Is it a two horse race?
Not only are Stanford and Colorado the two top women's teams out there this season, but Lauren Casey and Alex Snyder are two of the best women's players this year too. When was the last time that happened? Now, I'm not going to go into which one I think will win Nationals or who should win the Callahan this year, because I'm rather biased. It's not that hard to guess who I'd pick, just like it's not that hard to guess who Hector will tell you is going to win.
But, does anyone else stand a chance?
UCLA is the next team I'd put money on, if I were betting on another team to make the finals of Nationals. UCLA came close to upsetting Stanford in the windy semis of Centex, going up 10-7 before eventually losing 10-12. UCLA also came close to beating Colorado in the semis of the Stanford Invite, where the game was decided on double game point. UCLA will get another shot at Colorado at SW Regionals, which could make things interesting. UCLA and Colorado seem like very similar teams in terms of a couple dominant handlers with a number of solid receivers. I would put UCLA's top receivers as slightly more athletic than Colorado's, but losing the height of Emily Gauthier could hurt UCLA. If Regionals is not windy, UCLA's chances of an upset against Colorado rise.
Florida is making a strong push this year and the phrase "real deal" keeps popping up in reference to the team, but FUEL still could have a hard time making it out of its region. With only four losses for the season (to Georgia in the finals of Southerns, to UCLA in pool play and in the 3/4 game at Centex, and to Colorado in the semis of Centex), this team looks good on paper and has bested some quality teams. Probably its biggest win of the season so far was against highly-ranked British Columbia in the semis of Centex. Florida has beaten top teams from other regions too: Michigan, Purdue, and Northwestern from the Great Lakes; Cornell and State College from the Metro East; Dartmouth from New England; and Texas from the South. Interestingly enough, Florida hasn't won as many big games against its own regional competition. It has yet to play Emory or UNC-Chapel Hill and has lost to Georgia. The team utilizes various clam/switching defenses that many teams take awhile to adjust to, which could be a bonus at Nationals against new opponents. The team will have to make it there first. Also, the jury is still out on whether Florida will turn into another team from the AC that has lots of pre-season hype but doesn't hold seed at Nationals.
British Columbia has also been one of the front runners of the season. The only team from within its region that it has lost to thus far is Stanford, while it has beat all the other major contenders from the NW. The team also had early season wins against UCLA and Carleton (at Trouble in Vegas) and more recent victories over San Diego, Emory, Dartmouth, and UNC-Chapel Hill. UBC runs a very efficient offense that isolates players in its horizontal stack. As it is all but impossible to prevent a reset dump pass from getting to the squirrelly handler Kira Frew, UBC is able to pick apart a team's defense with patience and precision. Megan O'Brien's athleticism and field sense are also remarkable and she makes a huge impact, even playing with her left arm in a cast. The team only had 12 players at Centex, although presumably the team's complete roster has more depth.
Wisconsin is another team to keep an eye on. The team traded games with UBC at Trouble in Vegas, eventually coming in third among a competitive field. Wisconsin went on to win Mardi Gras, Terminus, and Huck Finn, albeit against less competitive teams. This team has bounced back from a disappointing end to its season at Regionals, and the tight-knit squad benefits from the experience of its many veterans and juniors-playing freshmen. Team leaders Holly Greunke and Dana Gerrits are especially dynamic players. All the winning experience of this season will come in handy when the team finds itself battling an improving Carleton squad at Regionals, because everyone knows that Carleton shows up to play once the Series starts.
There are also a number of other solid teams out there. San Diego performed well at Centex, although it will have to perform brilliantly at Regionals to get past UCLA and Colorado for one of the two bids. UNC-Chapel Hill has played close games with top teams this year, but it too hasn't won enough of the right games to show that it is a lock for either qualifying out of the AC or advancing far into the bracket play of Nationals. The same goes for UC-Davis, UC-Berkeley, Michigan, and State College, to name a few.
Given that the college season is known for last minute upsets and teams peaking at Nationals, there could be some surprises in store for Superfly and Kali if they expect to rest on their laurels and coast into the championship game. But that's what makes things interesting, right?
But, does anyone else stand a chance?
UCLA is the next team I'd put money on, if I were betting on another team to make the finals of Nationals. UCLA came close to upsetting Stanford in the windy semis of Centex, going up 10-7 before eventually losing 10-12. UCLA also came close to beating Colorado in the semis of the Stanford Invite, where the game was decided on double game point. UCLA will get another shot at Colorado at SW Regionals, which could make things interesting. UCLA and Colorado seem like very similar teams in terms of a couple dominant handlers with a number of solid receivers. I would put UCLA's top receivers as slightly more athletic than Colorado's, but losing the height of Emily Gauthier could hurt UCLA. If Regionals is not windy, UCLA's chances of an upset against Colorado rise.
Florida is making a strong push this year and the phrase "real deal" keeps popping up in reference to the team, but FUEL still could have a hard time making it out of its region. With only four losses for the season (to Georgia in the finals of Southerns, to UCLA in pool play and in the 3/4 game at Centex, and to Colorado in the semis of Centex), this team looks good on paper and has bested some quality teams. Probably its biggest win of the season so far was against highly-ranked British Columbia in the semis of Centex. Florida has beaten top teams from other regions too: Michigan, Purdue, and Northwestern from the Great Lakes; Cornell and State College from the Metro East; Dartmouth from New England; and Texas from the South. Interestingly enough, Florida hasn't won as many big games against its own regional competition. It has yet to play Emory or UNC-Chapel Hill and has lost to Georgia. The team utilizes various clam/switching defenses that many teams take awhile to adjust to, which could be a bonus at Nationals against new opponents. The team will have to make it there first. Also, the jury is still out on whether Florida will turn into another team from the AC that has lots of pre-season hype but doesn't hold seed at Nationals.
British Columbia has also been one of the front runners of the season. The only team from within its region that it has lost to thus far is Stanford, while it has beat all the other major contenders from the NW. The team also had early season wins against UCLA and Carleton (at Trouble in Vegas) and more recent victories over San Diego, Emory, Dartmouth, and UNC-Chapel Hill. UBC runs a very efficient offense that isolates players in its horizontal stack. As it is all but impossible to prevent a reset dump pass from getting to the squirrelly handler Kira Frew, UBC is able to pick apart a team's defense with patience and precision. Megan O'Brien's athleticism and field sense are also remarkable and she makes a huge impact, even playing with her left arm in a cast. The team only had 12 players at Centex, although presumably the team's complete roster has more depth.
Wisconsin is another team to keep an eye on. The team traded games with UBC at Trouble in Vegas, eventually coming in third among a competitive field. Wisconsin went on to win Mardi Gras, Terminus, and Huck Finn, albeit against less competitive teams. This team has bounced back from a disappointing end to its season at Regionals, and the tight-knit squad benefits from the experience of its many veterans and juniors-playing freshmen. Team leaders Holly Greunke and Dana Gerrits are especially dynamic players. All the winning experience of this season will come in handy when the team finds itself battling an improving Carleton squad at Regionals, because everyone knows that Carleton shows up to play once the Series starts.
There are also a number of other solid teams out there. San Diego performed well at Centex, although it will have to perform brilliantly at Regionals to get past UCLA and Colorado for one of the two bids. UNC-Chapel Hill has played close games with top teams this year, but it too hasn't won enough of the right games to show that it is a lock for either qualifying out of the AC or advancing far into the bracket play of Nationals. The same goes for UC-Davis, UC-Berkeley, Michigan, and State College, to name a few.
Given that the college season is known for last minute upsets and teams peaking at Nationals, there could be some surprises in store for Superfly and Kali if they expect to rest on their laurels and coast into the championship game. But that's what makes things interesting, right?
posted by Gambler at 1:47 PM
1 Comments:
Don't worry, Gwen. I will tell you who I think is going to win soon enough.
The suspense is killing u.
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