Hello.
I am but one man with the usual amount of eyes and ears (2) (of each). Though I’ve tried to cover as much of this amazing and jam-packed day of Ultimate in this recap, I acknowledge that it is barely even the tip of the iceberg of all the incredible things that happened today. If you’d like your games and great moments to be included in future recaps, please give me the inside scoop in person, or through our Facebook/email.
Before we get started, a bit of housekeeping. I gave every team a hard copy of this Nationals Booklet, but not everyone seemed to know that it exists, so! If you want to see the crossword, the 25 question quiz, horoscopes, and some believable fakes, click through to read IOU’s inaugural player booklet. I also have some stickers - come find me tomorrow if you want one.
This article will contain:
Some highlights from the day
Draw and results summary to save you from the hell that is Ultimate Central
Quotes from the fields - both overheard and given
Day One, Baby
I regret that heading immediately.
It was a grey but rainless Saturday in Ballarat, without a glimpse of sun or blue. That doesn’t mean the UV can’t get you though. Cool light winds wheezed in from the North, becoming chilly and subsequently bloody freezing as the day wore on. The grass was frosty with dew, and everywhere were the sounds of ultimate. Team speakers. Plastic smacking into palms. The rip of strapping tape. The timeless cry of “Up!”
An early contender for Game of the Day came in the form of Manly v Rogue in the Women’s division. This hard fought match up had some fairly major implications in the ‘Pool of Death’, and was a pretty hectic way to start the tournament.
With just one break (to Manly) in the first half, both sides took a few points to settle into their respective offensive rhythms. For Manly, Kya Wiya and Holly Reeve looked typically indomitable, able to soot deep or grind under with few turns in the first half. For Rogue, the Cheung to Pidgeon connection got the ball (and scoreboard) rolling), and it wasn’t long before Owens and Ruiz had got in on the fun as well.
It was an entirely different game after the break. Rogue pulled out a loose, patient zone that seemed the stifle the Mavericks’ flow. The pressure resulted in many turns and a couple of breaks, including one electric Cat Ashton Callahan that threw all journalistic impartiality momentarily out the window. I spiked my notebook, basically. On the next point, Rogue got two turns on one possession, working it all the way up to the doorstep of the end zone, but had a tragic/unlucky miscommunication about the intended receiver of the final pass. The momentum and energy was yo-yoing back and forth between the teams frenetically and, when a timeout was called, I, for one, was glad.
The ensuing points were a kind of blur, with Manly riding wave after wave of pressure and Rogue pushing them for every disc. Poised at 13-11 (the third most dangerous score in Ultimate), Manly was able to hold and quickly break to round out the game.
In the Opens Division, Pool B is looking simply electric right now.
In a game that may well determine the run of each team to the finals, Sunder triumphed over a seething, surging Ellipsis in one of the best game Nationals pool play has seen in many years. Standout moments include a heads up, largely blind, over his own shoulder, head height layout D from Cupcake—after consulting a dictionary, the most appropriate adjective to describe it would be, ‘Ridonkulous.’ Also of note, when Alex Gan air bounced a break throw into the end zone, Edmund Feng became airborne, then diagonal, and then somehow upside down to reel it in. It was one of the best grabs I’ve ever seen with my own eyes, and it punched in a critical break. Extraordinary high pressure offence under some of the highest calibre defensive intensity we’ve seen at AUC outside of the finals, Sunder eventually held to make it 14-13. Though both teams and the large sideline were gearing up for a tight finish, a univese point even, Lochie Wise peeled off the back of the stack on a Pete Eley huck to launch body and soul into the path of the (usually) unstoppable force that is Rob Andrews. Wise got the D and some knees in the spine for his trouble. One booming, glorious Mitch Sutton huck to a streaking Mark McLeay later and, after a bit of faff, Sunder punched it in.
On the neighbouring field, Sublime and HOS played out the kind of high octane, high layout frequency, high turnover game you might expect these two energetic and athletic foes would produce. Jeremy Ha was lethal as an offensive primary, able to control the play or just let it rip depending, seemingly, on his mood. The Subbies won most of these inter-point skirmishes through athleticism and/or attrition, taking half 8-4. A bit later in the game, Juggernaut spiked the disc no less than three times following an offensive hold, and this seemed to get them back in the mood for Ultimate. Complex psyches over at HOS I’ll tell you what. Through a collection of Sublime turnovers, both earned and gifted, it looked like we were going to see the Great Jugger Comeback, getting it to 13-13. Truong was everywhere during this run, literally everywhere on the field, wherever the disc was, linking up with the flat, booming flick of Tom ‘The Difference’ Deller on more than one ocassion. And after all that excitement, Sublime calmly held and then quickly broke to win, 15-13.
Also meanwhile, Manly and Mammoth went to universe. Too much to unpack here. You can see some highlights from the game on our Facebook/Instagram stories.
Results!
Womens
Pool A
Pool A is largely taking shape. A few upsets will be needed to change the current table but anything is possible in Ballarat, as they say.
Pool B
Pool B is NUTS oh my goodness. Literally any configuration of teams in the top 4 (except for Ellipsis, sitting pretty on 3-0) could still happen. Everything to play for tomorrow.
Opens
Pool A
You haven’t put your results in at the time of posting this. Just put your results in, brothers. Let this be a lesson to you all. I’ll update this tonight, I have to go have dinner.
Pool B
Extreme excitement in Pool B today, with almost every configuration still available. The results today proved that anyone can beat anyone if the conditions are right. Tune in to IOU’s socials tomorrow to follow along with sporadic updates.
Quotes from the fields
Just an assortment of things I heard from today. Please submit your own quotes to our Facebook/Instagram.
“No Comment.” — All of Sunder
“I didn’t know that’s how you spell Kaos — I thought it had a C in it?” — Anon
“What are you doing here if you’re not playing?” — Many people
“What are you writing in your little notebook there?” —Many people
It goes without saying that I’m hoping this section will be a little more interesting tomorrow.
Sleep well, athletes!