Mixed Division Pre-tournament Coverage

By Neva Cherniavsky

The only guarantee this year in the Mixed division is that nothing is guaranteed. The field is wide open, with many new faces even on some familiar teams. The mixed division has only been a part of the fall series for a few years, and the top teams are constantly changing; the four semifinalists in 2002 were completely different from the four in 2001. Similarly, of the eight top teams from last year, four are not returning to the Championships this year, including two semifinalists.

The flux in the division makes prediction a dangerous endeavor; no doubt there will be many surprises and upsets. With that caveat, the favorite to win is Hang Time. Last year's finalists in both Club Worlds and the Championships, the Dallas team relies on their tall and athletic men to pull down hucks. They run a spread offense that isolates the men for favorable matchups. Tom Etchison (#32) is an all-around great player for them; he has height, speed, and an impressive talent for going ho. Rex O'Quinn (#15) is unstoppable on offense, hucking to quick receivers such as Lenny Correll (#14). Hang Time is known for being smart and talented, with a very strong starting line and a great deep game. They are also known for using their women too little. This rankles other coed teams that dislike Hang Time's penchant for playing four-on-four, but so far opponents have not been able to take advantage of the perceived weakness.

Hang Time's biggest rival is Lake Tahoe's Donner Party, who beat the Dallas team in both Club Worlds and the Championships. Donner Party is perhaps the most feared team at the show because of their dominating play over the past several years. Their opponents have good reason to worry; Donner Party has lost no one and has added Dana Green (#17) of Trigger Hippy, one of the best women in Mixed ultimate. Other primaries include Scotty Conway (#39), a short, speedy receiver who scores many goals, and Christine "CJ" Johnson (#13), their resident female stud. Donner's women in particular lay out on D quite a bit. One key will be the performance of Frankus Flores (#28), who has the ability to create great things on offense or be a turnover machine. In general, Donner Party's roster is deep and athletic, and the team has a lot of experience at the top level. Since the beginning of 2002, Donner Party has lost only one game, to a team not at the Championships; unfortunately, that was enough to relegate them to the three seed out of the northwest. Weaknesses include a lack of height and a tendency to give the opponent a chance by making mistakes.

The number one out of the northwest is perennial semifinalist Red Fish Blue Fish, who missed the show last year. The San Francisco team lost some good women, including speedy Asako Yamamoto, but retained almost all their men and picked up the core of RippIt. On offense, their main go-tos are handler Tim Pfafman (#12), deep Mike Novak (#80), and female stud Kelli Hereford (#16). Captain Greg Wolff's (#2) calf injury status will be key at the Championships. The team's roster skews older, and they rely on savvy veteran play, good throws, patient offense, and numerous defenses to take apart opponents. Red Fish Blue Fish is very good in the wind, but may be weak against man-to-man defense because they lack speed. Still, they can often make up for the disadvantage through strategy.

Rounding out the top four is the one seed out of the southwest, Denver's Bad Larry. After a disappointing 9th place at last year's Championships, the team has picked up a top handler in Sarah Camastro (#30) and two great male defenders in Eli Boritz (#11) and Zeth Lietzau (#23). Other notables on the roster include women's captain Julie Dintaman (#13), hucker and deep Phil Quatrochi (#10), and endless runner James Beeby (#4). Bad Larry seems to have corrected their mental mistakes of the past, winning Tune Up (a tournament with four other qualifiers present) and beating northwest number two Persuader in the Jackson Hole finals. This could be the year they finally make it to semis.

The number three seed of the tournament is Holes and Poles, who seem to have done little to earn the distinction besides playing a close Regional final versus Hang Time. The Baton Rouge team finished sixth at the Championships last year, lost to Atlanta's Rival in the finals of Shawn Adams, and then beat them at Regionals to take the two seed. Since Rival is seeded 15th, it's likely that either Holes and Poles is too high or Rival is too low (or both). Nevertheless, Holes and Poles has quite possibly the best man in the mixed division, Brian Harriford (#12). Harriford commands the respect of every team at the tournament for his ability to come out of nowhere to make a play on the disc. His D is very difficult to stop, even when teams avoid throwing to his mark. Shan Cammack (#32), a former Ozone player, provides leadership for the women.

The rest of the field is wide open. The order below has nothing to do with likely finish; any of the next eleven teams certainly could make quarters, and once there, it's anybody's game.

Ringer teams won the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with Chinstrap and FoF making the trip for the first time. Both teams barely won their regions, and the number twos, Halibut and B+, respectively, are made up of young, speedy studs.

Chinstrap is led by handlers David "Flash" Doughan (#67) and Chris "Corky" Corcoran (#25), and old school superstar Molly Brown (#99). The team is long on experience and depth, patient with the disc, and is great both in and away. They can be short on chemistry and sometimes have mental lapses; but this a team that knows how to play at the top level. Halibut formed this summer from the ashes of Portland's Smelts; Judy Watson (#33), ex-Godiva, anchors the women, though her playing time is limited due to the birth of her second child. Halibut picked up some great male impact players, including most of the talented beach squad Yellow Subs: Dave Kallin (#19), Matt Schmucker (#16), and Shankar Desai (#3) are all fast, athletic competitors who can be relied on to make big plays. The team has speed and great D, but sometimes misfires due to their newness; they can also depend too much on one or two players.

FoF has many familiar faces from years past; they are a group of wily veterans, with great throws and great women, who would love to see a windy Championships. Their offense is led by Anthony "AJ" Iwaszko (#21) and Mark Determan (#13), long considered two of the best players in Washington, DC. They also recently picked up Alexandre "Boat" Tiersky (#3) and Emily Rodgers Paterson (#77), lately of New York and Red Fish Blue Fish, respectively. In fact, this team has much in common with RFBF, both in style of play and in teammates. Though offensively quite skilled, the team lacks depth and speed; the finals of Regionals was windy, affording them an advantage over rival B+. The latter team has several young, fast, dominating men: Caner Cooperrider (#81) runs the offense and plays great layout D; Jason Grove's (#49) defense has been legendary since his days as Maryland's captain; and former Ring of Fire player Dan Olstein (#21) adds spark and a different look. Their women are good across the board and play great defense; they are led by Sarah Smith (#1) of William and Mary. B+'s strength and weakness is one and the same; their youth. Though speedy and athletic, they can also be careless and impatient with the disc.

The Central region gets little respect, though Central teams were in the finals of Tune Up, the tournament that featured the most Championships qualifiers (5). All three teams are closely matched, with a one-point Regionals final. Number one is Phoberomys Pattersoni (aka Whamo), a group of former and current Carleton players. They are led by Eric "Turtle" Lonsdorf, an all-around great, with ups, throws, and lots of speed. He throws deep to fast, tall receivers but can also run a conservative game with only short throws. The word on the street about Phoberomys Pattersoni is that they don't use their women; with one exception, the ladies are current Carleton players, not alums, and Turtle is not as used to playing with them. This formula has worked well for Hang Time, but Phoberomys Pattersoni might find themselves in trouble when they come up against the better women competition at the Championships. The number two out of the region is Chicago's Kaze, captained by Bryan King (#30). They are a team of strong women and tough defenders, that plays the deep game well, but sometimes struggles in the wind. The third seed is South Bend's Blah, who has the biggest roster in Mixed history at 31. Blah is led by Mark Veldman (#13) on offense, Mike Sheil (#37) on defense, and women Carolyn Grimes (#85) and Maggie Rose (#2). Blah is known for taking care of the disc, but their biggest claim to fame is the size of their bench; the numbers will likely help them at the Championships, though at times it has led to inconsistent play.

Persuader, the number two out of the uber-competitive Northwest, runs an effective spread offense. The Salt Lake City team features athletic men who bid a lot. The offense runs through John Neill (#8) and Chris Watkins (#42), known for their hucks, ups, and athleticism. Persuader has strong desire and a deep bench, but may rely too heavily on their superstars. Fort Collins' Drive Through Liquor, the number two out of the Southwest, also runs the spread. Their primary is Brian Rupert (#82), an all-around stud with great defense, solid throws, and pretty layouts. BRU, number three out of the Mid-Atlantic, is a completely different team than they were a year ago. The Charlottesville squad lost 13 players, including superstar Kevin Kusy, lead thrower Nate Miller, and strong women Susan Redding, Suzanne Bradley, Sarah King, and Robin Kunze. The team has lots of new faces and is quite young; however, the remaining players have the benefit of two years of experience at the top. BRU had a tough battle to garner the three seed, and proved their mettle at Regionals. Rival, the new team out of Atlanta, is a defensive team with a large, deep roster. Their offense is run by Eric Ewald (#2) with the help of solid handler Jeremy Goecks (#20) and middle Emily Clawson (#11). On defense, Michael Wood (#13) runs the show, with the help of co-captain Martin Aguilera (#21). The depth of the roster is their greatest strength, and they are patient and chilly with the disc. Rival beat Blah at Tune Up but lost to Chinstrap, and is likely vastly underseeded.

Thursday's games to watch:

Round 1: No one wants to see Hang Time the first game of the tournament, but someone has to. That unhappy role falls to B+. The young team will not roll over and this game will be interesting in the first half, though ultimately it's likely Hang Time will pull away. In Pool B, Bad Larry versus Rival will be exciting, as the Atlanta team will want to prove that they're underseeded, and Bad Larry will want to prove that they can win big games when it counts. FoF versus Halibut will be vets versus young studs, and a lot will depend on the wind. Also in pool C, look for Holes and Poles versus Phoberomys Pattersoni; Holes and Poles has a chance to justify their seed, while Phoberomys Pattersoni will try and earn the Central region some respect.

Round 2: Pool A will feature another wily vets against young studs game in Chinstrap versus B+. A lot depends on how well B+ comes out of a likely loss first round; B+ is certainly capable of the upset. Pool C is quite rough, and both games will be good; Holes and Poles should come out on top of Halibut because of their greater experience, but it won't be surprising if Halibut gives them a scare. Expect the FoF versus Phoberomys Pattersoni game to be tight, though with wind, FoF will dominate.

Round 3: Time to take a look at Pool D, because this is where the battle will be. Persuader has deep desire to be at the top this year, but Donner Party will want to show that they're better than any team in their region. It's going to be hard-fought and could go either way; give the slight edge to Donner due to reputation (fear factor) and experience. In Pool B, look for Red Fish Blue Fish to play their first competitive game against Bad Larry. This is another big one for Bad Larry; here is where they'll prove they are ready to take it to the next level.

All ideas expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the UPA