Women's Division Coverage - Day Two

By Neva Cherniavsky

Round 1: Fury comes out strong against Prime and dominates their northwest rival. Meanwhile, Rare Air and Godiva play a close game beside them. Rare Air is athletic and fast, with monster D. But their O just isn't that great, especially in the wind. Godiva's zone seems to fluster them. Godiva also has troubles with Rare's zone, though not as many as they did yesterday. Their throws were looking lovely in the wind, smooth as silk. Though Rare keeps it close through most of the game, Godiva turns it up at the end and wins decisively.

Big upset on the other side of the bracket - Schwa goes down to Ozone 15-10. Ozone gives up on working in the wind and instead uses their great throwers to huck it. Ozone's receivers aren't bad either, and the Atlanta ladies come down with a lot. However, the big key is field position. Schwa seems reluctant to play the same game and pays for it by turning it close to their endline. Ozone punches it in easily. Ozone leads at half and wins going away. Riot has no trouble with Nemesis and is finished long before the rest of the field.

Round 2: The big upset of the round is Fury over Godiva. Faithful readers will not be too surprised, since Godiva didn't look so hot yesterday while Fury has been dominant. The game was never close. Fury jumps out to a 4-1 lead, then 6-2. Fury has a mean 4 person cup and Godiva doesn't have much success working it. Their throws are still fine but they can't find the holes. In frustration, or as strategy, Godiva starts hucking it, a style of play they are unused to. Fury keeps pulling down long throws and punching it in. Fury is up by 11-3, the same lead Prime had on Godiva yesterday. But unlike Prime, Fury isn't making mistakes. The squad is full of skilled, athletic women and their zone defense is excellent. Fury celebrates after every point, knowing how important this win is. Spectators wonder what year Godiva last lost a game at the Championships. The final is 15-5.

Schwa opens their game against Riot with a zone that Seattle has trouble working through. Some turns on their endline lead to quick Schwa scores (often a Tracey Satterfield (#27) to Tara Sechler (#16) huck) and Portland goes up 4-1. Riot's man D isn't looking so hot outside their endzone. Riot decides to start playing the field position game and Deb Cussen (#27) connects on a couple to Liz Penny (#14). This formula works well and Riot takes half 8-4. The game is pretty ugly, with lots of calls going to the observer. Riot sustains the four point lead through the rest of the game, winning 14-10.

Rare Air plays a close game with Prime, as the teams have very similar styles. There are lots of hucks and lots of turnovers. Prime has a nice spread offense that finally started clicking for them in this game. Rare Air is athletic and pulled down a lot of ugly throws; but in the end, Prime was able to work it better and won 13-8.

Ozone kept to their winning scheme from Round 1, hucking it and playing the field position game. Nemesis also hucked a lot, but Ozone was more successful. Ozone caps a good day two with the win, ensuring they don't have to play prequarters.

Round 3: Last chance for Rare Air. After a disappointing day, they are rewarded with a strong team in prequarters with Alias. Not only that, but the North Carolina squad matches up well against Rare Air's long game. Alias seems to have no trouble in the wind, working it with smooth throws when it's there, and hucking it deep when it's not. Rare Air keeps making questionable decisions. Alias takes advantage and runs away with it.

Clutch struggled through the backdoor to face Chicago's Nemesis, a regional rival. Clutch has some height and a good deep game. They are successful at moving the disc down the field, but aren't so good in the redzone. Nemesis's huck game is more successful than against Ozone, and their throws look better in the wind. Nemesis takes control and never loses it.

After two days, Fury looks unstoppable. Riot comes in a close second, only because their game against Schwa wasn't as good as it could have been. Alias and Nemesis are both unpredictable wildcards. Prime looks beatable but gives any team a hard time. Godiva, Schwa and Ozone aren't in their usual forms, but are still forces to be reckoned with.

All ideas expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the UPA