Masters Division Coverage - Day One

By Bil Elsinger

Wind wind and more wind. I love the wind, especially when it comes off the plain. Who else loves the wind? Veteran ultimate players, that's who. And where do veteran ultimate players congregate? Masters, that's where.

While Open saw innumerable drops and floating swill everywhere, the Masters were in their element. But enough fiddle-faddle, let's get to the results.

Round 1:

The first round saw only one upset, and that the difference between a team seeded fourth in their pool and a team seeded third. Given the wide difference in teams that attend from year to year, seeding is probably pretty tough, but round one validated most of the initial seeds.

Pool A:

Old Sag's game against Empire started close (3-3), but SAG pushed to 8-4 by halftime. They stretched this out early in the second half, then traded goals to 15-7. The first half was sloppier than the second, and Empire looked ok, with John Garb putting up some nice hucks. Old SAG needs to tighten up their play in later rounds to hold seed.

2 vs. 5 in this pool saw KAVU beating Big Unit after going up 8-2 at half. The wind stepped up a notch for the second half to even things out as both teams traded points until the end.

In the 3-4 game, new teams Never Nice Guys and the Fat Boys squared off. Several drops and mostly zone play saw both teams tied at seven just before half. NNG came out of half flat, however, and the rest of the game was the Fat Boys, as they held seed.

Pool B:

Old and in the Way rolled on Hoss 15-4 in the 1-6 game. Seattle's Kegworkers came away with the upset of the round, as they beat Glum handily 15-10. Glum's offense let the count get high several times in this game, as they were forced to throw up hucks that didn't all complete. The Keggies played well, and after 5-5 went on a run. A small comeback around point 10 was handled in union fashion.

Minnesota's Grey Expectations was looking for the upset as well, as they were up early on the Miami Refugees. Just before half, Grey Expectations was up three with Miami stuck deep in its own territory. They almost got the stall, but a time out was called at stall nine. Miami got the disc off after the time out, and adverted a perhaps non-surmountable gap. Miami came back to 14-14, double game point. Miami turned it over on an unwise hammer into the endzone, but Steve Fowler and a big time handblock saves the day as Miami throws another hammer, this time for the score.

Round 2.

Pool A.

Old SAG had a tough game against Never Nice Guys as they took half 8-6. NNG came back at the very end as Old SAG started to turn the disc over. Old SAG was never able to pull far enough away, and after 12 all, NNG score three straight to win for the upset of the fourth seed over the one. The second seed in the pool fared better, as KAVU tales half 8-5 and the game 15-9 over the Fat Boys. KAVU had some uncharacteristic turns on their own goal line, but Michael Lauber came through with some huge defensive plays. Fat Boys' Scott Keating had this helpful observation, "We played like S**t."

The pool's number six seed upset the number five, as Empire takes half at 8-5. Big Unit comes back to 11-10, but Empire goes on to win 14-11. It was a well played game, although Dave Chaiken of Empire notes, "We had a collective concussion" that allowed Empire back into the game.

Pool B.

While the Kegworkers are still pretty good this year, they looked sleepy in their game against Old and In the Way. Maybe they had already drunk too much, as they lost the game 15-5. According to the Kegworkers, OIW played faster, better D, and smarter O. All that was left to the Kegworkers was luck, and luck did not go their way.

Meanwhile, Glum kept it close down only one at half to the Refugees, although this was after a squandered 6-3 lead. Miami accelerated out of half to a 15-10 win. The third game for this pool saw Hass up early against Grey Expectations. The Minnesota team took half, however, and Grey pulled away in the second half as Hoss may not have had the depth to keep up.

Round 3.

Pool A.

Old SAG's one-two game against KAVU was another barnburner. Won by Old SAG at the cap by Steve Wherry's throw to Brendan Smith, this was a clean, well played game by both teams. Paul Minecci had a great game for SAG including a memorable grab to go up 15-14. KAVU had its chances, as it was up by one at half.

The St. Louis Fat Boys won a good spirited game against the Big Unit as they solved their turnover problems. They took half 8-4. Here's a couple quotes from the winners: "The Fat Boys had a bigger unit." ­ Matt Hietter. "Noam had a sick layout grab that turned the course of the game." ­ Noam Frankel.

The NNGs went up against Empire and stayed up, as they had fewer unforced errors, and Empire had trouble with their zone. All seeds held for this pool and this round.

Pool B.

The Old and In the Way ­ Refugees showdown turned out well for OIW. While the Refugees were close a couple times, OIW was up most of the game.

So too the Kegworkers. While HOSS was scrappy throughout, they didn't have the experience to stick with the Kegworkers. The Kegworker's Getty promises that they'll continue to "drink one beer at a time" although it seems possible that this promise may be broken before the weekend is through.

In the last game (listed here) of the day, Grey Expectations traded to 3-3 against Glum. They then took half at 8-5, and took a big jump after half. Grey found their legs and their deep game (which they lost for the second round) as they played tougher defense. Jeremy Aldin and Paul Anderson were offensive stars, although one of these guys was the source of this information.

Summary, Look Forward

Most Masters agreed that this year's field has been much more competitive than previous year's, and that there wasn't much drop-off in talent at the bottom of the pools. The round robin losses in Pool A seem to confirm this fact, as some great matches between Old SAG and the Fat Boys, and Kavu and NNG should determine the high seeds coming out of pool play. Only Big Unit looks to be out of the mix, as they face an uphill battle against two 2-1 teams (out of four in the pool).

Pool B, meanwhile, saw a bit more separation with two 0fer teams, three tied at 2-1, and Old and In the Way the only undefeated team left. The Kegworkers have to play both Grey Expectations (round one) and the Refugees (round two) for a tough schedule. Glum and HOSS face elimination, as two wins are needed for either team to advance.

Also, the third round tomorrow is elimination bracket play already.