2010 Event Recaps

Smokey Mountain Ultimate Tournament

Arriving on Saturday morning we could tell that it was going to be a hot day. Luckily we were given a shade tent and played near a big tree that we later labeled "Home Tree". We setup and started to warm up and get ready.

Our first game was against Knoxville A which they didn't get there on time and had only 2 women to start. Since the TD decided that the tournament was 5-2 we made the other teams women play all game tiring them out. We came out a bit slow turning some discs that we didn't need to. We traded points to 4s and then they got a break on us. Not liking that we then scored and got back that break. The rest of the game the other teams lack of subs showed and we went on a few more runs with the other team scoring once in a while. We ended up winning the first game.

Our second game was against a weaker team, Deep Fried. This team was from the area and there was not much to say about this game except that we cleaned up our offense and clamped down our defense to take half with some good work. After half we started playing better and finished it out.

The third game was against a Knoxville High School team which had one sub so we played 5-2 where they played 6-1. It was a sloppy game and we had plenty more turns than needed but after a few close calls we were able to bagel them.

Our next game after some rest was against our #1 seed in our pool Nooga Please! We started by pulling to them and after a bit of work they were able to score it. We started off very strong playing close to their handlers and hard defense. We scored the next two. Then they took the break back and we traded points until we broke out and took half. It was a very fast paced game and we played very well in the first half. The second half started with us receiving and we promptly scored. Trading points again we found ourselves up by 3 at the soft cap. During the next point there were many D's and it was a long point. It lasted till hard cap and they ended up scoring but it didn't matter because we were still up and won the game at cap.

Pool Shenanigans and Sunday write up to come.

CHUBBY

Steamboat hosted their own tournament this weekend with 4 local teams competing for the acclaimed CHUBBY crown. They started the day off against a combination team of Cincinnati high school players and alums. The team was able to use their experience to their advantage and take control of the game early. Making sure not to let up, Steamboat went on to win 13-2. This set up a second round match-up with Motorboat in a battle for waterway supremacy. Both teams obviously knew each other well, so the level of play was intense, to the point that many players were even going down with injuries. Steamboat was able to overcome this challenge and win a harder game than the score would indicate, 13-1. The final pool play game was against a team of pick-up players from around the Cincinnati area. Steamboat was clearly the better TEAM and used their cohesiveness on the field to overcome the talent of the individual players on the other side. In methodical fashion, Steamboat won going away, 14-2. Finally, they had one more game for the CHUBBY championship in a rematch against the first team of the day. The score got a little closer, but the result was the same. Steamboat was able to shake off some first half rust and win the title, 13-6.

This tournament had a different perspective than other tournaments for Steamboat. Some Steamboat roster players played for Motorboat most of the day, the competition was not what the team hopes to be competing against later in the season, and the nature of a one-day tournament plays very different than a full weekend. Despite these facts, the team was able to focus all day and gain from the experience. They did a good job of not playing down to the level of the other teams or the tournament in general. Although the turnovers increased as the day went on which is something to improve upon, Steamboat showed no problems and will hopefully use this as momentum going into next week’s tournament in Michigan, where the competition will dramatically improve.

As a side note, this year CHUBBY was setup as a fundraiser and awareness event for the American Cancer Society. Donations were collected and the beneficial cause added some extra significance to the tournament. Thanks to Matt Dudash for his efforts to make this happen. Also, thanks to Eddie Mack for running the logistics of the tournament. It was a great success all around.

Motown Throwdown

Steamboat headed up to Michigan this weekend for their first big tournament against sectional and regional competition. After making the trip up I-75, the team came out firing early on Saturday with three straight victories in pool play. There were ups and downs, but Steamboat stayed focused and was able to take control of each game when it mattered most. This of course was all accomplished despite the fact that Jeff Haney travels every time he throws the discs. Following pool play, they had to crossover with a new team in the region from Michigan, Overhaul. The team could never really find any sort of momentum and Overhaul was able to take control of the game early. Despite a less than favorable result, this is a great opportunity to learn from and improve going forward.

On Sunday, Steamboat struggled to assert themselves in games against a few teams that they should be able to play with. An occasional lack of focus led to runs by the opposition that were too much for this boat to overcome. After losing the first two games of the day, the team finished the tournament with a win to take 7th place. This was after coming into the tournament seeded 4th overall. But for now, Steamboat is going to take their 4-3 record on the weekend as an end cap to the first half of the season. With plenty of things to take away from this weekend, the team can surely improve and make some noise at the remaining high profile tournaments on their schedule. Here is a list of the results for the weekend.

Cooler Classic 22

Steamboat headed north again this weekend for another chance to compete against some top level regional competition at a high profile tournament. The team came into the tournament seeded 6th, but definitely saw an opportunity to break that seed. They had a favorable schedule that gave them a first-round bye and a sequence of games building up against the #4, #3, and #1 seed in their pool. Careful not to overlook their opening game, Steamboat came out playing hard against Milwaukee’s Beast. After some early breaks, the team took half just in time for some reinforcements to show up. Playing consistently and not letting up, the team finished off a 13-8 win. This set up a second game against The Alliance. Steamboat made sure to take control of the game and eliminate any confidence that the opponent may have had early on. Building on the momentum from the previous game, they went on to win again, 13-5. In their final pool play game, the team would go up against Pelican Breach. Although Pelican Breach was the #1 seed in the pool, they were coming off of a loss to Milwaukee’s Beast. That meant Steamboat had a golden opportunity to capitalize and win the pool. The team showed confidence that they not only could, but should win the game. With no signs of letting up yet, Steamboat would win again, 13-5.

This put the team in a 1 v. 1 crossover with Drag’n Thrust from the B-pool. Drag’n Thrust is one of the elite teams in the region, and this would prove to be an excellent measuring stick of the level that Steamboat was playing at. They were not fazed by who they were playing and took control of the flow of the game. With everyone working extremely hard, the roster depth was a major difference. Steamboat continued to put out fresh legs and found themselves up 10-8 late in the game. At this point, a few costly errors brought the score to 11-11. In a marathon point, Steamboat had their opportunities to take a strangle hold on the game, but came up just short. Drag’n Thrust would eventually take the point and use the momentum to get a break in the last point of the game, winning 13-11.

Despite that result, Steamboat had successfully navigated the Saturday schedule and found themselves in the quarters of the championship bracket, exactly where they wanted to be. Another first-round bye allowed them to rest up and sufficiently prepare for their first game on Sunday. The opponent was Gambit, a team that Steamboat knows well that was coming off of a slightly disappointing Saturday themselves. With both teams battling it out in slightly windier conditions than the day before, Steamboat was not willing to give up ground. Coming out quickly, they got an early lead to force a Gambit timeout. This did not disrupt the team’s momentum as they continued to fight for every point. Steamboat methodically wore down the other team and would win convincingly, 12-7. Coming off of this victory, the team got a chance to challenge CLX, who had not been pressured all weekend to that point. Steamboat would work to get the first score, but that was as far as their lead would go. CLX proved to be the better team on this day and despite increasing winds, had no trouble controlling the disc en route to a 15-3 win. This left Steamboat to play for 3rd place against Prion, a team they had seen just a couple weeks ago in Michigan. Wanting the end the weekend strong, Steamboat was not about to walk through the motions in this game. Both teams fought hard in a back-and-forth game until Prion got a late break to go up 12-11. Steamboat answered with an offensive point to tie the game at 12 apiece. With the cap on, this was the final point. Pressure from the defense forced a drop by Prion. Once they had the disc, Steamboat was very patient working the endzone offense until a breakside throw was available. The disc floated beyond the reach of the defender and Jen Golan was there to catch the winning score.

The ending to the weekend was a perfect way to cap a successful trip for Steamboat. All weekend the buddy system helped to pick each other up and the goals for every game helped to keep us focused. Breaking seed and earning a legitimate 3rd place at Cooler Classic is an amazing jolt of confidence for the team at this point in the season. There is still plenty to work on, and the team will use the next month until CHC to address those needs. Now that everyone is playing together and the team is finding its identity, the opportunity is there for Steamboat to make some noise in the region. It will begin in Naperville the second weekend of September. Good start to the second half of the season, Boat!