Stanford Invite Women's Preview

[Corrected as per comments]

Since this preview is all conjecture and opinion, I decided to post it onto the IC Ultimate blog rather than the main site. I've been getting a lot of really positive responses after bringing the site back to life and I LOVE how many people have said they'd be willing to volunteer their time to contribute. Maybe Match was right when he said I first started the site a little too early (2004), and only now people are more ready for it. Anyway, onto my predictions for the Stanford Invite.

Pool A:
UCLA (3-0), Colorado (2-1), Oregon (1-2), USC (0-3)

The regional match-up between UCLA and Colorado should be really exciting, both for the level of play and what the outcome could portend for Regionals. They haven't played yet at full strength this season, although UCLA did narrowly beat a split Colorado squad at Trouble in Vegas. These teams have had some intense battles over the years and should be relatively evenly matched. Both have a lot of younger players on the roster and a couple of key leaders. Keep an eye out for seniors Yvonne Leung and Cheryl Prideaux (pictured at the 2007 College Championships) on UCLA and Julie Fast, Amy Smith, and Heather Waugh on Colorado. Although Colorado seems to be improving rapidly this season, I would still bet on UCLA to win this contest. I think that UCLA will have another close game with Oregon, but that UCLA's experience will pull them through. The Oregon v. Colorado game should be a barn-burner with both teams eager to prove that they are a Nationals-caliber team again. Although Oregon has some star players in Molly Suver and Chris Norton, I think Colorado has a slightly deeper team and pulls out the upset. Southern California will put everything they have on the line in their first appearance at the Stanford Invite, but in the end I don't think they'll have enough to win any of these games.

Pool B:
Wisconsin (3-0), UCSB (1-2), Carleton (1-2), UNC (1-2)

With three tournaments under its belt, two of which the team won, Wisconsin is the most tested of these teams and should avoid an upset. Its captains, Georgia Bosscher and Courtney Kiesow, are two of the top players in the country. In terms of season record, UNC is not far behind, making the finals of both the Florida Winter Classic and Queen City Tune-Up. I think this is probably the hardest pool at the tournament and could easily see a three way tie for second between UCSB, Carleton, and UNC. Santa Barbara graduated a number of the players that led them to the finals of Nationals last year, but return Katie Barry and Andrea Romano. This team plays a fast, run-and-gun style that could catch Carleton off guard. UNC has a similar paced offense with stand-out Kate Scott at the helm and UCSB might not be ready for a taste of its own medicine. Carleton also has a few weapons up its sleeve. The team returns two-time All-Region player Megan Molteni (pictured in 2007) and picked up two freshmen studs from Seattle: Anna Snyder and Liz Arakaki.

Pool C:
UBC (3-0), Texas (2-1), Berkeley (1-2), Brown (0-3)

UBC is a very good team with a tremendous amount of depth that probably underperformed at Trouble in Vegas (where it barely made semifinals and lost to UCLA). Kira Frew is an impact player on the club scene for Traffic and she handles for UBC with precision. Candice Chan (who also plays for Traffic) and Tory Hislop (pictured at Regionals 2007) are other experienced players. I predict that UBC takes its pool with relative ease. The game of the pool will be between Texas and Berkeley. These two teams have been hovering next to each other on the NUMP poll recently, but have yet to play each other this season. Texas is led by the stellar play of Becca Shelton, who will be an exciting match-up for Berkeley's tall receiver Cree Howard. Natalie Wu will be the main handler to watch on Berkeley. This will be Brown's first tournament of the season and I think that the team will find itself out-matched. Brown's goals for the weekend are probably oriented towards giving newer players their first outdoor experience, a strategy that could pay off later in the season.

Pool D:
Stanford (3-0), Washington (2-1), Western Washington (1-2), North County A (0-3)

The reigning national champions won the Santa Barbara Invite back in January, but haven't played a college tournament since. I still have to stick by Stanford based on the depth in its roster. Returning 13 players from last year's roster, the handling core consists of Jenny Founds (pictured against UW at last year's Stanford Invite), Emily Damon, and Kara Johnson while the go-to receivers include Liz Cassel and Krystal Barghelame. Washington may actually have more star-power given that four of its players were on the Seattle club teams Riot and Shazam last season. Claire Suver is back from her ACL surgery and Lisa Nieman, Shannon O'Malley, Nora Carr, and Lindsey Wilson round out the top of the roster. The last time these two teams met, it was in a game-to-go at Regionals that Stanford squeaked out by one point. This re-match is certain to be one for the fans. Western Washington is an up-and-coming team in the Northwest and will certainly come out hard against anyone. Alyssa Weatherford is another Riot player and she does it all for Western. Hannah Kreilkamp and Mariko Kobayashi are other players to watch. Hailing from the San Diego area, North County, is overcoming a number of obstacles to make it to the Stanford Invite this year. The team didn't have a great showing at Trouble in Vegas, but will be looking to turn that around in Palo Alto.

I should have a full tournament write-up for IC Ultimate on Tuesday, so check back to hear how it all goes down. Good luck all around!