"STANFORD REPEATS"
1998 COLLEGE NATIONALS – WOMEN
MAY 29–31, BLAINE, MINNESOTA

FRIDAY PLAY
Who would put an end to Stanford's string of 53 undefeated games? It wasn't going to be bottom-seed Rice in Round 1. They went down 15—2. Not that crushing opponents and winning games is strenuous work for Stanford Superfly coach Jen Donnelly.

"Those are the best tournaments for me," explained Donnelly.

Opening play in Pool One saw the Disc at M.I.T.(D@MIT) team versus fellow Northeasterners Yale Ramona. Yale had cruised by Tech at Regionals by ten points. Maybe M.I.T. coach James Sarvis had his graduate students fired-up to beat Ramona at Nationals. The wind may have also affected Yale's play as M.I.T.'s clam defense proved effective. Yale came out rusty and lost 11—13, putting quite a crimp in their hopes of making semis.

Indiana's Calamity Jane started off well against a nervous North Carolina—Wilmington (UNCW) Seaweed, leading 8—7 at half. Seaweed picked up their game, however, and rolled 8—1 after the half to win 15—9.

There was some apprehension on the sidelines as past UNCW Nationals' performances (especially 1996 Nationals) featured questionable Wilmington spirit and had left a bitter memory for teams afterwards. But this year's team was different. Coached by a young Andrew Zeldin, UNCW focused on playing hard without being hard-headed.

Zeldin paced the sidelines constantly ribbing the observers about calls like an active NBA coach, but he kept the Spirit-of-the-Game intact.

"Observers may tend to go against UNCW, but I'd like to play all our games with them," spoke Zeldin after the game.

Vic Kamhi, head of the UPA Observers Pool, thought that neither team "made a big deal about [foul calls]" and noted that the standard system of observers was used without incident.

In Pool Two, Top seed Carleton Syzygy escaped a tall Wisconsin-Madison Panacea 15—10, rallying for six straight points after Wisconsin led 10—9. Cornell's Wild Roses beat Rutgers Shakti 15—5 and Oregon's Sneetch put up a win over Georgia's persistent Ho Dawgs, 15—10.

It wasn't until Round 2 that things got interesting. The top seeds in each pool faced each other, meaning Stanford played Yale and Carleton matched Cornell.

In Pool One Yale played the Stanford juggernaut well, managing to put some points on the board, perhaps in response to being upset in the first round. They still lost, but by a respectable (against Stanford) margin of 15—7. UNCW rolled Rice 15—1 and Indiana, behind captain and fifth-year starter Stephanie Chow, held seed against M.I.T. with a 15—11 victory.

Pool Two was witness to some early positioning among the contending teams. Syzygy faced their first test of the tournament against the tall and fast Wild Roses team. Cornell has benefited from years of success, including an appearance at Club Nationals in 1996. They also star powerful threats Melanie Carr and Kristi Hulett, both good at causing trouble for opposing defenses.

But Carleton's Viking-themed team pillaged the rival highlanders from upstate New York. Led by captain "Sweet" Lou Burruss in horned viking hat and pigtails, the Minnesotans and their boisterous sideline staved off Cornell.

The game was tight throughout. It wasn't until Syzygy's Katie O'Brien cranked a beautiful throw over a defender's head into the hands of Erin Kennedy for a critical upwind goal and a 12—10 lead that the game tilted favorably in Carleton's direction. Cornell's scouting may have failed them: Syzygy's roster lists O'Brien's favorite play as the "huck" and Kennedy's as "chasing down the huck." After scoring the subsequent downwinder the teams traded points until the game ended 15—12 in favor of Carleton.

Perhaps the bigger game was 6 seed Oregon versus 11 seed Wisconsin.

The Oregon team came to Nationals hoping to be a contender. Although captained by Women on the Verge club veteran Cory Pike, they were largely unknown in the Midwest and hadn't made a Nationals appearance since 1992 (when they made finals). But they were coming out of the strong Western region and had defeated last year's finalists British Columbia to make the Big Show. Seeded sixth, they were within striking distance of semifinals.

Wisconsin was a newcomer to the tournament. They made it to Nationals as a wildcard with a tough victory over Colorado 12—11 in the backdoor game of Central Regionals. Self-described as "not a program steeped in history and tradition" they nonetheless bonded over the playing season and feature captain and Callahan nominee Betty Smith.

Oregon may have looked past Wisconsin, not realizing that Panacea's 10 points on an adrenaline-fueled Syzygy team was an accomplishment few teams could duplicate.

Wisconsin led at half 8—6. Oregon looked to make a comeback, but could only manage to stay in the game. At 12—9 Wisconsin, the Sneetches got two to close within one. Points got longer with frequent turnovers but Wisconsin found a way to convert two in a row for a 14—11 game-point lead. Finally Oregon put together a last-ditch rally. They put three in a row to tie at 14s. But with the hard cap to 15, all Wisconsin needed was one good score. They got it immediately after the pull when Betty Smith sent a downwind throw to Karli Sager for the upset victory.

"They were just working us," spoke Oregon captain Aurora de la Cruz the next day.

The final game of the day saw Rutgers best Georgia, 15—10.

FRIDAY EVENING

There wasn't much livin' it up on Friday night. Teams were watching the Indiana Pacers defeat the Chicago Bulls while making preparations for Saturday play. Both Pools were still fairly open. Pool Two was particularly undetermined. Wisconsin's upset victory over Oregon meant that Cornell, Rutgers, Wisconsin and Oregon finished the day at 1—1. Anyone could make semis. In particular, Cornell and Wisconsin looked promising because they had already played (and lost to) the strong Carleton squad. Oregon and Rutgers had outside chances to make Sunday play. But every game counts at Nationals and one never knows what surprises await on Saturday.

Number 5 seed UNCW knew they had some tough competition ahead. Saturday's first round game was against Stanford. They were confident in their abilities to beat the Superfly, but weren't counting on a win. Coach Zeldin focused the team on the last game of the day, an expected battle with 4 seed Yale. Even though Ramona had been upset by M.I.T. in the first round, they still had a chance to make semifinals if they beat UNCW. In fact, UNCW's worries about the Yale team were not unfounded. When the teams finally matched up, it was the "game to go."

SATURDAY

UNCW did indeed have the skills to play with Stanford. But first the weather had to cooperate. The scheduled 9am start was postponed as cold wind and rain soaked the fields and lightning flashed in the distance (this was the same thunderstorm system that had spun off tornadoes in several states). Finally the skies were clear for a 10am start and games were cut from 15 to 13. But the wind remained.

Both teams, playing on opposite coasts, are familiar with prohibitive wind conditions. Upwind/downwind games are not uncommon. Nasty crossfield winds, however, are always trouble.

But Stanford proved more effective throwing up-crosswind and outscored UNCW by two up-crosswinders en route to a 9—5 victory. It was Stanford's toughest game in pool play.

Yale regrouped after disappointing Friday play with a win over annual Nationals qualifier Indiana, 13—4. The convincing victory put them in the right frame of mind for Saturday competition. M.I.T. beat the 'savage seven' Rice team 13—4.

Pool Two promised more exciting matches. Unfortunately Oregon could not provide one. They hoped to get a game back with a win over Carleton, but instead found a deep and talented mass of Ikea blue-and-yellow striped bobby socks in the way. Carleton recorded the decisive win 13—4.

Georgia and team leader Caroline "Linus" Ennis came up with a game for Cornell, keeping within two points throughout before falling to a time cap at 9—6. It was the third game in a row that Georgia had come close without getting over the hump.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin ran into an early-morning Rutgers team. Or something. Rutgers outlasted them 12—11 in a tough match that would prove influential in semifinals determination. It may have come down to experience. This was the first year Wisconsin was able to keep a team strong, whereas Shakti had made Nationals' semifinals last year.

Round 4. In preparation for the final games of the day, all teams dutifully held seed. No upsets occurred, although the schizophrenic Wisconsin team managed to scare Cornell.

Stanford put away Indiana 13—4, effectively ending coach Bob Flynn's chance to make semifinals in 1998. Yale rolled over Rice 13—1, UNCW dampened M.I.T.s hopes of slipping into semis with a 11—5 win.

In Pool Two, Carleton beat Georgia 13—6, Cornell finally put away Wisconsin 13—9 and Oregon stayed alive with a crushing victory over Rutgers 13—3.

As usual, it was the final round of play that was life or death for teams seeking semifinals.

Stanford needed a victory over M.I.T. to claim top billing in Pool One. They ended the speculation with a 15—3 victory. Shocking. Indiana claimed their second victory of the tournament over the tired Rice team 13—6.

Carleton was already in for semis for Pool Two. For good measure they pounded Rutgers 13—1 to earn the top seed. Georgia and Wisconsin were playing for respect as Wisconsin's loss to Rutgers earlier in the day had eliminated them. Georgia posted their first Nationals victory, 12—4.

It was the 3, 4, 5 and 6 seeds that were doing battle for rights to semifinals. 2—2 Yale played 3—1 UNCW, but needed only a win to tie UNCW at 3—2 and advance on the head-to-head tiebreaker. Oregon faced Cornell, and they too could avenge a tough Friday loss with a win over the Wild Roses, putting them in semis on the head-to-head.

I arrived on the Oregon—Cornell battlefield at half-time. Checking with the kind stat-keeper, I found that Oregon had just put in an upwinder to take half 7—4. I poked around to find out whether the teams were aware that this was the "game to go."

It didn't seem like Cornell was aware of the fact. A rumor had spread that Cornell needed only to put five points on the board, win or lose, and they would advance to semis. The Wild Roses appeared blissfully unaware at half-time and remained cheery while the Sneetches of Oregon practiced upwind throws.

"We had calculated it out, after we found out Rutgers beat Madison. We knew it wasn't going to be by points anymore [to advance]," said Oregon captain and Callahan nominee Aurora de la Cruz.

Added de la Cruz, "We played them at the Stanford Invite but we didn't have all of our players and weren't playing our best. I don't think they were expecting us to play like we did. We surprised them at the beginning for sure. They hucked it a lot in the beginning."

Oregon's Rebecca Hotchkiss caught three scores and threw one in the first half alone, propelling the way for Oregon's three-point lead.

But it may have been the start of the second half that doomed Cornell. Oregon came out firing as de la Cruz stroked an upwind backhand to Hotchkiss, then converted a turnover with another de la Cruz throw for a score, this one to Coleen Fox. Now Oregon had a 9—4 lead and an upwinder to begin the second half. Cornell was going to need a lot of help to overcome that kind of deficit.

The Roses did manage a rally behind the play of their talented starting seven, but a turnover near their goal-line at 10—12 gave Oregon the go-ahead to finish the game. The Sneetches converted the point and earned a trip to semifinals to face the Stanford machine.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the fields, two tight squads squared off for all the money. Yale had come to Nationals with 11 players after co-captain Anne Lightbody tore an ACL in Regionals, while UNCW came with 12 as several women could not stick around four weeks after school had ended.

The game was also tight throughout. Neither team could hang on to leads and the score was tied seven times.

"They've been going back and forth all damn game!" commented a smiling coach Zeldin, enjoying the intense competition.

Late in the second half Yale had a 11—10 lead. But UNCW's superstar Heather League brought the Seaweed back up with a tough grab and pinpoint huck to tie at 11s. A Yale turnover led to yet another opportunity for League to crank another accurate huck, this one an upwinder to Meredith Cramer for the lead 12—11, game to 13.

It looked good for UNCW, but Yale was unconcerned. The squad had found their groove and the small rotation kept players comfortable with each other. Now they had to work it upwind.

A turnover gave UNCW the opportunity to finish the game with a downwind score but they could not convert. Still, Yale had the jitters in their second try at working upfield. An errant swing pass headed to the dirt and it looked like UNCW would again have an opportunity to finish. But a full layout by Emily Rodgers preserved the disc and electrified the Yale sideline. They scored the upwinder with the burst of enthusiasm and suddenly the score was tied at 12s and the game prolonged to cap at 14.

Ramona was sure excited! UNCW could not come back with an upwinder, and a turnover gave the disc back to Yale. Happy Ramona scored to take a 13—12 lead.

But it wasn't over yet. On the next possession, a determined League made a mad layout for a disc thrown behind her. She snatched the disc, stood back up and immediately sailed one of those angled forehand hucks to the deep corner that you can only dream about. Count it. Tie game, 13s, next point wins.

Yale had the downwind opportunity and showed grit when it counted. They moved patiently through the UNCW defense before _____ was able to connect on a huck to _____. Although the final point always counts most, this game clearly belonged to Rodgers' full-extension preservation of the disc. At a time when Yale's nerves showed through, it was her gut that prevailed.

Were they more prepared to face Wilmington than other teams? Actually, they may have had an advantage by not thinking about the matchup.

"We just looked at it like a nationals game," said Ramona captain Ali Erskine afterwards.

Erskine enjoyed playing Seaweed, rather than being fearful of the Wilmington reputation, "[UNCW] is really fun to play. They're really hard, they're spirited. I love to play them, they're so much fun."

It was clear that they were very blissed about making semis. Hard-working UNCW was distraught over the loss. However if they can return a few seniors for a fifth year they will no doubt have another shot at making the final four.

The semis were set. 8:30am Sunday would find Stanford matched against Western foe Oregon and hometown favorites Carleton would play Yale.

SEMIFINALS
The collegiate series of tournaments was quite effective this year. College Easterns, Clemson's Classic City Classic, the Stanford Invite and the Yale Cup all allowed top caliber teams to play each other during the regular season.

The Syzygy team took the opportunity to travel to Easterns over their spring break. You wouldn't expect it from the results so far, with Carleton plundering Pool Two; but Yale beat them twice at Easterns, the last one in semifinals.

The following weekend Carleton traveled to Myrtle Beach for a little R&R–and a neutral field match with defending champion Stanford. By all accounts, the game was a great one. Carleton had the chance to end Stanford's undefeated streak in far-away South Carolina. They had the disc with game point but failed to convert and Stanford won 17—15.

It was like March all over again. But this time Carleton had a real chance to do it all differently.

Sunday morning was again windy. Carleton was focused and determined not to let history repeat. Yale scored first, Carleton ran off three, Yale scored again, and Carleton went all the way to half, 10—2, without letting Ramona be her bad self.

The Carleton zone proved effective against Yale's lineup. The offense was distributed evenly as most of Carleton's starting seven were involved in a score. The last three, however, were caught by senior Brooke Anderson and the final margin was 17—3.

One payback completed, one to go.

On the other field, western region counterparts Oregon and Stanford matched up. Surprisingly the teams had not played each other all season.

Again the wind was an important factor for the players. It would have to be Stanford's Callahan Winner Andrea "AJ" Johnson versus Oregon's star Aurora de la Cruz. Both can be counted as a dozen or so top players that have little to no difficulty throwing against the wind.

But it was Stanford's other top players that caused damage against the Sneetches. Mary Hunt Martin, in pigtails and scowls, provided the offense for Superfly, throwing three scores in the first half. That tally matched Oregon's output. They could not get on track.

Stanford scored the first two before Oregon countered with a Judy Dozono throw to Rachelle Depner. Stanford simply kept scoring after that, running it up to 7—1 behind Martin and taking half 9—3.

Stanford put in the first two after half. At this point Oregon would have to do some major scoring to get back in the game. It was in danger of turning into the kind of blowout the first semifinal was. As is often the case, an Observer calling "cap!" can wake up a team. That tocsin was sounded at 11—4, Stanford. Oregon rallied, putting in the next three to close within a respectable four points.

But Stanford was not in any hurry to lose a game and disrupt the unbeaten streak which had reached 59. The closed the game by scoring the next two goals. Final score 13—7 Stanford.

It was now time for Myrtle Beach in Minnesota. Who would win this time?

FINALS

The sidelines were packed. Three Professional video cameras were eyeing the field and a very good announcer was dictating play-by-play for the video. Stanford's red bowling shirt attire stood out against Carleton's white jerseys and light blue shorts (and those blue-and-yellow striped bobby socks).

Carleton began with the wind at their backs, starting Katie O'Brien, Brooke Harnden, Brooke Anderson, captain Deb Cussen, Sarah Hawley, Erin Kennedy and freshman Anna Coldham on offense.

On defense, Stanford started Camille Yu, Martita Emde, captain Andrea Johnson, Mary Hunt Martin, Maggie Mathias, Ashley Simons and Joy "Chewie" Chen, masked in Kabuki face paint for good luck.

After turnovers on both sides and two defensive knock-downs by Katie O'Brien, Carleton put the pie in the oven to open the game, 1—0.

On the ensuing pull Syzygy put a zone defense on even though Stanford was heading downwind. This lead to the preferred Stanford offense for the entire game up to the last point: the huck-punt. Superfly found success in hucking the disc when going downwind, forcing Carleton to convert upwind points that started deep on their half of the field.

This led to several easy scores for Stanford, as well as more than a few hucks caught for scores. In particular, Carleton could not find a way to stop Andrea "AJ" Johnson from putting up the disc at will.

At 2—2 a critical Carleton turnover on their own line allowed Stanford an easy opportunity to put in an early upwinder. They scored on a Martita Emde to AJ Johnson throw and completed the two-point play when a Carleton turnover allowed Mary Hunt Martin to put it to Johnson for a 4—2 Stanford lead.

The teams traded downwind points to 6—4 Stanford. A layout block by Johnson gave Superfly the opportunity to go up by three with another upwinder. But a point block by Brooke Anderson gave the disc back to Syzygy. An immediate huck-punt gave Stanford the disc facing a Syzygy zone. Stanford's main handlers Emde, Martin, Johnson and Yu worked 11 passes before punching in the upwinder, Emde to Johnson.

But Carleton countered with their first upwinder of the game. A big Deb Cussen throw to Brooke Harnden kept Carleton close at 5—7. They followed with a downwind score on a fast break opportunity. On the next possession, a quick Stanford turnover gave Carleton the chance to even the upwinders, and they did with Cussen again providing the difficult throw.

The score was tied 7—7. Carleton had caught up to Stanford, evened the upwinders, and tied the highest amount of points scored on Stanford so far at Nationals.

Stanford clearly possessed better disc handling skills. Not to take anything away from Carleton's main handlers Cussen, Harnden and Sarah Hawley, who are excellent in their own right. But too many times Carleton could not handle the disc, and this next stretch going into half was costly for them.

Three defensive blocks by Carleton gave them the disc going downwind with a chance to take the lead. But the turnovers kept coming and Stanford was able to put in another upwinder to lead 8—7.

Superfly quickly completed the downwinder with a Martita huck to a quick-thinking Chewie. Again Carleton failed to put in a downwinder as one pass and out was common. Bobbled catches were becoming epidemic for Carleton. Six turnovers later and Stanford put in an easy 10 footer for a 10—7 half-time lead.

Stanford's super three Mary Hunt Martin, Andrea Johnson and Martita Emde put up impressive numbers in the first half. All of the 10 goals were thrown between them, with Martin recording 5, Johnson 1 and Emde 4. Additionally, Johnson caught 4 goals. Could Carleton stop those three from putting points up on the board?

Apparently not. After four straight one-pass giveaways by Carleton, Stanford's offense scored the first point of the second half on an Emde to Johnson goal.

Carleton strung together a short run at this point, courtesy of completed passes. They easily scored a downwinder, then an upwinder on a big throw to freshman Julie Gardner who put it to Erin Kennedy in the endzone to close the gap at 9—11.

Carleton came back with a zone against the Stanford upwind offense. But Superfly showed poise and scored patiently on a Martin to freshman Aileen Carrigan pass. They completed the downwinder to return to a four-goal lead. It looked like Stanford, always a threat to break open a game with a scoring burst, might do it again.

After trading downwinders, Callahan winner Andrea Johnson showed why she won the award. A defensive block by Gwynn Masada gave the disc back to Stanford. Although the huck-punt offense works best going downwind, an unaffected Johnson managed to crank a difficult upwind backhand from 30 yards out to Jocelyn James for a late 15—10 Stanford lead and a three-goal upwind advantage. The rowdy Carleton sidelines quieted down and Superfly was in control.

Carleton's Callahan nominee had an answer to that. Deb Cussen and Syzygy patiently worked the disc upfield before Cussen was able to hit Brooke Anderson in the endzone for the counter upwinder.

Carleton's honorary Valkyrie Lou Burruss decided to alter the Syzygy defense at this point.

"They've got the three main players, Martita, AJ and Mary Hunt. Our zone wasn't very effective. So we had to go with person," explained Burruss.

The results were seen immediately. Carleton converted the downwind after four Stanford turnovers to close within three at 12—15. Stanford returned with their first score not involving the super three, a Maggie Mathias to Ashley Simons goal.

Another long stretch of Carleton mistakes and Stanford huck-punts defined the next turning point of the game. Stanford was going downwind and might have been able to score patiently. But instead they consistently threw the disc away, giving Carleton the opportunity to score. Several goal-line chances slipped by however, and after a record nine turnovers by both teams, Stanford scored. Had Carleton scored it could have really changed the game.

But perhaps Carleton got all the bad throws out of their system. They easily put in the next two downwinders, as did AJ and Stanford, and suddenly it was game point for Stanford at 18—14. The hard cap had been enacted meaning the game would end at 19.

It was then that things got interesting.

Coach Burruss sought the best from his players, "I said play with your gut and you'll win." Behind the scenes he tightened the defense.

"I was fiddling around with matchups until I got a system of matchups that was effective. It was that system that I think carried us down the stretch. I put Katie O'Brien on AJ, Deb Cussen and Jen Wilson on Martita, and Julie Gardener (before her injury) on Mary Hunt," explained Burruss.

The Carleton faithful were still massed on the sidelines despite the grim outlook. Syzygy had to score two upwinders and prevent Stanford from scoring on two downwind opportunities to tie the game.

Carleton put in the ensuing point, 15—18. Stanford received the pull with an opportunity to win. But again they stayed the course, sticking to the huck-punt game plan. It was one or two throws and huck. Turnover. Carleton's offense focused, and Deb Cussen placed an upwind throw to Cindy Craig, 16—18.

A big score for Syzygy. The crowds roared in approval (rarely can one say this about Ultimate games). Stanford seemed unfazed, following the demeanor of field general AJ Johnson. But on the next point they could not put in the upwinder, and Carleton completed the two-point play with another Cussen conversion, 17—18.

A growing awareness of the very real possibility of Carleton winning the game surged through the hometown crowd. Momentum was now riding with Syzygy. Still, Stanford would be receiving the disc going downwind. All they had to do was put in a fairly routine downwind connection.

It was a lengthy six passes before the huck-punt came. No score. Carleton moved upfield but turned over the disc. One pass and turnover for Stanford. The very next pass Jenn Wilson found Cussen in the endzone. 18 all. It was anyone's game. The Carleton fans were going crazy.

"I think we made a few strategical errors. I'll take the blame for that. I said 'huck it' but for whatever reason the Gods chose not to make it as windy during that period of time. What we really should have said was 'have confidence, walk the disc up smartly'," spoke Superfly coach Jen Donnelly.

She had watched her team blow a four-point lead at game point, allowing Carleton to score the game-tying point upwind. Her team would now have to score a tough upwinder, or else go home in shock having let the game's final five points belong to Carleton.

On the other side of the field, coach Burruss focused on winning with emotion. On the line at 18—18 he spoke to his players, "I apologized for crying. I apologized for crying the point before. And I told them they kicked ass and I knew they were going to fucking win."

At 18—18, Donnelly finally changed her strategy, "I said, the hell with this you girls take care of the disc! That's what winning this game is about."

On the sidelines, the excitement was thick in the air. No one was playing anywhere; all 22 other teams were watching the game. Hundreds of Carleton students, parents, and fans had risen to their feet cheering on Syzygy. The Stanford men's team, which had been warming up for their Finals, came streaming back to support Superfly.

It was quite intense.

Still Stanford appeared unconcerned.

"It was about not being afraid. They were not afraid. They were driven," said Donnelly.

Carleton pulled the disc. Patiently Stanford moved upfield. But Martita Emde saw an opportunity and she wasn't afraid to put it up. She sent a big forehand huck AJ's way, putting the pressure on her to make a tough grab. Pressure? Not here. AJ skied a defender and came down with the disc 5 feet from the goal-line. And called a time-out.

It looked to be over for Carleton. The country's best handler had possession of the disc on the goal-line with a chance to win Nationals.

But not yet. The play was set, an isolation for Mary Hunt Martin. She cut short, cut deep which drew her defender, and then made a break back to the disc. She was pretty open. AJ's pass came directly to her but she couldn't hang on.

Carleton now had their first, and last, opportunity to win the game. Was Stanford scared?

"I knew we were going to win. And I knew if we didn't win it was only our fault," said Donnelly.

Carleton completed two passes before opting to put the disc in the air. An easy D block for Martita Emde. Maybe they should have kept hold of the disc like Stanford finally decided to do. It's impossible to look back at it now.

Stanford once again had to move upwind with the disc. This time the Carleton defense seemed a step behind, wary of any junk throws. A nice pass up the Stanford sideline found Martita Emde 10 feet from victory. One look upfield drew two defenders, leaving Joy "Chewie" Chen open. Emde sent a crossfield backhand to Chen and the game was over.

Stanford had repeated as Nationals Champions. For Carleton, it may have been their toughest loss ever. For spectators it may have been one of the best games ever.

There was some apprehension about Stanford's foul calls, which outnumbered Carleton's by a 3-to-1 margin. Several hucks defended by Carleton invariably returned to the thrower who had called foul.

"I felt that they were bodying on the mark a lot more. Both teams made the choice to be physical," explained Donnelly.

Despite vocal fan input, it is true that Syzygy often did not contest the fouls and rarely went to the observer for the call.

Both teams are definitely looking towards coming back next year. But Stanford may be without coach Jen Donnelly. This game was her 102nd coaching victory, but it may have been her last.

Although coaching Ultimate "jives with her inner being," as she puts it, it looks like Silicon Valley may be calling her back to design more microscopic chip-robots.

For Carleton, this was their seventh semifinals appearance in eleven years of Nationals, and the first time they it made Finals. They will no doubt try to take that one last step next year.

It was a tough moment for coach Burruss and the hard-playing Carleton women. They showed true heart and soul to the very end. One could not have asked anything more from the team.

We all appreciated the privilege of watching such a game and look forward to the 1999 season.

This was written for the UPA Newsletter.

ARCHIVE HOME

1996–1998 • 1999–2000 • 2001–2003

OTHER LINKS