One of our goals for the weekend was to score the first point of a game. At presday, although we went 5-4, we scored the first point only once and that was the last game of the tournament in our rematch against Humbolt State. I might write another post about all of the excellent stats I’ve collected but I want to cover Easterns while its fresh in my mind.
Maryland
We started out strong against Maryland scoring the first two. They gave us a lot more trouble than 1) they should have and 2) we expected. They like up the line cuts and we still cannot defend it well. I don’t understand why. We do it in practice all the time. It is definitely one of our short comings. Over all we had the athleticism and speed to beat them. A time out in the middle of the first half gave us a chance to talk about how to beat the poach in the deep space and the game got better from there. They did a great job of working it up the field but just couldn’t execute in the endzone which was quite fortunate for us. We took half 7-4 and ended 11-7.
Iowa State
In my four years I have yet to beat Iowa State. All of our games were close and ended with “Why did they beat us?” because we knew full well we should have won.
We scored the first point of this game as well. Melee has a tendency to play at the same level of our opponents and this was clearly the case. I’m not saying ISU doesn’t have some great players, but we definitely did not play our best. I had what was probably the worst pull of my life (practice included) in this game. It shot straight up, and caught be the wind proceeded to fall almost back where it started landing about 20 yards from the endzone. Gap to Jazz, they scored in one throw. Not a huck, an easy throw. My bad. I enjoyed matching up against some of the girls that I’ve gotten to know the past year, after spending some time in the midwest. Playing a few of them at heavyweights in club and observing central regionals in October.
We pulled out our 5th win on universe of the season winning 10-9. A bit too close for comfort but I was never worried. For the first time in 5 years I trust my team. This brings us to 5-0 on universe for the year. Conclusion: You don’t want to be tied in cap. We win every time. I’m not sure what the difference is, but I think every time we pull off another close win we get a little more confident. It’s easy to get flustered when the game is on the line but we still remain calm and are able to take advantage of our opponents mistakes. I’m very proud of my team.
UNC
After a 3.5 hour bye we had a solid warm up before our third game of the day. The winner would get a spot in quarters, the loser would have a 6:30 game to play into the championship bracket. We beat UNC at CCC on universe (what a surprise!) and didn’t understand what they did that destroyed teams at presday. They must have changed something.
To clarify. By “solid warmup” I mean our warmup plan was solid. We were looking sluggish and unfocused, clearly tired from our previous games and probably still digesting our large lunch at Panera. (Do you think we can get a Panera sponsorship if I mention it enough?) Although UNC scored the first two points, we were looking good. By far the more athletic team, they threw a zone. Leila was in the back and did a great job of picking up most of our deep shots and we quickly learned that was not a viable option. We answered back and were soon up 4-3. But then something happened, UNC turned it on and we turned it off. They went on a 4 point run to take half, and then a 3 point run after. They started playing man defense and we had no problem breaking it. Leila made a few mistakes. A drop or two and an uncharacteristically high percentage of uncompleted deep throws. We could tell the entire team was affected by it.
I’m pretty certain that the outcome of the game was affected by two calls that I didn’t agree with near the end of the game. I understand why they were made, and the players legitimately thought they were correct, but from my point of view they should have gone our way. Whitney had a great layout D close to their endzone that was sent back and they scored. Brady had a sick grab on a big huck breaking the UNC zone that was sent back. A 40 yard gain against a zone defense is not incredibly common and that definitely set us back. UNC scored that point as well after we turned it closer to their endzone than we hoped. Cap went on at 11-9, we fought hard but finished the game 13-10.
Yet again I was incredibly proud of my team. It’s rare to be able to keep your heads up after a demoralizing 7 point run and come back to challenge a team currently ranked #2 in the nation. You just have to play one point at a time, and we did that.
Notre Dame
The winner of this game made it into the championship bracket. They walked it up the field and scored the first point. No bueno. We finally started playing our game. It was a good chance to work on our fundamentals. Took half 7-3, won the game 13-7. There’s not much to say. It was late. We were tired. Sand was getting in my cleats from the beaches in the middle of the field and my feet were incredibly unhappy from the constant friction. I need knew cleats. Giant holes are not conducive to beach ultimate.
UNCW
Michelle tried to get us to hangout with some of the UNCW over the weekend and they graciously housed us Friday and Saturday. It’s nice getting to know people off the field. It helps me respect them a bit more on the field. Dinner was nice. We had good times telling embarrassing stories about Michelle, the only thing we had in common, and talking about non-ultimate things. Our host was great. I hope teams think I’m that awesome when they stay with me.
This was definitely the most intense game of the weekend. We are still bitter about nationals, and wanted a rematch after they walked all over us at CCC. Since then we’ve practiced zone O and had a healthy team with no one injured on the sidelines. At the beginning of the game they played man D. I was quite surprised after the success of their zone against us the last two times we played each other. We started on O but they scored the first point. They would get a break, we would get a break, trading points in sets of two. They eventually switched to a defense with a three man wall up front. A few showdown players came out to practice Thursday and taught us how to beat that zone. We walked it up the field. Swinging it all the way across. Finding a popper for a 10 ft gain, losing 5ft on the dump, and repeating. We got impatient early on and would eventually try to send it deep, which did not work out at all. We started being a bit more disciplined and in one point literally walked the disc up the entire length of the field. I don’t think a single cut was made until we got within 10 yards of the endzone. Michelle was on the sidelines and commented, “I have never seen Texas be that patient.” After breaking the defense a few times they switched back to man.
UNCW took half 7-6.
We tied it up at 7s and soft cap went on in the next point. Whitney toed the line in the endzone, making a sick grab, putting us back in the lead. But she was called out. We scored again. Violation. Everyone hadn’t set up properly. On the third attempt we turned the disc. 67% in the endzone. That’s much better than in the past, but it wasn’t good enough. UNCW scored after the turn, 8-7 game to 10. The momentum shifted. We fought hard but they scored the downwind point. 9-7. Hard cap is on. With the game already lost we didn’t give up, but also didn’t have the same urgency. 10-7 UNCW.
Michigan
I enjoy playing Michigan. After a rough game against UNCW we were exhausted mentally and physically. The first few points were back and forth but Flywheel took off in the middle of the first half and we couldn’t answer back. Their tall players beat our zone easily with high releases over the cup. Even jumping we couldn’t touch the disc. My one handblock on their endzone flew straight into AMP’s hands. Quite disappointing. Sharon did some damage in the deep, skying people left and right. It still wasn’t enough. Julie had a sick grab in the endzone in the air. Have no fear, they couldn’t keep our Asian’s apart and blamed Sharon for that one as well. Julie is now our secret weapon.
In the second half I had a great throw. Meaning I threw it out the back of the endzone setting Sharon up for a greatest which was caught by Emily for a score. It was incredible. Our sidelines exploded and you could see the difference in play after that. But it was late in the game and we didn’t have time to make a come back. 6-11 Michigan. I’m sad that I will have to put up with trash talk from the Flywheel kids, but we’ll get you next time! 
Lessons learned from the Michigan game. More track workouts. We can’t afford to fall apart after a tough game.
Pitt
This year I’ve moved into the field and am kind of the “backup” handler when a zone is thrown or for whatever reason we only have one other handler on the line. It’s fun. Tiring. I have a new perspective on the game. It’s easy to handle all weekend. I’d get tired, but now I get TIRED.
Janel took herself out of the Pitt game, playing through injuries all weekend. We played looser lines. We weren’t worried about the game. Pitt hasn’t been performing very well this season and it was clear we were in control. I found myself picking up the disc a lot. It was actually uncomfortable at times. Who knew? I found out my flick hucks are still acceptable but too low and they get batted down by other teams. Ooops. I often matched up with the same girl I guarded at nationals. I really enjoy playing against her. She guards the up the line cut better than anyone I’ve played this year. On the sidelines I’d make my teammates watch. After Maryland it was obvious we really need to work on it.
We took half 7-5 and cap was about to go on. They were in no rush to get on the field and it was pretty apparent that they had given up. The heat was getting to them and they just didn’t seem to want to play. Final score: 10-6 Texas.
Conclusion
We held seed and finished 7th for the weekend. I’m hoping we’ll move up in the rankings. It’s good for us, but I also really want to keep that region strength bid that we had as of last week.
After the weekend I’m convinced that we can compete with the best. My teammates now believe we can compete with the best. This could be a huge turning point in the season. Can’t wait to see what happens at Centex.