Great Lakes Regionals 2009

Fresh off of their cruise through sectionals, magnUM rolled into Oberlin fired up and ready to go. Thanks to big wins outside of regional competition and head to head wins over Illinois, Notre Dame and Ohio State in March and April, magnUM earned the top seed as they attempted to repeat as regional champions.

What follows is not a story of a regional championship. But a story for the magnUM annals none the less.

Ball St

magnUM opened against 16th seeded Ball State, famous far more for David Letterman than their Ultimate. Still, the Wizardz did everything that should be expected of a 16 seed. They played their best and made several great plays.

magnUM wasn’t quite as ready. Rusty and tentative, magnUM yielded too many easy upline cuts that led to flick hucks and scores. Far too many mental errors on O and D. In the end talent and depth carried magnUM to a 15-11 win.

Northwestern

Following a short rest and pep talk from the captains and coaches, magnUM came out fired up against 9th seeded NUT. Just like Ball State, NUT was zeroed in on giving magnUM everything they had. Early in the first half the teams largely traded points. magnUM’s D-line got the disc on D often enough, but just couldn’t quite punch it in for a score. A memorable highlight during this period came at the hands of Will Neff. His flying-D-catch-somersault over a tall box of bagels was best described by team weatherman Andy Dunn’s question: Have you ever seen a dolphin leap out of the water?

Back to the game…while the O-line largely held steady, the D-line smelled blood when NUT took a timeout after scoring. Oops. Tied at 5 all, D broke the game open with three straight breaks to take half 8-5. In the span of three points the game had effectively ended, and magnUM controlled the second half en route to a 15-9 win.

Illinois

Like any college sport, Ultimate is as much a game of skill and speed as it is emotion, momentum and luck. Against the 4th seeded Illini, magnUM didn’t muster all of their available skill, couldn’t match the Illini’s emotion, and wasn’t the luckier opponent.

As you might recall, magnUM met Illinois at Huck Finn earlier this year and played one of their most complete games en route to a 13-2 victory. Right from the beginning this game was entirely different. Illinois needed just four points to surpass their Huck Finn total and a 3-1 lead. Playing a smart, gritty style of Ultimate that can give any team fits, Illinois was absolutely on form and had zero comparison to their St. Louis incarnation. Sometimes an opponent’s game is ‘on.’ When that’s the case, you had better be ready to fight tooth and nail.

magnUM was not. With the disc, far too many throws and catches weren’t in sync. Far too many hucks went deeper than a wide open receiver could reach, including four to a wide open fUMo. And late in the game the end zone seemed to have a repelling effect on magnUM hands and discs. Many D-line players will be haunted by the upline cuts they yielded.

The final result was a nearly devastating body blow as the Illini knocked magnUM out of contention for a second straight regional title by a score of 12-9.

Congrats to the Illini, who would win the regional title the next day.

Recovering…

Sitting the shade and now relegated to the backdoor bracket, magnUM was down Saturday afternoon. A victory against Illinois would have meant just one more win to a regional title and a return to nationals. Now magnUM had to win three straight games. Three straight games against foes with the same desperation to make nationals. The margin for error was now zero. magnUM packed up their gear, and headed back to their fabulous Westlake accommodations to rest, energize, and partake in the annual paper plate awards, before doing work Sunday.

Chicago

Tenth seeded Junk probably felt like their name when they found out Saturday afternoon their path to nationals now had an angry wounded wolverine squarely in their path. The game was highlighted by PC getting smashed going up for a floaty disc, dazed and ready to call foul, only to realize Boxcar had it. For the sake of brevity and emphasis on the far more dramatic games later in the day, we’ll stick to saying magnUM took a measured 15-11 win rotating in lots of rookies to keep everyone fresh for the next two games.

Notre Dame

For men’s college Ultimate, many 2009 regions have been a tough go for teams with a 1 or 2 seed and the Great Lakes region was no exception. Top seeded magnUM met 2nd seeded Papal Rage in a final, but neither planned on that matchup in backdoor final. The game was a rubber match given two prior meetings for the ‘08-09 season. In the fall Notre Dame cruised past magnUM in pool play of the Classic City Classic. magnUM answered with a 13-9 win at Huck Finn.

With the rivalry inherent in Michigan-Notre Dame and a chance just to play for nationals on the line, the game had all the makings of a classic. It did not disappoint. The spectators at Regionals, perhaps suspecting as much, started filling in the fields for magnUM’s most watched game of the season to date.

The game was a back and forth encounter. Each break or pair of breaks would be answered. Both O-lines were good, but both D-lines were plenty opportunistic. A couple notable highlights include Bandit bringing down a Deland hammer in traffic, and Tom Haynes pulling down a huck over two taller opponents. Still, in a game of this magnitude, so many big plays are obscured by the final result. Up 16-15 and waiting to receive the disc, magnUM’s O was ready to punch it in. For the first time this weekend, it was absolutely silent on the fields before the pull, an eerie and foreboding sign to be sure. When ND broke magnUM, pessimists could be sure the signs were against magnUM.

The pessimists were wrong. magnUM received again on universe point and would not falter again. Final score 17-16. An absolutely gritty magnUM win, setting up a winner take all to go to nationals against…

Ohio State

Leadbelly fell to Illinois in the Regional final by the score of 15-10. If the Notre Dame game had all the makings of a classic, this game was set from the get go to be epic. When the greatest rivalry in college sports coincides with a win-or-go-home game, a big game is bound to happen. magnUM family/friends, magnUM reserve, Flywheel roved the sidelines, and plenty of OSU partisans helped bathe the field in noise. Throw in the fact that Nationals this year are in Ohio State’s hometown and the teams split two close previous games this spring and you get the picture.

From the first pull the game was chippy with more than a few contested calls. Observers rarely went two points without being consulted.

Early on, the teams traded points as both O lines ran well. Then magnUM’s D-line made their biggest run of the season with three breaks to take half 8-4. When Matty Mich scored on a deep shot to make it 9-6, there was a hint of an inevitable magnUM win. This hint was soundly crushed as Ohio State rolled on three straight breaks to tie the game up at 9-9.

What followed next was a battle of wills, an epic point. magnUM received the pull, worked it up field, and then turned the disc over. This would not be the last turn. Back and forth the teams battled, through contested fouls, multiple injury subs and the crowd gasping over nine more changes in possession . The last turnover was one of the plays of the weekend by Tom Haynes (ahem, Great Lakes all-region), who made a poach layout D in his own endzone to save a goal. The play may have saved magnUM’s season, as a fourth straight break might have been too much. magnUM then worked the disc upfield for a huge score to make it 10-9.

The two teams would trade points once more to 11-11 with the hard cap set at 12. For the second game in a row, magnUM was facing universe point. For the second time in 4 months magnUM and Leadbelly played to double game point with magnUM receiving the pull. This time magnUM did not falter. After a series of solid cuts working the disc to right sideline near midfield, Will threw a hammer to a streaking Tom Haynes, who made another huge play coming down with the disc. After a brief interruption for an injury, Tom broke to Pat for the score and magnUM stormed the field!

Many thanks to the Michigan faithful watching the game including fellow nationals attendee and Great Lakes Women’s Regional Champion, Flywheel. After handshakes with our vanquished foe, we joined our fans in a rousing chorus of Hail to the Victors.

…headed for Columbus

magnUM learned quite a bit about themselves this weekend, including just how deep they can dig when the going is tough.

This is as good a point as any to mention some of magnUM’s other stars on the weekend. Alex Kaulins scores goals. Lots and lots of them. Dom “dangit dominic” Conti made a layout grab to save my behind among numerous other big Dom plays this weekend. Senior Captain Will Neff did what only he can do. Andy Dunn led the team in sweet jokes and “wow he’s fast” moments. Craig Sanford led the team in pointless Cleveland Cavalier references and was his usual self as the quintessential handler this weekend. Matt MarcUM led magnUM in showtime factor (as always) and scored a big goal in the second half that nearly broke Leadbelly. We love Gordon Siegfreidt! (he also joins this next guy with kickass handler D). Jeff ‘Bandit’ Siddiqui led the team, as usual, in layouts and defensive hustle. Zak Kemmer couldn’t play this weekend due to a hamstring injury, but short of playing did everything any teammate could ask for. And last on the list but first in our hearts, Captain and fifth year player Dave fUMo did everything on the field except take a bullet for his team.

And so magnUM’s season will last three more weeks, along with that of 19 other teams. We suggest you stay tuned for the latest. Due our loss this weekend, we’re likely a 3 or a 4 seed in our pool at nationals. We are a nightmare for anyone expecting 3 or 4 seed caliber talent. See you at nationals. GO BLUE!