Friday, July 25, 2014

A Capella MUDI Recap

A Capella wrapped up a successful weekend at the Minnesota Ultimate Disc Invitational in Maple Plain Minnesota. The Open Division of the tournament saw 15 teams compete from Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Winnipeg. Out of the 15 teams A Capella was seeded thirteenth but finished 10th overall. They lost their first three games in pool play, but rebounded winning all three of their consolation games.

A Capella was placed as the fourth seed in Pool A. The pool included Climax, Blocka Cheddar and Wisconsin Hops. They finished 3rd, 2nd, and 6th respectfully but were seeded 1st, 8th and 13th. This was the group of death in which 3 of the four teams broke seed and the only team that didn't finished with two losses to the first and second place team.

In game one A Capella lost 15-1 against Blocka Cheddar. BC was made up of Masters division National contender Surly and Grey Ducks.

In game two A Capella lost 15-2 against Climax the perennially second best Open team in Minnesota.

In game three A Capella lost 15-4 against Wisconsin Hops. They also lost 13-4 against Hops in the MS Open.

That wrapped up pool play and for their first game of consolation they faced off against YCC Open B and won 15-8.

In their first game on Sunday, A Capella played against Male Men. Male Men was an open team created by Brandon Matis a Winona State Ultimate player that was part of the leadership of the Banana Slugs (The former team name of the A Capella Ultimate Club). In that game A Capella won in upset fashion.

In their final game, the boys of MOFO put up their closest fight yet. A Capella escaped with a 14-11 hard cap victory. MOFO put up a late run with four straight scores but failed to convert a downwind point to keep the game alive.

Breaking seed by 3 is a success and due to the poor seeding of 0-5 Imperial (9 seed), A Capella did not get a shot at facing off against the 8th or 9th place finishers YCC Open A and Mad Men. Their next competition will be August 2nd in Rochester Minnesota. ACU will be competing in the 3rd Annual Chuck Hermann Memorial Ultimate Tournament. ACU also competed in the 2nd Annual where they finished second losing 12-11 on universe point to a local area Rochester League Team.

It'll be championship or bust for ACU next weekend as this young team looks to continue its development.

Chuck Hermann Tournament Pools Announced

The pools have been announced for the Third Annual Chuck Hermann Memorial Ultimate Tournament. Last year's tournament saw A Capella Ultimate make a strong run at the championship only to see a second half comeback thwarted on universe point. They now return as the number two overall seed and top seed in Pool B.

The pool includes:
1. A Capella Ultimate
2. Mighty Platypi
3. Maple Grove Disc Club
4. Victorious Secret

Pool A includes:
1. Critical Point
2. Discepticons
3. Above All Roofing
4. Average Hucks

Maple Grove will be making their first appearance in the tournament as the number three seed in Pool B. The format for the CHM Tournament is unlike any other tournament.

Pool play will consist of two 15 minute running time halves with a 5 minute halftime.
Each team is allowed one timeout per half and no timeouts in overtime.
In the case of a tie, a sudden death overtime (universe) point will be played for the victory
A disc toss will determine possession in overtime

It remains to be seen if this type of game format will help or hinder the Floppy Discs, but what is certain is that they won't have much leeway. The tournament allows for only the top two seeds from each pool to move on to the semifinals. A Capella was undefeated in pool play last year and have only improved this season. Assuming they sweep the pool that leaves only two games for the Discs, both must wins in order to secure the two seed.

Next Thursday's scrimmage against A Capella will not only be an early viewing of their second opponent, but also a great warm-up for the type of competition they will face in the tournament.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Scrimmage Anounced

Maple Grove Ultimate has been fairly dormant during the summer season, but is about to kick off a wave of competition here in late July and early August. On Thursday July 31st, Maple Grove will face off with second year club team A Capella Ultimate. You'll remember A Capella because coach Mark Waananen and former players DJ Rekstad, Nate Haines, and Cullen Garves are all on that team. This will be a fun matchup and good gauge of the team's level of play. Depending on who is able to attend, A Capella could be sporting multiple division one college players or a bunch of mid twenties scrubs.

Maple Grove's next competition will be August 2nd in Rochester for the 3rd Annual Chuck Hermann Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. Excitingly enough A Capella will also be in attendance, possibly with a split squad. Next Thursday's scrimmage could be a preview of a tournament matchup, or even an early showing of the club's future stars. Already having recruited both DJ and Cullen, it's no secret that Dylan and Mitchell will not be far behind in joining their older brothers on the club scene.

Maple Grove is also expected to possibly debut some of their new recruits in the upcoming scrimmage. Sam Franta, Clark Wieneke, and Cal McKinny are all players that are rumored to have interest in joining the 2015 campaign. More news to come.