Breaker’s Delight #3: Easterns
Mar 16th
Inside Break‘s Neeley and Joaq and Skyd Magazine’s Elliot Trotter have broken down the pools and brackets to give the most in depth look and predictions of how Easterns will go down. Take a listen to our latest SkydCast for the good word on this weekend’s Easterns.
Did You Know? Iowa’s Gleason’s Army…
Mar 16th
In most ways, the University of Iowa’s IHUC (Iowa Hawkeye Ultimate Club) jerseys are incredibly standard: the team’s chosen color, they have a logo on the front and a unique number on the back to identify the individual player who is wearing it.
But if you see IHUC on the fields this weekend at Easterns, you will notice something about their jerseys that make them different from most: on every IHUC player’s sleeve, encircled in black or gold, is the number 16. Ask any member of Iowa’s roster, and he will tell you that the digits are a symbol of his place in Gleason’s Army, a term used by the team to remember a fallen leader and teammate.
2008 Iowa captain Brian Gleason
Easterns: The Early Years
Mar 15th
In 1983, Todd Leber founded the Easter Eggstravaganza, a four-team ultimate tournament in Wilmington, North Carolina. “Not bad,” says Leber, “considering that at the time you were a big deal if you could pull in six teams.”
Five years later, in 1988, the tournament was still running, and with Easter falling on spring break, Leber received bids to attend the Eggstravaganza northeastern teams SUNY-Purchase, University of Vermont, and a number of others that he had not heard from before. By 1989, UNC-Wilmington was hosting College Nationals, and though they failed to qualify despite their top seed going into Regionals, the Seamen put on a quality event.
Did you know? Ohio’s Road to Easterns…
Mar 15th
In 2009, Ohio University travelled to the College Championships in nearby Columbus, Ohio. Current captain Andy Ball and his teammates were in search of the best competition in the land, knowing that being around such a high level of play would push their team to improve.
The only problem was that Ohio was watching and not playing. At Sectionals just a month before, Ohio had lost three consecutive games to go to Regionals. A particularly painful loss because the team had been the longest-running Regional qualifier out of the East Plains Section, many Ohio upperclassmen checked out.
Ohio captain Nick Wetzel goes up in a crowd at 2010 Great Lakes Regionals.
Did You Know? Virginia’s Matt King…
Mar 14th
You know that kid that comes into your program without much to offer aside from being friendly and running pretty hard? No throws, not much field sense, unsure of what ultimate even is?
In the fall of 2006, that was the University of Virginia Night Train’s Matt King.
Now, you know the guy that generates his team’s offense with his throws, leads it with his work ethic, and is generally considered one of the top players in his region? The kind that UNC-Wilmington coach and all-time great Tully Beatty describes as “an old school type of player that I’d have enjoyed playing with?”
Same guy.
Matt with his lefty flick against Stanford at Nationals in 2009.
Did You Know? Pittsburgh at Easterns…
Mar 14th
In 2004, Pittsburgh En Sabah Nur finished fifth at West Plains Sectionals, failing to qualify for Regionals. At that point, Pitt had only one Regionals appearance to its name, a 2003 showing where it failed to win a game.
Fast forward to 2010, and Pittsburgh finishes in the National Semifinals. The time in between has been filled with steady improvement that includes six straight Nationals appearances with increasingly higher placements nearly every year.
But beyond its Nationals qualifications, Pitt’s rise has been marked with signature wins and tournament victories at pre-Series events, none bigger than 2006′s 17-14 victory over perennial Nationals qualifier Harvard in the finals of College Easterns.
Pittsburgh: College Easterns champions in 2006
Did You Know? Florida’s Grad Students…
Mar 14th
For most players, college ultimate means playing as an undergraduate. Many of us that played in college associate learning a vert stack with living in dorms, glimpses of greek life, and the inevitable senior year job search.
But for many members of the University of Florida’s Gators, academic life is a bit more focused.
“Something a lot of people don’t know about us is that we’re very grad student heavy,” says captain Alton Gaines. “A lot of our guys really have to juggle a heavy school load with the demands of our practices.
Cole Sullivan (right center) throws to Nathan Sage
Easterns: The Rise, Fall, and Resurgence
Mar 14th
In less than a week, UNC-Wilmington’s College Easterns will bring the best college ultimate teams together for a three-day weekend of the very best competition possible. All eight of last year’s National Quarterfinalists will be in attendance, including 2011 Champions Florida and runners-up Carleton. Of the 16 teams at Easterns, only two (Virginia and Ohio) did not qualify for Nationals last year.
To call this year’s field impressive would be an understatement. Moreover, Easterns is no stranger to extremely high levels of competition. But it is worth noting that it has not always been this way, as Easterns has at times been subjected to the perils of college ultimate’s changing landscape.
In the early part of the decade, UNC-Wilmington’s College Easterns was the place to be for the country’s top college teams. The tournament winner in 2000 (Brown), 2002 (Stanford) , and 2003 (Wisconsin) went on to win the College Championships, and teams such as Carleton, Oregon, and Colorado were regular attendees.
The Top Half
Mar 12th
By seeding, here are a couple thoughts on the top 8 teams that will be at College Easterns next weekend…
1. Carleton College (15-2)
- With tournaments at Warm Up and Stanford Invite, Carleton is the undisputed class of the Open division. Senior Grant Lindsley teams up with sophomore Julian Childs-Walker to form a cutting unit whose speed is overpowering, and senior Alex Evangelides and sophomore Simon Montague are cornerstones of a defense capable of grinding out turnovers.
- Carleton’s only real weakness so far has been its ability to convert their opponents’ turnovers into breaks. While their D line is packed with experience in Evangelides and Christian Foster, CUT has at times had to move offensive players over in order to ensure that its defense scores.
2. Pittsburgh (5-2)
- 5th year players Chris Brenenborg and Eddie Peters have been good for a long time, and given that former youngers Alex Thorne and Tyler DeGirolamo are now juniors, this is the year that Pitt is hoping to bring it all together. Their only tournament thus far has been Stanford, and while they lost a close game to Oregon in pool play, En Sabah Nur mounted huge comebacks against very good British Columbia and Colorado teams en route to a finals appearance.
- Pitt is a team with a reputation for riding their emotions, which is why spectators should be watching any of their games against other top seeds. While they are the only top 5 team at the tournament without a national championship to their name, Pitt has built itself on not backing down to anyone, and every year they seem to add another key victory to their program’s resume.
3. Colorado (12-4)
- Fast, physical, and intense, Mamabird is coming off of a near-miss at Warm Up and a botched semifinal at Stanford. Colorado will certainly be hungry to win its first big pre-Series tournament since Centex in 2009.
- Though only a sophomore, Colorado’s Jimmy Mickle has been playing at an MVP level all season. He leads the D line with huge pulls, strong play in the air, and very effective break throws; look to see how he continues to mesh with Colorado’s universe line.
4. Oregon (9-2)
- When most people talk about Oregon in 2011, they start by mentioning who they graduated in 2010. Consider, though, who the team has gained: John Bloch and Jordan “Dozer” May are back after taking time away from ultimate, and talented freshman Dylan Freechild has moved down the road from South Eugene High School. Add those to captain Cody Bjorklund, and a bevy of others that have been under-the-radar good for quite some time, and Oregon’s roster is in a better place than you may think.
5. Florida (6-3)
- Nationals winners in 2010, many have written Florida off because they graduated Brodie Smith. But while they played poorly against Colorado and Wisconsin at Warm Up, the Gators showed that they will continue to compete at the highest levels. Most teams have not figured out how to stop Cole Sullivan from getting the disc and breaking the mark, and with defenders so wary of the heralded Florida deep game, life is pretty easy for the team’s cutters.
- Florida is most challenged when teams play them honest rather than try to poach or double team. Look to see how their less experienced players do when the disc is in their hands and the dump is well-covered.
6. Wisconsin (8-7)
- Yet another recent top dog that many are ready to write off, Wisconsin is slowly finding its identity as a young team. They are particularly adept at coming down with their own hucks into traffic, and with that as a building block, they are dangerous when cutters give each other room to work underneath.
- Wisconsin has also proven itself as a team very capable of playing up to big opponents, as evidenced by their wins over Carleton and Florida at Warm Up.
7. Harvard (9-7)
- After a rough showing at Warm Up, Harvard righted the ship at Stanford and made semis with a huge comeback over Oregon. The team’s starting seven has yet to play together, but in the meantime, George Stubbs has made up for it by playing at a level worthy of the Callahan.
- Even when at full strength, Harvard is not a deep team. If the top 7 are struggling, Red Line’s role players will have to step up huge in order to fill the gap.
8. Virginia (5-4)
- It is unclear which Virginia team will be at Easterns: the one that could not complete its comeback against Wisconsin, or the one that looked in control against Colorado. As one of the only teams at Easterns without a coach, Night Train is a bit more susceptible to the highs and lows of competition, but with a number of strong 5th years, seniors, and juniors, the team is well aware of what it needs to do in order to succeed.
Tomorrow, look for more on the next 8, which is seeded as follows…
9. California (12-7)
10. Minnesota (4-4)
11. Michigan (7-0)
12. Iowa (8-0)
13. Ohio (13-1)
14. Georgia (5-2)
15. UNC-Wilmington (6-9)
16. Cornell (2-7)
Pools are up!
Mar 11th
First of all, welcome to Easterns 2011! This site will be your source for all things Easterns from start to finish. We’ll include some team previews, injury reports, speculation, photos, and plenty of other coverage throughout the coming week.
Tournament Director Greg Vassar published the final pools for Easterns today. This is actually the third version, as team captains were given the opportunity to chime in with their opinion on two prior versions.
In this format, crossover games will be filled with reseeded teams from pool play. 1v1 games are not elimination games for the champ bracket but the 2v3 games are. 4th place teams from each pool are playing in the consolation bracket on Sunday regardless of crossover results.
While the seeds are final, the game times may change because Vassar is looking to stagger Saturday games in order to enhance spectating opportunities. Also, the Friday games are Carleton v. Colorado and Harvard v. UNC-Wilmington. Iowa is also scheduled to play, but their opponent is not yet finalized. These games will not count toward tournament results, but they are sanctioned.
