CEUUC 2007 Open Recap- Spider Biten... Again!

CEUUC 2007
Open Division Review

Another great university tournament in the books. As I said before, many eastern teams saw this as their nationals for 2007. After Saturday, there was hope for many teams.

2 of the three pools showed no surprises at the end of the first day. Goat and friends.. err Torontula showed up with many of their good players (unlike previously reported) and had a comfortable first place pool finish. McGill survived a close game with Carleton to take pool B. In pool C, Western beat Queens A and finished undefeated to steal a better Sunday seed. Curtis Kile and Nippising went 2-2 and squeaked into the quarters. We also learned that Jeff Lindquist was in fact playing for Guelph, and he finally had a great receiver.

The fun before quarters wasn't over. 2 crossovers (Backdoor baby... great tourney format) were held to determine who stayed alive for the tourney title. Nipissing, Ottawa A, Sherbrooke, and McMaster were involved, and the North Bay and Hamilton teams moved on.

In the quarters, Torontula defeated Nipissing, Carleton surprised Queens, McGill spanked McMaster and Guelph upset Western. Guelph stormed back from an early deficit and squeaked by 10-8, another key win over their much larger southern Ontario rivals.

In the semis, Toronto handled the inexperienced Carleton team, while Guelph continued its run with another upset over last year's Cinderella team, McGill.

In the final, Torontula's experience, depth and skill got the best of small town Guelph. This is the second straight Easterns title for Tula, and one must give full credit to the champions. Last year they trailed Western by 4 points early on in an Eastern playoff battle, and they showed tremendous spirit and mettle during that game and in the past two years.

Here is the final ranking of the teams and some thoughts.

1. Toronto A- You're feeding the open club system in Toronto, and you're setting things up for future years. You'll always have a strong advantage in recruiting and development (as does Ottawa), but you'll have to be efficient in doing so. With success comes emulation and teams built to beat you.
2. Guelph- Jeff Lindquist has a new toy (receiver) and they reportedly lit it up all weekend. This team has to feel great after a 2nd place finish, and a lot of wins in tight games. This team plays a good system and they work well together under one leader. I still worry the team will be f%^ked when they lose Lindquist.
3. Carleton- Another big winner this past weekend. I'm not sure if they will have GOAT player Andy Corey next season, but the future looks great with Kielan Way, Allen Amos Binks and other youngsters leading the way in the next 2-3 years. Luke Phelan stepped up as a coach. That was quite evident just by watching his enthusiasm during the game against Ottawa B.
   
4. McGill A- A step back from last years nationals run, but a solid tournament nonetheless. 2 years ago this program was floundering, and now the team expects to finish top 3 every time out. That's progress.
5. Queens A- Secured 5th when Western forfeited. The program is definitely in a rebuilding year. Recruiting heavily from the west as they have done before is a must. The program success in Ottawa (Carleton/Ottawa) is also a negative for nearby Kingston/Queens.
6. Western A- A disappointment given that many felt only Tula could safely beat this team last year, and this year looked very promising after Saturday. Western overcame a short bench and some huge losses ( a fractured ankle to their national coed champion handler Scotty Hislop, and the absence of converted CIS track star Steve Armitage and two of their three captains from previous years). Expect a strong run during the spring upas this coming year. This team is started to recruit talent, but they must frankly play more in the off season and in summer to ensure the results their athleticism promises.
   
7. McMaster- New uniforms (Will collared jerseys become popular?) and better results.
8. Nippising- The squeaked into quarters, and they probably won the party. Mission accomplished.
9. Ottawa A- Disappointing Sunday followed by crossover loss. However, they finish on a strong note and finish 9th. The key take home is that a) They're becoming more relevant and b) They know they need to develop depth and no handler/star combo can serve as a fix.
10. Sherbrooke- Solid tournament. Wish I had seen more of them.
11. Queens B- Best of B
    
12. Western B- A lot of athletes.
    
13. Toronto B- So many bodies. Some will develop I am sure.
    
14. Ottawa B- Is this the one B team who could beat their A team?
    
15. McGill B- They partied with McGill's ladies. That's not all bad is it? :)
    

CEUUC 2007 Updates

I made it out to see the afternoon games. Great temperature for a September day in Ottawa, but the wind made it a tough day for some inexperienced teams.

I'm hoping viewers can post accurate updates, but so far I can confirm

Open
-Western A goes 4-0, with a win over Queens A. Pool play or not, a huge win for the team, sporting their awesome new jerseys.
-Carleton A goes 3-1, losing a tight one to McGill A. Luke Phelan impresses as a coach on his first day. Comparisons to Bill Cowher are fair. :)

Update: Results
Pool A
(4-0) A1: Toronto (1)
(3-1) A2: Guelph (6)
(2-2) A3: McMaster (7)
(1-3) A4: Western B (12)
(0-4) A5: McGill B (13)

Pool B
(4-0) B1: McGill (2)
(3-1) B2: Carleton University (5)
(2-2) B3: Sherbrooke (8)
(1-3) B4: Queen's B (11)
(0-4) B5: Ottawa B (14)

Pool C
(3-1) C1: Queens-Kingston (3)
(4-0) C2: Western Ontario (4)
(1-3) C3: Ottawa (9)
(2-2) C4: Nipissing (10)
(0-4) C5: Toronto B (15)
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Women
-Ottawa goes 3-0, winning a tough and hotly contested one over Toronto A
-Western goes 2-1, faces Ottawa in the morning.

Update: Saturday Results
Pool E
(3-0) E1: Ottawa (1)
(2-1) E2: Toronto (4)
(2-1) E3: Western (5)
(0-3) E4: Nipissing (8)
(1-3) E5: McMaster (9)

Pool F
(4-0) F1: McGill (2)
(3-1) F2: Queens-Kingston (3)
(1-3) F3: Carleton (6)
(1-3) F4: Guelph (7)
(1-3) F5: University of Toronto B (10)
(2-2) F6: McGill B (11)
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That's all I know for sure. Hopefully the TD will have the scores updated on UPA tonight, the open pool scores should be here and the women's should be right here.

Cheers,

Steven

ps- Ottawa, despite not using the great fields of UPI, is still the standard for fields. Sod Farm is providing a great set of fields for the players.

CEUUC 2007 -Women's Preview

Note: for the men's preview, click here

Canadian Eastern University Ultimate Championships- 2007

I would love to have an extensive preview of the ladies, but my sources for the girls are few and far between outside of Ottawa and London. The schedule is here. Here's a condensed version of the teams:
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University of Ottawa- Lady Gee-Gees Ultimate

Past Results: 2006 National Champions

Key Players: Anne Mercier, Shannon Becker, Kate Crump, Carrie Lugg, Sonia Komenda

Players to Watch: Sam Morris, Chantal Mayotte, Jenn Ried, Amaris Rimay

Notes: Unlike the Ottawa men, the ladies have the deepest roster of all teams attending the tournament. The defending champs are stacked with UPA level talent, led by Mercier, Becker, and Komenda . To paraphrase one insider: "How many women university teams in Canada can claim to be 12 + girls deep with players that could start anywhere else?". It's even more impressive when you consider the state of the team 4 years ago. (It wasn't good folks).

Anything short of a repeat title will be a disappointment. The real question is whether Ottawa will go to CUUC in Vancouver, skip it for UPA College Series in the spring, or do both.

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McGill University- McGill Martlets

Past Results- 2nd, CUUC 2006

Key Players: Kirsten Niles, Breanne MaCook, Jenny Tibiero

Notes: McGill produced many strong individual players in this decade that have gone on to play for Storm, Stella, Lotus or the Capitals in CUPA/UPA action, but last year's team almost claimed national glory, falling short to Ottawa in the final. No Show Dogg, No Hot Marion or Shanna Spring, no problem!

Expect McGill to face competition from Queens, Toronto and Western for a spot in the final.
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Queens University- Queens

Past Results- 3rd- 2006 CUUC

Key Players: Jenna McBride

Notes:
Lead by coach Jackie Cockburn, Queens will look to reestablish themselves as a top 2 team in the women's division.

Long a great team with great players, Queens has lost players such as Taila Hartley and Michelle Taggart to graduation. This weekend will show if the new recruits are bigger and better than ever.
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University of Western Ontario- Mustang Sally

Past Results: 5th, 2007 CUUC

Key Players: Tiffany Lin, Andrea Cheng, Erin Dahlke

Notes: The infusion of Team Fisher Price players Cheng and Lin helped the team to a surprising finish in 2006. However, there was a feeling that the team had much more room to grow. Another year for the other players (whose experience before coming to Western is minimal) can only help.

If the team can incorporate more structure in their offense, Lin's throws, Cheng's speed, and Dahlke's aggressive dominance in the endzone will give them a chance to crack top 4.
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Other Teams
Torontula- Always capable of breaking out. Capitals stalwart Lexi Marsh is running things

Carleton- Suffering from numbers and depth on an annual basis. Lost star organizer Erin Pleet.

Guelph- Known as one of the glitziest (flashy skirts) and cutest teams at the tournament every year. Like Western, they seem to be a little bit of structure away from taking it to the next level.

Nippising- North Bay school with last year's experience to help them. It's only a matter of time before they become contenders.

McMaster- Expect them to finish much higher than last year. 11th at CUUC 2006 had to be a disappointment.

University of Toronto B- Serving a very valuable feeder system function.

McGill University B- Also serving a very valuable feeder system function.
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CEUCC 2007 Preview- Open

Canadian Eastern University Ultimate Championships- 2007

The best college teams from Ontario and Quebec will meet in Ottawa Ontario this weekend. Given the costs of traveling to Vancouver for this year's national championships, this will be the biggest tourney of the year for many of the teams.

Bragging rights are on the line. Before I begin, the tournament schedule for the Open division is up on the UPA site.

Unfortunately, it looks like Waterloo has pulled out of the tournament, 3 days before the first day.
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University of Toronto- Torontula A

Past Results: 2006 National Champions

Key Players: Lowell "Secretary of Defence" Heppner, Peter Jamieson, Inian Moorthy, Scotty Nichols, Kirk Nylen, Tolya Vasilyev, Shawn Chua

Players to Watch: Marcius Extavour, Steven Tam, Adrian Yearwood

Notes: The champs last year were stacked with GOAT players and were deserved champs in a season that featured perhaps the deepest pool of legitimate teams in Canadian university memory. These GOAT players all helped lead Tula last season, and reports indicate many of these players will be back, and the team will be looking to repeat as Eastern Champs.

UPDATE: As seen in the comments section, One of the TULA team captains has said many of the GOAT players will be sitting out the tournament. Given the roll GOAT has been on this summer, these players may be resting for the UPA regionals. Priorities are a necessary evil sometimes.
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McGill University- McGill A

Past Results: 2006 National Runner Up -2nd Place

Key Players: Pat Dowler, Jeremy Shaki, Richard Diaz, Kevin Barford

Notes: After a dissapointing 2005 season, McGill resurrected as a national contender. They did it with great team defense. Anyone who played against them last season complained about their tight zone (A lot of people complained about their double teams as well, but there is a call for that). After two very different seasons, one wonders what level the McGill team will have this season.
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Queens University- Queens Mothership A

Past Results: 3rd/4th - 2006 Nationals

Key Players: Ernie Lin, Miles Wilson, Pat Mooney, Ryan Lee (Is he eligible?)

Notes: One of the true dynasties of Uni Ultimate in Canada. Green, Blaine, Melnyk, Hogel, Haig and many other greats have come through the program.

It is felt that this is a rare rebuilding year for the Mothership. Players like Alex Davis, Eric Lau and others have moved on. However, Queens has always recruited well from Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver programs, so perhaps the team will be as strong as ever. Experienced handler Mooney may not make it to Easterns, which would be a big blow.

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University of Western Ontario- Western Sharks

Past Results: 5th- 2006 Nationals

Key Players: Drew Watts, Andrew Higgins, Scott Hislop

Notes: As of August 2005, the number of players in the program numbered less than 10. In mere months the work of three people (Yep, I am proudly one along with Hassell and Carnes) led to two men's teams, strong UPA performances and a narrow playoff loss to eventual champs Toronto at CUCC 2006.

Predicted by many last year to challenge for a national title this year, the Sharks have a combination of youth and experience at their disposal, but have low numbers for both the A and B teams. Will both teams be able to hold up, and will the program be able to establish a long term legacy/culture with new leadership?


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University of Waterloo- Waterloo

Past Results: 5th- 2006 Nationals

Key Players: Mike Moloney, Sebastian Bell, Martin Day

Notes: A surprise finish for Waterloo at the 2006 championships. The team will rely heavily on Mike Moloney, who continues to develop as a game breaking d line player at the Men's comp level. An interesting note is the introduction of Yaacov Iland as coach. Iland is known for his role as a coed player, and had stints with Co-Ed team Fabulous Flying Flamingoes. Will the introduction of a coach pay dividends in the short and long term, or will it be an ill fit?
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Carleton University- Carleton Chess Club A

Past Results: 7th- 2006 Nationals

Key Players: Andy Corey, Kielan Way, Rick Griffin, Bryce Ring, Scott Westwell (Injured)

Notes: We've been waiting for the Chess Club breakthrough for years. Hype was buoyed by the additions of Billy Alexander and David Milks (Both Phoenix players who had experience with GOAT). They, along with Luke Phelan, are gone.

However, the depth of Chess Club might be better than ever. Andy Corey (GOAT) and Kielan Way (Phoenix) are excellent men's players who should dominate college play. Griffin, Ring, Allen Amos Binks, Brent Gerhert, Rey Artega, Thom Moloney and Devin McCabe are some of the many players who give the A team a lot of hope for a great finish @ CEUUC 2007.
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Guelph University- Guelph

Past Results: 8th-2006 Nationals

Key Players: Jeff Lindquist

Notes: No team in recent years has relied more heavily on one player than Guelph on Jeff Lindquist. This handler, who also plays for GOAT, carried the team with his throws and his strategic acumen. With his hucks and a tough zone, Guelph proved to be a smallish school that could win more games than they lose.

Is "Link" playing this year? The answer to that question will tell me a lot about their chances in this tournament. (UPDATE: Lindquist is reportedly out for the tournament)
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McMaster University- McMaster

Past Results: 9th- 2006 Nationals

Key Players: Ryan KeyFitz, Thompson McKnight, Arjun Ramanan

Notes: At the start of this decade, McMaster was a powerhouse challenger to perennial CEUUC champs Queens. Last year was definitely a down year in the cycle for this school, and it did not appear to have any Jon Hassell, Ouchterloney or Maley on the horizon.

I would expect this year's version to be an improvement, and I hope the club puts things in place to prevent such a downturn in future years.
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University of Ottawa- Ottawa Gee Gees

Past Nationals Results: 14th- 2006 CUUC

Key Players: Eric Morrow, Hagan Riglin, Craig Tai

Notes: Despite being lead by Colin "Kid" Green, Eric "The Show" Morrow and Ramsay Wright, the U of O team had a disappointing finish as the home team in last year's nationals. However, the past two seasons have shown great development within the program, and the team leaders hope for a finish in the 4-8 spots this season.

The Carleton program is still much deeper, but look for the Gee Gees to be more explosive on offense with a Huck monstero like Hagan Riglin, an unstoppable cutter in Eric Morrow, and the defensive prowess of Craig Thai.
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Nipissing University- Nipissing

Past Results:> 10th 2006 CUUC

Key Players: Adam Vaughan

Notes: Second year at nationals for the school from North Bay. Given the rich history of ultimate in North Bay, it only makes sense to have a university team. One can expect further growing pains for the team at this year's tourney, but they will bring a lot of athleticism and opponents won't enjoy playing them.
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Other Teams
-Sherbrooke
-Queens B
-Western B
-McGill B
-Toronto B
-Ottawa B

Open Sectionals this Weekend

Nation,

Two UPA section tournaments this weekend featuring a glut of Canadian teams.

Washington / BC Open Sectionals

Where: Burlington, WA

Canadian Teams: Furious George, Blackfish

Notes: This is one of the toughest sectionals out there folks. It will be interesting to see how the teams rank after the tournament. Sockeye and Furious are heavy favorites, but Seattle's second team (Voodoo) is a B team in name only.

Upstate New York Open Sectionals

Where: Rochester

Canadian Teams (Unofficial): GOAT, Grand Trunk, Phoenix, Firebird

Notes: Should be a cakewalk for GOAT. Zebra Muscles will look to give them a tough game.

Does Canadian Ultimate Need a Hall of Fame?

An interesting thread has been started on the Ottawa Carleton site. Essentially, a committee has been set up to evaluate and select the first class of a new Ottawa Ultimate Hall Of Fame.

I think it's a great idea. I think we should consider it for Canada as a whole (Through CUPA).

Some issues would be outstanding should the powers to be decide on a Canadian HOF:

• We have no stats to decipher the good from great
• We would have to determine what categories such a hall would have, and what would be the criteria
• We'd have to select a solid impartial selection committee (No CP writers, please!)

So, is a Canadian HOF a good idea? Who from your area would be first ballot candidates?

Heavyweight Contenders!

GOAT Wins Chicago Heavyweight Championships 2007

GOAT pushed their unofficial record to 46-4 this year with a 14-10 win over Minnesota's Sub Zero in the final of the CHC this weekend.

In doing so, GOAT adds another respected title to its season collection:
-Flowerbowl
-Boston Invite
-Chesapeake Open
-Chicago HC

Congrats guys!

So, the poll today is, Does GOAT get to Sarasota?