Tournament Reports

University Women's Indoor Regionals 2018

UWIR teams (day 2)

 

SB1

Saturday

SBW1 v LSE1 (6-1)

The game started off with both teams struggling with some unforced errors, but we found our rhythm with smart person defense on their iso setup and focusing on consistent movement during our offensive plays. This game gave our team the experience we needed to get used to playing with each other in a tournament setting for the first time.

SBW1 v Brighton 1 (7-2)

We went into this game not knowing what to expect, as this was the first time Brighton has brought a women’s team in the past couple years (great to see the women’s ultimate scene continuing to grow!). We came out with the fighting mentality needed to take the game. They tested our person defense with some deep looks and showed us areas we needed to work on as we were lucky on some missed completions from their deep looks. On offence, we continued to gain confidence, with a particularly great demonstration of getting your body behind the disc from Farris in the endzone (#hugthedisc). It was a really well-spirited and highly enjoyable game.

SBW1 v Oxford 2 (6-1)

After two consecutive wins, we were looking to maintain consistency when facing Oxford 2, and we succeeded. This game was an opportunity to continue to improve on our flow on offence, and We played some textbook points which Oxford were unable to shut down.

SBW1 v Herts 1 (4-8)

We went into the game knowing that Herts were by far the strongest team in our pool. We started the game coming out strong with some confident offensive points and fierce defense. However, Herts tightened their zone to put more pressure on our handlers, and the fact that most of our handlers were in fact cutters definitely made it trickier to break their zone. A few well-placed overheads gave Herts the quick scores that they needed to pull away and take the game.

SBW1 v St. Mary’s 1 (7-0)

Even with tired legs, we rose to the occasion and played a high-energy game against St. Mary’s. We used this game as a chance to use what we’d learnt from the Herts game and go back to doing our basics well. We took advantage of the options that their zone gave us, moving the disc and gaining the confidence to use our blades. We capitalized on turns and ended the day on a high note.

 

Sunday

SBW1 v Surrey 1 (7-6)

Heading into bracket play the next day, we were wary of our opponents as they had completely turned their pool upside down the previous day in pool play. After scouting them out the day before, we knew they had an effective iso play and liked to throw high releases, so we did our best to take away the options we knew that they wanted. Trading points back and forth, the game was fast-paced meaning we had to attack every disc and stay focused on smart downfield defense. We went down after a break from Surrey, but brought it back again by staying chilly on O and coming out hard on D. We came out on offense on universe point with a point that really brought everything that we had learnt so far together. We took the game to move on to the 1 vs 4 bracket.

SBW1 v UCL 1 (3-7)

We went into this game knowing it would be a step up in intensity. We fought the entire way through the game and made some incredible, critical defensive plays as well as tricky catches under pressure. Unable to capitalize on the turnovers and offensive points due to the tight person defense of UCL, we could not close the difference in score. UCL had strong handlers and an effective handler weave, which gave us lots to think about on defense (as well as sore throats from yelling “no line” constantly).

SBW1 v Herts 1 (3-5)

Given the chance to play Herts again, we was hoping to capitalize on what we learned the previous day: effective handler movement and patience when attempting to break through the zone wall. The start of the game was trading off points, but due to a couple of errors on person defense against the classic Herts overhead looks and taking some risky blades looks on offense, Herts managed to pull away and win the game.

SBW 1 v UEA 1 (3-7)

This game was the 5v6 game to go (to div 1). Going into our final game, we knew that UEA would play a strong iso offense, with CUlt’s own Nat as a key player. We tried to mark tightly against their iso but struggled to take away all their options. The speed and fluidity of the UEA offense was both challenging and enjoyable to play against. We finished the tournament in 6th place, and qualified for (the first ever!) UWIN div 2. 

MVP: Emily

MSP: May

SB1 Squad: Anoss, Becca, Catherine, Emily, Farris, Fi, May, Sophie