Captain's Log: 80706

Captain's Log: 80706

Last weekend, we rocked Mad-Disc-On, held in Oregon, Wisconsin. The tournament field was not too different from that of Aquatennial, maybe just substitute Mr. Briefcase for Hot Dish. The weather was deceiving because it wasn't very hot with frequent cloud cover, some rain, and some wind, but I got the worst sunburn I've had all summer. It isn't anything that is painful, though, just a little annoying.

When I picked up everybody in Ames, Jon asked who was going. I said, "Three from St. Louis, three from Minneapolis, Lana, and who you presently see in the car." He put his hands behind his head, cowered, and sustained a lamentful "NO!". He was ready for a nice easy, full-substitution tournament. Not so. We had eight guys and six ladies. We did end up picking up two more guys, though.

Our first game was against Seiche, a team from Milwaukee that we have trouble against for some reason. We always play close games against them, but have yet to lose to them. This game was no different, as they took an early lead, even leading 6-3, before I believe we took halftime 7-6. I think we were tied at 11s before we took the game 14-12. It would be our closest game all tournament.

To finish out the day we played TFB, Soy Nuts, and Mr. Briefcase. I think we beat TFB 13-4 and Soy Nuts 13-5. The Mr. Briefcase game went to 8-8 before we scored 5 in a row to win. Although the Briefcase game was close, I never felt like we were in any trouble of losing. I got footblocked bigtime by Tony from Mr. B.

Sunday was filled with Talledaga Nights references, as our team went to see the movie together. Also, some Dave Chapelle Lost Episodes references were had. We had to finish out pool play by playing The New World Love Clan (13-4) and Meddling Kids (13-9). Our semis game was against Kablammo, a team from Minneapolis. I think we went up 8-1 fairly quickly and then cruised to a 13-5 victory. Moe was taking care of Seiche just as fast on the other field.

Finals. CLX v. Moe. I think this was only the fifth time we've played Moe in a final and the finals series was tied at 2-2. To think about that was surprising, because it feels like we've played them in every final over the last two years, but not true. We come out zone because our man defense hasn't been great. They turn 70 yards later, but I throw it away soon enough. They work back down and score. On the next point, we turn on the second throw and they quickly score. 0-2. We tie the score at 2-2. They take another two point lead at 4-2, and it seems that the game is starting to slip away. We battle back hard with some good defense and long hucks to tie it up at 6s. We call a timeout and plan on scoring, but they are able to connect on a huck. Still, the general feeling at halftime was one of confidence. We had withstanded the early run and fought back, something we didn't do in Minneapolis. After half, we tie it at 7-7. We start to build a lead off big hucks and less than textbook plays. CLX may not have the throws that other teams do, but we're great 500 players. Shawn makes some big grabs in the middle of this game, scoring on three big hucks during the stretch. I believe the game is tied at 10s, when I come down with a huck from Mike. Then, we get a D and Jake throws a big huck to Shawn, who outruns three Moe defenders. Sometimes, you can't be afraid to throw into triple coverage. We come down the field on D, I pick up a quick footblock, launch a craptastic hammer up to Drew who pulls it in for the victory. It wasn't pretty, but it counts. 13-10.

-Our defense came up big in the Moe game. Man defense was not our strong point during the tournament, but we were able to pick it up for the big game. It wasn't perfect, but enough to get the job done. Rachel Sheldahl and Jake played particularly inspiring defense. I don't remember too much about our zone in the game, but I seem to remember it resulting in a few turnovers. It helps having Drew on the mark.

-Speaking of Drew, it was great to have him in blue. After picking up with us in Detroit last weekend, he decided to come and watch this weekend. Well, after much pestering, we got him into a pair of cleats on Saturday and he brought his own on Sunday, showing up halfway through semis. The guy is synonymous with "hammer". I think half the scores he catches or throws involves a hammer. Drew is a great example of the CLX spirit. He loves to play ultimate, joke around, have a good time, throw hammers and hucks, and catch them. What else do you need to play ultimate? Also, it was good having Mike pick up with us. He was a solid addition to both the D and O line.

-Handling. It's getting better, and Solarz is a big reason for that. She is probably has the highest completion rate on the team, throws great I/O breaks, and is starting to huck too. Jon and Mike did a good job over the weekend. A big load of our offense is on their shoulders right now and they are doing a good job with it. I think they would both rather play from the stack and maybe not as many points, but they are handling the position well, in true ISUC form.

-Shawn. I think Shawn has improved his offensive game every year. In 2003, we were seriously thinking of cutting Shawn because he threw way too many turnovers. In 2004, he cut down on the turns and really turned up the D, becoming an outspoken leader on the team in the process. In 2005, he added great cutting to his game. He no longer clogged lanes for entire stall counts, but timed his cuts and was a great cutter underneath. Now, in 2006, he's throwing the disc as well as I've ever seen him and is filling in as a handler at times. I've been impressed by his yearly progression in skills.

-Gibbs played with us again and played well. She looked a little tentative to throw sometimes on Saturday, but came up with some big grabs both days, and over Joe Brisbois! She's a welcome addition to the team.

-Jimi. As Shawn's offense has improved, Jimi's defense has improved. There were points where I was surprised at the consistency and intensity of the defense he was playing. James has really worked hard to join this team and he's earned his jersey. I swear this guy sprinkles diamonds on his breakfast cereal he's so baller.

That's about all I've got. Our next tournament in less than two weeks away now, back in Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, where we'll be defending champions at Cooler. CLX has never been a repeating champion, so we have something to shoot for. I hope Cooler offers more resistance than previous tournaments. Certainly, we could be playing harder teams in semis than we have been. Ice may be there, which would certainly do the trick. They could be good. Like national championship good. I guess I don't know who they've lost off last years roster, but they already have some bigtime additions to their current roster.