April 3, 2013 by Charlie Eisenhood in News, Other, Rankings with 44 comments
Just hours before the final USA Ultimate rankings are set to be released, Ultiworld’s final regular season rankings are now live. Though there wasn’t much high-level competition this weekend as most teams are hard at work preparing for the Series in practice, there was some movement in most divisions.
D-I OPEN
– Dartmouth (#13) now sits above its New England foes Harvard (#14) and Tufts (#15) after beating each head-to-head at the New England Open this weekend. The question is: did they do enough to earn another bid? After keeping open lines for much of the season, they didn’t rack up wins against out-of-region teams and currently sit at #20 in the USA Ultimate rankings. They need to move up two spots, to #18, to earn a bid.
– Michigan (#21) only moved up one slot, but would have had a huge weekend had they upset Harvard in the semifinals. They were up late in the second half, but Harvard went on a run to pull out the 15-13 win. They look like the team to beat in the Great Lakes region.
D-I WOMEN’S
No top 25 teams played this weekend.
D-III OPEN
– Bentley moves up to #2 after a 5-2 finish against top competition at the New England Open highlighted their fantastic season. What is more impressive: 15-3 on the year or 6-0 against other New England DIIIs?
– Rice (#10) played a three team round robin against Houston and Lamar in order to reach the 10 game threshold and perhaps earn a bid for the South Central.
– Middlebury (#12) lost three close games in pool play before going 2-1 in the loser’s bracket. They can certainly play with Bentley as evidenced by a 7-5 first half on Saturday at NEO. A 15-9 win against Bowdoin on Sunday should them feeling comfortable about their chances at Regionals.
– SUNY-Fredonia (#13) stumbled in pool play at Kentucky Classic III but picked it up in bracket play, ultimately finishing 2nd. Depth played a big factor as the Turtles played 189 points over 8 close games.
– SUNY-Geneseo (#14) affirmed their Uprising finish with a 5-2 weekend, losing to NYU in the finals of Garden State III. Their solid play may earn the Metro East three DIII bids.
– St. Olaf (#22) made semis at Kentucky Classic but fell hard to Chicago at Kentucky Classic III and settled for 3rd. After an up and down season, we’ll have to wait and see if they have what it takes to play with St. John’s and GOP at regionals.
– Bowdoin (#23) Stoned Clown went 1-6 at NEO and may have cost New England a Nationals bid. However, they gave Michigan a game, 9-13, showing that they have the firepower to come after Bentley, Middlebury, Brandeis, and the rest.
– UNC Asheville (#24) went 3-4 (KCIII) with close losses to St. Olaf and Fredonia. They’ll have to win a couple of tough games at Atlantic Coast regionals to earn a bid to Nationals.
DIII WOMEN’S
– Bowdoin flies up the rankings to #2, sitting just behind Whitman, after an impressive undefeated season. They beat a slate of solid DI teams on route to their tournament victory at Garden State III this weekend. A 13-10 win over Middlebury also sets them up as the clear favorite in New England.
– Georgia College (#10) joins the top 10 after being unranked after a great showing at Southerns, getting wins over DIII competitor St. Olaf (#14) and losing on double game point to #5 Carleton College-B.
– St. Benedict (#19) went undefeated at the Frozen River Valley Open this weekend, finishing the year with just one loss. They have yet to play much DIII competition, but the reps against solid DI teams could be an advantage.
