Knox Preview

This weekend brings our first tournament of the greatest semester ISU Ultimate has ever had, and I couldn't be more excited. Although we aren't playing with our teams for the spring yet, this will still be a great opportunity to shake off those winter cobwebs and get used to playing with the Gnomes again.

With 3 pool play games per team, everyone should be fresh for the whole tournament save the elimination rounds where the more conditioned teams should see a slight advantage. The lack of wind inside the T. Fleming Fieldhouse which allows for even the rookies to make sweet full-field hucks makes every team a threat to go all the way, and demands that we not look past any team, especially given our history of coming out sluggish during our first game (don't worry, I won't let that happen this year).

• Pool A should be very interesting to watch. Saturday starts off with Knox A vs Bradley which should be a highly contested match up, given the similarity of those two programs. My guess is that this game will be decided based on the play from the women on both sides. Get your seats early for this one, the gym mats will go quick.
• Next up is ISU D vs Knox Alum who has a strong history of rolling everyone at this tournament. Luckily they're all a year older, so maybe that'll slow them down, but probably not. ISU D will have to play smart to edge out a win against these wily vets, but I believe that they can do it given the level of experience they're bringing. Luckily they also have a wily vet of their own, a Mr. Kevin Rogers, 9th year senior (don't forget about those nets, Kroger).
• Round 3 pits ISU D against Bradley. ISU D should be warmed up for this game and playing smart after being beaten by the no-look behind the back backhand once or twice by Knox alum. Another great game to watch as Pool A continues to stump me as far as predictions go.
• The Knox A vs Knox Alum game should be comical, highly contested, and probably the game to watch all weekend as it always is. The alumni will make silly throws for the first half, the benches will clear after every point scored, and the Galesburg crew will make some inside jokes that they find hilarious. The second half will end up getting crazy intense and the Alum will edge them out in the end. I'd expect to see at leat 3 or 4 thumber scores, and Baker to get a rookie mark to run down the field while still has the disc.
• The final game, Knox A vs ISU D will be a tough one for ISU D. Knox never seems to have a lack of talented handlers who can put the disc wherever they want it outdoors, making the indoor game look like a piece of cake. If ISU D can mark well during this game, it has the potential to be very close.
  

Predicted Standings*:
1-Knox Alum
2-Knox A
3-ISU D
4-Bradley

• Pool B appears to have slightly less parity than Pool A, but there should be some good games in this one as well. The first round promises to be a good game as WIU and ISU challenge each other with the closest thing to their full-strength squads as has been possible this year. This game should be the highlight of Pool B given the intensity and skill that both of these teams are able to bring. This game will be decided by patience on O and mental toughness. Intensity and intelligence on D are a given from both teams.
• Sasquatch vs Lake Forest: If I'm correct, which is about 50/50 right now, Sasquatch is UMich-Stout. I had the opportunity to play these guys at Hucktoberfest this past fall and remember them as a very friendly, spirited team. They're a newer program, but everyone on their team seemed to have a lot of passion from the game, so I'd expect them to be much improved since the fall. I haven't seen Lake Forest play in over a year and a half, so I can't comment much on the outcome of this game.
• WIU vs Sasquatch: Again, I'm not sure who Sasquatch is, so I'll give the nod to WIU in this game.
• ISU vs Lake Forest: Another 1 sided game (as related to my knowledge of the teams). ISU gets the win because of Willy's sweet shorts and because I'm very biased.
• WIU vs Lake Forest: Western wins on Universe, in order to make this post more exciting.
• WIU vs Sasquatch: See above
• ISU vs Sasquatch: Tornado! (I wish I knew more about these teams, please comment if you do...)

Predicted Standings*:
1-ISU (come on, what did you think I was gonna say?)
2-WIU
3-Lake Forest
4-Chewbacca

Pool C will probably be dominated by this weekend's version of the Brett Porter Super Team, which we've all grown accustomed to losing to. I'd imagine that Knox B will be mostly rookies who will end up learning a lot from playing this weekend, and I don't know what to expect from Northern. NIU without Jorge and Glenn is like cake without frosting, like movies without popcorn, and like me without Glenn and Jorge - something's just missing. Hopefully these alums will show up and show us all a good time while simultaneously significantly increasing Northern's stock who made the finals last year with them. Last I heard EIU was hurting for ladies, so hopefully they've found some.

Predicted Standings con Jorge y Glenn*:
1-ChiAss
2-NIU
3-EIU
4-Knox B

Predicted Standings sin Jorge y Glenn*:
1-ChiAss
2-EIU
3-NIU
4-Knox B

Final prediction: Stanley makes min. 15 new friends, gets his nut rubbed, and ISU chases multiple teams around the track trying to get him back, and seriously pissing off the guy in the green crocs.

*I debated actually predicting the standings after pool play for a while, but in the end I felt like I needed to after putting all the work into analyzing each game individually. I think we'd all agree that this weekend is more about seeing old/making new friends, playing ultimate after a few months of Midwest winter, and having fun than winning.