Sectionals Previews
BY GUEST BLOG WRITER: Frankie Rho
This weekend kicks off the official start of the College Series. The So Cal and Washington/BC Sectionals are two of the strongest in the nation this year and feature teams that are in the mix for the title. The South Section features three teams that were national-caliber last year and find themselves in the new position of being the challengers.
So Cal Sectionals Preview
UCLA BLU and UCSB Burning Skirts are having interesting parallel seasons. Both had a very successful 2007 season (UCLA – National Semifinalist and UCSB – Finalist), both have been successful this season despite having lost a large group of core players last year and both feature a small group of talented seniors who lead a very young and promising group of rookies.
One of the great rivalries last season, BLU and the Burning Skirts look to get an edge on each other this weekend. Something key to watch will be whether Andrea Romano plays and if so, how much her foot injury will be affecting her play.
Meanwhile, USC is the new kid on the block looking to upset both teams. Claremont, Caltech and Cal Poly SLO (who has been strangely quiet this spring after a solid showing at Socal Warmup) are all looking to position themselves into the top three.
Whoever ends up in the finals will almost certainly go into Regionals as the number one and two seeds.
Washington/BC Sectionals
The finalists from Centex, UW and UBC have laid claim as two of the favorites to take it all in Boulder. Don’t be surprised to see them as the number one and two seeds at Regionals and at Nationals. Will the two teams play all their cards against each other to get a psychological advantage at Regionals or will they play it close to the vest?
Pacific Lutheran and Western Washington are looking to upset Element and the Thunderbirds, but that will be a big challenge for both of these young squads. Reign and Chaos are both poised to make a big breakthrough win to vault them into the next tier.
South Sectionals
Last year, the Georgia/Florida/Emory trio finished 1-2-3 in the region with Emory and Florida going to Nationals. This year, all three teams are rebuilding as the balance of power in the Atlantic Coast has shifted to North Carolina.
Georgia enters as the top seed and has a couple quality wins under its belt (Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt) and gained big game experience from Centex. South Carolina is curiously seeded below Florida despite having beaten them at College Southerns. The winner of this section will have to take on the likes of Wake Forest, UNC and Duke at Regionals and likely enter as the number three or four seed.
Bama Sectionals
The teams to watch in this section are Vanderbilt and Auburn. Both teams could be dark horses in the South Region and give the favorites (Texas and Truman State) a run at the end of the month. Of the two, Vanderbilt seems to be in better position to pull off the upset, despite being seeded second below Auburn. They have experience from Centex with some tight games (UCLA and Georgia) and a nice win over Califonia. The offense runs through Katie Patterson, Sara Gibson and Sarah Edmonds (transfer from Oregon).
The Auburn Tiger Lilies are a relatively new team led by captain Annie Newton. In their third year as a team, they've notched some solid wins in the spring (Georgia, Iowa State) and they will definitely be a team to watch in the future.
This weekend kicks off the official start of the College Series. The So Cal and Washington/BC Sectionals are two of the strongest in the nation this year and feature teams that are in the mix for the title. The South Section features three teams that were national-caliber last year and find themselves in the new position of being the challengers.
So Cal Sectionals Preview
UCLA BLU and UCSB Burning Skirts are having interesting parallel seasons. Both had a very successful 2007 season (UCLA – National Semifinalist and UCSB – Finalist), both have been successful this season despite having lost a large group of core players last year and both feature a small group of talented seniors who lead a very young and promising group of rookies.
One of the great rivalries last season, BLU and the Burning Skirts look to get an edge on each other this weekend. Something key to watch will be whether Andrea Romano plays and if so, how much her foot injury will be affecting her play.
Meanwhile, USC is the new kid on the block looking to upset both teams. Claremont, Caltech and Cal Poly SLO (who has been strangely quiet this spring after a solid showing at Socal Warmup) are all looking to position themselves into the top three.
Whoever ends up in the finals will almost certainly go into Regionals as the number one and two seeds.
Washington/BC Sectionals
The finalists from Centex, UW and UBC have laid claim as two of the favorites to take it all in Boulder. Don’t be surprised to see them as the number one and two seeds at Regionals and at Nationals. Will the two teams play all their cards against each other to get a psychological advantage at Regionals or will they play it close to the vest?
Pacific Lutheran and Western Washington are looking to upset Element and the Thunderbirds, but that will be a big challenge for both of these young squads. Reign and Chaos are both poised to make a big breakthrough win to vault them into the next tier.
South Sectionals
Last year, the Georgia/Florida/Emory trio finished 1-2-3 in the region with Emory and Florida going to Nationals. This year, all three teams are rebuilding as the balance of power in the Atlantic Coast has shifted to North Carolina.
Georgia enters as the top seed and has a couple quality wins under its belt (Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt) and gained big game experience from Centex. South Carolina is curiously seeded below Florida despite having beaten them at College Southerns. The winner of this section will have to take on the likes of Wake Forest, UNC and Duke at Regionals and likely enter as the number three or four seed.
Bama Sectionals
The teams to watch in this section are Vanderbilt and Auburn. Both teams could be dark horses in the South Region and give the favorites (Texas and Truman State) a run at the end of the month. Of the two, Vanderbilt seems to be in better position to pull off the upset, despite being seeded second below Auburn. They have experience from Centex with some tight games (UCLA and Georgia) and a nice win over Califonia. The offense runs through Katie Patterson, Sara Gibson and Sarah Edmonds (transfer from Oregon).
The Auburn Tiger Lilies are a relatively new team led by captain Annie Newton. In their third year as a team, they've notched some solid wins in the spring (Georgia, Iowa State) and they will definitely be a team to watch in the future.
posted by Gambler at 12:13 PM
1 Comments:
Washington beat UBC twice to take the WA/BC section and the #1 seed at NW Regionals.
UCLA earned the #1 spot at SW Regionals by besting UC-Santa Barbara at SoCal Sectionals.
Vanderbilt won Bama Sectionals. Auburn and Tulane also earned bids to South Regionals.
South Sectionals' Saturday play was cancelled due to weather, but a revised schedule let the teams play out the tournament on Sunday. Florid took top honors with Georgia and Emory coming in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
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