Reserve Season Recap

After magnUMs great run in Madison, WI for Nationals, here is a look back at what Reserve, Michigan’s B-team, has accomplished this year. Ending its season with a 19-14 record and ranked as high as 79th in the nation, Reserve made Regionals, joining Colorado-B and UCSD-B as the only B-teams in the nation to do so. This marks the second year in a row Reserve has made it through Sectional play, a tribute to the leadership on Reserve, as each year brings the loss of returning players to magnUM and the arrival of fresh rookies with much to learn about college Ultimate. Early in the season we were told that this team, Reserve, would improve more than any other team in the country as the season progressed, and coaches Andy Foldesi and Henry Tyler, along with captains John Truesdell and Kevin Yien, deserve much of the credit for its realization. Setting goals of winning both a tournament and a game at Regionals, Reserve set out into the fall season.

Fall Brawl / Glory Days / Bowling Green

Scotty Bohrer

Serving as the first tournaments for many rookies on Reserve, these three provided a chance to gain experience and come together as a team. Some motivation taken away from the fall season included: two losses to split-squad Loyola – Chicago and a universe-point loss to Eastern Michigan. Highlights of the fall involved the continued growth of the rookies, both in knowledge of the game and in play.

Michigan Indoor Tournament

Given two games, against magnUM and Purdue, Reserve was pumped to come out and showcase the work put in at its biweekly late-night Oosterbaan sessions. Saturday morning gave way to a focused, intense Reserve team (and its new flag!) attempting to upset magnUM. The will was there, but magnUM proved to be too much, as they won 15-5. Sunday against Purdue looked to be a different story. The Reserve O-line was unstoppable for the majority of the first half, scoring on the same give-and-go huck play four times in a row. Unable to get the break on D, Reserve let Purdue hang around, and they eventually clamped down on our O, as they pulled away to win 15-10. A disappointing weekend for sure, but Reserve was starting to show glimpses of how good it could be.

Arctic Vogue

Arctic Vogue lived up to its name, dumping a foot and a half of snow on Cincinnati, OH before Reserve’s arrival. Having finally returned to outdoor play (yay?) after seclusion in the Oost, Vogue transformed into a coming-out party as Reserve finally began to click as a team. In pool play Reserve rolled to 3-1, losing only a close, chippy game to Edinboro 8-9. Saturdays highlights included frozen toes, too many blades to count caught by Brian Yost, and a rousing Jews vs. Gentiles point. Reserve retired to the amazing comfort of the Klaben household to catch the Opening Ceremony for the 2010 Olympics. Sunday arrived, and with it a match-up with Loyola-Chicago, no longer split-squad. With lingering memories of drubbings at Fall Brawl and Glory Days, Reserve pulled out arguably its best game of the season. Finding the perfect mix of intensity and fun, every person on Reserve made plays, trouncing Loyola 13-6, and recording only four turns the entire game. John Abela’s stat line was particularly epic, with few points not containing a D, A, or G. Next was Southern Indiana in the Semis. They didn’t put up much of a fight as Reserve won 13-7. Joe Besser did manage to find his long lost twin, however. Reserve was set to meet Xavier in the finals. A tough team, Xavier pulled ahead by two twice. Reserve stuck around as Brian Yost (in boots!) continued to catch anything and everything thrown his way. Clawing its way back, Reserve pulled even, but not without a hiccup. The same Brian Yost pulled down a pivotal huck near (in?) the goal and delivered an impeccable spike, giving way to an intense, to say the least, discussion of the continuation rule. The disc was sent back (it had been a travel), and Reserve proceeded to score anyways. Holding the momentum, Reserve pulled ahead to win 13-11 and become Arctic Vogue Champs! Although still waiting for the trophy, Reserve put a big check mark on its goal sheet.

EMU Round Robin

Despite strong winds and rain, Reserve made its way to Ypsilanti for a round-robin tournament with numerous sectional opponents. Reserve came out quick with a 10-3 win over a under-manned State-B, followed by a 10-6 win over Kalamazoo. The weather made for plenty of zone defense and some sweet bids into what became a small lake. Eager to avenge a universe point loss at Bowling Green, Reserve trudged across the fields to play Eastern. As the game went on, the other teams packed up and left, leaving this game as the impromptu finals. The wind was a large factor, as neither team managed to make any headway towards a break. Reserve received the disc on universe point and threw a huck deep to set the zone. Eastern managed to break through the zone and worked it up the field for the first and last break of the game. Eastern over Reserve 7-6. A disappointing and wet start to the spring, Reserve rolled on.

Chicago Invite

Looking forward to defending a ninth place finish last year, and early seedings as high as fourth, Reserve traveled to Naperville, IL for the Chicago Invite, once again accompanied by torrential rain and high winds. The weather seemed content to remove all hopes of normal Ultimate, as many games were decided by the flip. First up was the top seed in the pool, Wisconsin Whitewater. After a nice upwind break on a huck by Michael Glotter, Reserve broke down, losing 5-10. Next up was an 8-7 win over SUNY-Buffalo as Reserve held serve in the wind and cold. Reserve finished out the day with a disappointing loss to Wisconsin-B in a 5-10 effort, followed by an upwind-downwind loss to Loyola-Chicago 6-7. Disappointed and wet, we returned to the hotel. The next morning Reserve learned the tournament had been cancelled. Apparently cars had torn up the parking lot due to all the rain, and it was unsafe for horses. Hooray Midwest weather? All in all, not the weekend we had hoped for.

Whitesmoke XIV

Finally facing some better conditions, Reserve arrived in South Bend, IN for its last tournament before Sectionals. Lacking many returners, the rookie-heavy squad looked to make a splash so close to the Irish. Friday night Reserve learned that the seeding had snubbed us from pool play, and we would have to fight through the Boehm Bracket to even make bracket play on Sunday. First up was North Park-B. Reserve cruised to a 13-2 win as it worked out its kinks on both sides of the disc, and highlighted by a nice layout D by Josh Gilly. In the next round the MSU Alumni were conspicuously absent, as Reserve won by forfeit. Next was another alumni team from University of Illinois – Chicago. Featuring strong throws and athletic talent, Reserve had its hands full. Up at one point, UIC threw clam, and managed to get the break. The momentum was gone for Reserve, epitomized by a superb huck from John Abela hitting a tree overhanging the field and falling five yards short. UIC over Reserve 13-9. Up next was a 13-2 drubbing of Grand Valley, in which Reserve faced some sort of Christmas tree junk defense, but shredded it nonetheless. Finally was the third alumni team of the day, a group from South Bend. Their experience and pinpoint throws ran Reserve ragged, as they built a huge lead. Late in the game, Joe Besser came out like a man on fire as he single-handedly shredded their zone. South Bend wins 4-13. A frustrating end to a very long day. Sunday morning gave way to Reserve in bracket play. First up was a 13-5 drub of Valporaiso, in which Reserve rolled. Up next was Iowa, a strong team from the tough Central region. Unable to respond to the quick passing and speed of Iowa, Reserve lost 13-3, highlights including a full-field huck by John Abela. Dropping down, Reserve faced off against Purdue, in a rematch from the Indoor tourney earlier in the year. In a closer match then the score showed, Reserve gave up a frustrating 13-3 loss. Finishing out the day with a forfeit win over Marquette, several teams chattered about the need for one or two games to sanction under the new USAU rules. Reserve played a “showcase game” against Iowa and we headed back to Ann Arbor.

Sectionals

At this point in the season, Reserve had all the pieces together for a deep run in the series, it just needed to pull them all together. Sporting its new white jerseys, Reserve arrived in Kalamazoo, MI ready to go. Saturday’s games and the first game on Sunday would be pool play, seeding into the championship bracket for Sunday afternoon. Reserve started out with a stellar dynamic warm-up led by Bryan Bush, and opened up with a game against Kalamazoo-B. Working out some nerves and priming up its play, Reserve cruised to a 13-1 win. Unfortunately, this is the point where Jonh Abela breaks his finger, sort of, on an excellent throw-through-the-foul, in no way a turnover and/or foot-block. Uneasy about its chances without a main handler, Reserve headed over for yet another grudge match with Eastern Michigan. The game against Eastern marked a game akin to the Loyola match-up at Vogue, as Reserve scored on a huge sky by Joe Besser to start the game and never looked back. With intensity and determination, Reserve broke Eastern upwind several times. Ryan Kurkul and Michael Glotter continued to rack up the layout D’s and John Truesdell scored on an amazing bid into the goal. Reserve over

Eastern, finally, with a score of 13-8. Up next was Michigan State, the top seed in the pool and tournament. After being yards from breaking upwind to go up 2-0, State fought back in a physical game, to say the least, to a Reserve loss 13-2. Shaking off the loss, Reserve beat Central Michigan 13-7, ending the day. Sunday morning featured a match-up against Calvin College for second place in the pool and two shots at a Regional bid. Calvin played with skill, but were no match for the intensity of play brought by Reserve, as Reserve prevailed 13-4. The first game to secure a Regional bid would be against rival Kalamazoo, in an epic rematch from last year’s game-to-go. Starting out strong, Reserve went up two breaks early in the first half. Kalamazoo fought back, and halftime saw Reserve on serve 8-7. The second half proved to be a different story, as Kzoo’s D stepped it up. After several breaks by Kzoo, Reserve fell apart to lose 14-8. Demanding no letdown, Reserve leadership prepared the team for the game-to-go. In an eerily similar story to last years comeback from an early loss to Kalamazoo, Reserve would be facing Calvin in the game-to-go. A much closer game than that morning, but history would not repeat itself, as Reserve beats Calvin 13-8 to reach Regionals for the second year in a row!

Regionals

Due to graduation, Reserve brought a rookie-heavy squad to Regionals in Bloomington, IN. Facing off against the number one seed overall Michigan State, Reserve had its hand full. Losing to a determined Burning Couch, Reserve fell 15-2. Up next would be Reserve’s final game of the season against Miami – Ohio. Looking to fulfill its final goal of winning a game at Regionals, Reserve came out strong, able to work the Miami zone. Miami finally cracked down, as Reserve fell again 15-5. This would be the end of Regionals in Bloomington due to the weather, once again. Since Reserve had lost twice, it was not invited to the Regional conclusion in South Bend the following week. The second goal remained unfulfilled, but Reserve was confident, that had it gotten to play again, it would have gotten the win.

Having brought it all together when it counted, Reserve can be proud of the 2009-2010 season. It established itself as a top B-team in the nation and had strong play against some very good teams. It’s time for summer, and that means hard work for Reserve players, whether looking to move up to magnUM next year, or to establish Reserve as a perennial competitor at Regionals.

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