The best thing about Sean Ryan this year (besides being held at the best fields an Ultimate player can find) was that it was effectively a preview of Region 2 (The new California + desert region) regionals. The only top tier teams missing were SDSU (got their bid in too late) and Arizona (have never attended Sean Ryan to my knowledge). I would guess that regionals in May will have an almost identical top 8 teams as Sean Ryan. The only difference that I foresee is that UCLA will be out and SDSU will be in. The ordering of the 8 teams may very well be different in the spring time, but it is clear who is in the top tier of teams.
Notes about Sunday’s play:
The quarter finals saw UCSC playing Cal State Long Beach. It was a mostly upwind downwind game in which Long Beach made strong athletic plays to take the early advantage. The Slugs made up the deficit in the second half by keeping their sideline energy high, mixing their D looks, and playing smart O. Final score 12-10 UCSC.
The wind picked up significantly for the Semi Finals. UCSC played UC Davis in a game that saw only two goals scored upwind. UCSC scored upwind in the first half, and Davis did so in the second half. The game came down to double game point with UCSC receiving going downwind. UCSC punched it in without any turns and won the game only because they won the flip.
UCSC then faced Cal Berkeley in the finals. The wind had died down significantly for the finals, and at 5-5 the wind went away completely. UCSC took half 8-7 and up one break. They then ran away with the second half to win 15-9. The second half showed UCSC’s depth and athleticism, and also showed that Cal was missing some key players.
Scouting reports on the teams I saw in order of finish:
Santa Cruz: The Slugs have a very deep squad that is hungry to improve on last years 4th place finish at Northwest regionals. They lost only 2 rotation players from the 2010 team and have gained valuable experience playing club over the summer. A key to late season success will be finding ways to get both Cassidy and Russell out from behind the disc so they can do damage with their legs. Missing Players: Jordan Sheffield, Devon Anderson (for the finals)
Cal: California did exactly what was expected of them at Sean Ryan. They ran a disciplined vertical stack offense that utilized the width of the field and got young handlers playing time. I only watched them during the finals when it was clear from their lack of dynamic play that they were missing Andrew Hagen, Sam Kanner, and a couple of other injured players. If they have Kanner hucking to Hagen come spring time, Ugmo will be very dangerous. Missing players: Andrew Hagem, Dalga Surofchy, Sam Kanner (Sunday), that guy who played with End Phase and isn't James (Sunday)
Davis: Davis plays a very dynamic game. Taylor Lahey still runs the show, and picking up the top recruits from around Northern California has things looking up. Their O revolves around quick movement out of a close horizontal stack. It looks like they will be relying on freshman to handle along with Taylor, and will probably start three freshman on their O line. They look to huck off handler movement and breakside incuts, and I would bet that they’ll let Taylor and Eli Kerns do most of the hucking. Unfortunately, I didn’t see them playing in calm conditions so I don’t know too much about how things look. Missing Players: None that I know of
Long Beach: Long Beach has more athletic depth then almost all of the other teams I saw. The question is how well will they use it. For now they are running a vert stack with very quick movement. They seem to like the long ball, but are okay with working the under when the deep shot isn't there on count one or two. They had the best team chemistry of any team I saw all weekend. Missing Players: None that I know of
UCLA: They look very young, but are well coached. They run a horizontal stack and are mostly a faceless army. It seems like they’ve lost a lot from last year and are going to use this season to rebuild. Missing Players: None that I know of
SLO: It’s a shame that Jake Juszak plays for Cal Poly SLO.
Also of note: UCSD was missing Josh "Forge" Nickerson and Daniel 'Roget' Cox
About Me
- Joaq
- Santa Cruz, CA, United States
- Passing time in life after college, these are my thoughts on some of my favorite things: Ultimate, Hip-Hop, and who knows what else.
8 comments:
Cal had three guys on End Phase, James, Gary, and Brendan. Davis was missing one of their captains, Paul, and also missing David Barnes. Roget played on Saturday for UCSD.
Matt,
I forgot Gary played with End Phase. Brendan was out for the finals, but I think he played on Saturday. Also, Roget did not play Sunday.
Any thoughts on BYU easily taking down their pool (including wins over Cal and UCSB)?
I didn't get to see more than 1 point by BYU. I do know that they played zone, had a short rotation, and connected on lots of long throws. I'd think that Cal and UCSB would have used their game against BYU to play young players knowing BYU wasn't going to play on Sunday.
sdsu has come out of the woodwork in the past few seasons. it's too bad they weren't there to brawl.
Long Beach was missing a fourth year who got best defensive player (for the team last year) and a 6'3" beast of a man who is probably the fastest sprinter on the team. Also, one of the starting O line guys was playing with 2 broken bones in his foot. The spring should be a lot of fun!
Thanks for the heads up Dan! It looks like there will be a lot of parity in the Southwest this year, hopefully there will also be a lot of strength bids.
Weston, I wish SDSU and Arizona had been there. How sweet would it be if there was a pre-season regionals?
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