COLLEGE NATIONALS 1999: WOMEN
MAY 28–30, BOULDER, COLORADO

The format for the Women's division was the same as last year, despite the regional redrawing. The eight regions sent 12 teams and split into two pools. The pools appeared lopsided from the draw, with Carleton, University of British Columbia (UBC) and Yale lumped together. All three teams had been to the semifinals in the past two years, Carleton and UBC the finals.

In the other pool, defending champions Stanford reigned while Georgia and UC–San Diego filled the second and third spots. Both Georgia and San Diego are solid teams but have little experience at the highest level of competition.

The expected battle between Carleton, UBC and Yale featured a surprise contender in the form of young and well-coached Brown University. Brown, seeded seventh overall, fought hard to mix up the order of the pool in their quest for semifinals.

Starting 10:30 Friday morning they met arch-rivals Yale Ramona and took it to them early, opening up a 5–2 lead on the slow-starting Yalies. Disco Inferno has registered one victory over Yale in five years, at this year's sectionals. Ramona regrouped and beat them at Regionals and now Brown wanted revenge.

Yale came back to end half down one, 7–8. But Brown, behind co-captain Shana Cook, exploded in the second half to take a commanding 14–9 lead. They registered the upset win 15–10 with a tough put from Sarah Cook freshman recruit Pauline Lauterbach, the only woman to play on last year's Junior Worlds team.

"Why do you do this! You did this to yourselves last year!" exclaimed an exasperated Yale advisor pacing the sidelines like a man with two grand on the game.

Last year Yale came back in the last game of pool play to make semis. Could they do it again this year?

In the other pool, another upset was in the making. First-timers Swarthmore, with a team of twenty and nothing to lose, were taking it to undermanned Georgia. They won the first half 8–3 and appeared to be in control at 12–9 late in the game.

But the HoDawgs, attending without three starters due to overseas summer jobs, were not worried.

"In the first half we had some very uncharacterstic drops and throwaways by our main handlers, turning it over 10-20 yards down in our own endzone," explained Geeorgia coach Will Deaver, "But I didn't see that [Swarthmore] was going to work it 70 yards on offense–as long as we could get it downfield and then play 70 yards of defense we'd be fine."

Deaver's prognosis was correct, but Georgia still needed to score points. Courtesy of superstar Melanie Byrd's forehands, they tied the game at 12s. But a failed zone let Swarthmore score easily, 13–12. Georgia tied at 13 when the cap was put at 15.

Both teams were exhausted as the game wore on. Swarthmore could not find a way to drive the length of the field and Georgia could not connect on their hucks. Several blocks by Georgia's Kjirtsen Ogburn kept them in the game and finally enabled a score. Swat could not respond and Georgia finally won on a deep backhand from Evelyn Ogburn, 15–13 Georgia.

Swarthmore's team was young, featuring three starting freshmen and two sophomores. The program is new and the experience from Nationals should prove valuable to the team in the future.

The depleted HoDawgs faced the Stanford machine in the next round, fresh off a 15–2 victory over Kansas Betty (making their first Nationals appearance since the eraly 90's). There was no way Georgia could have given Stanford a game after the brutally long match with Swarthmore. Stanford won by twelve.

"This is a business trip for me," joked Stanford coach Jen "J.D." Donnelly, in mock seriosuness.

The game of the tournament was UBC Celeste versus Carleton Syzygy in the second round.

Second-ranked UBC features several tall, athletic, veteran players from the Pacific Northwest. Five of them play with touring team Goo, six of them won Canadian Nationals, all of them play in the comfortable enivrons of Ultimate-crazy Vancouver, B.C.

Carleton is a hard-working, remarkably focused varsity-level team trained in the Syzygy system. There are no fifth-year players or graduate students, but all of them benefit from attending the only school in the nation where Ultimate is the sport.

The game was tight throughout as expected. UBC's sleek athletes scored on backhand line drives, pretty 40-yard forehands and crisp give and go's, while Carleton fed off a sideline intensity rivalling Texas high school football, pumping up the team to make gritty grabs in tight stacks and score points on tense fastbreak hucks.

UBC took half 8–6 on two straight. The intensity and physical nature of the game picked up in the second.

The teams traded points to 12–10, then to 13–11, each score bigger than the last as the game approached 15. It seemed that UBC might go ahead by three, but Carleton would not let them. Finally, after scoring to close at 12–13, Carleton applied the pressure.

The Carleton Men's team, fresh off a victory, blanketed one half of the field as the Syzygy women covered the other. The decibels increased. The game thickened. UBC advanced on offense, but were stopped by a hot Carleton d-block.

But Syzygy seemed to be out of rhthym offensively and failed to connect the dots. A throwaway near their goalline resulted in an easy 10-yard score for UBC and it looked like a clincher for the Canadians, 14–12. They would have at least one chance, and likely more, for their offense to win the game.

"Hang onto your teammates Syzygy!" screamed the sidelines, pressing Carleton on to the fight.

"We're the comeback team. We can't win unless we come from behind," decided a nearby Carleton player, unafraid of the late two-goal deficet.

Truly, the scene was impressive as players from everywhere gathered on the sidelines to find out what the screaming was all about. UBC appeared perplexed by the attention. They tried to keep it smooth, stick to their game.

Carleton gave them their chance with a couple of giveaways, but BC could not convert the point going downwind. Their offense was tentative and a step behind while Carleton's women were like the hounds of hell on their heels. Finally, Carleton scored on a huge uplifting layout grab by co-captain Brooke Harnden, fueling the frenzy on the sidelines.

Back on offense, UBC marched up the field. But again they could not break through the intensity of Carleton. A missed strike from Jill Calkin gave the disc back to Syzygy. They took advantage with two quick middle throws and a midfield huck to streaking_____ who one-handed the disc to tie the game at 14 all, advantage Carleton.

Suddenly the momentum resided with Carleton and the game was prolonged past 15 points. UBC knew they had missed an opportunity to end the contest in a timely fashion.

On the next possesion Carleton took the lead for the first time, thanks to sophomore Julia Gardner, who registered an impressive d-block off of UBC's second pass, then scored the point, 15–14.

UBC's Kami Guerrier, with a little help from the swirling winds, finally got Celeste back on track, responding with a score as her lofted forehand was read perfectly by a backtracking UBC player who made the catch in the endzone to tie the game at 15.

But Carleton had UBC thinking instead of playing and they scored quickly after another handler turnover from UBC's ineffective offensive stack. Carleton put the disc up in the air–a big downwind huck to junior Liz Penny who came down with it for the one-point Carleton advantage.

Carleton was feeding off the tense situation, hoping to pull off another big come-from-behind win. UBC was trying to regain their footing.

Another UBC turnover gave Carleton their first opportunity to win the game. But they too could not get the score. Guerrier again found the endzone, stroking a pinpoint backhand to the deep corner for a crucial BC score..

Tie game, 16 all, next point wins. The sidelines turned quiet, muted in anticipation.

Carleton received the pull and moved it to midfield before team leader Sharon Goodwin dropped an easy disc. She appeared hurt, holding her shoulder. UBC had a chance to capitalize on the fear in the Carleton ranks. But Goodwin showed true gutsiness and got the disc back on a huge defensive block. It was too much for her. She was hurt and had to leave the game in tears.

Goodwin's focus and heart stoked Carleton. Again they could not score on offense, but again they registered a huge defensive stop, this one courtesy of Liz Penny who read a swing pass and closed quickly on the disc. Carleton had possession 10 yards from the game-winning goalline and called timeout.

The game theirs to be had, but sophomore Julia Gardner could not end it that easily. The called play, a cut to the front cone and a breakmark forehand, worked perfectly, but Gardner could not hang onto the disc.

UBC finally had their last chance to win the game, facing an 80-yard drive against a Carleton defense playing better than ever. But their offense stalled as no one came out of the stack to help out the stranded handler. UBC seemed to move in slow motion as the stall count reached eight, then nine as the disc was thrown to the flat for no one to get.

Brooke Harnden picked up the turnover, looked to the endzone, and flipped a difficult breakmark to Mimi Frusha and the game was over.

"I bet it was hard to watch the gaks, but it was hard to make them," admitted a UUBC player after the emotional loss.

"This is a team that never, ever gives up," spoke Carleton coack Lou Burruss about his team's gritty victory.

"This is probably the first time we've ever really had a neck-n-neck, high intensiy game," reflected UBC co-captain Kami Guerrier, "and if at any point I feel any pressure to perform it's when you're close at the end like that."

Continued Guerrier, "The offense was a bit fatigued in the end. I think our offense is flexible, but maybe we lost some of that flexibility when things got tight."

For Carleton, the win meant that they had the inside track to finishing first in the pool and thereby avoiding Stanford in the semifinals. "I feel that this is a three team tournament and we just made the other two teams play each other," related Burruss.

UBC was upset and shaken over the loss, but looked on the bright side, figuring they would have a chance to knock off Stanford in the semifinals.

SATURDAY

A one-hour rain delay disrupted play sometime after the first round, but with plenty of daylight left over and plenty of hot matches to go, the games continued without interruption. For several teams, the added rest period helped them recuperate. For me, it was an opportunity to get kashnickered on kb in the rented 4x4.

UBC was hoping for Northwest versus Northwest semifinal, not an uncommon occurrence, but that first had to go through the Northeast and the Northeast.

BC opened Saturday with Yale, followed by Brown. Both teams were looking to pull an upset over UBC. Both teams almost did.

Although Yale Ramona began in 1993, they have many characteristics of old school Ultimate. They play without a coach, without numbered uniforms, and with a seemingly unstructured offense. But they have made Nationals every year since 1995.

Celeste may have looked past Yale, who had again brought a small, seemingly innocuous team to Nationals. But Yale's unorthodox offense and confident demeanor kept Celeste on their heels all game, undermining the UBC hopes for victory.

Yale's tight-knit group of seniors–all nine of them–took sleepy UBC to school in the first half with an astonshing 8–1 run. UBC recovered in the second, but could never get over the deficit.

Ramona continued to play an irksome offense, relying on inside-out forehands, looping swing passes and breakmark dumps. UBC was clearly the more athletic and smoother team offensively and defensively, but continued failure at disrupting Yale's homey O affected BC's confidence.

"We're winning the half," spoke a UBC player at 11–8 Yale. Yes, but what about the game?

Patiently Ramona worked through the game, relying at times on the energy and willpower of senior Chris George, who stopped UBC with defensive blocks and kept points alive for Yale with hot layout grabs.

After a UBC score brought it to 13–11, Yale, Ali Erskine received the pull and launched a backhand to a wide-open [orange socks?] Alyssa Wise, who put it to Sarah Lieberman for the go-ahead goal and game-point, 14–11. UBC responded with a goal but their energy was sapped. Yale scored to record the upset 15–12.

"We were more prepared this morning to play. Everyone's heads were in it, and we were just more excited," related Yale co-captain Anne Lightbody.

The UBC loss meant several things. First of all, Carleton was already beating Brown on the adjacent field. It was likely Syzygy would win that game.

Secondly, the Yale upset meant Brown had the edge to make semis. A win over UBC would put them in for sure. But if they lost to UBC, and Yale lost to Carleton, then all three teams would be at 3–2 with head-to-head losses, meaning semis would be determined by point differential between the three teams. In this category, Brown had a +5 point differential, having beaten Yale by five, while UBC had a -3 differential and Yale -2. A UBC win by four points would give UBC +1, Brown +1 and Yale -2, and UBC would advance on the head-to-head win over Brown. A UBC win by anything less than four points would give the arrow to Brown.

Finally Yale could advance to semis only with a win over Carleton in the final game of the day. If they could pull off the second upset, they would finish 4–1 and avoid the three-way tie.

But Yale was thin on numbers and might have played themselves out in the UBC win. It would be tough for them to beat a loaded Carleton squad at the end of the day.

For all the money, it looked like UBC and Brown would be battling it out a birth in semis.

The Carleton–Brown game ended with Carleton winning 15–11. Brown played hard, but they might have been holding something back. Coach Lori Parham knew that the only game that mattered was the very next one, against UBC. She wanted her team to be in the best condition possible, so she provided key players with time off the field to rest up.

"We rotated more than we usually do," admitted Parham, "We've definitely focused on UBC. Thats the game we need to win to make semis. It would have been nice to finish first in our pool but..."

But making semifinals is what it's all about.

The Yale loss had shocked and wearied British Columbia. They had enough talent to play with anyone in the tournament, including Stanford, but it had all suddenly gone south in two unexpected losses. They needed to find a way to regain their confidence.

Brown jumped out of the gates, ready to go for the jugular on a team that had just been upset by a pack of fellow Northeasterners. They opened up a 2-goal lead early on and kept it close to be down by one at half, 7–8. The necessary point differential–UBC winning by four–was on everyone's minds. Everyone except, perhaps, Brown.

Rumors abounded that Parham didn't let her team know that they only needed to stay within three points. Instead she had them strictly focused on winning the game.

UBC, too, didn't know fully understand the significance of the point differetial until sometime in the second half. It's the type of information that can be dangerous. On one hand it can fire up a team and make them play harder, on the other the added pressure and focus on winning (or losing) by a certain margin can be a drain on a team's psyche. Knowledge is power, who knew?

BC started the second half with a pretty score from Amy Waterhouse. Celeste could score, but could they prevent Brown's dump, swing, isolation offense?

Brown worked it up again and managed to put it in, then UBC's Su Ning Strube sent a nice disc to Jill Calkin and Shelley Wood followed with a score to Strube. UBC was up by three, 11–8 and pulling away. The cap was coming in 15 minutes. It was gut-check time for Brown.

The winds picked up and UBC came down with a four person cup. Brown handled the zone, but finally coughed up the disc. UBC couldn't take advantage, they couldn't find the seam to go up by four. Instead Disco Inferno worked it back upfield and stroked a beauitful pass to close at 9–11.

It came down to one possession as if it was written. The cap was called at 12–10, game was to 14. UBC scored to make it 13–10. Brown received the disc and were moving against a UBC zone. But the zone looked tired and was ineffective. Brown moved patiently on offense before getting a big huck from junior Whitney Krakos that seemed to go through the UBC defender en route to landing with Disco Inferno. The huck put them within 10 yards of a score. After a few swings and mild advances, they scored the point and Semifinals looked good as gold to Brown.

A few Brown players knew the significance of the point as a mini-celebration was theirs in the endzone. UBC looked absolutely distraught, knowing they had again missed an opportunity to make semifinals in the most frustrating of ways. To add insult to injury, the game wasn't over. But there was no chance for them now, the tournament was lost.

Brown continued to rally and they tied the game at 13s against slumping UBC. But Celeste showed heart and true grit and won the game on a mad layout from senior Jill Calkin. They weren't going out like that.

Disco had to hope there was no let down in their final game against Minnesota. But U of M was bringing eight players to Nationals and they are a new and inexperienced team. Brown had little difficulty. It was now up to Yale versus Carleton–a pool play rematch of last year's semis.

I never figured out how Minnesota actually ended up at Nationals. No offense to the Gophers, but the RSD posts I read said that Wisconsin won the backdoor game. Maybe they had graduation? Whatever the cause, it's always a welcome sight to see a brand-new team at Nationals.

In the other pool, U.C. San Diego managed to outplay Swarthmore to prevent a possible three-way tie should they have lost. San Diego also put up seven points against Stanford–a good number by comparison but still not enough.

So, as predicted, it would be up to the final game of Saturday between Georgia and U.C. San Diego to determine who would make semifinals.

The teams are on good terms despite the 2000 miles that separate them. They had already met three times this year with Georgia having won the last match by two points. Somehow you knew it was going to come down to this final game.

And final point? When I came back to the game, UGA led by one 13–12 with the hard-cap at 14. The teams had traded points the entire game, with Georgia just a step ahead, amazingly, because they were playing with a tightened squad of only ten players whereas San Diego came with nineteen.

The earlier rain delay certainly helped Georgia's cause, providing an opportunity for the team to rest. It also helped that they were playing friendly rival U.C. San Diego, a team they were excied to play against whether win or lose.

Georgia's offense still relied on their superior long-distance throwing skills. The HoDawgs had five players who could launch forty-yard strikes from anywhere on the field, backhand or forehand. What was their secret?

"Boyfriends," conceded coach and boyfriend Will Deaver, "they learned to throw from having boyfriends on the guys team."

San Diego, on the other hand, utilizes a core group of handlers, each of them comfortable with the disc and each other. "We like to work it–when it's there we'll huck it. We have a lot of depth. There's no one player that stands out, instead there's 10-12 women."

So it was back and forth between crisp UCSD tie-dye handling and bombs from UGA. At 13–12 Georgia had the disc but could not score against the San Diego zone. San Diego got the turnover midfield and moved the disc from Corinne Ginsberg to captain Meg Parker to Jennifer Sanderson to Erin Hashimoto with a put to Ginsberg for the score, 13 all, next point for semis.

It was exciting, tense, but both sidelines were rooted in Spirit. UCSD pulled and came out in zone. Georgia worked up to midefield before turning it over, twice, but stopped San Diego each time. Finally, they were able to connect with three of thier main handlers, Katharine Kidd to captain Melanie Byrd to Kidd to Jessica Ogburn for the final point of the day and an exuberant Georgia win.

"That was awesome! I had a feeling!" exclaimed Deaver after the victory, psyched that his team was going to semifinals for the first time.

After celebrating the victory the HoDawgs joined together for a lengthy cheer for San Diego. In fact, most of the team seemed to know the tune already as they had done this before at President's Cup.

Afterwards they came back to exalt coach Will with a rendition of "Cecilia": "Oh Deaver! – we're down on our knees, begging you please, to coach us, oh coach us!" The victory was a sweet one for the Southern team who would have been the first team to ever make semis from the South region had not the boundaries been redrawn.

There was still one game to determine the final semifinalists. Yale had beaten Carleton twice at Easterns last year but got pummeled in last year's Nationals semifinals. They hadn't squared up yet this year.

Caleton was aware of Yale's potential for upsets, so they wanted to take them out early and stay ahead without fear of a late Ramona rally.

Syzygy opened a 7–3 lead and took half 8–5. They managed to stay comfortably ahead of Yale as planned, again rallying behind huge sideline support and a sense of Calvinist determinism. Yale simply did not have the numbers and vocal intensity to compete with rabid Carleton. Carleton won [ ] to finish first in the pool and complete the prophecy for the young Brown squad.

Sunday's semis were set: Stanford would face Brown as Carleton matched up against Georgia.

SUNDAY

"You win with defense." One of coach J.D.'s mottos for her Stanford machine. It also helps to have an abundance of well-conditioned athletes coming to the program from other sports.

Having the force on your side can't hurt either. Team leader Joy "Chewie" Chen prepared for semifinals early Suday morning by donning black and red face paint a la Darth Maul.

"My nickname is Chewie because I'm a big Star Wars fan," explained Chen, "I'm really happy that the movie is out and it's all coming together. I just had to do Darth Maul for finals."

There wasn't much to say about the semifinals game. Stanford was in a Jedi groove and Brown was in unfamilar territory. Brown's offense revealed itself to be too mechanical, too strict, relying on set plays, whereas Stanford features a much more versatile game–adaptable to different offenses and defenses in search of solid connections.

Having a super senior core and a bunch of eager underclassmen also helps. Last year's Callahan winner Andrea Johnson handled alongside this year's Callahan nominee Mary Hunt Martin. Either one could have won it this year as well.

The red and black were too much for cinderella Brown. The game ended in Stanford's favor 15–3.

"Stanford has a mental edge over every team in the country. They're a great team – they run right after the turn faster than any team I've seen," related Brown captain Shana Cook, "on offense we were really stifled. They played straight up against us and we didn't adjust to it."

"I'm sad to not have another game to play with my team. but its been an amazing season, its been such a privilege to play with this team, and we've worked so hard. We met our goals that we had planned for the whole season. Its been really fun," said Cook.

Cook will continue on with Lady Godiva next year, but she'll leave behind an experienced, dedicated team that knows it can compete with any team in the nation.

The other semifinal was more of a battle as shorthanded Georgia gave everything they got to fight off the Viking advances. One words sums up why UGA was able to stay in the game after several lengthy pool play games: "conditioning," credits Deaver.

It also might have helped them that the Experimental Rules (co-founded by Deaver) were not being played in the women's division, thus allowing a team to walk to discs slower and take longer walks back to the line to conserve energy.

Carleton took half 8–3 and it looked like it could be another blowout. According to Deaver, the HoDawgs "weren't clicking in the first half" and needed to turn it on in the second. They were also victim to many deep throws that sailed out the back of the endzone due to the thinner Mountain air.

Georgia matched Carleton, bringing the score to 11–6, but they could never generate enough offense to get much closer. Not that they weren't trying. They gave Syzygy quite a struggle, and it might have affected Carleton in their next game.

The game ended two hours later in Carleton's favor 15–7.

A rematch was in the works! Could it possibly equal the excitement of last year's spectacular 19–18 barnburner?

FINALS

Again it was Red and Black versus Blue and Yellow. Jennifer Donnelly versus Lou Burruss. Stanford versus Carleton.

Superfly had run their unbeaten streak to 97 games, the last loss almost three years ago. Both of their closest games in that time have been one-point wins over Carleton.

J.D. and the Stanford Ultimate CIA diligently scouted Carleton all season, beginning at College Easterns where the teams met in the Finals. At Nationals, J.D. sent an alum to videotape the Carleton–UBC game, then conferred with UBC coach Connelly afterwards. During the Georgia semifinal J.D. was there, on the sidelines, measuring Carleton's maneuvers, documenting their defense, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses, watching, waiting, planning an attack.

Maybe not so meticuluous.

Lou Burruss and Syzygy could care less. They feed off self-generated emotional intensity. Carleton's game revolves around themselves rather than the competition. Carleton wins intense, come-from-behind games by ignoring opponents and sticking to their guns offensively and defensively. Sometimes it appears that they are not fully in the game, when in fact they are fully in their game. And they are good enough to play their game and win.

It almost worked last year, as Syzygy withstood the Stanford pressure better than any team in three years. Both teams featured a different cast of characters for 1999, but the familiar faces of Cindy Craig, Jenn Wilson, Brooke Harnden, Sharon Goodwin, Paige Anderson and Mizu Kinney were there for Syzygy, as were Andrea Johnson, Mary Hunt Martin, Joy Chen, Gwynn Masada, and Jocelyn James for Superfly.

What did coach Donnelly have up her sleeve for Carleton's offense?

"They have a high-release throw and they love to break. So we played straight-up. That way we'll be in their shorts wherever they go on the field, and it's better because the breaks dont hurt you as much," says Donnelly, "And their big game–break to Brooke, huck. We really wanted to stop that."

For Carleton, it was again a matter of focusing on themselves, with an extra eye out for Johnson and Martin.

"Both Mary Hunt and A.J. are excellent handlers so we put our top defenders on them," spoke Carleton co-captain Jenn Wilson.

The game began after the exciting men's final and the sidelines were still packed. The weather was picture-perfect without a storm cloud in sight. Both teams had ample time to prepare for the showcase showdown.

Carleton did not start off well. Stanford came out and won the game 3–0 and started psyching up to win it again.

In order to keep her team focused, J.D. ordered Superfly to play games to three and win each game. It's a good method to stay focused and it worked for the first two games, the 3–0 opening round and a 3–2 tally in the second.

Carleton's offense was tight in the beginning, and then got sloppy in the middle with less-than-crisp throws. Stanford was able to capitalize and score points. A.J. was having a field day, running around the field with bulging, glaring eyes, looking every bit the madman of the mountains. And when she got the disc–watch out. Carleton could not prevent her from getting throws off and she made them pay.

And wherever A.J. wasn't, Mary Hunt was. She put a disc in the endzone that was too long, but Chewie made up ground and scored for a five-point Stanford lead, 7–2.

Carleton finally opened up on offense and defense. Wilson sent a huck down the line for a score and Penny followed up on the next possession with a sweet D on a Stanford huck to speedster Alicia Mercer. But Stanford regained possession and A.J. broke through with a twenty-five yard high-release break mark for a score. They were one point away from winning the game 3–1 and taking half.

And then Carleton's offense clicked and they stated putting points on the board in bursts. It started with Penny sending a huck to Bekah Sexton who gave it to Brooke Harnden in the endzone. Then a breakmark score from Cindy Craig and a huck from Wilson to Anne Sawyer and a huge huck after that from super sophomore Julia Gardner to a wide-open Sawyer and suddenly the game was on!

Carleton had opened up their offense and it was paying off, the hucks were landing. Stanford seemed a little out of touch for their part. Their offense was not making connections and every Carleton score ignited the sideline in chants and cheers for Syzygy.

Mary Hunt finally put an end to the four-point Carleton run, sending a nice backhand for a score to Mercer to take half for Superfly, 9–7.

At halftime, J.D. and A.J. gathered the troops for inspirational words.

"She told us to be focused and to do it. We knew we were going to win and just to do it," related A.J..

That's no problem for A.J., who stays focused on the moment no matter what. Her mien of intensity is unmatched in the Collegiate Ranks.

Carleton had to find some way to stop A.J. and Mary Hunt from killing them offensively. Mary Hunt was always around the disc and A.J. was open on call. For the half, every goal thrown was courtesy of Johnson or Martin. They were a two-person wrecking machine.

The second half started off well for Carleton, as they again closed within one on a huck from Harnden to deep threat Paige Anderson. The fans were in the game, it was close, and the wind started to pick up–maybe Carleton could capitalize and string together another run.

But Stanford responded quickly with a nice Mary Hunt put to Alicia Mercer again, 10–8. Carleton, known for utilizinf several different zone and person defensive sets, had come out in a switching person defense, closing in on Stanford's handlers when the disc moved across the field.

But Stanford was undeterred and scored coolly to go up 11–8. Then Carleton couldn't hang onto the disc in the endzone. Mary Hunt sent a prayer deep, answered by Mercer for a 12–8 lead. Mercer came right back on defense and got a block deep on Carleton's side of the field. One throw later Stanford converted easily, A.J. to Mary Hunt.

The run put Stanford back ahead by five. They had scored three goals on three straight possessions of the disc. The game was winding down fast.

Carleton responded with one last hurrah. Gardner came down with a huge grab near the endzone, but jumped the gun on the release, sending it too far for Cindy Craig to catch. Suddenly Craig's body leapt through the air, transforming itself into an expression of pure willpower, coursing through the ether to connect with the disc. It was quite inhuman.

She paid for extracting such a force when she hit the ground and stopped moving. Her body landed in the endzone like a heavy-metal harpoon, cold, lifeless, and unable to dislodge from the disc. She was eventually walked off the field by her teammates, still in a daze. I couldn't tell if she was still clutching the disc, but she may as well have been.

And with that amazing play the lifeforce that fueled Carleton was spent. There was nothing left for a comeback this time, there was hardly enough left to keep them standing. The crowd tried to get them back in the game, but they were dazed.

Stanford finished the next three points quickly and mercifully. They could have gotten the disc to AJ or Mary Hunt for scores again and no doubt a unique finals record. They were involved in the first 15 Stanford scores. But instead grad student Gwynn Masada connected with fellow grad Sam Salvia and the game was finished, 17–9.

Stanford three-peated undefeated and we're again going into the record books. Superfly was ecstatic, but it wasn't as emotional as last year's victory.

"This whole season has been awesome. The energy and the fun. Win or lose this game, we had a successful season. This team has been more cohesive than any team I've ever coached, and more supportive, and its just been my favorite season," spoke J.D. after the game, her face smeared with face paint from hugging Darth Maul.

Five-year veteran Andrea Johnson ended her career at Stanford with five straight Finals' appearances, the last three Championships, and an overall record of 139–6 (according to the Press Release). How could she leave Palo Alto?

"I feel terrific–sad that it's all over, but it's really awesome to go out with a bang," related Johnson, "But I'd think I would miss Stanford too much. Hopefully I can help them out on the sidelines, be an assistant or something."

Carleton was still trying to reconstruct the game. They had played a long, tiresome weekend, playing almost forty more points of Ultimate than Stanford.

"For us, the expereience was surreal," spoke Jenn Wilson after the game.

"We had no clue, no idea what the score was. And then all of a sudden it was over," admitted Brooke Harnden, "It was very weird."

"I think one of the biggest differences was the difference in the pool play," suggested Wilson, "We had a really more competitive pool. It makes a significant difference."

It is true that the UBC-Carleton game had to be one of the most draining of the tournament. And both Brown and Yale put up fights against Syzygy, espcially Yale, fighting for a birth in semis. On the other hand Stanford commanded their pool, easily dismissing Georgia 15–3 after the shorthanded HoDawgs were coming off of a 15–13 game. San Diego was the closest game for Stanford and that match was 15–7.

"I think it really ended up being a fatigue issue," spoke coach Burruss afterwards, "We were tired towards the end of the game."

Next year? Carleton returns a solid lineup, Stanford loses the dynamic duo, and other teams will be hungrier and ready to challenge the throne. Should be a good season.

Also, much respect to Illinois Disco Bananas and Princeton's Clockwork Orange–two teams I failed to mention! Next year I'll cover you double time!

This was written for the UPA Newsletter. The UPA flew me out to Boulder to cover this tournament.

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