Navy vs. Sky Blue
Week 3 of the Gville Fall League put our Navy squad, in fresh new Navy threads, up against the formidable Sky (Carolina) Blue headed by Jenny and Jeff. Navy started on offense and the game was tight through the first nine points of the first half. We traded offensive holds until Navy was able to get a couple of breaks, moving into half with an 8 to 5 lead. The wind started to pick up toward the end of the first half, allowing us to employ a couple zone defenses that were able to stymie the Sky Blue attack. In the second half, the wind continued to play a factor, with both teams running zone defenses that led to some stagnation for the opposing offenses. Sky Blue was able to get a couple breaks near the start of the second half, but Navy was able to get back on track and closed the game strong, scoring 5 of the last 6 points played.
The game was very spirited and saw some great plays on both sides. Kellie held things down in the backfield as a veteran thrower with her squeeze DDP. Jenny, Jaylynne, and Amber showed their strong ability to get open downfield then made tough throws to open up the field. Kevin Switzer worked in the backfield too, using his patented hammers to frustrate our zone defense. Speaking of Switzer, Carson made two incredible catches for scores, laying out on away shots grabbing the trailing edge like a boss! Dylan, Timmy, Jeff, and Jack cut hard and found holes in our defense, forcing us to keep adjusting over the course of the game. Unfortunately for Sky, but fortunately for us, they were missing Raul and ADub who would have made our lives much more difficult.
For Navy, our ladies are proving to be the strong core of our team, even after losing Tori to a tough injury. Maddy cuts up a storm, finding holes in zones and creating separation against person-D. Alethia and Krystal were also able to find space downfield, each registering scores. And Sydney is showing her propensity for handling, slicing through the cup on multiple occasions to break zones and finding weak spots. Walker is a scoring machine and had a few connections with his Jax buddy Adam dishing him assists. Adam was a strong presence downfield working well with Justin to move the disc quickly after getting into the second level of the defense. Ryan and Paul were strong defenders for us, causing problems in the front of the zone and matching up against some of the top guys from Sky Blue. Tom also worked hard on both sides of the disc, pestering cutters and making solid throws on the turn. Last but certainly not least, Alex used his size effectively to be a big target downfield.
For week 4, Navy will be matching up against Layton and Falk’s white. We will look forward to the return of KJ and Fleming, offering veteran presences in the backfield. We’re looking forward to a great game. Like the Village People, we’re gonna be IN THE NAVY!!
Gator Blue vs. Purple
Purple won over Gator Blue 15-10
What was a very consistent, even start to the game got away from “Honeymoon Blues” just before half. All was within 2 points until 6-6 at which point Purple took half at a stron 8-6, going on to score the first 3 points after half to assert a dominant 11-6 lead. Despite some strong defensive efforts on zone, particularly with tired legs, late in the game, Gator Blue fell 15-10
Honeymoon Blues Highlights:
-Lexie Nielsen had some phenomenal spacing in zone defense and was putting 110% effort forwards 100% of the time
-CeCe Collinson continues to be an unbelievably flexible player who is a phenomenal mix of supportie and dominant
-Despite complaining about being first pick all the time, Justin Fletcher continues to be a phenomenal threat for the team
-Drew Hiatt had a strong game of assists in both quantity and quantity
-Evan O’Neill had a tremendously easy huck for score in the first 10 seconds of the game, which he promptly dropped. Thanks John
Purple Highlights:
-Aaron Colverson had a phenomenal “on a shelf” huck late in the second half to seal the deal
-Will Byrd continues to have stellar spirit
-Allison Welch was a defensive machine
Week 3 MVP: Drew Hiatt
On and off the field, Drew Hiatt continues to be one of the strongest parts of the team. Complementing 4 assists, 2 of which were stellar hucks, with 1 D and zero turns leads to a truly phenomenal performance.
Honeymoon Blues will be bringing a strong level of fun next week which will only be exceeded by their tremendous skill
Navy vs. Sky Blue
left us black and blue
Navy over Sky Blue 15-10
The day started with an ENORMOUS buzzkill of finding out that Tori, resident frisbee queen of Gainesville, injured her knee at regionals and will be out of commission for the rest of league. We all wish you a speedy recovery, Tori, and we are here to lend a hand if there’s anything we can do. I know you’ll be back out there pwning on folks in no time!!!!
Like a boss, Tori was STILL on the field, captaining her team to greatness, and for anyone who thought losing league’s top lady would cramp Navy’s style, they still looked pretty damn good out there. The skill and freakish athleticism of Adams Automobile&Stillson is nigh insurmountable, and all the rest of the men on this squad are just downright SOLID (shout out to Walker for some impressive rips last week). And even without Tori on the field, the women of Navy can hang with anyone. Shout out to Maddy for moving the disc with a confidence I aspire to, but never seem to achieve. Great game ya’ll, I think I’m jumping on the “Navy is the team to beat” bandwagon.
SkyBlue is still working some ish out, but if we can keep our sloppy turns to a minimum, stop digging holes we can’t climb out of, and start capitalizing on the break opportunities we’re creating, we’re a match for any other team in league. Those are a lot of ifs, but what’s awesome is we have the entire regular season to sort it out, and we’re already making incredible improvements.
We were without our 2 and 3 in Raul and Adub, and we were also missing the newer but quick-learning and athletic Matt Baldwin and Stephanie Rueegg. We did, however, have every other lady on our squad there, including Amber Holder (cousin of the incomparable Jenny Rodriguez, my co captain) who got her first taste of league last Sunday. She jumped right in and started picking up the game with impressive alacrity. Also, big shout out to Jaylynee Hocutt for some seriously steady hands and awesome cutting. And yeah, obviously Kellie and Jenny are awesome. Nuff said.
As far as dem boys go, shout out to Carson for a SICK layout catch towards the end of the game. Also, Jack Hemmy, I think I said this the last time I drafted you, but YOU FAST, dude. Seriously, you turn your back on this man… he gone. Samesies for Dylan, AKA the top 3 best lefties in league. Don’t sleep on Dylan, this cat can sky and sling with the best of them. Ken was a keystone in our cup and helped move the disc with veteran cuts on O. Kevin and Dan were our anchors behind the disc, and Timmy, as usual, just did everything. We were psyched to get Ben Baumer out there as well. I feel like Ben always knows where to be to make himself useful (which is probably why he’s won so many championships). He also fits snugly in my big orange bun. But that’s a topic for another time.
Even losing 15-10, I still felt like we played really well. Everyone touched the disc, was involved, and a lot of our newer players were forced into playing more points, and in positions they weren’t necessarily comfortable. There were a few times where we fell short or made silly mistakes, but all in all, it was a really good game for developing chemistry, and figuring out where we want to be on the field. I think the one place we really need to work is making sure we’re taking advantage of Ds. But that will come.
SUPER spirited game. 10 out of 10 Navy! See you in the playoffs =)
Love,
Cap’n Rose
Orange vs. Green
Outcome: Green over Orange 15-7
Suffice it to say that this was NOT our week. Missing several key players and a windy day combined to set us back from the get-go. Add in a bad case of the dropsies and we dug ourselves a whole we simply couldn’t climb out of this week. It was touch and go for the first half, but coming out of half, it just wasn’t enough and we effectively shut ourselves out of the game very quickly. Both teams got the majority of their turns from unforced throwing errors, but we simply couldn’t convert the opportunities that came our way, and the end result showed that.
Green Highlights:
-Chris Bailey and Ryan Longley were calm and collected handlers for green, moving the disc up the field with relatively few turnovers coming out of either one of them
-Lauren Quiroga and Jamie Murbach were dedicated cutters, tearing us up on the unders and the deeps all game and forcing our ladies to put in the work to cover them
-Jackson Chase found himself in the endzone for the final score of the game! (keep working on finding those spaces and you’re gonna be open for days, kid)
Orange Highlights:
-Logan Diehl is fast as haillllll and finds ways to get open no matter who is playing defense on him. A true athlete.
-Cody Bella was continually open downfield all game, providing us opportunities to get deep looks.
-Dave DePlato is an underrated player who follows the team mentality wherever we take it. If we say we’re playing zone, Dave is on board. If we say go man, Dave is on board. A great teammate who is one of the most coachable players on the team.
Week 3 MVP: Logan Diehl
Logan remains one of the most athletic players in league (he’s coming for you, Adam Carr) and uses his youthful energy and as-yet-undestroyed joints to demolish his competition. You’d be hard pressed to find many people in this league that can go toe-to-toe with our boy on the field. Logan was probably our most consistent player in this game, making the right decisions and staying calm under pressure. He’s also hella nice, so we really hit the jackpot with this one.
White vs. Charcoal
White came out Sunday ready to play, which was great seeing as how we only had two guy subs. On the other hand, we finally had all our ladies which was amazing! We came out swinging breaking Charcoal 3 times in a row. Charcoal then put a point on the board and then the wheels started to come off. Lots of dump turnovers and bad throws later and the Claws found ourselves down 5-8 at half. We came out on O but were broken twice more. At this point one of our dudes got hurt and had to stop playing, leaving us with one sub for the men. Ironically, after this we traded points for the rest of the game with the final score being 15-10 Charcoal. My favorite thing about this game though had to be the fact that the last 4 points White played with 3 women who CRUSHED it! One of these days we’ll have our full team there and it’s going to be sick when we do.
Charcoal Highlights:
–Brandon Bowlin played one of the smartest games of ultimate I’ve seen him play. His consistency with the disc allowed his team to move quickly around whatever kind of defense White was throwing.
–Adam Swain had a great game generating multiple D’s and scoring an equal number of times. Dude is athletic as hell and should be on the watch list for future leagues.
–Tanya Lopez was back on the field after a long hiatus and I have to say that she’s just as impressive as ever especially considering she had to play a considerable number of points since Charcoal was short on ladies.
White Highlights:
–Amar Kelkar had a great weekend, playing way better than anyone would expect out of “last round pick”! Amar was getting open on his man constantly and did a great job of recognizing poaches. My personal favorite thing was that while a lot of people on both teams were struggling with dump throws, Amar didn’t have a single turnover all day!
–Natalie Baumgarten was hands down the MVP for White and in my totally unbiased opinion, the entire game! She played over half the points and still managed to be running at full steam the whole time. She was the girl who played against a dude whenever we went 4-3 and she got bookends while doing so!
White definitely hasn’t hit our stride yet but when we do I can’t wait to see how high our ceiling is. Great job to White for never giving up and great job to Charcoal for taking it to us!