And the upsets begin...
It's always amazing to me what surprises the college series has in store for us. Most of the sectional tournaments are now over (the only exceptions are the 3 NE sections), and already two of the top teams have been upset. That's what's so exciting about the college season, I guess. Teams seem to come out of nowhere and perform at their peak when it starts to matter.
For instance, I was shocked to hear that UCLA (ranked 3rd in the nation for much of the year) lost to UC-Santa Barbara in pool play this weekend. UCSB is a solid team that has played well the few times I've seen them this season, but even after watching them play just last weekend at DUI, I wouldn't have picked them to upset UCLA. UCLA went on to lose to UC-San Diego in semis and ended up 3rd in the section. I was less surprised about UCSD's win (I'm understandably quite loyal to my little sister's team...) and I don't know if UCLA was missing more key players than Emily Gauthier (who tore her ACL at Centex). I still think that the results speak to an up and coming team like UCSB's ability to believe in itself enough to take down a top team. It also is a culmination of improvements during the season for UCSB.
A similar thing happened up north in the WA/BC sectionals where Washington beat British Columbia in the finals 15-9. Just a few weeks ago, UBC simply crushed UW at Centex (15-3) and has been consistently ranked in the top 5 for much of the season. Meanwhile, UW didn't make the championship bracket of either the Stanford Invite or Centex. Yet, once the Series starts, that special fire gets lit under teams that have been underperforming all season long. In a wet and windy game, UW played the best zone offense it has all year and capitalized on UBC mistakes to take an early lead and win the game.
Teams practice hard all season long, improving along a trajectory that has them peaking during the Series. I love how in college the improvements along that trajectory are so dramatic. It's thrilling to see newer players completing upfield passes by the end of the season, faking with confidence to break the mark, and being heads-up enough to switch on defense. Even more exciting is the energy that playing in the Series brings to so many games. It's essentially the play-offs and for every senior out there, this is the last time they have a shot at meeting their goals and realizing their ultimate dreams. The teams that are successful during the Series are the ones that are able to convert that energy and excitement into inspired performances on the field. If UW and UCSB had upsets up their sleeves at Sectionals, I simply can't wait to see how Regionals unfold across the country.
Will Stanford, Colorado, Florida, or Wisconsin follow the fate of UCLA and UBC as top teams that get upset by a surprise upstart team? Will UCLA and UBC bounce back to secure bids to Nationals despite their sectional set-backs? What teams will earn bids from Regionals that may have already been written-off?
I can't wait to find out.
For instance, I was shocked to hear that UCLA (ranked 3rd in the nation for much of the year) lost to UC-Santa Barbara in pool play this weekend. UCSB is a solid team that has played well the few times I've seen them this season, but even after watching them play just last weekend at DUI, I wouldn't have picked them to upset UCLA. UCLA went on to lose to UC-San Diego in semis and ended up 3rd in the section. I was less surprised about UCSD's win (I'm understandably quite loyal to my little sister's team...) and I don't know if UCLA was missing more key players than Emily Gauthier (who tore her ACL at Centex). I still think that the results speak to an up and coming team like UCSB's ability to believe in itself enough to take down a top team. It also is a culmination of improvements during the season for UCSB.
A similar thing happened up north in the WA/BC sectionals where Washington beat British Columbia in the finals 15-9. Just a few weeks ago, UBC simply crushed UW at Centex (15-3) and has been consistently ranked in the top 5 for much of the season. Meanwhile, UW didn't make the championship bracket of either the Stanford Invite or Centex. Yet, once the Series starts, that special fire gets lit under teams that have been underperforming all season long. In a wet and windy game, UW played the best zone offense it has all year and capitalized on UBC mistakes to take an early lead and win the game.
Teams practice hard all season long, improving along a trajectory that has them peaking during the Series. I love how in college the improvements along that trajectory are so dramatic. It's thrilling to see newer players completing upfield passes by the end of the season, faking with confidence to break the mark, and being heads-up enough to switch on defense. Even more exciting is the energy that playing in the Series brings to so many games. It's essentially the play-offs and for every senior out there, this is the last time they have a shot at meeting their goals and realizing their ultimate dreams. The teams that are successful during the Series are the ones that are able to convert that energy and excitement into inspired performances on the field. If UW and UCSB had upsets up their sleeves at Sectionals, I simply can't wait to see how Regionals unfold across the country.
Will Stanford, Colorado, Florida, or Wisconsin follow the fate of UCLA and UBC as top teams that get upset by a surprise upstart team? Will UCLA and UBC bounce back to secure bids to Nationals despite their sectional set-backs? What teams will earn bids from Regionals that may have already been written-off?
I can't wait to find out.
posted by Gambler at 9:49 PM
3 Comments:
I am embarassed that the Centex post (or any new material for IC Ultimate recently) hasn't been posted yet. I apologize to anyone waiting to hear the details (Colorado crushed Stanford in the finals if you hadn't heard...).
Posting to the blog last night was a way of letting people know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth (just buried under grad school coursework) and that I am hoping to finally get the site up to date soon.
Of course, if anyone has any insights they would like to see posted for any recent tournaments, I'd love to hear it so they can be incorporated in the updates. Thanks!
Gwen, you out-class us all.
P.S. It looks like UCLA and UBC both overcame their Sectionals downfalls after all...
Notably, UCLA bounced back from its third place finish at Sectionals to earn the number one spot at SW Regionals and enter Nationals as the two seed.
Meanwhile, UBC avenged its loss to UW twice at Regionals and secured the third place bid behind Stanford and UC-Davis.
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