2001 National Champions Carleton 2001 Westchester Summer League Top 20 Rumors 2001 U.S. Club Nationals Festivus: South Bend, Indiana 2002 Paganello | |||
Teams Listed in Seed Order 1. Lady Godiva 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 THE INSIDE-OUT: All ducks in order, everything is smooth for the Grand Dames. Will Molly Goodwin ever talk to me again? FANTASY PICK POSITIVE: Teens FANTASY PICK NEGATIVE: ? BEST PLAYER TO HECKLE: Peg Hollinger can probably rip your ear off in return. Heckling Dom could be fun. Do people heckle in the women's division? LOSSES/GAINS/ INJURIES: GLO and Gwyn Tracey have re-retired, Anouk plays for Ambush, Liz Phillips and Jackie Bourgeois are no longer with the team. They have added Dom, Chris Cianfrani, Abby Hoover and Whitney Kakos. PREDICTED FINISH: Finals
Tracey Satterfield, Dara Bailey and Deana McMurr remain the captains of this intense and dedicated team looking to make a return trip to Finals count in 2001. They come to Florida with a wide arsenal of weapons offensively and defensively. They like to run a variety of offensive plays and won't always stick to one set of rules to guide them offensively. Tracey calls this mindset "Taoism" and says a lot of ideas have been borrowed from the men's division. On offense, Rebecca Doyle is a quiet goal scorer, while Jen Scott, Tracey and Dara provide the flashiness. Deana handles the disc. Other players to step it up include Margo Findley, Rebecca Hotchkiss and Anna Neraas, and old school veteran Rita Haberman anchors the defense. This team is extremely active in preparing for opponents. In addition to their "there is no I in team" mentality, which helps keep them a tight-knit, hard-to-disrupt group, they employ strategies typically used in more professional sports. "We'll watch videos. We talk about other teams. We have some scouts," confides Satterfield. THE INSIDE-OUT: Two years ago I reported that Satterfield threw a water bottle at the Philly Peppers Mel Iwaszko. This was true. But as inherent in this profession, people can read things the wrong way, and apparently Tracey's mom reprimanded her for this incident. The fact is, the water bottle toss was a "throw in the direction of" sort of thing, and it was aimed at the ground to bounce towards Mel, which is what it did. There was nothing particularly nasty about it at all. So I'd like to clear the record on that. Now, Mrs. Satterfield .for the REAL nitty gritty .well, I won't go there. But I am sure there's something out there. FANTASY PICK POSITIVE: Dara Bailey FANTASY PICK NEGATIVE: Satterfield (dangerous pick - depends on the game) BEST PLAYER TO HECKLE: Satterfield. A Darryl Strawberry chant of "Tray-C, Tray-C" could work well. For kicks you could also yell "travel" everytime she gets ready to throw. LOSSES/GAINS/ INJURIES: Lost half their team, including Shar and Jen Faya. Gained 7 new players who haven't been to nationals on a women's team. PREDICTED FINISH: Finals
3. Riot Winners of several tournaments throughout the Northwest and haven beaten Schwa more than a few times this year, they are accurately seeded at number three. Deb Cussen, a few quality years out of college, has emerged as a capable handler for the team and has recruited some of her Syzygy teammates to Seattle. "A good bunch of women," credits a NW captain. But will they have enough experienced players in all positions to make a run to the Finals? To do so they must play a strong Backhoe squad and then crossover to face likely contenders and familiar Northwesterners Prime and Schwa. THE INSIDE-OUT: The city of Seattle has been in 6 Club Nationals finals without winning. FANTASY PICK POSITIVE: Kathy Scott FANTASY PICK NEGATIVE: ? BEST PLAYER TO HECKLE: Using any Verge heckles may be appropriate and fun if you are so inclined. LOSSES/GAINS/ INJURIES: ? PREDICTED FINISH: Semis
4. Fury "Its good this year. We found the love again," says Jen, "we picked up Janet Wong." Kimber Zabora isn't around and Callahan winners Dom and A.J. are long gone. But that's ok for Fury, who have still kept Sam Salvia, Carey Sager and Stacey, as well as the Stanford troika of Erin Percival, Camille Yu and Martita. THE INSIDE-OUT: How does Fury do it? I don't know. FANTASY PICK POSITIVE: Sam FANTASY PICK NEGATIVE: ? BEST PLAYER TO HECKLE: Jen Donnelly. For obvious reasons. She always thinks she's got everything under control, under her cap of knowledge. There has to be some way to crack her! A countless barrage of insults is one way to start. LOSSES/GAINS/ INJURIES: Lost Dom to Boston, AJ to buying a house, Kimber and Jennifer Beck. Picked up Janet Wong from Seattle. PREDICTED FINISH: Semis
A newfound vigor should be brought to the mix this year with recently crowned College Champions from UGA Angela Lin, Katharine Kidd-Shipley and Jessica and Evelyn Ogburn staying on the team for another shot at Finals. Call it a hunch, but this could be the year that Ozone makes semis and maybe upsets someone to make finals. I haven't seen teams play this year, so it's only a guess. THE INSIDE-OUT: I saw Holly Summers at Paganello last year and she's the real deal. She's got verve! FANTASY PICK POSITIVE: Katharine Kidd-Shipley was something close to plus 15 in College nationals finals. FANTASY PICK NEGATIVE: ? BEST PLAYER TO HECKLE: ? LOSSES/GAINS/ INJURIES: Jamie is out, pregnant. PREDICTED FINISH: Semis
The weather in Sarasota can get windy, and it may rain, but that shouldn't deter this Raleigh-Durham based team. "We went to the beach one weekend and scrimmaged Wahine in the wind. And Regionals was very windy too." I don't know where I am going with this wind theory. Must be leftover from 1998 College nationals. "We're going to play super hard, pounding defense. We have a fast defense," Says Cates. Cates credits Sarah Boudreau and Becki Cleveland as main factors for their speed and D capability. For the offense, Amy Seagroves is always hard to stop. Denice Cunningham brings National Champion experience and Berkeley Young provides speed offensively. Callahan winner Val Kelly, Smith superwoman Jessica Witt and Frannie Goodrich round out a solid team. Continues Cates, "We're looking forward to seeing Riot again. We feel that we've matched up well with them this year." (3 losses - two of them close and the third a larger margin at the Tune-Up finals). THE INSIDE-OUT: Looking to get over that hump and make semifinals for the first time ever. FANTASY PICK POSITIVE: Cates Cates Cates! FANTASY PICK NEGATIVE: ? BEST PLAYER TO HECKLE: Mel Ditz, just because he's the UPA women's director. Yelling "it was fixed!" after every Backhoe game isn't necessarily creative, but its still good, old-fashioned quality heckling. LOSSES/GAINS/ INJURIES: See above. PREDICTED FINISH: Can make semis
Anja Haman gets a lot of props from captains in the Northwest. Other than tat, I don't know much about what they have going on. THE INSIDE-OUT: Lars Mussell -- will you marry me? FANTASY PICK POSITIVE: Anja Haman FANTASY PICK NEGATIVE: ? BEST PLAYER TO HECKLE: Call everyone Leslie. LOSSES/GAINS/ INJURIES: Leslie Calder out? PREDICTED FINISH: Can make semis.
Captain Jenny Hanscom and Deganit Schechter are also money players, and veteran WSL Summer league champion Susan Schofer joins the team this year. THE INSIDE-OUT: Double-dating with the Condors men ought to provide competitive fire and game knowledge. FANTASY PICK POSITIVE: Katie Mares FANTASY PICK NEGATIVE: ? BEST PLAYER TO HECKLE: Susan Schofer LOSSES/GAINS/ INJURIES: ? PREDICTED FINISH: Quarters
9-16 9. Nemesis Shelley Peyton is their rising young talent from Northwestern 10. Safari still looking for that flag. Still have some very capable players and could surprise a top team. 11. Ambush I think Ambush has a very good team this year and are guided by two very capable leaders in Anouk Savineau and Mel Schoen. They are in a tough pool however. Look for them to make the prequarters and have a chance to upset a team. 12. Wahine Rumored to be without superstar Leah Rehill to an injury. Packed with women from successful College UNCW team. 13. Fuse Solid all-east Canada combo team. 14. Buttercup Rumored to have players from Bliss and could provide upset power. 15, 16: Bait, Clutch I don't know much about them.
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