Open Division Pre-tournament Coverage

By Bil Elsinger

At this time last year, the question being asked was, "Can anyone beat the Condors?" After a championship showing in Sarasota last year and recent wins at both the Emerald City Classic and Canadian Nationals, Vancouver's Furious George is this year's team to beat. Sure, Canadian Nationals presented a much less competitive field (Furious wins finals by 11) than the non-US exclusive UPA Nationals, but that doesn't keep Furious from coveting the bragging rights to two country's bids to next year's Worlds games in Finland. Of course, Furious can only take one bid to Worlds, but how would the US feel about sending the second place team (and perhaps there's a question about whether this tournament format does a good job of accurately identifying second place--as an example there's the Death or Glory-Furious George semifinal last year). Which US team will prevent this loss of face from occurring? Let's take a look and see.

The fiery Johnny Gewirtz has taken the year off from ultimate to concentrate on raising an already leading contender for the 2023 Callahan. Replacing his throws will be Jeff Cruickshank with his incredible lefty forehands. Currently playing like few others in ultimate, Mike Grant is a difficult matchup for anyone, and Andrew Lungsdin, when healthy, is one of the most effective players around. These three rank amongst the best at their respective positions, and there's hardly a drop in talent with the rest of the Furious roster. Barring only DoG (and this a maybe), Furious has the best offense around. Their increasing stinginess with the disc makes any individual mistake by their opponent the possible game loser. More or less unanimously a favorite for the finals (and the championship), Furious, as is appropriate to their number one seed, shouldn't have too much trouble taking their pool. They probably won't face a real test until Friday, but everyone will be gunning for them. Almost all teams have at least one not-great game a tournament, so despite (or perhaps because of) the universal respect that they receive, they'll need to work hard just to maintain their pole position.

The Condors did not do poorly last fall by most people's standards, but their recent history demanded more. If their last five finishes at UPA Nationals are averaged and used to predict the outcome of this year's play, they'll still be on the field come Sunday. They have not, however, yet proven that they can finish without Jimmy Price (lost after Worlds last year), and Taro Ramberg's hammers will no longer break opponents' marks (moved out of region). New to the team, but not to the national audience are Chris McManus, formerly of Jam, and Brian Bogle, an ex Johnny Bravo prime timer. Also not surprising are the addition of a few young Black Tiders (Santa Barbara more or less acting as the Condor's junior varsity). Lines aren't called by this team, but you'll see James Studarus playing a lot of offense, and Greg Husak getting big time Ds with Andy Crews as a major contributor both ways, and Brandon Steets looking good in the air. As noted earlier, the Condors know how to win, and coming into last year were much feared across the country. Whether this year sees a return to form depends upon their ability to integrate new players, although their veterans will continue to play very solid offense, and their athletes will challenge on defense. The Condors are expected to still be in the mix on Saturday, and last year's quiet finish may have lowered their profile enough to take the target off of their back and let them surprise the field (then again, perhaps not so likely).

The Condor's first day will pit them against in-state rival Jam. Each team has taken away a win from their two most recent meetings, so this should be one of the more interesting pool play games, especially since they are the fourth and the fifth seeds. Remember, two years ago Jam and the Condors were in the finals of this tournament. Either team will be a challenge for the perhaps not so lucky team that finishes second in pool A (assuming that all other seeds more or less hold) as only two games will most likely be needed for each on Friday.

Jam is back. A year off after an experiment with a large roster has left the Bay Area's Open entrant with a good dose of motivation. Thanks to the cyclical wildcard system and mediocre performances of two of the Northwest's four 2001 entrants, the Northwest region was limited to two bids last year. Going from being a Nationals Finalist to not really enjoying an extended winter break is a long fall, but Jam should not be underestimated as their recent win at Labor Day attests.

But who is Jam back with? Half of the roster has changed since 2001 with notables Chris 'Toaster' Hayden and Seth Blacher retiring and Alex Nord moving to more liberal shores. Brian Morris, however, has returned from 'retirement' to bulk up the veteran savvy of a younger than previous Condor team and Josh Greenough has moved in after playing with Johnny Bravo previously. All 21 of this year's roster will be counted on, although some minor injuries may have a few playing at less than full strength (although this probably is the norm at this point in the fall series). Nice guy Damien Scott continues to prove his all star status, tournament director Idris Nolan continues to bring style to the throwing game, Brent Shannon makes plays in the big games, fresh faced Jeff Eastham is adding blocks and the Brothers Zalisk finally are playing together. Jam has experienced a youth movement of their own, as one third of the team played in last spring's college series. We'll see how far Jam's young legs will carry them, although most expect at least a quarterfinal showing if not better. But if they do get into the final two games (as they did in the two years prior to 2002), do they have what it takes to win it all (as they haven't yet)?

There's been some give and take in recent tournaments amongst the West Coast's big four (Condors, Furious, Jam, Sockeye) with wins coming in those tournaments closest to home for all (Jam beats Condors in finals of Labor Day at Santa Cruz, Furious beats Sockeye in finals of the ECC - held half way between Vancouver and Seattle). With all but Sockeye in pools A and D, we'll have the opportunity to see multiple encounters between these teams.

A much ballyhooed team coming into the tournament last year, Electric Pig suffered the curse of Tune-Up, and did not meet seed in last year's nationals. Luckily, they did not win this year's Tune-Up crown, ceding that unlucky break to Ring of Fire.

Electric Pig is also on the receiving end of a youthful infusion of hard running talent. Captained by a relatively young group of half a dozen, only eight players remain from their 2001 quarterfinalist squad. Among the main departures are Sam Rosenthal (former Junior World Champion) and Ron Kubalanza, both of whom have fled to already star studded DoG. One of the more notable additions include Damon Taylor by way of Cleveland. The 26 man roster is largely healthy, although defensive wiz Thomas Glass is out with a broken hand. With many on the roster never having played at nationals, the Pig may not be recognizable (although their lack of height may almost be a tradition), but they certainly are hungry. Look for one of Pig's best athletes, Ben Cohen to be the difference late in games with Keven Moldenhauer making the big plays on offense, Jonathon O'Connell gaining yards, and the disc passing through Jordan Schwartz's hands, especially if we see another windy Florida weekend. Electric Pig plays solid underneath defense, but if behind may have trouble, as their height is an obstacle to scoring long. There's lots of individual talent on this squad, and last year's performance may have other teams underestimating them this time around.

Who inherited the less than lucky Tune-Up crown? Last year's finalist Ring of Fire. Some thought that the true finals were the semi-final game between Furious and DoG, and this year's seedings with DoG second and Ring of Fire third seems to confirm that opinion. While Ring did not fare well (several losses) in the invitation only Emerald City Classic, they lost to West Coast teams playing on their own coast. Those West Coast teams were not present for Ring's Tune-Up win, so it isn't clear how Ring will fare on neutral ground.

Ten of this year's 24 players weren't playing with Ring last year (6 rookies, 4 coming off of sabbaticals) including Sandy Hartwiger and Kevin Kusy (post-BRU). They replace Brian Lang, David Williams, Patrick Hard, and Rhett Nichols among others. Leading the charge for Ring will be co-captain Chris Hinkle, with Paul Klenk and Troy Revell marshalling the defense, and Robbye Brooks, Ray Parrish and the hard to miss (6'10) Mickey Madzinski most often seen on offense. Hinkle is currently one of the best throwers playing. His leadership has stepped up in conjunction with Ring's appearance in the spotlight, and Ring has reacted by performing well. Meanwhile, teams are hard pressed to match up deep with Madzinski, and his throws have improved. With everyone backing him, he may need to display another level of aggressiveness if he hopes to take true advantage of his height. Ring's recent success stems as much from their defensive intensity as it does from any individual player's contribution. Their athleticism makes their defense tough to face, although whether their offense can overcome the challenge of complexity (in the form of high winds and zone coverage) remains to be seen. They can break the mark well, and can make runs on anybody, but need to keep the intensity up to be successful.

This year's pools yield an interesting rematch, as Ring of Fire and Sockeye will face each other in Thursday's third pool game. Last year saw these two teams splitting in blow outs each way, although Ring won the more important second game. Ring faces a tough challenge in keeping their top seed as they face a hard-charging Seattle team.

Sammy CK was absent in that semi-final rematch, but does Sockeye really rely on one player's presence to win the big games? Hopefully they won't need to find out, as much of team Seattle returns. The silent but deadly Jon Remucal is missing this year, as is veteran Kevin Monoghan (also taking the year off to raise a future Callahan contender). John 'The Kid' Hammond was lost for the year at ECC (foot), but Thomas Sebby and Sammy O'Brien have defected from Sub-Zero to add to an already deep squad. Injuries have plagued Sockeye all summer with the strange injury award of the year going to Mike Caldwell, but most of those issues should be ignorable come Thursday morning of Nationals (see Holly Hodgson and the Watermelon Incident for the strangest injury in Mixed). Offensively, Seattle bred Sammy CK is difficult if not impossible to stop, while Madison boy wonder Will Henry fills the underneath, Mike Caldwell covers the field in smooth strides and Chris Page gets off killer lefty flicks. Roger Crafts, newly married Lou Burruss, and all around thing guy Mark Stone bring the tough defense. Although other players like Josh Monaghan and Barney Ahouse are amongst the veterans, the team is relatively youthful, which of course also means that there may occasionally be some inconsistency.

Last year saw Sockeye rolling on the first two days with only their game against DoG being close. This year's pools have Sockeye possibly benefiting, as they go up against at team that they beat in their most recent meeting. If they can avoid injury and maintain focus, they'll have their opportunity to prove their mettle on Saturday and perhaps Sunday games that may be against their West Coast rivals (another plus for them, as they may not see Furious George, the Condors, or Jam until Saturday). We know that they can win any given game, but can they win four in a row?

Death or Glory (DoG) played one of the best games of ultimate last year. Unfortunately for their title hopes, it was semi-finals, and Furious George played a one point better game. A merciless offense (that semi-finals game may have had the least turnovers ever and the low turnover count was not unusual for DoG) and a glorious history combine for what are probably appropriate high expectations. In addition, DoG may have experienced the least roster turnover of all qualifiers, with only one player missing from last year's roster. As with many of the other nationals qualifiers, an influx of young college players has helped bolster the defense (to a somewhat large roster of 28), but first an examination of the tried and true.

DoG's offense is in the more than capable hands of some well known names including Alex de Frondeville, Paul Greff, Nathan Wicks, Jim Parinella, Fortunat Mueller, Moses Rifkin, and Doug Moore, all of whom have been playing with DoG for at least five years. Others will step in to rest these seven, but they'll carry the brunt of the scoring. If Florida again offers the strong winds of previous years (last year being a notable exception), DoG's patient zone offense will again take center stage. While the defense is anchored by veterans like Bill Rodriguez, Brian Cameros, and Tom Matthews, younger players like Josh Ziperstein, Jit Bhattacharya, and newcomer Ron Kubalanza are dragging DoG into the 21st century.

Even though DoG had a streak of six Nationals wins in a row, 13 on their current roster have yet to win it all, although DoG's semifinals appearance in each of the last three year's isn't too shabby, especially since those losses were all to the eventual champion. If Furious George does make it all the way back to the finals, DoG may well be there to protect the US title. No games against the West Coast teams this season makes this race difficult to handicap. Late-season losses (like the loss at Tune-Up to a short handed Goat squad) are not usually a good predictor of how DoG performs at the big show. Many people think that DoG is once again headed for the Finals.

Johnny Bravo is another of the many teams that have seen significant roster turnover. Almost one third of Bravo's players have moved on from the only team to defeat Furious George at last year's Nationals. Brian Bogle and Josh Greenough have gravitated towards the Pacific, Dan Revelle is joining the Parenthood Patrol and Jason Brask's back has become too much of a burden. Replacing these and other notables are some former MamaBird rock stars. Bravo welcomes Josh Ackley and Parker Krug back into their mountain aeries, as well as adding Tim Paymaster, Stanfordian marking master Mike Whitaker, Wisconsonian Rob Steinmetz, and the Carleton Knight Derek Gottlieb (who won't be making the trip to Florida - my predecessor will be able to judge my efforts from the comfort of his own home). Johnny Bravo will certainly not be gasping for air as their high altitude training is complemented by their deep roster. Steven Rouisse puts the disc almost anywhere he wants on the field, Will Deaver takes time off from his UPA duties to make big plays, Matty Lipscomb and Rob Steinmetz work the defensive patrol, and Bob Krier catches scores in his flashy white cleats. They have an excellent defense and a good team concept that creates space for the huck, thereby taking advantage of their height (a dozen players 6'1 or taller).

Bravo has lost several games in the last year by the closest of margins so the higher seeds will have to play all out just to maintain position. Expectations have Bravo with their cleats still on Saturday, and with only two close losses last year, Bravo should expect at least the same. Interestingly, both Bravo and the number one seed in their pool, DoG, are seeded in the same positions as last year. DoG won last year's meeting by two. We'll see whether Bravo's updates will bring about a different result this year.

Boss Hogg dropped all three of their pool play games last year, clawed their way back in with two wins to get to pre-quarters, only to lose to a hard charging Sub Zero. Although only recently formed (2001), the Boss has already made some significant off-season changes (or rather, they've experienced change as several players either left the area or are on leave). 11 from last year's roster have departed with most not playing this year (Oliver Humblet can be seen on DoG), only to be replaced by several college players both recent and current (including a few from Brown, and one each from Yale, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and Tufts). Hogg's defensive line has a lot of contributors while its offense is a bit more set. The well-rounded Kelvin Schleif leads the offense with Dan Forseter and Neil Pallaver joining him with strong performances so far this fall series. Their solid offense has been working fairly well this season, and is playing with confidence. Casey Recupero now captains the somewhat young D squad, which can sometimes struggle with the disc once they've created the turnover. Boss Hogg doesn't really hit the rest of their pool at vulnerable moments, as they face Ring of Fire first, Sockeye (after they've played the fourth seed) second, and Chain Lightning after Chain's 1-4 game. Pool C is picked by many to be the toughest on all four teams. As such, it's not unlikely that some games will be as determined by the previous game's difficulty as by relative talent.

Sub-Zero is not the team that it was last year. Nine players, many of whom were on the original roster, have moved on, some to gentler climes, and others to retirement. Amongst those gone and sorely missed: Eric Lonsdorf (Chicago/mixed), Dan Rydel (masters), Josh Quaas (the allure of NY), Sam O'Brien and Thomas Sebby, (both moved to Seattle and joined Sockeye) and Phil Burkhardt and Alex Masulis (graduated from Carleton). Dan Miller, a Winona State athletic phenom, and Reed Conrad (moving up from Swank) are part of the brigade brought in to man the battlements in replacement. Not helping the matter of personnel seepage is an injury to ex-basketball player and not un-coincidentally tall Josh Wilhelm. Dave Boardman still leads the defense, however, Phil Bowen exhibits his rangy athleticism, Randy Gage (a former Monkey - Macalester not Vancouver) is cagey as always, Todd Owens runs the field, and Tim Murray does everything that he does well. As would be expected with the departure of several veterans, this team is young, and young teams depend upon their defense.

Despite all of the changes, Sub-Zero has beaten DoG this year, as well as other nationals qualifiers, although their weekend at ECC saw several losses (with the assumption that they weren't at full strength). Sub-Zero has been fairly consistent the last few years, with quarterfinals appearances being the norm. Whether they can continue this level of play, or perhaps even surpass it may depend upon break out performances from their youngsters.

So far this year, Big Ass Truck (BAT) seems to have Sub-Zero's number, with three recent wins. BAT absorbed Mark Sandberg and Matt Goupell amongst others from another Michigan team (Slipped Disc) and brought in some Ohio players for some significant additions of personnel. Meanwhile, Craig Thiel has taken the high road (retired) and Chris York the low (moved to Sub-Zero land, and I'm just kidding about the low thing). Returning members Matt Puhl goes further and higher for throws from one of BAT's goto guys, Aaron Bongard and forehand gunner Eric Geile, as Matt Wilken and Craig Frankland do the heavy lifting as defensive stoppers. BAT gets rolling using their defense to ignite their engine, but driving in uncharted territory can sometimes lead to driver error (offensive uncertainty), although their height makes even 50% hucks not bad bets. Their young athletes and re-painted exteriors could result in some surprises, and as the 9th seed, they have the least far to travel to get an upset in pool play. Picked for the middle of the group by many, BAT certainly has the motivation to bring down one of the higher ranked teams. If seedings hold close to true, BAT will probably be fighting it out for a quarters spot with teams that they can win against, especially if they take care of the disc when the other teams can challenge their athleticism.

In its third year, Austin's Doublewide is seeded one spot above BAT as the winner of the South. As that region has had only one quarterfinals appearance in the last two years, winning the region this year yields the 8th seed overall. That regional win came via one of the highest point total games so far this fall series, as Doublewide pulled out a 19-18 regional final win over Chain Lightning. Doublewide is one of the three qualifiers this year that didn't make the show last, but as the inheritor of many of the Houston Houndz veterans, the team is no stranger to four day tournaments. Some departures for Doublewide include 'Stone' (parental duties), Matthew Sewell (ah the sabbatical), and 'Flow' (on the move) while David Salisbury (all 6'6 of him) comes into town for grad school and local youth movement David Melancon runs hard to earn his keep. Doublewide tries to balance their playing time as they take a blue-collar approach to ultimate. Several of their main players play well both ways, with 5'7 Max Cook using his speed and quickness to get his throws off, Michael Natenberg closing hard on the disc, and Don Tom and Sean McCall doing it all. Both the veterans (via the Houndz) and the youth (University of Texas) have experience playing at the National level, but Doublewide's success depends significantly on these two groups being able to work together smoothly. The good thing about being in a pool with Furious George is that more energy can be spent thinking about beating the other two teams. The not so good thing is that the other teams can do the same. Doublewide start off with Madison's G-Unit in their first game, play the important 2-3 game second, and can let it all hang out on their run against Furious. Second in this pool may result (assuming seeds hold) in a tough Friday against the Condors and Jam, although not having to win most of the games on Friday is better than having to.

Chain Lightning climbed the ladder last year as they moved from fourth seed in their pool to the quarterfinals. This year sees no gain in seeding, and some tough work to get back in the mix. Their loss of seed is interesting, as they return most of their players, are getting three back from a year off, and have added a couple solid rookies including Chris Goodson, although he went down early in the year to hopefully just a season's worth of injury. Most of the playing time for Chain is split amongst the top 18 guys, with offensively talented Tim Halt, speedy Joel Wooten, young leaper Dylan Tunnell (currently a sophomore at UGA), Jason Simpson, the veteran David Goode, defender Jeff Jones and all around threat A.J. Tiarsmith making many of the big differences. Another young athletic team, Chain shows the promise of a big team waiting to happen, but playing well on both sides of the disc at the same time can still be a challenge. Chain hasn't beaten the top seeds yet, but to get very far in this tournament doing so will be required. Their height and ability to bring down tough catches at high counts will help them as they attempt to take the upset trail. Many remember their run from last year, and only this year's difficulty in making it out of regionals gives anyone pause in expecting the same. Still, some have Chain pegged as a possible spoiler.

In just its third season, New Jersey's Pike is yet another team with major roster changes since last year. Most of their changes (12 new players) occurred on the defensive side, with their offensive core (Jim Regetz, thrower extraordinaire helming) remaining. Several of their Pittsburgh crew have tired of hitting the freeway so often, with their primary defensive handler Dave Lionetti leaving to work on Pittsburgh's local ultimate scene, primary receiver Stu Snodgrass joining the Parenthood Patrol, and Rich Fisaher switching coasts. Meanwhile, an original captain, Pete Gyori is taking a break from open, the defensive (in a good way) Chris Weaver hits the lawn chair, and deep defender Jason Brown has decided that Cleveland needs some defending.

Last year saw this team moving up a few seeds in their first Nationals (also a first for all but two on the team). Success breads success, as Pike had no trouble recruiting flesh blood this year. New York lost three players to Pike, including defensive handler Dave Hollander, defensive superstar J-Dono and player on both sides of the ball Jude Travers-Frazier. Also joining Pike are four young guns, still fresh faced from recent College Nationals. Matt Dufort (Carleton), Ian McClellen (Penn State), Bailey Russel (Princeton) and Ben Kleaveland (Stanford) are amongst the young roustabouts that have been added. Mike Jaeger is well respected as a defender, but he's out with a collarbone broken near the end of Regionals: out but not forgotten, as he'll be able to devote full attention to his captaining duties, and especially to the many youngsters that fill out Pike's deep (especially defensively) roster. Pike draws its players from a wide variety of locations, and as such a primary challenge is cohesiveness. While Pike may not be the most athletic or skilled (veteran) team around, they've got good discipline, and they take care of the disc. Everyone on the team will run all game, and will make every point difficult to score. While the Condors and Jam (first and second in their pool) will probably win more than they lose against this younger team, Pike could still pull out a win in any given meeting, and anything less than finishing near the middle of the pack would be a disappointment.

Several teams have experience youth movements recently, but it's hard to believe that Madison's G-Unit could get any younger. But younger they are, as several veterans, including Kevin Burnett and Robert Crowley have left for greener (perhaps more relaxing) pastures and another wave of college kids (like Dean Bolton and Ted Tripoli) have made inroads on the team. Perhaps the youngest team to appear at nationals this year, it makes sense that the G-Unit would split offensive and defensive duties. Tyler Spindler comes off of a great college season to lead Madison's offense as Matt Bruss helms the defensive squad. Hector Valdivia goes both ways as Madison's quick first step shows the extra surge that youth provides. While lack of experience can translate into some uncertainty on the field, who needs certainty when you have some of the other better qualities that youth entails including fearlessness and optimism. A few turns on offense are probably expected but Madison's defense will keep on running, as they attempt to move up to the top bracket come Saturday. Their best finish so far was 9th, but at least they've been in the mix come the end of the last several seasons.

Vicious Cycle has appeared at Nationals both years since their name change (formerly Florida). Last year saw them hold seed against their pool the first day but lose on the second day against Chain Lightning (on its run at Quarters). They won two games, one against Madison and the second against New York to finish 12th. They won their region last year, but this time around Doublewide came up with the regional title, and Vicious ends up in a tough pool with the Condors, Jam, and Pike. Luckily, Nationals is again held in their backyard (they're from Gainesville, Florida), so they're more acclimated to the weather than most other teams. The alliterative Dan Depaul and Palmer Porter lead the way, with Depaul playing both offense and defense and Porter developing into one of the better players in the South. Tim Garret has also seemingly come out of nowhere to become one of their bigger threats. They aren't blessed with an easy pool (the Condors, Jam, Pike), but their Friday crossover games are within reach.

As noted above, Furious is thought by most to be the most secure in their pool. This, of course, is appropriate to the number 1 seed in the tournament. The Condors-Jam game is thought to be something of a toss-up, as is Ring of Fire-Sockeye. Johnny Bravo gave DoG a good game last year, and a year of improvement by both teams makes for a great rematch. All contexts being equal, there probably is a bit of a difference between the top seven seeds and the rest, but many in that second group could pull off an upset in individual games, especially if the higher seeded team is winded from a tough earlier bout. Of course, in the post New York - DoG title run world, anything can happen, and surely will.

TRIVIA:

You want to know how many rostered players there are Open don't you. Yes, yes you do. Ok, there are 378. Team with the most names on the roster? A tie between Vicious and Death or Glory at 28. Johnny Bravo, the Condors, and Big Ass Truck tie for least rostered players with 20 each.

Not including G-Unit, Sockeye, Sub-Zero and Vicious (who didn't list heights on their rosters), you'd like to know who averages the tallest (as reported, at least)? It's Chain Lightning with an average of 6 feet, 1/2 inch, although both Furious George and Johnny Bravo claim a dozen at 6'1 or taller. The shortest? You guessed it. Electric Pig at an average of 5 feet 10 and 1/5 inch, and only three 6'1 or taller. Team that you 5'8 or shorter folks out there would be least likely to make? Johnny Bravo again with one at that height. Electric Pig would be the most welcoming, with six 5'8 or shorter, and four 5'6 or shorter. Also, there must be more gravity on the Atlantic Coast, as the Mid-Atlantic averages a full inch shorter than the Northwest.

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