Our first shake-up of the season after PEC West.
July 14, 2023 by Ultiworld in Rankings with 0 comments
Each week, we’ll post an updated edition of our Power Rankings here on the front page to facilitate discussion in the comments and help us share each week’s rankings via social media. The most up-to-date version can always be found on our permanent rankings page.
Club Women's Power Rankings:
| Rank | Team | Change | Prior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dropped from rankings: Seattle Underground (24) | |||
| 1 | Denver Molly Brown | - | 1 |
| 2 | San Francisco Fury | - | 2 |
| 3 | Boston Brute Squad | - | 3 |
| 4 | Raleigh Phoenix | - | 4 |
| 5 | Vancouver Traffic | +4 | 9 |
| 6 | Washington DC Scandal | - | 6 |
| 7 | San Diego Flipside | -2 | 5 |
| 8 | New York BENT | -1 | 7 |
| 9 | Toronto 6ixers | -1 | 8 |
| 10 | Seattle Riot | +1 | 11 |
| 11 | San Francisco Nightlock | +6 | 17 |
| 12 | Portland Schwa | -2 | 10 |
| 13 | Washington DC Grit | -1 | 12 |
| 14 | Utah Dark Sky | -1 | 13 |
| 15 | Chicago Nemesis | -1 | 14 |
| 16 | Pittsburgh Parcha | -1 | 15 |
| 17 | Atlanta Ozone | -1 | 16 |
| 18 | Boston Siege | - | 18 |
| 19 | Quebec Iris | - | 19 |
| 20 | Florida Tabby Rosa | - | 20 |
| 21 | Philadelphia Flight | - | 21 |
| 22 | Minneapolis Pop | - | 22 |
| 23 | Austin Vengeance | - | 23 |
| 24 | Denver Small Batch | - | |
| 25 | Northampton Starling | - | 25 |
Women’s Discussion
- Make way for the queen! Denver Molly Brown returns most of their title-winning team and solidified their number one ranking with a semifinal win over Fury at PEC West. That keeps San Francisco Fury, who picked up Dena Elimelech and youthful star Rachel Chang, at the top challenger.
- Vancouver Traffic performed impressively at their coast’s Pro Elite Challenge, earning wins over Flipside and Molly Brown. And they did so without some of their U24 contributors! So consider this your warning that Traffic may be interrupting some expected routes to semis.
- The comings and goings have shaken up the picture in the Northeast. While Toronto 6ixers are losing players like Lauren Kimura, BENT is adding names like Abby Hecko and Ella Juengst.
- While Portland Schwa has an intriguing combo of young additions (like Trout Weybright) and veteran comebacks (Mariel Hammond), San Francisco Nightlock’s early season H2H win at PEC West puts them a touch higher. Both teams are in contention for quarters.
- The competition at the bidline should be fierce: #19 Quebec Iris adds Anouchka Beaudry, #17 Atlanta Ozone picks up Quincy Booth and Shanye Crawford, and #18 Boston Siege has built a strong culture and keeps veteran leadership to help shepherd along their young recruits.
Club Men's Power Rankings:
| Rank | Team | Change | Prior |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York PoNY | - | 1 |
| 2 | Washington DC Truck Stop | - | 2 |
| 3 | Portland Rhino Slam! | - | 3 |
| 4 | Denver Johnny Bravo | - | 4 |
| 5 | Chicago Machine | - | 5 |
| 6 | Raleigh Ring of Fire | - | 6 |
| 7 | Austin Doublewide | - | 7 |
| 8 | Boston Dig | - | 8 |
| 9 | San Francisco Revolver | +2 | 11 |
| 10 | Virginia Vault | - | 10 |
| 11 | Atlanta Chain Lightning | -2 | 9 |
| 12 | SoCal Condors | +3 | 15 |
| 13 | Seattle Sockeye | -1 | 12 |
| 14 | Toronto GOAT | -1 | 13 |
| 15 | Vancouver Furious George | -1 | 14 |
| 16 | Raleigh-Durham United | - | 16 |
| 17 | Cincinnati Omen | - | 17 |
| 18 | Pittsburgh Temper | - | 18 |
| 19 | Amherst Sprout | - | 19 |
| 20 | Amherst TireBizFriz | - | 20 |
| 21 | Madison Mad Men | - | 21 |
| 22 | Minneapolis Sub Zero | - | 22 |
| 23 | Eugene Dark Star | - | 23 |
| 24 | Tennessee Tanasi | - | 24 |
| 25 | Philadelphia Phantom | - | 25 |
Men’s Discussion
- With all the hype about All-Club additions like Ryan Osgar and Jack Williams, New York PoNY enters the season with mountainous expectations being placed on a team used to dealing with pressure. Some early season losses with a skeleton crew don’t shake our confidence in the slightest.
- Portland Rhino Slam! adds Dylan Freechild to their 2022 semifinalist squad, which already had some young players with upside. This could be a banner season for the club.
- While the title belt may reside with Denver Johnny Bravo, some key losses from their title-winning team — after their improbable run from the no.8 seed — dampen their preseason standing.
- With Joe Merrill joining their up-and-coming group, Virginia Vault seemed poised to build off of last season’s Nationals berth. They won’t catch people by surprise in the same way, but they could certainly outperform the standard followup season for a first Nationals appearance.
- While the result vs. PoNY isn’t being held against New York, it certainly forecasts a very bright outlook for Raleigh-Durham United. That’s the kind of result that a team trending towards breaking through racks up.
Club Mixed Power Rankings:
| Rank | Team | Change | Prior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dropped from rankings: Montana MOONDOG (19), Cleveland Crocs (24), Pittsburgh Port Authority (25) | |||
| 1 | New York XIST | +1 | 2 |
| 2 | Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust | +1 | 3 |
| 3 | Seattle Mixtape | -2 | 1 |
| 4 | Seattle BFG | - | 4 |
| 5 | Philadelphia AMP | +1 | 6 |
| 6 | Fort Collins shame. | +1 | 7 |
| 7 | Vancouver Red Flag | +1 | 8 |
| 8 | Ann Arbor Hybrid | +1 | 9 |
| 9 | Madison NOISE | +1 | 10 |
| 10 | San Francisco Mischief | +11 | 21 |
| 11 | San Francisco Polar Bears | -6 | 5 |
| 12 | Washington DC Rally | -1 | 11 |
| 13 | Boston Sprocket | -1 | 12 |
| 14 | Boston Slow | -1 | 13 |
| 15 | Atlanta Dirty Bird | - | 15 |
| 16 | Huntsville Space Force | - | 16 |
| 17 | Durham Toro | - | 17 |
| 18 | Arizona Lawless | +5 | 23 |
| 19 | Nashville ‘Shine | +1 | 20 |
| 20 | Kansas City United | -6 | 14 |
| 21 | Denver Love Tractor | -3 | 18 |
| 22 | Dallas Public Enemy | - | 22 |
| 23 | Oregon Scorch | - | |
| 24 | Wichita Impact | - | |
| 25 | Bay Area Sunshine | - | |
Mixed Discussion
- Returning champions Seattle Mixtape had a strong case for pole position until a damning ninth place finish at PEC West. Their season-long outlook is still rosy, but we’d love to see them clean things up in their early season tests given their talent level. That pushed up New York XIST, a 2022 semifinalist with plenty of continuity who brings in Callahan winner Anne Worth.
- Are you ready to Rally? An influx of seasoned club vets from various DC teams — Kath Ratcliff, Zach Norrbom, Kristin Franke, Alan Kolick — provide the fuel for this lift-off up the early season charts.
- PEC West was a good opener for San Francisco Mischief, who played tight with eventual winner BFG and topped regional rival San Francisco Polar Bears in semis. Their absence from Nationals might be a very brief one, and they are in the Southwest driver’s seat for the time being.
- NOISE is the lowest ranked of the 2022 semifinalists at preseason #10 — a fact they will take great pleasure in rubbing in our faces (again) should they go on to make it look silly — after some key losses from last year’s roster, with Dylan DeClerck headlining that outgoing class. The other three semifinalists are top three. Let the revenge tour commence.
- The compact Southeast standings feature a trio of teams right around the bid cutoff: in order, #15 Atlanta Dirty Bird, #16 Huntsville Space Force, and #17 Durham Toro. Oh, and is Nashville ‘Shine just a couple of spots away at #19? Get ready for a highly competitive summer and a hawkish bidwatch.
- The tail end of the rankings got a makeover — Oregon Scorch and Wichita Impact earned their way in at PEC West. Meanwhile, Bay Area Sunshine’s undefeated run at Revolution makes them a potential Southwest sleeper.
