa, who otherwise would be 1 seed; loss to Wisconsin is in March irrelevant based on stronger results as of late

2) Iowaàloses to Iowa State in finals, but strong results vs. everyone else in top 5; head to head win over Eau Claire; wins over Eau Claire against common opponents all season

3) Carletonàloses to Iowa in 2^nd place game (has to be behind Iowa); strong results all season long against tough teams throughout the country

4) Wisconsin-Eau Claireàhas no wins over the top 3; perform below top 3 in common opponent games
5) Wisconsinàloss to Eau Claire at Conferences; strong performance in regular season

6) Minnesotaà Beat Carleton at Conferences in pool play, but lost in bracket play; head to head win vs. Luther at Midwest Throwdown

7) Lutheràhead to head loss vs. Minnesota;  

8) Nebraskaàhas no head to head against the others below them, but they finished in the top 5 in the toughest conference in the Region
9) Wisconsin-Bàhas to be behind Wisconsin, but ahead of Milwaukee

10) Wisconsin-MilwaukeeàHas to be behind Wisco-B based on Conference loss; if they accept the bid

11) Macalester, if they accept the bid
12) Drake or Stevens Point, depending on who accepts bid

This is crazy. I've edited this post 4 times already!

Recapping The Weekend From Hell

After an extremely stressful weekend, I have some insight to what those folks at USAU deal with. Quite honestly, I can’t imagine the stresses I had multiplied by like 40 conferences. Serving as a coordinator for the West Plains Open D1, West Plains Open D3, West Plains Open Developmental, Western North Central D1 Womens, and Lake Superior D1 Womens conferences (count it, that's 5 tourneys)….it was nuts. Weather in the Midwest is fairly unpredictable at this time of year. This weekend’s challenge was being able to keep a level head so I could execute on the field, meanwhile running a million other details. I mean, I had a guy yelling at me about his field location while I was about to pull the disc in our finals game vs. Iowa State. I didn’t need that. Thankfully, Mikey was there to talk him down.

Personally, I got a lot of negative feedback prior to the weekend about choosing Northern Iowa as my location for the West Plains and Western North Central tourneys. Personally, all those doubts were erased once everyone realized we were the only conferences playing on Saturday in our region. Noah Kramer (Site director) was amazing, and adapted to whatever we needed. UNI's staff was second to none, and even offered their indoor football dome to make the tourney happen. We didn't need it and got to play outside, despite the morning snow storm. We miraculously fit in 4 rounds between 1 and 7 pm with no problems other than 25-30 mph winds (with 40+ mph gusts throughout the afternoon). But seeing the sun as it was setting at 7:30 was great. I took a great amount of enjoyment calling Michelle at USAU, and telling her good news.

Reformatting the women’s LS was ridic. Some may say a nightmare to do from another state and dictate the changes to all 7 teams who were in their hotels in Appleton, WI. I’m happy it all worked out…somehow.

Recap of the weekend…well, my memory is significantly worse than it has ever been when it comes to recalling a tourney. We played amazing on Saturday, like those 30 mph winds weren’t there. My main memory of Sat. was of Hannah Rohret was hucking upwind Outside-In forehands like it was her job vs. UNI. It was ridic.

On Sunday, we have no excuses. We could not catch a disc in finals. We could barely throw. There wasn’t even a lot of wind. It’s good to know that fundamentals are important. Iowa State played a great game and capitalized on our mistakes. We were able to bounce back on Sunday in the backdoor game vs. Carleton. We had some fun and got back to the basics. Pulled out a W.

Main stories of the weekend:

-ISU proved they were a team for everyone to take seriously. Not saying we didn't take them seriously. I'm saying all the haters outside of our region. Our region clearly deserves AT LEAST 3 bids.

-Winona State. Holy cow. Played the whole weekend with SIX (yes, 6) players. They put up some impressive scores, and pulled out some wins.

-Nebraska makes their series debut. Emily Langland anchors this team with some athleticism and great throws from a new team. Laying the foundation of a future powerhouse.

-Women’s teams are more thankful for when you bend over backwards for them.

Looking forward to life as I knew it prior to going to Boston. I also look forward to sleep....lots of it.

Centex: Recapped by yet another person who was there.

Saucy vs. Washington Element

We came out super flat with no intensity whatsoever in this game. It was frustrating. We made some adjustments in the second half to take away their deep game and shut down the break side of their vertical stack better—but it was too little too late. We came out short. But I think it was the kick in the butt we needed. We can’t come out flat against good teams and expect to win all the time.

Saucy vs. Northwestern Gungho

We came out like we needed to against Washington in this game. We were fired up, had intensity. It was wonderful. We controlled the tempo of the game from start to end. Our rookies got play time in a huge tourney, and really stepped it up. Jojo caught multiple goals in this game. She’s going to blow up soon, I’m telling you.

Saucy vs. UCLA BLU

The intensity from the Northwestern game carried over. We were having fun. Everyone was contributing. It was more solid Saucy offense, and intense D. We were capitalizing on turns and had really open lines. Jojo and Jenny really improved this game, making some really good cuts offensively, becoming more assertive as the continue cut. Really stoked for them.

Dance-off. I’ll have a guest post about that. It’s looking good. You’ll love it, promise.

Pre-quarters: Saucy vs. Cal Pie Queens

I feel like after the first three points, we controlled the flow of the game. An-Chi is a baller, everyone knows this. But she had so many uncharacteristic errors…wide-open drops in the endzone, particularly. If she catches those, like she normally does, the score is closer. The story of this game is how Saucy was able to capitalize on turns. The wind was pretty strong in this game, and they struggled a bit with our zone. We punted a few times for field position. I was a little turned off by the things their coach was yelling. For instance, they turned the disc on their endzone line (upwind endzone). Mikey told me to punt it, so I throw a hammer over their zone. Cal coach’s response was to yell “yeah, they’d rather do that than play.” Well, when their team turned the disc 2 throws later, and we put it in easily. I’d say, you’re right…I’d rather play smart all day. I guess I always have this overarching respect for what I call the “California dynasty” teams. The UCSB-Stanford-Cal-UCLA dominance in our sport. Some of his remarks turned me off a bit. The girls on Cal, great SoTG, great sportsmanship. Great team to play.

Quarters: Saucy vs. Michigan Flywheel

We saw Flywheel at Easterns. We knew that we’d be seeing the team from the second half at Easterns, not the first half (i.e. they would not be giving us easy chances to score at the endzone line like they did they did in the first half). Every point was a battle. Breaks were important in this game, as the wind was not that huge a factor. Both teams showed that their defense could manufacture breaks. I think that Michigan is becoming one of my favorite teams to play. They are solid, top to bottom. There is no doubt that this team is a quarters or semis team at nationals this year. I’m calling it now.  We came out on top, and were able to win on hard cap.

Semis: Saucy vs. UNC-Wilmington Seaweed

*Someone please tell me what "FTB" on the back of their jerseys stands for...haha

Every time I see them play, I’m impressed with their athleticism and ability to pick up the other team’s junk (for lack of a more eloquent way to put it). They are a really good team. Kelly Tidwell really gave our team some troubles. She’s a baller. Well, we went up something like 5-2…something to that effect. They came back and tied it up. They take half. We’re down mentally. Personally, I think our man-to-man was weak in this game. We couldn’t shut down the force side. Their handlers just ran the show…strike cutting us to death. (Something to work on in practice?) I think we were pretty evenly matched. Look forward to seeing them again in the future…lost on hard cap. I really had fun in this game. Seaweed is a super fun team to play…super intense, but I’m impressed with how much fun they have with each other playing the game. I loved my matchup with Sara Casey (did I spell her name right? I hope so..haha). She challenged me and she was a super spirited athlete. Baller.

3^rd place game: Saucy vs. Tufts EWO

Well…I am unsure what happened in like the first 4 or 5 points. I had a phone interview that I had to do (fyi, I got my spot…so I guess that’s some good news in this game). Some points, we played brilliantly. Working the disc without a turn. Other points, we played sloppy. We played poor defense. Some points, we couldn’t catch a goal. I mean, there was a point (2^nd from end of game) where we could have won the game, but we turned the disc over FIVE times in our endzone. Unforced turns…we had a HUGE case of the drops. Oh well. I think this game was a mental battle for us. People were still dwelling on our semis loss to Seaweed. It’s something our team’s gotta learn to do better. Bounce back from losses. Not lose the mental game. Something to look forward to.

Overall thoughts:

-In response to a recent SkydMagazine post: yes, our team is for real. We finished 4^th at the best pre-nationals tournament of the season.

-The Northwest didn't perform as strong as everyone thought they would. While I was attempting to change in the parking lot, I overheard some players complaining about how their region failed to perform. I like to think of it more as other regions are finally stepping up to the plate and improving a ton! I think it's great for our sport.

-We have a ton to work on going into the post-season/series. We are not close to peaking…I’m excited to see our team perform at the Conference and Regional Championship tournaments.

-We have the ability to be scary good if we can overcome the mental game late in tournaments.

-My legs are le tired. But I had the time of my life at my last regular season college tournament.

Easterns Recap

After a really long car ride, no sleep, and an extremely long night of sleep...here's what I've got. (I'll apologize for terrible typos, grammar mistakes. I'm really tired. I don't feel like editing right now)

Day 1:
Pool Play Game 1 vs. North Carolina State (Jaga)
They were an athletic team, always looking for the strike and deep throw. They had a couple of really strong throwers, #16 was a ridiculously smart, fast cutter. If they had a consistent deep game, they'd be more than a bubble team. Saucy played some sloppy points, but overall, controlled the tempo of the game. Many of our newer players got the chance to play in this game, which was exciting. We mostly focused on man-to-man defense, as the wind was definitely not a factor. We came out on top, 13-4.

Pool Play Game 2 vs. Michigan (Flywheel)
I was really nervous/excited about this game. Flywheel returns a roster of stud athletes with great ultimate skills. Much of them got some exposure to elite mixed ultimate with Overhaul. Their offense is anchored by Paula Seville, Katie Poulos, and standout cutter, Becky Malinowski. Saucy came out incredibly strong. Moving the disc well, taking advantage of our solid deep game. We transitioned quickly, taking advantage of our quick cutters. Flywheel had some turns right on the endzone line. I find this quite uncharacteristic of Flywheel...but either way, we were able to go up 5-0. I don't remember a whole lot of turns from our O during the first half. It was awesome to be able to capitalize on some turns, to create a good lead. Huge grab in the endzone by Audrey Erickson. I'll find a picture and add it as soon as Sedg posts 'em on Fbook. We ended up taking half 7-2 (I think). We knew that some adjustments would be made. Essentially, we saw a completely different team in the second half. The second-half Flywheel team was the national contending
team we were expecting. We experimented with some new things and opened our lines a bit. Flywheel came back, and we tightened up a lot more. We pulled out a win 13-10, which felt good.

Pool Play Game 3 vs. Harvard (Quasar)
We came out flat in this game. However, one thing is that we opened up the lines completely in this game. Everyone got lots of play time. Sadly, we went down a few right away. I mean we were down like 0-4 or something like that. I wasn't even worried, though. Mikey called a timeout, we regrouped, and never looked back. The wind was a lot more intense this game than it had been all day. I think it threw us off a bit. But we came out on top. 13-7, Sauce.

Day 2:
Game 1, Quarters vs. Iowa State (Woman Scorned)
We have a tendency to ALWAYS play ISU no matter what tournament it is, where we are...we love playing each other. Woman Scorned tends to always come out hard against Saucy, no matter what (Saucy does too, so it works). The Saucy O was calm, the D was stifiling. We worked the break side a lot in the game, and the ISU D couldn't shut it down. Chelsea Twohig's throws were huge in this game. Again, the wind didn't affect us a ton. Sauce on top, 13-6.

Game 2, Semis vs. North Carolina (Pleiades)
This game showcased the Saucy Nancy depth and overall skill. We demonstrated that we can succeed by working the deep game, working the disc under, using a calm-collected zone offense, going over the top of zones, working it through a zone, creating solid matchups in a man-to-man defense, zone defense...whatever was thrown at us, we reacted with poise and intensity. I was extremely impressed with our team energy in this game. All twenty-something of us came out with 100% intensity. They came out in a 4-man wall-like D. The wind wasn't a factor, so we went right over it, attacking the weak spots. There really was no hammer-stopper, as the wings were pinched in pretty tight to the zone. As long as we kept Leila Tunnell deep, we had the over pretty easily. Catching the inverted throws=not a problem for Sauce. For much of the game, we used man-to-man defense, focusing on keeping the disc out of Leila's hands as much as possible, as well as not biting on the huge fakes. Not biting took away the backhand hucks of the Pleiades handlers, forcing them to put it deep with the forehand. We had some huge deep D's by Jen Nowak, Katie Johnson, and Chelsea Twohig to keep the hucking game to a minimum. With their vert-stack offense, we found that by helping deep and sometimes switching on the unders, we could contain a lot better. Saucy also focused on cutting off the arounds, forcing them to work up the disc on the force side. This win felt phenomenal. Saucy on top again, 13-7.

Game 3, Finals vs. Wisconsin (Bella Donna)
Rematch from last weekend at Midwest Throwdown. Bella came off a huge 8-6 win vs. UNC-Wilmington in their semis game. We had some great energy going from our semis win. The sun was out, the wind picked up a bit, though it changed directions a ton. In the first half we focused on man-to-man D, in the second half, we focused on zone. I didn't see Sarah Scott there, which I think hurt the Bella deep game a bit. Primarily, the O was running through athletic cutter/handler, Jenny Gaynor. She was their go-to receiver. They were really trying to work the McKain/Gaynor connection. We focused on shutting down Gaynor, and kept Chelsea Twohig on McKain. Chelsea got a quick handblock off the pull on McKain, which allowed us to go up quick 1-0. If you're looking for a good play by play, Michelle tweeted the whole thing on the Eastern's Twitter Feed. Check it out HERE One thing I was a bit shocked about is why Bella didn't go deeper into their roster. Our players consistently commented about how the newer Bellas were the most stifiling on the mark, as they were often fresher than the folks running for points on end. We tried to keep fresh legs out there, and it really helped. Our Mikey-created conditioning/lifting/plyos are really starting to show late in the tournaments, as our players can run and run. This game showed the world: Saucy Nancy is back. Our Throwdown win wasn't a fluke. We can play in really poor conditions (See: Midwest Throwdown) or really nice conditions (See: Women's College Easterns).

Overall thoughts on the weekend:
1) We were able to switch it up between man and zone. Our zone is stifiling. I love it. Throwing different things at different times. We can vary the looks we throw, and throw them well.
2) We need to swing bettter. We have these points where handlers hold the disc (cough, cough, ROBYN). When we swing, we succeed. No one can shut it down.
3) We have a deep team. We really can match up well, and keep the legs fresh in big games. I love looking around me between points, and be confident that we'll win the match ups every time. And in the event that we don't, we don't let it bring us down.
4) Our sidelines are second to none. We have a huge team, and we'll let you know it.
5) Michigan's going to turn some heads. I'm waiting for them to blow up soon. (See: Women's College Centex)
6) UNC-W is the world's most beautiful campus. Holy cow.

I need to enjoy my spring break/sleep more.

MWTD Day 2

Wow, it finally hit me: I was actually part of a college tournament victory...well since High Tide 2007, my very first tournament ever, and a few small indoor tourneys with SOL. Iowa really came out fired up in every game, always going opening up with a run (with an exception in the Championship game vs. Wisconsin)

Conditions on day 2 were similar. slight upwind/downwind, cold (for first 2 rounds), and really muddy on all fields.

Pre-Quarters vs. Carleton College-B (Eclipse)
This team is hands down the team to watch in the D-III Championship runnings. They have great throws, intense D. I'm excited to see how their season pans out. They put our zone-D to the test, really working it, in the lighter wind. Their handlers were confident and collected, but were stifled by hard Saucy D. We controlled the tempo, coming out on top 11-4.

Quarters vs. Iowa State (Woman Scorned)
We play Woman Scorned a lot. I'm not sure if I can personally remember playing a college tournament without playing them...some really good friends on that team. We came out so fired up, really intense...lots of tenacity on defense. We really focused on minimizing turns, and capitalizing on every possession. Katie "Rage Kage" Johnson, Kelli "KP" Parsons, and Chelsea Twohig really stepped it up for Saucy on D. Our zone and man D looked pretty good, pressuring every throw and catch.
Saucy 11, Scorned 4

Semis vs. Colorado (Kali)
Saucy lost to Kali at MLC in fall in the semis. Knowing what we had to do, we were ready to get down to business. We busted through the Kali zone in the first possession. Breaking the zone without a single turn. Taking advantage of a lack of wind (and some encouragement from DK to do it...) I scoobered over the top to Apple, who moved the disc upfield to Chelsea and Liza. It was one of the quickest, most efficient zone O points I have ever seen from Sauce. Hands down, we controlled the tempo against a good Kali O, taking half 7-0. Sara Timko and Anna "FOTY" Pritchard were stifling on the mark. I was on the sideline with Chelsea Russell, and we decided that Anna was batshit crazy on the mark. Kali came back from half with a solid, really fired up. I have to say, out of all the teams competing this year in the women's college division, from what I have read, no other team fights tooth and nail to the end of a game like Kali. They never give up and battle back from any deficit, no matter what it is. It really says something about their character as a team. I remember playing against grad student handler Katie Patterson back in the day when she played for Vanderbilt. She always continue to impress me every season with her disc skills, and ability to stay collected no matter what. She is definitely one of those players I have admired as I made a transition to handling. For Saucy, Liza Minor really made some clutch plays, with some ridiculous layout grabs to keep the Saucy momentum going strong. She is playing years beyond her experience. Good catches, seeing the field well, and really making good offensive decisions (in addition to tough D).
Sauce came out on top 10-6.

Championships vs. Wisconsin (Bella Donna)
Even after listening to a little Jay-Z "It's a Hard Knock Life," we came out a little flat. Bella went up 2-0 before we even came close to putting it in the end zone. This game was definitely the most mentally challenging of the season for Saucy. We were starting to show signs of exhaustion. I'm not sure what happened, quite honestly. It's like we weren't even present there. Next thing we knew, we were down 2-5 to one of the best teams in the country. Mikey took a time out. We chatted and came back out fired up. Suddenly, we clicked again. The Saucy magic was back. We were smiling, having fun...all in all, doing our thing. It was 6's, and we pushed to half, 7-6. Chelsea Russell really said it well at half, "Look at how much fun we're having." It's this game of ultimate that brings all 28 of us together (granted we didn't have a full 28 at MWTD). We love this game, and we love playing it with each other. We love pushing each other, cheering for each other, and working hard together as a team. Bella came back and tied it in soft cap at 7's. The next point that ensued was pretty long. Bella worked it down, but on a slightly misplaced throw on the sideline, the observer got in the way. It was a turn. Though a bittersweet way to get a turn, Saucy capitalized on it. Working it down, and putting it in on a break throw to Chelsea Twohig. The hard cap horn went off during that point, going into effect after the point. Since we were up 8-7, the game was done, and Saucy came out on top.

I'm looking forward to a different Bella team at Easterns. Bella was experiencing a ton of injuries (5 players injured=3 on the sidelines, most notable Al Ellis and Sydney Dobkins, and 2 playing). Sara Scott, I think is a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the disc. She asserts herself with her play, intense D, bidding all over the place...and her deadly throwing arsenal. Her forehand huck is one to be reckoned with. One thing that is unique, is that from such an intense, skilled player, her sportsmanship is second to none. You can just tell that she loves to play the game. You know she leaves it all on the field, and has fun playing. Rebecca "Reebs" Enders really showed some brilliance this weekend also. Her throws consistently improve from one tournament to another. Keep your eye on her. Jenny Gaynor and Emelie McKain anchor a talented Bella team, bringing the fire to the team.

As for Saucy, I cannot express how refreshing to come in at every huddle, every timeout, between every point, that there are ridiculously sick players surrounding me at all times. I have full confidence in my teammates, and that every single person is a necessary part of the whole to succeed. This weekend demonstrated this to the highest level.

Thanks Michelle, WashU Ultimate, and Without Limits for putting on a great tournament! Saucy had a blast :-)

MWTD Day 1

Holy Kittats. It was really cold. And windy. And muddy. It's not like I can focus on real school work right now anyways (at least until after I eat).

Game 1 vs. Saint Louis University (SLULU)
We came out fired up, playing great zone D. We were pretty nervous about playing in imperfect conditions (cough cough, have you seen our indoor facility?) We got some quick upwind breaks. The first three points were really fast. Minimal turns-ish. SLU scored one down-wind, but didn't score any breaks. SLU rotated between some man and zone. We primarily threw a zone, but got some opportunities to play man. I think that the Saucy downfield D is what helped us control the tempo. We took half 8-1. The first point out of half became somewhat of a marathon point. Shout out to Laura from SLU, she had the sickest upwind layout grab, but hurt herself. Dislocated shoulder and a strained muscle. As both teams froze waiting for the ambulance, the captains decided to call the game. I hear she's doing well, and hope she's back in action soon enough.
Saucy 8, SLULU 1

Game 2 vs. UW-Eau Claire (SOL)
My alma matter.  They were close to full roster (pending Emily Karoblis' acceptance into her grad program), which was exciting for me. It's always interesting to see how SOL is doing. I love when players like Estelle and Mariah make sick plays, as they were easily the most improved players from last season on SOL. Saucy won each battle, point-by-point. Some points, faster and more efficient than others. I think that by the end of the game, Saucy really found our rhythm, and cleaned up the O a bunch. SOL came out in a man-to-man defense, while we ran lots of zone. They didn't look to punt a lot going down-wind, but rather did more punting up-wind. Jess Haller (SOL #1) was SOL's best and most consistent thrower. Keep your eye on this girl. Saucy played some good team D, and pushed hard every single point.
Saucy 15, SOL 0

Game 3 vs. Northwestern (Gung-Ho)
Coming into the game vs. the #2 seed in the tournament, we knew that the game tempo would be very different from the previous 2. Lien Hoffmann, Sara Miller, Sarah "Chunks" Hong, and Angel Li were theh standout handlers, working the disc up patiently up the field. Northwestern came out in man-to-man defense, but Saucy was able to break upwind, pretty easily. They switched to zone, and we had to work it a lot more. There were a few flawless points, but most were capitalized on 2 or more turns per team. We were able to capitalize on some key drops ...Saucy went up on a 6-0 break. Northwestern scored a quick 3, to make it 6-3. We pushed 2 to half, taking it 8-3. The points were really long after half...soft cap went off, then hard cap. Lien Hoffmann and Sara Miller were the go-to-throwers. Aside from Chunks, very few throws went up upwind. In several longer points, our zone-O struggled. We were getting tired from trudging through several inches of mud that covered. They started to punt more going down-wind in the second half.
Saucy 10, Gung-Ho 5

Quick update. More tomorrow if I have time after games tomorrow.

MWTD Preview

MWTD Pools are up. I think seedings are final? I hope so, because I'm going to write anyways.
Division 1
Pool A:
I look for Wisconsin to come out on top here, with no surprise. I did like the match up between Iowa State and Wisco at the Iowa Indoor. They had some good even match ups. No one on Wisco could cover Jasmine "Jazz" Draper. From what I saw, the Gapstur/Jazz connection was pretty strong. I pick ISU in the 2 spot over Colorado. Talking to some of the Woman Scorned players, they are ready to go and looking good. As this tourney is practically in their backyards, I assume a full roster. I am predicting a universe point win for Bella. Colorado, from what I heard, brought a smaller roster to MLC in fall, and played a tight rotation. If the weather is as bad as they forecast, I predict some long points. ISU has the legs to overcome Kali, I think. I haven't seen much from Kansas this year.
Prediction: Wisco, ISU, Colorado, Kansas

Pool B:
It could be my bias towards Saucy, but I'm predicting an upset here as well. Knowing a good deal about the ladies of Gung Ho, I know that they are a handler reliant team. Lien Hoffman is their go-to player. I feel that Saucy has too many "one-ups" in the 1v1 match up. Granted, I would look for Iowa, UWEC, and SLU's earlier games to be a little sloppier...as they are the first outdoor games of the season. I think UWEC will have a stronger showing, as their roster was lacking vets in the Iowa Indoor. Adding Melissa "George" Jordan and Emily Karoblis (former UW-Stevens Point standout) into the mix will bring up their level of play. However, their lack of experienced handlers works a bit against them.
Prediction: Iowa, Northwestern, UWEC, SLU

Pool C:
Wash U should take this pool, pretty handily. I think that their depth and handler power really give them the competitive edge. OSU and Notre Dame, having some outdoor experience already this season at Queen City Tune Up should have a slight edge over Colorado College. I have never seen Colorado College play, and really look forward to it!
Prediction: WashU, Colorado College, OSU, Notre Dame

Division 2:
Pool D
Missouri and TSUnami look like the favorites here. I haven't seen Oberlin play in a few years...

Pool E:
Minnesota is an easy pick here. Lefty junior-worlds handler Depalma leads a great squad, and really anchors the offense.

Pool F:
This pool will be a little more hard fought. The ladies of the North Central Region will be battling it out. St. Olaf, led by Brittany Faust, vs. Wisconsin-Atropa, led by Anna Shanedling, vs. a well-rounded Carelton Eclipse team. I think that St. Olaf will pull it off.

Pool G:
Luther should be the standout team, but don't count out Grinnell. Two of my favorite D-III teams squaring off against each other. This could easily be the semis or finals of the North Central D-III Conference/Regional Championships. My prediction is Luther, FTW.

Personally, I am looking forward to the skills clinics. If you're working on "Big Pulls" with Mikey, make sure you say hi to me, as I will be his fabulous assistant :-)

Iowa Indoor Scrimmage: North Central Top-5 Division I Preview

So the Indoor Turf Practice Facility, aka "The Bubble," played host to a little round-robin style tourney January 22-23. With arguably the top five teams in the North Central Region there, it was an early season opportunity to get some extra practice in before major College Season participation. Here's a little breakdown of the teams...according to Robyn (hey, that's me!) Really, there is no rhyme or reason to the way I wrote. Just whatever team was there I thought of, in no particular order.

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, SOL (Eau Claire, WI)

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SOL Blog
My undergraduate alma mater. *Sigh* It sure was weird finally playing against them. The team is rebuilding. Coming back from the huge personnel and leadership losses from the 2009-2010 College Season, SOL is fighting the good fight. Offensively, SOL is anchored by the handling core of captain Brit Gartner (#11), captain Iansa Zaldarriaga (#5), and transfer from Loyola-Chicago Meredith Bray. These three clearly keep the offense going; however, running an offense with three experienced handlers can be difficult. Melissa "George" Jordan (#23) got some experience with Drag'n Thrust. Cutters like Estelle Taquet (#24), Tracie Anderson (#45), and captain Heather Wroten (#41) are much improved, but they need to assert themselves more to really have the same offensive impact they had in previous seasons, especially with the shift to a side-stack offense. Right now, the cutters are marked by inexperience, and seem like they need to know where to go for continues as they explore the side-stack and isos offensively. Jess Haller (#1) and Melissa "Brownie" Brown (#7), in my opinion are the two most underrated, and under utilized players in the SOL roster. Both are splitting time between handling and cutting. It would be great to see them busting deep more...utilizing height, air skills, and their uncanny ability to read the disc. Granted, it was SOL's first time playing since before winter break, I am interested to see what is coming from this young, budding team. Coach Pat Niles has some work to do fixing his chest hair...Ryan Cabrara isn't a good look for him. However bad his chest hair may be, he brings much needed experience to the young team. As he continues to be integrated into the program, he can use some of his world championship (with CLX 2010) knowledge and help get rookies up to speed. I'd like to see him implement the same systems he did for SOL in the past...I would say we were successful with it.

Iowa State University, Women Scorned (Ames, IA)

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Women Scorned Blog

Jasmine "Jazz" Draper (#12; 2010 Callahan Top-10) returns for her controversial fifth year of eligibility. That's a huge story in and of itself. I don't think her field presence can be over-emphasized. The point of this post is not to go on and on about how good she is. I mean, we all get that. But she brings a ton of experience and some leadership to the team. Personally, I like seeing that Magon Liu (#08) and Jessie Erickson (#14) have finally come into their own and have asserted their field presence. Magon's backhand huck is practically unstoppable. Even though she's short, her high-release backhand huck is phenomenal. She's quick. Stopping her strike cuts and keeping her momentum to a minimum is key to getting other handlers to step up. Lindsay Gapstur's (#02) much improved forehand brings added versatility to a solid handler core, combined with Sarah Pesch's (#97) sick lefty break throws. They got some pretty good rookies, like high school stud Cami Nelson. In my opinion, you're going to concentrate on the people I've mentioned. But guess what, the real underdogs here are Becca Miller (#47) and Caitlin "Bosco" (#03). Watch these two. They are fast, have ridiculous hands, and are the pinnacle of the horizontal/split-stack offense. Becca, Jessie, and Bosco tend to get the big gains under, utilizing their speed and read on the disc, looking for continues (not necessarily the big throws). The big throws are left to Liu, Jazz, and Gapstur, who like to put the big ones in the endzone.

Carleton College, Syzygy (Northfield, MN)

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Syzygy Site
Their roster is stacked. That's all there is to it. Anna Snyder (#23) and her little sister, Julia, have some ridiculous throws. Elise Rasmussen (#25) is sick. Personally, my favorite player on their team is soccer player, Marlena  "Marley" Hartman-Filson. Though they have taller players (i.e. Flannery McArdle), Marley is the most athletic tall player in the region, if not in the country. Dead serious. Put her up there with former Bella Donna Sandy Jorgenson. But what makes Marley so freaking good: she has phenomenal disc skills to match her athleticism and ability to read the disc as a defender. Oh yeah, she can run you into the ground. I was disappointed that Merritt Swain (#17) wasn't playing. She had ankle surgery in fall, which is sad. I hope she recovers soon and is back on the field. She's another one of those girls I love playing against. This team is stacked from top to bottom with more experience than any other team I know (most of these ladies have been playing forever...well, they have lots of youth and junior worlds experience to boot). They look deep a lot offensively, using their height for isos underneath. They don't do anything snazzy. They play good hard D, and smart O using their height and athleticism.

University of Wisconsin-Madison, Bella Donna (Madison, WI)

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Bella Donna Blog
I'll be honest. I thought the Bellas would be hurting more than they were. The roster I saw in fall is significantly different than the one they brought last weekend. I was wondering: where did all the vets go? But rest assured, like half of the semi-finalist team from last season is back again. Emelie McKain (#17, FOTY '08, All-Region Selection), Al Ellis (#16, Central FOTY '10) and Rebecca "Reebs" Enders (#12) anchor the handlers. Without the cutters from last season, it's giving long-time players like Becca Ludford and Rachael Westgate (#26, Central FOTY '09) the chance to shine. And shine they will. Both have great hands, great throws, and make great decisions. Sarah Scott (#31). Get used to hearing that name. She was a noob on Bella last year. Mikey and I call her "Torpedo Girl." She's so explosive in her layouts, she gets picks up trash like you wouldn't believe. I like her playing style a lot. Coach Courtney Kiesow (Multiple All-Region selection, Callahan Winner '08) brings more experience and knowledge of the program. Defensively, the Bellas are bringing back the poachy zone look that they introduced last spring. Though it gave them some troubles in the semi-finals at nationals last year vs. UC-Santa Barbara, the look proved particularly useful against the more inexperienced teams/players. Offensively, McKain and Reebs are looking for the hucks, while Sara Scott and Becca Ludford look for the cuts.

University of Iowa, Saucy Nancy (Iowa City, IA)

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Saucy Nancy Blog
Where to start with our team. I feel like I talk about us enough. I mean I could do a breakdown of our whole roster, but what fun would that be? I feel like it would ruin this whole blog thing right now. I'll be writing more about us as the season goes. But here's a taste, I guess. Me...well, I like throwing and wearing skirts. No shocker there. Preferably to Chelsea Twohig (#10), she's good...she was super sick this weekend and actually didn't play on Saturday (which saddend me). Katie Johnson (#7), you can read all about her athleticism and stats HERE. Liza Minor (#3), good. Jen Nowak (#49), good, wears neon, and doesn't like basketball jerseys. Audrey Erickson (#6), underrated and fast. Good hands. Kristen "Apple" Appelson (#1), fast. Bekah Hickernell (#13)=chill, jack of all trades. Head Coach Mikey Lun (Multiple All-Region selection, CLX standout) brings experience and fundamentals to the team. While assistant coaches Steve "Birdman" Hanson and Dan "FBO" "PDA" "DK" Kresowik are able to add even more one-on-one time and expertise to the team. Our team is young, lacking some high level experience that the players on Bella and Syzygy have, but we are eager to learn and thirsty for success. The Saucy O is about taking advantage of mismatches, especially from the pull.  There's not a ton to do against it but play good D. As the season goes on, look for us to be more conservative with the disc, and our young core of handlers to keep improving the chemistry. Though we lack the swing looks now, it's definitely a point of emphasis. Defensively, I would predict us to play lots of man, as we continue to work on the fundamentals, and take advantage of the raw athleticism our players have.

I mean, I'll do a thourough D-III and Conference Previews for D-I closer to tourney time. Much season left to go!

Unrelated, Unnecessary Bragging

Look how cool UIowa is.

<-------We practice here all winter! Welcome to The Bubble. Or as I call it, Heaven. (Or at least as close as I can get while I'm living in Iowa City for the winter...). I literally got chills when I walked in for the first time last night. Let's be honest, I think I'm allowed to be spoiled, after spending three and a half years in Zorn Arena.

Oh yeah, Saucy welcomes Iowa State University Women Scorned, Carleton College Syzygy, University of Wisconsin Bella Donna, and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire SOL this weekend for our indoor scrimmage tourney. It takes place in The Bubble. So excited.