Hey Folks-- There definitely were both positives and negatives out on the fields for us today. It was great the way we beat two of the four teams we played by a combined score of 22-3. However, it definitely was kinda sucky to lose to two teams we had real shots at beating, one by a score of 10-7, and the other a 9-8 heartbreaker against the #1 team in our division, after having been up 8-6. A brief recap of today's events: In our first game against the Whoville Whos, we started a little sluggishly and were tied 2-2. However, then we kicked it up another gear, and went on to finish of the Whos by a whopping score of 11-2. We worked their cup defense, and our own cup was really successful in forcing turnovers and knocking down discs. In other words, the first game was a really good way for the team to start the tournament. In our second game, we played the Abominable Throwmen, a team we had easily beaten during the regular season by a score of 15-8. However, we started to play a little sloppy, and our red zone offense just couldn't convert anything. We had tons of chances to score, but instead we kept on turning it over right before crossing into their endzone. Still, we were up 6-5 at the half, and it looked like we'd be able to close them out. However, our cup had problems, and more importantly our offense couldn't do anything against their man defense. Thus, when a cap was called at 9-7, we were unable to come back and ended up losing the game by a score of 10-7. However, we were able to pick ourselves up for the third game against Flippin Discs. Again, we played with energy and mauled them with our cup defense. It also helped that they only had 2 ladies the whole day, and thus those 2 women were really tired by the time they got to us. Still, we turned in a really dominating performance, and pulled out an impressive 11-1 win. And then we went against Recussitated Roadkill, the top team in the C-division. However, in spite of their high rank, we were able to jump to a 6-3 lead at half on the strength of our long throws and our relatively successful cup. Unfortunately, they had hands like magnets, and in the second half started to break through our cup. In addition, our offense began to have some problems, as we made some mental errors and failed to convert on some throws that we probably should have made. Still, we were leading 8-6 when a cap was called, so all we need to do was score one of the next three points, and we would have won. However, their offense was able to kill us with their mid cuts, and they had one really nice pull that pinned us in our own endzone. As a result, they were able to come from behind and beat us by a score of 9-8. Thus, we ended the first day of the tournament 2-2, though we very well could have been 4-0 against these teams. A Some very brief individual highlights: Mao: Great handling, nice grabs, beautiful long throws, and great deep defense in the cup, knocking the disc away from opponents. Kemp: God bless Kemp's ape arms, they came through when we needed them to... Great catches in the endzone today, and some really nice leaping grabs. Ray: Great energy out there today, some really nice catches, and nice bids as always... nice to see Ray fully healed out there. Galen: Nice work in the cup today, and beautiful pulls. In addition, nice work as a handler, throwing both short and long throws. Tim: Great job in the cup today... you really do well in that position. Also, nice way to get open downfield as a deep so that the handlers could huck it to you... great job. Alan: Great job as a handler today, as Alan's no look passes and fakes thouroughly confused our opponents. Also, nice grabs, and could defense as short deep, knocking down throws. Dave: Nice job as the middle man in the cup, and nice job knocking down several throws. Also, nice popping and catches, and nice long runs for hucks in the endzone. Jeff: Wonderful job as a popper today, as Jeff helped keep our offense moving down the field. Also, nice throws into the endzone, and good work both as a wing and as a member of the cup. Maine: Excellent effort out there today, as Anya became a defensive machine in the later games, knocking down throw after throw, even at the risk of her own health. Also, nice job handling. Megan: Great spirit out there today, as Megan caught a few passes in the endzone for scores, and impressed us all with her spirited, kicking forces in the cup. Great job! Michelle: Amazing job out there today. Michelle played wonderfully in the cup, cutting off throws. She also did a nice job making cuts and catches on offense, in her role as a modified deep cutter. Nicely done. Jeanie: Wonderful play as always from Jeanie. She made several really nice catches to help our offensive drives keep going, and she also helped close up the holes on defense in her role as wing. At this point, we're 99% sure that we've qualified for a wildcard spot in tommorows quarterfinals. Everyone is to meet at Pangborn parking lot at 9:00 tommorow morning unless you get a phone call from Dave telling you otherwise... the same people who drove today need to drive tommorow. What we learned from today is that when we play at our full potential, we can beat any team in our division... but when we play a more confused style of play that is less energetic and more sloppy, we have problems. Lets go out and win the championship tommorow... we have the talent, we have the skills, all we need now is to play up to our potential. Cmon CUltimate, lets win this thing!!!