1997 METRO NEW YORK CLUB SECTIONALS

The hotly contested play of last year's New York Metro Sectionals gave way this year to the harmonius convergence of the National-caliber Ultimate scene. Long dominated by New York New York, metro Ultimate has been a feisty combination of congregated skills and high-strung motivation. 1996 witnessed the grisly process of politicking amongst both women and men as the top players in the area essentially split in two. This led to some intense competition with the perception that the New York victor would be in good position to claim the 2nd spot for Nationals. Perhaps the ugliness of the results was too much for many players, culminating this year with the re-combination of teams.

Last year's scene was often quarrelsome as Swat and Peep Show shared the talent of New York's top women, while Randall's Island and Blood fought for players in the men's bracket. Both Peep Show and Blood were formed with youth in mind, hoping to build a team for the future. Tension ran high at 1996 Sectionals as Peep Show upset the more veteran Swat while Randall's Island and Blood literally battled it out in a bitter men's Final with disc-spiking, shouting matches, and even an on-field headlock.

Suddenly all four teams have disappeared. In 1997 the New York men seemed to have divvied players between those that wanted to practice and play intense Ultimate and those that were fed up with the combative dynamics of the scene. This produced the "Blood Island" combo that attended World's with success, now calling themselves Westchester Summer League All-Stars, and Garbage, the remaining Blood players mixed with some Brooklyn talent. The women simply formed one team, Ambush, with 20+ players, nearly all with talent and experience.

Can this harmonious convergence hold up, and will it produce a Nationals contender from the New York area? It'll be tough. All three teams' players have expereince playing with each other, but none of them form a real solid team with years of comfortable play between members.

And now onto 1997 sectionals…

There were 6 women's teams, 8 Division One men's teams and 12 Division Two teams competing for fun and advancement on Saturday, September 20 at SUNY Purchase underneath cloudy skies and temperatures comfortably in the high 70's.

Division 2 was comprised of teams that desired a solid fall tournament and were not in the running for Regionals. While this fosters good growth in the Ultimate community, it can be confusing. Both Korean Deli Association and Columbia were certainly capable of playing Division One. Meanwhile high-schoolers Bronx Science decided to play Division One instead. Rounding out Division 2 were Vassar, Wesleyan, SUNY Purchase, SUNY Stonybrook, Yale B, Columbia B, Fordham, B.S., New Haven Masters, and two high schools, Scarsdale and Brooklyn Tech.

The biggest upset of the day occured in Division 2 when the young runners of Brooklyn Tech defeated last lear's College National qualifiers Wesleyan 15-13. Wesleyan returned only one starter from last year's squad, which helps to explain their demise, but it also reveals the sorry state of college Ultimate where teams do not keep Ultimate programs viable. It also gave credence to the high school enthusiasm of Brooklyn Tech's mostly Asian-American youngsters who are providing the sport with a much-needed shot in the arm.

Wesleyan lost their captain to graduation last year, but he didn't go far. In a novel approach to captaining, the WSL All-Stars decided to go with youth and delegation, handing over the duties to ex-Nietsch Factor leader Brion Winston and recent Carleton alum Allon Katz. Whether this will be effective remains to be seen, but it may have been necessary to hold the often contentious team together. Squadron leaders Joe McHugh and Ken Dobyns came up with the plan: such a large team with considerable ego and talent would have split apart at the seams had any one of the opionated veterans taken control.

There were few problems for the All-Stars at Sectionals. Their closest game of the day turned out to be the first one, where a solid Red Hook (Brooklyn) team provided a contest, succombing to the Nationals-hopeful team by a respectable 15-9 score. Red Hook finished second in the pool, closing out the weary Yale Superfly team 15-6 and defeating Suspicious Package by a similar score. The All-Stars easily finished Yale and Suspicious Package by 15-1 scores.

Garb-age, led by the everlasting John Garb, cleaned up the other half of the pool, eliminating El Nino, Bronx Science and Masters team O. Garbage's young-and-old team also provided a large squad of National-level players, but with a lack of practice, were no match for the All-Stars in the final game for the 1-2 slots.

The game started off even for Garbage as players from both sides found very familar faces on the opposite line. Tied at 3's, and then down 7-4, Garbage enacted a version of the clam in the increasingly windy conditions and came away with a block to close 7-5. That might have been their final gasp as the All-Stars took the half 8-5 and then utilized their superior throwing-in-the-wind capabilities to take first place by a comfortable 15-6 margin.

As for their chances at home-field Regionals next weekend, veteran player Corey Sanford commented "We think that we can beat Snapple [and take second place]" As for DoG — well, let's just say no one from New York is thinking much about that game, should it occur.

Women's pool play was dominated by Ambush, closing out collegiate teams Wesleyan and Columbia without giving up a point. The other bracket featured Random, New Haven's Discs and Salsa and the Stuyvesant High School team Sticky Fingers, perhaps the best-named team in the tournament. The young women playing for Stuy seemed capable of snagging any disc in mid-air with ease. They beat Random and managed to put some respectable points on the board against the experienced New Haven team.

Captain Judy Fisher's Ambush managed to pick up their spirits in the wind after giving up the first two points to Discs and Salsa. With help from the on-field and imported triumvrate of Amy Himelblau, Jessica Bremmer and Sarah Welsh they took the next 13 without incident for the victory. The finals against Yale proved a better match, with Ambush rising to the occasion for a 13-8 victory and a top seed at Regionals.

Fisher anticipates some very exciting Regionals' match-ups as last year's National teams Lady Godiva, Twister and Cornell will be there, along with Ottawa's strong women's team Stella. As they are competing for two, maybe three, National spots, there will certainly be some solid teams left out this year.

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