February 11, 2014 by Erin Wiltgen in News, Recap with 12 comments
Though Saturday saw a sea of upsets, the world seemed to right itself in day two of the Queen City Tune Up. First-seeded Ohio State came out on top, skating by the competition almost untouched and dominating Northeastern in the final 15-4.
Pool A
Ohio State easily swept the pool, breezing to a 4-0 record Saturday and never allowing more than six goals against.
Paige Soper ran the team on offense, touching the disc almost every other pass and using break and over-the-top throws to keep things moving. Stevie Miller and Jenna Galletta joined her behind the disc, but Fever use a very fluid offense; while Soper tended to linger in the handler line, the other two push up to the cutting ranks to open up the lanes.
Downfield, Lauren Franke dominated the middle but also took opportunities to go deep. Though not overly speedy, Franke used smart cuts and an expert read to secure catches. Emmy Schroder also initiated things from the cutting lines.
OSU ran a quick-moving offense all weekend. Even in the zone and occasionally gusty wind, their offense used short and rapid passes to keep in motion, loving the buttonhook handler cuts and dishes to set up a huck.
Out of a zone offense, Soper hung back to act as reset, but the wing handlers and poppers moved in and out to keep that sense of movement. In the quarterfinals, Fever faced Kansas, using crashes to break through a big cup and find the around. Their players pulled out some creative sets as well, throwing a two-person poachy cup at one point and running out of a split stack; the athletes lined up near the sidelines and set up cuts to filter to the middle of the field.
Ohio State again used crashers to collapse Central Florida’s cup in the semifinals, using quick swings to open up holes in the middle of the field. The wind had picked up, becoming more of a factor and forcing more turns. Franke used her height to become a presence in the air with floaty, wind-caught discs.
Colorado secured the second spot out of the first pool, breaking out of the third seed after beating JMU 13-4.
Kali liked to run a flick huck from the sideline, looking for a person streaking deep off of a stopped disc. Even in the wind, their throwers looked calm in zone O, using large cross-field swings to spread the cup and wait for chances to move up field.
On defense, Colorado threw a three-person wall with the wings filling in holes behind. They flowed well on offense from zone to man, using handler motion up the line to let the cutters find their bearings.
Colorado fell to Tufts 15-12 in the prequarters, dropping to the ninth place bracket. There, the Boulder ladies bested Iowa State 13-9 and topped Carleton College.
While James Madison started off a two seed in the pool, they dropped a game to Colorado and never fully recovered.
JMU worked out of a horizontal stack when not in a zone, looking for the dish to a handler to get off a flick huck. Their offense used a crossing pattern with the wing handlers to set up the dump when the disc sat stalled in the center; one handler ran in front of the disc and the other behind, giving the thrower options.
In prequarters against Michigan—which James Madison lost 14-9—JMU used the huck and play D strategy, setting up a three-person flick trap cup to contain their dynamic opponent. A wing or short deep filled in any holes in the cup to prevent throws up the middle, and the wings did a great job defending the trap side.
On offense, their athletes worked it smoothly down the field but got sucked into jacking it to a 50-50 shot downfield. Though the deep receives sometimes came up with it, many times they did not.
JMU fell to the ninth-place bracket after losing to Michigan in prequarters, where they stumbled 10-5 against Carleton. That loss dropped them to the 11th place game, where they fell 14-11 to Iowa State.
Dartmouth managed another upset for pool A, beating the fourth-seeded Northwestern on double game point 10-9 to take the fourth seed.
Dartmouth threw a poachy zone wall, using a huck and play D strategy to play the field position game. A small set of handlers, led by Eva Petzinger, dominated the throws and proved they weren’t afraid to jack it deep. The initiating cut came off the back of the vertical stack to the open side, but the handlers also found break throws to spread the field.
Finishing fourth in the pool dropped Dartmouth to the consolation bracket, where they beat UNC-W 15-8 before falling to Florida State. The squad finished the day 15th after demolishing Pittsburgh 10-4.
And wrapping up pool A came Northwestern Gung Ho. But while they didn’t win a game Saturday, they gave their opponents a run for their money, taking Dartmouth to DGP and putting together good points — if not scores — in other matches.
Gung Ho also employed a huck and play D strategy, looking to throw it deep off of a stopped disc. Alex Chudler dictated on the offensive side, running the handlers and using jukes and cuts up the line to get the reset. Bridget Miles also comes back to the disc to keep things moving, working with Ellen McGrath in something of a duo. Linette Hsu and Ellie Burgess dominated downfield with quick cuts.
Northwestern ran a three-person trap cup with a very tight formation, guarding the around diligently and forcing several throwaways.
After falling to Maryland 10-8 in the first round of consolation, Northwestern blanked NYU 13-0 and routed UNC-W 15-2 to finish the day in 17th.
Pool B
The second pool came out a bit topsy-turvy as well.
Carleton, seeded first, dropped a game on universe 13-12 to Northeastern, leaving as the second-ranked squad. They ran a vertical stack, using a calm and collected staff of handlers behind the disc to find cutters down field. Out of the zone, the handlers used over-the-top throws to keep the disc moving.
Kirstie Barton and Sarah Robinson ran the offense from the handler position, looking for Bri Rick to tear things up down field.
Their handlers were no slouches on defense, either, working hard and getting layout Ds to return the disc in their hands.
After falling 12-11 to Kansas in prequarters, Carleton trounced JMU 10-5 in the first round of the ninth-place bracket but lost 13-10 to Colorado, finishing ninth. While their results took a big step down from last year’s performance at QCTU, they were playing this weekend without their biggest playmaker, Julia Snyder.
Iowa State also had something of a fall from grace, entering the pool seeded second and leaving in third. They used a loose four-person cup in the wind with a mark and a far point facing the disc and the two middle members turned around to watch the crashes.
Woman Scorned showed good offensive flow in pool play, using a set of three dominant handlers in Kate Hunter, Sarah Pesch and Sam Sauerbrei. Janani Ragothaman acted as the initiating cut, touching the disc almost ever other pass to move it up field. Linda Behrer floated between the handler and cutting position, opening the field and generating motion.
Iowa State caved to Virginia 15-5 in prequarters and to Colorado 13-9 in the first round of the ninth-place bracket, but they pulled it together against JMU, winning 14-11 and finishing placed 11th.
Northeastern dominated the second pool, ousting Carleton on a universe point victory and sailing past Iowa State 13-6.
The Valkyries showed a good flow on offense and great continuation, using Hannah Walter, Melissa Ellis and Lizzie Jones directing traffic behind the disc. Mei Bruist acted as the go-to receiver down field, looking to streak deep on occasion, but also showed poise with the disc in her hand. Kate Flood also initiated cutting—both in man-to-man from the stack and as a popper in the zone—and proved she was a threat on defense, as well.
In a zone, Northeastern looked to swing the disc before finding poppers in the middle of the field, occasionally using over-the-top throws to find a wing on the sideline.
The Valkyries showed a very clean offense out of a vertical stack. The motion flowed in a clean, organized way with no one standing in the stack too long but no double cuts, either. In transition, the girls moved the disc quickly before the other team’s defense had a chance to set up.
The team lost to Ohio State in the finals 15-4 after trouncing Virginia 11-8 in the quarters and surviving Tufts 12-10 in quarters.
Maryland snaked an upset, jumping from the fifth-seed into the four spot.
Helpful Corn looked calm in the zone, using Meghan O’Lone and Jessie O’Connor as a handler duo with Charlotte Francoeur initiating cutting in the middle of the field. Paige Nelson also handled for the squad, using slash cuts to stimulate a stalled offense.
In consolation, Maryland eked by Northwestern 10-8 and Pittsburgh 10-7 to face Florida State in the 13th-place game.
UNC-Wilmington fell to last in the second pool. But the girls played good pressure defense in man-to-man. Sadie Gosselin took charge behind the disc, using flick deep shots to stretch the offense and set up the underneath cuts. Wilmington seemed to love the flick hucks and threw a four-man cup on defense.
In the zone, Maryland used cross-field swings to move the cup; Sarah Lord worked the defense by breaking the cup and finding poppers in the middle of the field.
Seaweed beat Georgia in the first round of the 17th-place bracket 13-8 before losing to Northwestern 15-2.
Pool C
Continuing the theme of the weekend, Pool C also saw some mix-up among the top teams.
North Carolina snagged the top spot, outlasting Tufts 11-9 to take the top spot.
Handler Shellie Cohen dominated for Pleiades, occasionally setting up in the stack off a stopped disc to make the initial cut and jack it to a cutter running long.
Kendall Beadleson has also stepped into a handler role, controlling the disc while also running down field. Meg Duffy facilitates movement, as well, not afraid to throw the disc and a threat on defense.
Pleiades uses good flow out of a horizontal stack, transitioning to a T-stack near the end zone. In the wind, the squad throws a three- or four-person wall, poaching off handlers and forcing them back to the middle of the field.
After falling 12-11 on double game point to Virginia, Pleiades lost the rematch to Tufts 12-10 in the first round of the fifth-place bracket and finished with an 11-3 victory over Kansas to snag seventh.
Tufts fell to second after the loss to UNC. Hannah Garfield, Laura Fradin and JoJo Emerson ran things from the handler position, looking for Michaela Fallon down field, often streaking deep. Mia Greenwald also stood out in the cutting line, acting as a go-to receiver.
The team used quick passes to start the disc moving but wasn’t afraid to stretch deep. They used a side stack off of a pull but transitioned to center stack after the first iso. In the wind, Ewo threw a three-person cup with the wings and short deeps filling in the holes as almost a fourth member of the cup.
Tufts survived Colorado 15-12 but fell to Northeastern 12-10. They went on to win the grudge match against UNC 12-10 in the fifth-place bracket but lost to Michigan 11-7, finishing sixth.
Michigan stole the second seed out of the pool after a 12-11 universe-point victory over Tufts. Meeri Chang acted as anchor handler, running the offense and often looking for Jacqueline Jarik.
Flywheel used a side stack off a pull with an iso from the back looking for another cutter running deep. On defense, Michigan ran a four-person cup with wings filling in the holes behind as almost a fifth person. At times, the cup became more of a wall with one person marking. The two middle members sometimes dropped forward to mark up on the handlers coming in for an easy reset. A weakness in the wall came over the top to the middle.
Michigan beat JMU in prequarters but caved to Central Florida 11-7 in quarters. In the first round of the fifth-place bracket, the squad outlasted Kansas 13-9, moving on to best Tufts again 11-7.
Florida State seemed poised to make an upset in the beginning of the day, beating Pleiades 11-10. But they folded in the following games, putting up high numbers but failing to close out, and landed fifth in the pool.
The Seminole ladies used their height and athleticism to run teams. Megan Reeves acted as the main reset. They used good flow moving from one side of the field to the other and moving the disc quickly before the cup could set up.
FSU won the first round of consolation over Georgia 10-7, beating Dartmouth and facing Maryland in the chumpionship.
Pittsburgh also pulled out an upset, taking fourth in the pool instead of the originally ranked fifth. The girls used a side stack out of a pull play with an iso off the back to start the offense, moving to a T-stack in the end zone.
Jessica Sheehan dominated the cutting lanes down field, while Jodi Lincoln and Katelyn Loughery worked together as the main faces behind the disc.
Pitt routed NYU 15-2 in the 13th-place bracket but fell 10-7 to Maryland. The girls lost 10-4 to Dartmouth, finishing 16th.
Pool D
Central Florida pulled out the upset in the last pool, taking first after coming in seeded second. The squad bested Virginia in a tight 11-9 match at the end of the day Saturday.
UCF swept the pool, using Mariel Hammond and Sunny Harris to dictate the offense. Erin Goding and Eli Williams also led both behind the disc and down field. Harris and Goding really facilitated movement behind the disc while Williams and Hammond seemed the go-to first cut.
Against Virginia, the team ran a force middle cup with a big hole between the middle and point person in the cup. The wings and short deep filled in behind to stop passes through. When the opposing team did find poppers in the center, the cup reset quickly to prevent quick movement.
In quarters against Michigan, Central Florida ran a side stack, using a handler weave with Williams, Harris, and Hammond to move up the field. If the homey stalled, Goding came off the front of the side stack for the easy reset.
UCF easily handled Michigan 11-7 in quarters but fell 10-8 to Ohio State—still giving the first-place team the hardest game of the weekend. They then beat Virginia 15-5 to take third.
Virginia lost the first seed to UCF but breezed by the rest of the competition, allowing no more than five scores against in the other three games.
Alika Johnston, Tess Warner and Michele DeRieux stayed near the disc for Hydra, looking for Sarah Hansen down field and Emily Leivy as a reset. Janie Mockrish also dominated down the field and in the end zone.
On defense, they used poachy man, transitioning to almost a wall defense if their opponent ran horizontal.
Hydra liked a fluid offense, using quick passes to move the disc across the entire field to keep the defense on its heels. After beating UNC on universe in the quarters, Virginia ran out of gas against Northeastern in the semifinals, making poor drops and errors.
The squad fell 15-5 to Central Florida to take fourth.
Kansas raised some eyebrows. The squad jumped from fourth in the pool to third, ousting Georgia 13-6 and crushing NYU 13-3.
Betty relied on a core handler group of Kat Songer, Jenni Corcoran, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Clare Frantz and Christine Baker. The five fed off each other both cutting from down field and through give-and-goes. Fitzgerald loved to make a break cut off the front of the stack to get things going, and the handlers used breaks around the mark to spread the field. Songer loved her flick, hucking from a standstill and finding the inside-out break for several scores.
After squeaking by Carleton 12-11 in prequarters, Kansas crumbled 14-4 against Ohio State. Then the team caved 13-9 to Michigan in the first round of the fifth-place bracket and finished the day with an 11-3 loss to UNC, ending eighth.
Georgia, coming in ranked third in the pool, fell to fourth after a 13-6 loss to Kansas.
Running mostly out of a horizontal stack, Georgia relied on Lane Siedor and Hannah Leathers to run the offense. Jillian Woodliff also played big behind the disc, and Alyssa Mullikin acted as a go-to cutter downfield.
Out of the spread, Georgia swung the disc a lot among the handlers, allowing cuts to develop downfield.
In consolation, Georgia lost 10-7 to Florida State and 13-8 to UNC-W, playing NYU for 19th.
NYU was the only team who held seed, remaining in fifth in the pool.
Hayley McCullough and Julia Longinotti ran the show for the Femmes, using McKenna Shaw as another reset. The handlers looked for Cecilia Winter downfield to initiate movement.
The team fell to Pittsburgh 15-2 in consolation and got crushed by Northwestern 13-0. They then faced Georgia for 19th.
Check out the full photo gallery of QCTU on UltiPhotos.
