Plus, Joe Seidler is retiring.
March 21, 2022 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with 0 comments
Opening Pull is Ultiworld’s weekly wrap-up of the previous week in ultimate, available both here on the site and as an email newsletter. We’ve gathered the news you need to know and highlights you need to see. Check back weekly or subscribe now to receive Opening Pull in your inbox along with a rundown of the previous week’s content on Ultiworld.
Wild Weekend of College Ultimate
With just two weekends left in the 2022 college regular season, the twists and turns keep coming!
At Women’s Centex, #18 Florida State defeated #17 Pittsburgh 11-10 in the final to take home the crown. FSU got their best win of the season in the semifinals, 11-10 over #8 Tufts, part of an undefeated weekend that included wins over #19 Northeastern and #24 Michigan.
At Men’s Centex at a different field site in Austin, it was not a surprise to see top-seeded #13 Texas win their home tournament, but their competitor in the final – McGill, a university in Montreal – was a big one. McGill got wins over UC Santa Barbara, #3 D-III team and defending D-III national champion Oklahoma Christian, and Dartmouth en route to a 12-10 loss to Texas in the final.
The other big tournament on the calendar was Missouri Loves Company. #17 Northeastern topped #16 Michigan 14-11 in the final after the teams upset #9 Minnesota and #11 Vermont, respectively. The most impressive team at the tournament, though, was BYU, who went 5-0 in their games on Saturday and won all of them by at least five goals. That included wins over Minnesota and Vermont.
Joe Seidler Retiring from Ultimate
Joe Seidler, the founder of ultimatehistory.com and the publisher of ultimate’s authoritative history books ‘Ultimate: The First Five Decades Vol. I and II’, has announced that he is stepping away from ultimate. He has spent decades tracking team and individual accomplishments in ultimate and maintaining a database of the sport’s results.
“Ultimate is the best sport I ever watched and ultimate players are the best ‘people’ I ever knew,” he wrote in an email. “I hope ultimate stays as it has always been and the players remain motivated to win only to show they are the best.”
William “Brody” Brotman, the founder of the Pitt Ultimate program and a photographer for UltiPhotos, is taking over the reins of the ultimate history site on his own website, Ultimate-Reference.com.
Con10ent Tour Returning This Weekend
The Con10ent Tour, which held three all-Black showcase games in 2021, announced earlier this month that it will be hosting its next showcase event at the YULA Invite in Arlington, Virginia, on March 26th.
Save the Date: Con10enT x YULA Invite
SAT 3.26.22
7:30pm
Washington Liberty HS#📸: @phototino
🔥: @TayaraRomero #equity #ultimate #frisbee #athletic #standard #discover #diversity #con10ent #Blackfutures #forever #andagain @breakmarkulti pic.twitter.com/PLuJ2y6ZCI— disc_diversity (@disc_diversity) March 4, 2022
The Tour will also make a stop in Houston on April 30th.
Keep an eye on the Disc/Diversity Twitter account to find livestreaming links for the games.
USA Ultimate Releases New Video to Push Ultimate for Olympics
AUDL’s Colorado Summit Holds Clinic with Incarcerated Youth
One of the AUDL’s 2022 expansion franchises, the Colorado Summit held an ultimate clinic for incarcerated young men at a detention facility in southern Colorado.
“When we looked at our mission of trying to create growth in ultimate across the state, we really looked at places where we thought we could make an impact in the community,” Summit caoch Ryan Segal told the Colorado Sun. “In the prison, it was new for them. Several of those folks said, ‘I’m going to be out in a few months and I’m going to be in Denver. Can you connect me with playing opportunities?’ Getting into a sport and having a different community, changing your friend group that was maybe how you ended up incarcerated, is a big deal.”
Around 60 young people in the program participated in the clinics led by Summit players and coaches.
High School Power Rankings Debut
Don’t miss the launch of the 2022 High School Power Rankings that will help determine the bids to the High School National Invite in June.
2021 Washington state champions Nathan Hale / Waldorf take the top spot in the boys rankings, with the South Eugene girls leading the way. Can the powerhouse western teams hold off a bevy of challengers from around the country atop the rankings? For most high school teams, the season is just getting started.
Coming Up
- As mentioned above, the Con10ent Tour returns on Saturday night in Arlington, VA.
- The Northwest Challenge welcomes in 12 of the country’s top college women’s teams in Seattle.
