2001 National Champions Carleton 2001 Westchester Summer League Top 20 Rumors 2001 U.S. Club Nationals Festivus: South Bend, Indiana 2002 Paganello | |||
I covered 2001 nationals for Dave Brown and Ultimate Life Magazine. Everything here was published on-line at the UltyLife.com site.
Throughout the late 90's the Condors were underrated and overlooked, usually in favor of their northern California counterparts. And over that time they made three straight finals appearances, finally winning last year to return the glory and championship trophy to an historic team now in its 26th year. They are a team with a lot of pride and a lot of heart and are prepared to defend their crown. "Everybody on the team is probably in the greatest shape of their lives," says one player, "We worked harder this year and used a workout program deigned for Ultimate by the UCSB trainer. There are very specific skills for footwork, speed, and jumping -- all related directly to playing." One aspect of the game that will be different this year for the tightly regimented Condors (even though they play without calling subs) is their mental relaxation. Will they be too stiff to handle the pressure of defending the Cup? "The thing that hurt us about losing Hammond was that he brought levity to the team in 2000. Now I'm the goofball -- but Hammond was way funnier than me," says noted crackhead Corey Sanford. Regardless, Andy Crews, Steve Dugan, Greg Husak, James Studarus and all the rest are back and ready as ever. Its tough to pin down what makes this team so successful and even tougher to beat them on the field. More...
1. Lady Godiva There can't be any reason to doubt that Godiva is the team to beat and the team with the best road to the finals. The core members that have taken them to 5 National Championships in 6 years are all around - Layzer, Teens, Pooch, Molly Goodwin, Peg Hollinger, and Anne Westcott. Add in Parham's eight or so years at the top of her game, and a host of young but not youthful talent with Callahan winners Dom Fontinette and Johanna Neumann, and always dangerous Vicky Chow and Yusi Wang, and you've got a great team with a great chance to repeat as champions. It certainly helps that Godiva won't have to battle the cream of the Northwest, as Schwa, Riot and Prime are all in the B and C pools. Instead, they will cross over and likely meet Fury and Ozone after having dispatched of the Lady Condors. They should win both crossover games, or at least one of them, and retain the top seed going into quarters, which means they will play a play-in team. Virtually a lock to make semis, and they will be rested. Godiva still likes to make the match play on their terms from the get-go. They are very tough competitors on and off the field and are not afraid to play harder than their opponents. "Problem is they have really good patience. And they never turn it over at the wrong time," says one opponent. "Godiva can get you frustrated - they will foul you on transition, pushing you around and stuff." Who can take them down? Who will finally front them successfully and force Godiva to huck? Schwa is one team that can. But they might not meet until Finals again More... The final write-ups were written after each day of play and are considerably shorter in length than previous UPA Newsletter epics.
| |||
|
|