Eighty-six teams across six divisions jumped in the pot, but only six withstood the heat
November 1, 2024 by Guest Author in Recap with 0 comments
This post was written by guest author Emilia Scheemaker.
In the shadow of Club Nationals, there is a tournament. One larger than any other college tournament in the world. One run nearly entirely by volunteers. One tournament in Maine. One tournament to rule them all.
Held in mid-October in South Portland, Maine, Lobster Pot hosted over 1,800 players across the Northeast. Eighty-six teams took the bait, 86 teams bared their claws, but only six came out victorious.
Hosting so many teams is a challenge all its own. Lobster Pot organizers have split the teams into six divisions, three for the realms of men, two for women, and one for mixed. Each division runs as its own tournament side by side with the others. Organizers cap each division at 16 teams, and this year, they had a wait list. With 40 active fields, three live stream fields, one clinic, and a hat tournament, this venue is a hive of activity.
In the early years, Lobster Pot teams competed to get their claws on the $1,000 grand prize in each division, but these days they come for the experience. It’s no secret that organizers are always trying to one-up themselves. This year they came out swinging with swag from BE Ultimate and Breakmark, a blow-up obstacle course, and a fleet of food trucks. Players descended en masse to the Wainwright Sports Complex, turning this idyllic suburban community into a battle royale of rookies, grass stains, and flying plastic. But who really came out on top?
In the women’s upper division, Vermont Ruckus made their usual run for the bracket, sailing over Cornell Wild Roses for an early season win.1 This UVM squad is tough and many of them are fighting on home turf – the team boasts no less than nine players from the Maine pipeline. These players are no strangers to the Lobster Pot stage, having won the tournament thrice and gone to the finals four times in total.
Not to be upstaged, Brown’s B team took on Colby’s Center for Disc Control in the final on the women’s lower side. Both teams broke seed to earn their shot at the final. From Brown’s final scores,2 it’s clear Brown is ready to level up for some more competition.
For the men’s upper division, Northeastern Huskies climbed out on top of the pile after their game against Vermont. UVM Chill felt right at home with five players from Maine’s YCC program returning to center stage. It’s a rare occurrence to have a dominant program also win spirit for their division, and organizers were happy to award Northeastern that honor. Spirit prize winners also receive $100 off their entry for the next year. This Northeastern team really has it all.
Rochester had the closest final of the weekend in the men’s middle division. But the Piggies sealed the deal, shut the trap, and hauled in with an 11-9 win over the UVM B team. It was a good win, avenging a one-point pool play loss and well-worth celebrating over a strong program that continuously turns out strong teams.
The final men’s lower division game was a contest between Stonehill and (you guessed it) UVM’s C team. These two teams played from the sidelines in; there wasn’t one player who wasn’t involved in every point of this game from beginning to end. This is champion mentality. Even through long points, this final stayed high energy. It was a great fight, but Stonehill took home the trophy in their 15-11 win.3
In the mixed division, youngest division at Lobster Pot, UMass threw down a breezy 15-5 win over Holy Cross. UMass was untouchable all weekend. They maintained at least a seven-point lead in their final scores through pool play and beyond. Holy Cross fought hard to make that final, beating out a solid Connecticut College team in the semis. It seems they left it all out on the field this time, but we only expect bigger and better things as the Purple Heys’ season progresses.
It was a whirlwind of a starter for rookies, and a homecoming for the upper class. Even with Lobster Pot fading behind the looming shadow of Club Nationals, the wheels haven’t stopped turning. Organizers are already getting started on preparations for next year. Will 2025 be the year you #HopInThePot?
You can watch this and some other games on Maine Ultimate’s YouTube channel ↩
A +46 point differential across seven games ↩
Leaving Vermont 0-3 in men’s division championship games ↩
