1) Who will emerge as the Open devision front runner in SoCal? We should get the answer to this question post SB invite. UCSB has historically performed very strong at their home tournament, but I don't know if that can be expected from them in this rebuilding year. As I see it now, Claremont, UCSD, and UCSB seem to be relinquishing the hold they've had on the section of late with a Semis birth at Sean Ryan for SLO and a SoCal Warmup Championship from CSULB. My instinct tells me this is SLO's year (they've got this guy Dom, Captain of SLO-Core, and I think he'll wind up being the difference maker).
2) How strong will Arizona be? Sure, they lost a lot of guys, but they've built dedication, and their younger guys got great experience last year. I predict they make semis at SB Invite.
3) Will any SoCal team make semis at SB? Right now I'd go with no.
4) How strong will the NW be this year? After a recent low in strength as a region last year, can the NW rebound? I think it will, and I think there will again be a top 10 team left out of Nationals because of the current bid allocation process.
5) When will the Stanford invite happen? Well?
6) Where will the competition go? In a way, this was the question that defined the fall, and it can still define the spring. Most of the teams invited to C1 were prepared to go where the competition went. Now the question is, where will they go next. I think Vegas, Stanford, and Centex will prove strong again this year, but I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of teams defected from Centex for Southerns or Easterns (tournaments where the men's and women's teams could both play, and then spend the week together). Also, I wonder how many teams can really afford to travel across the country all the time anymore.
and the big one for me:
7) What does the separation of Women's Centex from Open Centex, and the emergence of Pres Day as the choice tournament for top women's teams early in the season mean for the future of college ultimate tournaments? Will we see more single gender events with the creation of a regular season.
I do like the evidence of growth in the women's devision this year. With the expansion of Women's Centex and the addition of a Qualifier for the Women's devision at the SB invite. Maybe we'll see more college women's tournaments this spring.
2 comments:
you posted because i heckled you about it this weekend, didn't you. :P
honestly i'm actually really excited about women's centex being its own tournament. especially with the women's observer clinic, i think that's a great idea. kind of makes me wish i wasn't going to be playing so i could learn to be an observer.
I think the bigger question is WHERE Stanford will be happening? I've heard rumors of Ripon, CA (out near Modesto). Very exciting town.
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