From: Jeff 'Shiv' Flynn Sent: 10/5/99 2:47 PM Subject: Oregon Co-ed Sectionals Report ============================================= Oregon co-ed sectionals were held in Corvallis on September 25-26. The perpetual winter rains had yet to arrive in the Willamette valley, and the weekend's weather could be described as nothing less than perfect. Light winds and mostly clear skies provided the ideal environment for ultimate. Last year's championship team, Elves Gone Bad [Portland], disbanded after a disappointing showing at 1998 NW regionals, and in their wake emerged this year's two top-seeded teams, Pigs In Space, a Portland squad that has been practicing much of the season, and Hubcap, a collection of very talented players that came together for a run in the fall series. Rounding out the top seeds were last year's 2nd and 3rd place teams, Road Head [Bend] and Skin&Bones [Portland], and a revamped Ashland squad going by the name Fat Bullet. With only 3 (or possibly 4) bids available, everyone knew that at least one of these teams would end the weekend disappointed. Pool play saw the first round pass without incident, but the second round saw the first indication of the tight competition that would prevail through the remainder of the weekend. Fat Bullet [Ashland] squeaked out a 12-10 win over Tacky Paw [Portland] to partially avenge the loss that dropped them from regionals competition last year. In the other pool, Skin&Bones closed out a highly competative match with Road Head to win by 1 at the cap. These two teams traded wins at sectionals and regionals last year, so there was plenty of history to motivate allparticipants. In the final round of pool play, Fat Bullet gave Pigs in Space their closest match of the weekend in a 11-7 showing, and Ruach [Portland] struck hard but lost to Road Head 12-10. The first surprise of the weekend was the match between Skin&Bones and Hubcap. Skin&Bones flew out of the gates quickly, taking advantage of early mistakes by Hubcap and playing nearly flawless ultimate to take the half 7-1 before trading point for the remainder of the match to win 13-7. With more raw talent on the Hubcap roster, nobody could have expected such a lopsided victory, but Skin&Bones, a team that has practiced and played together through two seasons, showed the potential of a cohesive team. Saturday play ended with the first round of the double-elimination brackets. Three of the four games finished quickly, but the match between Fat Bullet and Road Head was barely at halftime when most players from the other games were heading to the parking lot. Road Head held a 1 or 2 point lead through most of the game to 13, but Fat Bullet came back in the second half to take an 11-10 lead as the sun set. Tied at 11's and again at 12's, it was nearly too dark to play safely, but Road Head managed to score 2 straight points to win 14-12 thanks to the dominant play of Jim Winkle, Ruth Oclander and the balance of the Bend contingent. Sunday morning opened with semi-finals and matchups between familiar opponents. Skin&Bones again met Road Head but could not fire up the engines for the first game of the day and fell 13-6 to an energized Bend squad. In the other semi-final, Hubcap battled fiercely with the Pigs, but when the cap was put in place, Hubcap could not close the Pigs' lead and fell by a score of 11-7 into the backdoor bracket. Pigs in Space held their undefeated (6-0) record through the weekend to take first place with a 13-5 finals win over Bend. But for everyone else, there was much ultimate remaining to be played. Ruach (Hebrew for "Spirit") [Portland] narrowly lost (13-11) to Tacky Paw in the first backdoor round but defeated Sponge Worthy [Corvallis] by a talley of 13-5 in the 7/8 consolation match. Meanwhile, Tacky Paw scored several unanswered points at the end of their elimination match before Skin&Bones, who had been sitting on game point, closed out the game 13-11. Tacky Paw had these kinds of well fought games all weekend but could not pull out their fair share of victories. On the other side of the bracket, Fat Bullet and Hubcap were fighting for the chance to play for the final certain regionals berth. The game was tight throughout, and the "+1" hard cap was enacted with teams tied at 11. Hubcap had a winning score sent back because of a pick call and another score prevented by an ever-popular I'm-running-across-the- field-and-there's-nothing-in-this-world-that-mean s-anything-more-than-getting-this-layout-d tip that altered a pass by mere inches but caused the endzone drop. Fat Bullet scored to win and celebrated as Hubcap players meandered off the field in disbelief. Hubcap finishing 5th; not advancing to regionals was an inconcievable finish for players both on and off the squad at the onset of the weekend. Fat Bullet met Skin&Bones in what was believed to be the match for the final regionals berth. Both teams came came out strong, but Skin&Bones took the half 7-5. Although not obvious by halftime the score, the Bones felt they had the momentum and the fire to win. In the second half, they exploded, posting zero turnovers and allowing only one score, taking the game 13-6. (However, because Alaska passed on their regionals bid, Fat Bullet advanced to regionals as the fourth and final Oregon bid.)The final match of the day was the third of the weekend between Skin&Bones and Road Head. The teams are building a lovely rivalry with close games, great spirit and mutual respect. (Okay, a few individuals do bitch now and then, but it still is a great matchup.) In a match to 9, the Bones went ahead early before Road Head warmed up from their long bye and tied the game. In a tale that became rediculous in its familiarity during the weekend, teams were once again tied at the cap. Skin&Bones scored the final point, working the disc down the line to win in a picturesque display of co-ed team offense. Although anxious to get on the road and head home (no pun intended), Skin&Bones and Road Head collected together on the field as the sun set, forming a large circle with players from each team alternating. The group gave themselves a big cheer and smiled the simple smiles that come from a weekend of great competition between opponents who have become friends. Oregon Co-ed, well played! Big thanks go out to Reverend Doug "I can play in the co-ed division, run the open division and host the party" Oetter for help in pulling off a great sectionals weekend! ============================================= POOL PLAY: Pool A: Round 1 Pigs in Space-13, Tacky Paw-5 Fat Bullet-13, Sponge Worthy-0 Round 2 Pigs in Space-13, Sponge Worthy-2 Fat Bullet-12, Tacky Paw-10 Round 3 Pigs in Space-11, Fat Bullet-7 Tacky Paw-13, Sponge Worthy-3 Pool B: Round 1 Hubcap-13, Road Head-6 Skin&Bones-13, Ruach-5 Round 2 Hubcap-13, Ruach-6 Skin&Bones-12, Road Head-11 Round 3 Skin&Bones-13, Hubcap-7 Road Head-12, Ruach-10 POST-POOL PLAY STANDINGS: A1-Pigs in Space (3-0) A2-Fat Bullet (2-1) A3-Tacky Paw (1-2) A4-Sponge Worthy (0-3) B1-Skin&Bones (3-0) B2-Hubcap (2-1) B3-Road Head (1-2) B4-Ruach (0-3) CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET: Quarter-Finals: Pigs in Space-13, Ruach-5 Hubcap-13, Tacky Paw-4 Skin&Bones-13, Sponge Worthy-7 Road Head-14, Fat Bullet-12 Semi-Finals: Pigs in Space-12, Hubcap-7 Road Head-13, Skin&Bones-6 Finals: Pigs in Space-13, Road Head-5 BACKDOOR BRACKET: First Round: Tacky Paw-13, Ruach-11 Fat Bullet-13, Sponge Worthy-1 Second Round: Skin&Bones-13, Tacky Paw-11 Fat Bullet-12, Hubcap-11 Semi-Finals: Skin&Bones-13, Fat Bullet-6 Final: Skin&Bones-9, Road Head-8 5/6 Consolation: Hubcap-2, Tacky Paw-1 7/8 Consolation: Ruach-13, Sponge Worthy-5 FINAL STANDINGS AND RECORDS: 1st: Pigs In Space [PDX] (6-0) 2nd: Skin&Bones [PDX] (7-1) 3rd: Road Head [Bend] (3-4) 4th: Fat Bullet [Ashland] (4-3) 5th: Hubcap [All Over] (4-3) 6th: Tacky Paw [PDX] (2-5) 7th: Ruach [PDX] (1-5) 8th: Sponge Worthy [Corvallis] (0-6)