2002 WORLDS WOMEN PREVIEW

The men's competition is boring. The real action is with the women. There are quality teams from top to bottom and no pool is a cake walk. Backhoe seeded 19^th? These ladies lost to Lady Godiva in Boston two months ago by one point. Now there are 18 spots between them. That's parity.

It is a noticeable fact that many European squads chose not to come. There are only three European teams (England's Bliss and Finland's Discus and Espoo), and none are from Germany or Sweden. I have been told that the state of Women's Ultimate in Sweden has declined and may be affected by Mixed play.

Almost the entirety of action revolves around four countries: Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States. At the top are proven competitors Lady Godiva. But Godiva hasn't won an international tournament since the mid 90's and aren't known for their superiority at this event. It may be appropriately fair that Prime is placed in their pool, seeded hideously low at 9^th due to a lackluster showing at U.S. Nationals. Both teams are certainly in the hunt for another Worlds title, with most of the Prime team owning the last one, Heilbronn in 2000.

Seattle's Riot has six players who played on the Verge team, winners of Club Worlds in 1999. Finishing second in U.S. Nationals this past winter means they are ready for Hawaii. London's Bliss are one of Europe's top teams and have performed well in Worlds competition. They are coming off winning the 2001 European Club Championships and are bringing their best to Hawaii. And don't forget San Francisco's Fury, third at Worlds in 2000, winners of U.S. Nationals in 1999, and only a short plane ride away from Honolulu. Tokyo's Spirals beat Godiva in 1999 Worlds en route to a surprising finals appearance, which they validated the following year in Heilbronn, also making finals.

Add in always dangerous Schwa, finalists of 1997 Worlds, Seven Green Bottles from Australia, champions of Kaimana 2002, and international competitors Discus, Ozone, Backhoe and MUD and you have your favorites right there.

Pool A: Godiva, Seven Green Bottles, Prime, Safari, MUD, Yanomanis

Well, hmmm. Prime is without Leslie Calder, so that's no good. But they are in top shape and have been practicing for Worlds. Anja Haman and Su Ning Strube and others are carrying gold medals. This team will be for real. Safari finished on an up note at US Nationals this winter and has a recruiting class of U.S. College National Champions in UC-San Diego. Plus Shar Stuht is a money player. Seven Green Bottles won Kaimana, but against a combo squad and not a tight unit like they will see in Hawaii. They do have height with slender Diana Worman able to put points on the board. The Japanese team MUD brings a Tokyo player from the World Games and three Vancouver women to the show, and half of the team played on the Japanese national team at Worlds in Germany where they finished second to Prime. Lots of familiarity here.

All this, and we haven't even mentioned The Lady.

This is probably the toughest pool of the tournament. I think that there is an excellent chance that Prime can beat Godiva, Safari can beat Prime, Seven Green Bottles can beat Safari and MUD can beat Seven Green Bottles. Feel sorry for Venezuela, because this pool will offer little solace.

Further predictions: Prime has height, throws, and conditioning and have won big tournaments before. I think they can upset Godiva and make semis down the road. You can never count Godiva out of a game, but this will not be an easy pool for them to escape without a loss, and those losses may count in round 2. Seven Green Bottles will be severely tested. Safari's mix of youth and experience could help them out and I can see them getting some big wins here. If MUD is as they say, then there are going to be some surprises. I would count Prime and Godiva as advancing, and predict a battle between MUD, Safari and Seven Green Bottles for the final two spots.

It isn't unlikely that one of the four teams advancing will do so with one of their losses coming from a team not advancing, meaning the loss will not count. This could be a big advantage.

Whoever finishes fifth in this pool will likely win Division 2.

Pool B: Spirals, Fury, Flo, Barbarians, Backhoe, Ambush

Look, all these pools are tough. This one is no exception. We know Spirals have long been a tough international team, but can they command the pool? Calgary's Flo is coming to Worlds prepared, having practiced and trained more so than their American counterparts. Unfortunately, they have recently lost key players like Stephie Chow to Vancouver and do not have much international big-game experience. San Francisco's Fury has that necessary edge to compete at the highest levels. They will use their disappointing loss to Seattle Riot in US Nationals semifinals this past year to motivate for Worlds. As usual, expect big games from Sprout, Karli Sager, Jenny Beck, and Stacey Schmoehl and the Jedi presence of coach Bob Pallares. The Barbarians, mostly a university team outside Tokyo may have graduated some players to MUD and might be properly seeded at 15. It's looking like Backhoe will have a chance to step up into the international limelight again. With tall targets Mel Ditz, Beth Cates and Amy Seagroves and an army of talent and youth, watch out for the team from Raleigh-Durham. Ambush, from New York, continues to gain positive vibes from Mel Schoen and Frida Lindman and several players on the team have recently been traveling to international tournaments for experience. Picking up height and talent with Katy Kagle and Lindsay Goldsmith will be a plus for them. Unfortunately for they only got word of their Worlds bid in late June and could use more time to gel on the field.

Predictions: Backhoe will move up, I guarantee. Fury has a good chance of taking the top spot, but the Spirals have strong Worlds experience. It will likely be between Flo, Ambush and Barbarians for the fourth spot to Division 1. I wouldn’t know who to predict here. Flo won Canadian Nationals recently (but neither Prime nor Fuse made the tournament) and has been eyeing Worlds. I haven't heard anything on the Barbarians, and Ambush can score upsets if given the opportunity.

Further predictions: I think Spirals, Fury and Backhoe can all advance to quarterfinals and will almost surely make it out of this pool. Fury and Spirals may have an advantage over others. Backhoe can beat any team here but haven't had good luck sustaining a string of victories.

Pool C: Riot, Schwa, Espoo, Liberos, Freya, Lady Condors

Possibly the second-toughest pool. My initial thoughts are "poor Australia". Not only did Seven Green Bottles end up in a pool with two former Worlds champions, now Freya has to do battle with top-flight American competition. The key here is Espoo, the Finnish team from outside Helsinki. These players have strong Worlds experience, defeating Spirals in 1999 in Scotland and finishing 7^th. They will have their veteran players like Tuuli Saarento, Laura Salmikivi, and Vera Talvitie and can conceivably surprise Riot or Schwa. Seattle Riot and Portland's Schwa have a longstanding regional rivalry that will only serve to fuel the fire for both teams. You can bet one of these two will finish first in this pool and will have a good shot at semifinals. Seattle's Sarah G-R, Vivian Zayas, Kathy Scott and the Towne sisters were all key contributors to the Verge team that won Worlds in 1999. Schwa's Dara Bailey, Deana McMurr and Tracee Satterfield continue to provide guidance and star power. Neither team should lose to any other in this pool. The Lady Condors are definitely on an upswing, having improved yearly since the late 90's when they defeated Liberos by two at 99 Worlds. They are in a good vibe and will be playing competitively. For the gals from New South Wales, Freya, you should be aware of their former status as "strongest team in NSW Women's Correctional Institution, 2001" Top players are Jackie 'Robbery' Robins, Tania 'T-Bar' King and Lil' Lisa McGinnigle.

Further Predictions: Riot has beaten Schwa twice this year and already own a few 2002 West Coast tournament trophies. It is certainly conceivable to see this new blend of Verge mainstays and youthful Carleton graduates follow the tradition of Seattle women's Ultimate and walk away with the Worlds title. Schwa can always play spoiler, however, and Espoo is not to be taken lightly. I would think that the Condors could advance their seed and make the final four in the pool, but Freya and Liberos will be fighting to keep them down.

Pool D: Bliss, Discus, Urge, Ozone, Fuse, Naughty Kids

Let's go ahead and give it to them: Naughty Kids have the best team name. On the field, perhaps another matter. This pool is the most international of the four. London's Bliss is a very talented team and they may be itching for a semifinals run after Worlds 2000. Bringing in extra firepower with Dutch master Tessle Hillenus and former Verge player Rene Alexander can't hurt this finely-tuned powerhouse. Ozone is seeded surprisingly low here and I don't know why, because they made semifinals at U.S. Nationals. You have to know that they can beat any team here. Toronto's Urge is newer on the international scene. They fared decently enough at Easterns but finished 9^th, losing to Ambush. They may be over-ranked at a 12 seed. Fuse, on the other hand, from Montreal and Ottawa, are led by tough-nosed Hali Gernon and have been playing good disc. They defeated a depleted Prime at US Nationals this winter. Discus fared decently at 99 Worlds and are led by World Games competitor Sara Wickstrom. The Finns do well internationally and Discus is the top team in Finland. They are coming in under the radar, but finished well at Europeans.

Predictions: Urge and Fuse are too new on the scene to disrupt Bliss. Atlanta's Ozone can, however, but it's hard to say if they will. Discus will try to upset Bliss but I think an Ozone team at their best can beat Discus at their best. Fuse could upset Ozone or Discus. Urge is green, but they aren't going to lose their heads. Only question is whether they are in over their heads. Naughty Kids, ya gotta love Naughty Kids.

Further Predictions: Both Bliss and Ozone can and should make Quarterfinals. It's a long, long flight for Bliss to get to Hawaii, so I'm not sure how they will adapt. Discus will advance.

This was written for Chasing Plastic and 2002 Worlds but never published.

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