1999 COLLEGE PRESEASON POLL: MEN

Votes were tallied as follows: 10 votes for a #1 pick, 9 votes for a number #2 pick, 8 for a number #3 and on down. The voters were myself, Charles Kerr and Kate Bergron-Gull.

1) UCSB. 30 votes. Like Tarkanian-led UNLV, like Jimmy Johnson-era Miami, Santa Barbara's Black Tide keeps finding ways of keeping college players for another season of conquest. 6'4'' James Studarus and Greg "Hollywood" Husak return from a 2-point loss at Club Nationals to guide the Men in Yellow towards another Championship in the Amateur division. UCSB has three-peated twice – can they make it over the hump and get that elusive fourth? Confidence is always a big factor in Ultimate. These guys got plenty of it.

2) NC State. 26 votes. Coached by the "other" Dobyns, Brian D. and crew hope to get some practice in the wind before trying to make Memorial Day a truly memorable one. The Jinx lost 1 player to graduation and feature versatile veteran Brian Snyder and two others who put in time with Ring of Fire in the off-season. You can't underestimate the help a coach can provide in the three-day grind of Nationals. State will look to improve on last year's 4-point loss to UCSB in semifinals. They started off the Spring with a resounding win at Mardi Gras.

3) Brown. 25 votes. Beat NC state 15-13 in the finals of the early-season Classic City Classic. Little big-man Fortunat Mueller is back to guide the feel-good Brownian Motion to the Big One. Forch has a certain rapport and respect with players and always gets the best out of his "well-disciplined" team. It's the defense that anchors a more-than-capable offense for these smart Ivy Leaguers. It also helps that the program gets 40 kids out to practice in the Fall. Brown also returns big-leaguer Justin "Crafty" Safdie and steadily recruits ready-to-play freshmen from Paidiea High School.

4) Stanford. 21 votes. Blood, La Famiglia, whatever you want to call them, the lineage of Palo Alto can't be questioned. While all the attention goes to Chelsea and _____ Starr, these guys keep getting players. So law student Mike Payne finally ran out of eligiblity? Just more to go around for everyone else. Captains Scott Johnston and Omar Atesman and veteran Dan Eisenburg should keep the nobles happy. They don't have to worry about going through UCSB at Regionals anymore – but can they make a return trip to Nationals' finals?

5) Carleton. 15 votes. Don't count the CUT Machine out of the running for the title. Sure they lost 10 seniors from last year's squad, but at a school where 80% of the 1800 students play disc, you're bound to get a fresh batch of talented and dedicated players. This year the team is led by 4th year seniors Clay Preheim and Gus Jesperson, and features an improved deep game with four players over 6'5''. Carleton is like Kansas basketball – lots of blue-collar players and strong every year. You never know when they'll get their Danny Manning and break through.

6) UC San Diego. 14 votes. It's always been tough for the Air Squids to rise out of the brutal Western Region. With the redrawing maybe they'll get a chance – but they'll have to beat either home-team Colorado or powerhouse UCSB. Getting 7 collegiate players to Club Nationals should have strengthened the team in the off-season.

7tie) UC Santa Cruz. 12 votes. If you were a betting man, take UC Santa Cruz to make Nationals this year. And not because Idris Nolan is getting gobs of press, but because it is an odd year and UCSC has done well in every odd-numbered year in the 1990's except 1997. In 1991 they were champions. In 1992 they didn't qualify. In 1993 they made semifinals and in 1995 they lost in the finals. They haven't been to May Mayhem since that finals' loss. This should be their year. It better be, cause I've already laid out 20 quid on them making an appearance.

7tie) Colorado. 12 votes. They've lost Alex. They lost so-and-so to graduation. The team was focused on 1998 Nationals. Might not make it out of tough SoCal region. Spell all the doom you want, but the Mamabird means business. They aren't hosting 99' Nationals to deliver ice to other teams. Boulder has been a hotbed for more than the Promise Keepers – it's scenic beauty and neo-hippie-resort status have provided a perfect home for the elusive esthetic of the Ultimate player. Maybe that's why they keep getting those grad students with a fifth year of eligibility...

9) Harvard. 6 votes. [Good Will Jumping???]It seems that Harvard has suddenly started appearing on Ultimate watcher's radar. Make your first Nationals appearance ever and get in the preseason Top Ten? Who do these guys think they are? Besides isn't stuffy Harvard better known for its continuing role in the geopolitical sphere? Well, maybe that's where their coach comes into the picture. Add one coach Chris Corcoran, aka Corky of the famed Death or Glory, to the orange and black and it starts to make sense. But they better watch out for arch-rival Yale, who's also gearing up for another run at Nationals...and this year there's only two bids.

10 tie) ECU. 1 vote. It's been a few years since East Carolina has made Nationals semifinals. Were they just running off the steam from Mike Gerics' unique brand of Ultimate? We can't tell for sure, but the Irates are still a vocal, tough-talking, tough-playing bunch. They'll be looking to improve on last year's 1–4 Nationals appearance – but now they'll have to beat back UNCW, Georgia and Georgia Tech who will all be fighting for the second Southeast spot...

10 tie) University of British Columbia. 1 vote. You never know what team will come rampaging across the Canadian border. A few Furious George players attend UBC, and I'm sure the vaunted Vancouver summer league is comfortable playing grounds for the rest. As always the region will not be easy, but perhaps a lot easier than in the past with the split of California.

The Others:

Yale. It'll be tough with Harvard and Brown in the Northeast, but those die-hard Yalies like to relive the days when the only flying discs belonged to the local Frisbie Baking Company.
Iowa. So they got plastered by NC State in the Mardi Gras finals. All-nation Ryan Nation might be able to lead the team to surprising upsets if the weather isn't nice and sunny.
Rice. Steady program and weak region should send them to Nationals again. Maybe 1999 will be the year they can win some games.
Cornell. The Buds are used to going to the Big Show. They'll be there again thanks to the redrawing.
Georgia. Will miss Will Deaver, but the program has been steady for years.
Illinois, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oberlin. Parity in the Great Lakes region. All four are solid teams, but no team is quite up to the level of the powerful East and West coast squads.
Oregon. Regionals is at home...might surprise someone.
UNCW. Always a team to fear even in a rebuilding year.
Tennessee. The Ultimate spirit is alive and well in Knoxville. Might be a breakthrough year if a superstar emerges.
Humboldt, Las Positas. There's plenty of talent in California and the atmosphere for Ultimate is only getting better.

Women
Introduction

We hit these predictions pretty good. My top four picks all made semifinals and I think all the teams that made Nationals, except Salisbury State and Kansas, are on this list. I think. Well, anyway, it was pretty accurate at the top.

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