June 2009 Canadian Women's Power Rankings

Nation,

Just as the Women's division heats up leading up to nationals, here are the power rankings.

Photo Source: Lexi Marsh

Criteria (In Order)
-Performance this Year
-Roster
-Past CUC results and previous year's results

1. Lotus (Toronto)- Boston Invite champs have looked like a deserving number one seed. Next tournament will be the defense of their 2008 No Borders title.
   
2. Storm (Montreal)- 2 tournament titles (WMO and Jazz Fest) with a head to head victory over Stella
3. Stella (Ottawa)- A so-so Boston Invite with no other UPA tournaments before or after. 2008 CUC champs will have stars Kate Crump and Anne Mercier back full time after world games. This will be a big boost for nationals.
   
4. Traffic (Vancouver)- Not signed up for nationals, so they slide a bit in the Canadian rankings. Clearly a strong team.
   
5. Wild Roses (Calgary)- Very little data available, as Flowerbowl results are not posted. Is this the same team that posed as Team Alberta and was a top 4 CUC team? 3rd place FLO from 2008?
6. QUB (Quebec City)- I've heard Storm was trying out new strategy when they lost to QUB in pool play. I don't hear storm making those excuses, and I won't dismiss QUBs steady play at WMO, Boston and Jazzfest
   
7. Fusion (Winnipeg)- Will get to see this team play at No Borders this year, and looking forward to seeing what the talent level looks like. As I said with the open rankings, Winnipeg has always had a great junior program, and both open/women's should be able to tap into that.
8. PPF (Waterloo)- Tough weekend for PPF at Jazzfest, finishing 5th when many thought they might win it all. No team is more likely to come back and find better results for the rest of the summer.
   
9. Salty (Halifax)- Up year for Halifax's best ladies team. Excellent Boston Invite, 6th place at Jazz, and have improved their seeding with their play. Have to echo other's positive comments about the committment and dedication of Halifax teams to travel.
10. Zephr (Vancouver)- Maybe a little underseeded at this point, given their location allows them access to good talent, their ability to play good american teams, and their solid captain (former Stella player Nancy Symons). It's very rare that an ultimate team gets the chance to play under a person who has university championship head coaching experience.
    
11. Mystik (Montreal)- Going from an O-for Boston Invite to a dominating pool day at Jazz fest, this team doesn't want the B team label. It doesn't matter if this is their first year, they want better competition and challenges this summer.
12. Lily (Toronto)- Have to rank them ahead of Scarlett from Ottawa, as they have the head to head advantage this year.
    
13. Scarlett (Ottawa)- Ranking two Toronto teams ahead of two Ottawa teams will not be a popular move in my area. If they can improve certain key positions before nationals, they might become a very different (tougher) team to play against at CUC.
    
14. Sirens (Regina)- Very little data. 9th at CUC 2008.
    
15. Pandora (Saskatoon)- Very little data
    
16. Feisty (Toronto)- Definitely going through an ultimate experience both literally (with their Ultimate Experience relations) and figuratively (0-7 record at Jazzfest, ouch), one has to be comforted by the fact that this team allows an entire roster of new players to play club women's. That only benefits Toronto and Canada ultimate.

June 2009 Canadian Open Power Rankings

Nation,

Leading up to Nationals, I will attempt to produce monthly power rankings of the CUC divisions.

Photo: GOAT- Boston Invite 2009 Elite Champs
Source: Anatoly Vasilyev

Criteria (In Order)
-Performance this Year
-Roster
-Past CUC results and previous year's results

Right now, picks 3-6 are a toss up.

1. Goat (Toronto)- Boston Invite Champs deserve the title as best team in the nation. One of the things that impresses me from the picture above is that the core of GOAT is actually quite young, and this team could just be starting to peak for many years.
   
2. Furious George (Vancouver)- Not registered for CUC, but will make a rankings exception for the great Monkey. A year of transition sees many old vets out and many new talents into the lineup.
   
3. Invictus (Calgary)- Tough D, Big throwers like Robert Mcleod, and some continuty in Calgary could help make for a CUC title run.
   
4. Mephisto (Montreal)- Strong CUT 2009, Weaker Boston Invite...
5. General Strike (Winnipeg)- 2009 CUC Hosts expect nothing less than open gold in August. MOFO junior program is a factory of talent, and it should transfer to the men's program
6. Phoenix (Ottawa)- Looking to defend their No Borders title this year before targeting redemption at nationals.
   
7. Grand Trunk (Toronto)- A bit puzzling thus far this season. The team looks deeper and more talented than it has ever been. However, results at No Surf and Boston were just okay. My guess: They are working to plateau in August.
   
8. Mangina (Regina)- Everyone always discounts them, and they always hold their own every summer. Best logo in the circuit. (Send me a green jersey!!)
   
9. Blackfish (Vancouver)- Amazing B Team in 2008, an insult call them a B team really. Many of their core players moved on to Furious, but some solid veterans remain. This team knows how to develop talent.
10. Red Circus (Halifax)- Strong showing at Boston. Team thinks this is an up year after a strong development year in 2008.
    
11. Too Bad (Toronto)- Savvy veteran squad. How strong will the squad be at CUC?
12. Sofa Kings (Kelowna)-We won't see much of them until nationals outside of Flowerbowl. A very strong middle tier team that was a win away from quarterfinals last year (I feel responsible for that... oh wait, it was us!)
    
13. Demon (Montreal)- Strong Boston Invite showing. Patience of 2008 is paying off with a better roster in 2009.
    
14. ROY (Toronto)- Last year was a very tough year for this team after a solid 2007 nationals. Now, it seems like talent has trickled down from Goat and GT and Brad Amson is being rewarded for his hard work with ROY.
    
15. SirLoin- Team's height in 2008 was impressive. Year 2 seems more organized, and results could prove positive.
    
16. Tommy Douglas Dream Machine (Saskatoon)- Great name for a new open team.
    
17. Flatline (Vancouver)- News is that this team is better than 2008. If you have to be a C team in a city, Vancouver seems like an excellent place to do it.
18. Magma (Montreal)- In development mode. Getting better results in 2009.