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e-News
#11
Greetings
for the second installment of this special-edition Championship
report!
This one is lengthy but oh there are stories to tell!
Tune in for the last installment after tomorrow's final
action. |
Chasing
Plastic recognized with Award
Chasing
Plastic publisher and founder Eric Reder has received
the 2004 Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the
Community Futures and Development Corporation in Manitoba
for his work in establishing Chasing Plastic as an international
magazine. At a banquet this summer, Eric was presented
the award by Vic Toews, the National Member of Parliament
for Provencher, Manitoba. |
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Event
Report:
UPA
Club Championships
There
are new forces emerging in Sarasota, and the drama couldn't
be higher. For Mixed, Womens, and Open day two brought together
the power pools, the top eight in each division testing each
other and setting up quarterfinal opponents. The lower team
in each of the two power pools played the upper team in the
two lower pools in the afternoon crossover game-the last chance
to make quarters, or to lose a chance at the top eight.
Day three brought quarters and semis, and consolation games
for all but the chosen two teams. For Masters, day three is
the culmination of the season.
Masters
Pool play continued on day 2, with few surprises. Grey X continued
to slide in one pool, while Big Unit of Birmingham played well
in the other. After a three-way tie, Keg Workers topped one
pool while undefeated KAVU topped the other.
Keg Workers met Hoss in one quarter, and KWA advanced with a
15-10 win. Old & In the Way met Refugees in a rematch of
last year's final, with Old easily advancing 15-6. KAVU had
a battle with the Canadian boys on GLUM, but KAVU's winning
run continued with a 15-12 victory. OLD SAG and Bug Unit squared
off in the final quarter, with OLD SAG advancing to the semifinals,
the score 15-11.
Keg Workers of America met Old & In the Way in the 2001
final, with KWA winning their second straight title. This time
Old & In the Way emerged from their semi with the victory
and proceeded to their fourth final appearance in as many years.
KAVU took their unbeaten streak up against OLD SAG in the other
semi. KAVU kept rolling and OLD SAG wasn't up for the challenge,
the final being 15-9 in favor of KAVU.
KAVU's first shot at the title. Old & In the Way bringing
in a string of second-place finishes matched only by that of
Sockeye of the late '90s, hoping not to lose again and take
sole possession of that inauspicious achievement. KAVU had beaten
Old once this week already, and were carrying that momentum.
In the end the perennial bridesmaid was once again unable to
capture the glory, losing by one point in cap, 15-14.
KAVU is celebrating tonight with their first Championship title.
Open
Furious George landed in the power pool with Sockeye, Johnny
Bravo, and the upstart Pike. While Furious pulled out another
one-point game against Sockeye, Bravo started the day knocking
Pike down a notch with an overtime win. Furious continued their
unbeaten streak and took over top seed with a win over Pike
in the final round. Although the game meant nothing to Sockeye
(as their day 1 loss to Pike automatically relegated them to
the cross-over game), their last match with Bravo was an epic
that saw the game close right through until Sockeye pulled it
out in the end.
Austin's Doublewide pulled off a one-point win over Big Ass
Truck of Detroit to advance to the last-chance match with Sockeye.
Doublewide was dispatched by Sockeye as they moved into Saturday
quarters.
Jam and Ring of Fire started tops in the other power pool, and
Ring hammered a listless Jam to take first place. DoG and the
Condors dueled to stay out of the cross-over, and Condors managed
to hold off DoG with a one-point win.
Chain Lightning, Santa Cruz's Kaos, and Electric Pig of Washington
all tied the lower pool with 2-1 records, and Chain Lightning,
in their second tie-break of the week, advanced into the cross-over.
DoG was not to be leashed, however, beating Lightning and claiming
their spot in quarters.
Furious and DoG played a tight game in one quarter, with the
defending-Champs continuing their run and ousting DoG 15-13.
Jam met Johnny Bravo in a quarter and Jam was in fine form,
finishing Bravo 15-10 in the only game won by more than two
points.
Sockeye ran into Ring of Fire, who had barely given up double-digit
scores in previous games this week. Sockeye was the victim of
Ring in the semis in 2002 but this time the fish held on to
advance 15-13. Pike and the Condors met in the last quarter,
and this would prove to be the closest match. Although they
had represented the U.S. at Worlds in Finland, Condors were
not soaring this year in Sarasota, and Pike proved their first-day
win over Sockeye was no accident.
Furious George and Jam last met in a semifinal in 2001 with
Jam advancing. Jam has had Furious' number all year, and finally
ended the monkey's run to their fourth final appearance with
a 15-11 win.
Pike and Sockeye was the first match of the tourney, and the
first upset. This game went to the wire, and Sockeye emerged
with a one-point win in cap, 15-14, and going on to their first
final since 1997.
Sockeye
has been a strength in ultimate for a decade. They're also one
of the only teams to have beaten Jam this year. Jam has been
a perennial underachiever, not quite clicking when they need
to. After sitting out the 2003 UPA Championships they are showing
more determination than ever. Although Sockeye took number one
in the NW Region, just after noon tomorrow Jam will be celebrating
their victory in Florida.
Mixed
By seed, Bad Larry, Brass Monkey, Holes & Poles, and Chad
Larson Experience made up one of the power pools, but this order
wouldn't last. Holes & Poles took down Bad Larry, and then
a Monkey team hammered Larry. CLE squeezed out a win over Holes
& Poles, however the unusual situation of Bad Larry being
ranked above CLE despite having lost against them in day one
meant that Bad Larry was destined for the cross-over. Soul Patrol
from Augusta, GA had overcome Annapolis All-Stars to earn their
spot in the last-chance match, but Bad Larry ended their own
day-long slide to make the quarterfinals.
6 Trained Monkeys, Drive Thru Liquor, Red Fish Blue Fish, and
Shazam made up the other top pool. Again, the rankings were
quickly revised. The Fish knocked off the Monkeys while Shazam
started to roll by downing Liquor. The Monkeys held off Liquor
but Shazam also knocked off the Fish, pushing Red Fish Blue
Fish into the cross-over.
B+ advanced out of the lower pool and upset Red Fish Blue Fish,
becoming the only team in any division to make it back to quarters
through the last-chance game this year.
6 Trained Monkeys knocked off Bad Larry 15-11 in one quarter,
while Chad Larson Experience took care of Drive Thru Liquor
by the same margin. Brass Monkey advanced over B+ 15-13 in this
Monkey's closest contest so far. Shazam eliminated Holes &
Poles by a score of 15-11 in the last quarter.
Chad Larson Experience triumphed over 6 Trained Monkeys 15-13
in the semifinal, to put a Central team into the Championship
for the first time.
The Northwest match-up between Shazam and Brass Monkey has gone
the way of the Monkey all year, but this time would be different.
Shazam advanced in convincing fashion, 15-11, for their first
final appearance.
Can a Central team bring a trophy back to the flats? Can the
Northwest win the Mixed title again? Shazam is on a roll, but
I'll side with my Central co-ed roots and give the nod to Iowa
to get the job done tomorrow afternoon.
Womens
Riot continued to dominate, knocking off undefeated Prime to
retain first in the pool. Backhoe and Ozone battled to avoid
the cross-over, with Backhoe pulling out a win in cap. Washington's
BNOGO beat Safari from San Diego in the lower pool to reach
their last-chance match with Ozone. Ozone took the half and
never looked back to secure their chance at the championship.
Defending-champ
Fury was downed by Lady Godiva, who hadn't beaten them yet this
year, to take over top in the other power pool. Rare Air and
Schwa met to decide who would cross-over, and the see-saw battle
went to overtime before Schwa prevailed. The day one win of
Houston's Zanzara against Brute Squad pushed them to the top
of the lower pool, giving the Texans one last chance to reach
quarters. Rare Air didn't wish to repeat last year's cross-over
experience when they were trounced by Alias (aka Backhoe) to
lose their quarters berth, and managed to eek out an overtime
win against Zanzara.
While Rare Air had the longest road to reach quarters, they
also faced the toughest competitor in top-ranked Riot. The final
was 15-8 as Riot continued to roll.
Fury met Backhoe in another semi. Fury having lost very few
games all season were shocked by Backhoe, who took a one-point
victory in cap to advance to their first ever semi, 14-13
Ozone met the unbeaten Lady Godiva, and Godiva continued her
winning ways to advance 15-10.
In the last quarter Schwa met Prime for the umpteenth time this
year. Mirroring every other result this season, Prime easily
handled Schwa to move on to the round of four with a 15-5 win.
Riot met Backhoe for the second time of the weekend in a semifinal
this afternoon. The gals from Seattle are showing their determination
to shed their finalist title in favor of a Championship one.
Although Backhoe, with coach Billy Dobyns, has proven they are
a team on the rise, Riot advanced with ease to their third final
in four years, 15-8 final score.
The last match of the day featured Prime against the still-undefeated
Lady Godiva. Prime was looking to be the first Canadian Womens
team to reach the final, and Godiva was looking to improve upon
their unbelievable Championship record. When the dust settled
Prime emerged with their first-ever final berth, posting a 15-11
win.
The
good news for Prime is they are one of only two teams who
have defeated Riot this year (Fury is the other). The good
news for Riot is they have already beat Prime once this week.
Too many times the bridesmaids in recent years, Riot has to
know what they need to do tomorrow. Although Prime is hungry
to add to their impressive Worlds victory, my money is on
Riot finally pulling off the big win.
Tomorrow
morning at 9 a.m. Sarasota local time the battle will be joined.
The sun will slowly burn off the haze, and on the dew-wet grass
the players will pull to start the final on a near-empty field.
The fans will slowly trickle in as the game progresses and the
drama unfolds. Whoever the victors are tomorrow, the Northwest
Region boasts 6 of the 8 finalists, and can brag about at least
3 Championship titles.
And as an aside, I called Riot and Jam in 2001, when they both
last appeared, and they left me hanging so I hope I'm not shown
as the jinx.
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