2000 Black Tide Tournaments

SATURDAY
11-4 vs Occidental
11-7 vs U.C. Davis
10-12 vs Condors (unofficial game)
14-15 vs UCSD (feature game)

[Recap by Tommy Burfeind]

Saturday
Game 1-tide vs occidental. they were the 3rd seed in our pool. it was 6-4 at half. final score 11-4 tide.

Game 2-tide vs davis. davis is a strong team this year. they have a lot of players who play on their club team. final score 11-7 tide.

Game 3-tide vs condors. just for experience, so it doesn't count on our records or in the tournament standings. we jumped up to a 6-3 half time lead. i think we got their attention. they came out the second half, slapped a zone on us, and it took some time for us to solve it. by the time we did we were up 10-9 game to 11. we had the disc two times with the chance to win, but couldn't convert. the condors took advantage and won the game 12-10. this game answered any kind of questions of what kind of team the tide would be this year. any college team that can take the condors to the brink of losing is going to be just fine. personally, i had a blast playing against all of my former teammates.

Game 4-tide vs ucsd-feature game under the lights. we wanted to make the feature game as exciting as possible so we played a crossover game against another one seed. ucsd is a strong team this year, game was set to be to 11. they ended up beating us 15-14 at the cap. tough game. they couldn't stop our offense, but we couldn't stop theirs. we traded points until the cap. they started the game with the disc and it played out with them on top.

Sunday
Even though we lost on saturday night, we still won our pool and got a first round bye into the quarter finals.

Game 1-tide vs ucla. it was raining pretty hard and the game was sloppy with a lot of drops. final score 11-5 tide (i believe)

Game 2-semis - tide vs stanford.
due to our loss, stanford got the #1 seed and we dropped to the #4 seed. this set up our meeting in the semis. stanford was not happy about this. the game was pretty amazing. it rained throughout and we traded points with one another for the whole game. they'd jump up one, then we'd jump up one. game was to 13 and they had us 12-11. they pulled to us and we worked it down against the zone for the score. we then followed with two huge defensive blocks and scores to win the game 14-12. it was awesome.

Game 3-finals - tide vs ucsd
due to rain and the length of our stanford game, the finals did not get started until after 4:00. we were up 10-7 game to 15, but it was already dark. we agreed to cap it at 12. for five straight points they pulled, slapped on a zone, and stopped us. it was too dark to see the disc. i was handling, i could barely make out the poppers, i couldn't see the deeps, the defenders were tough to see, and the disc was very difficult to make out. they didn't get any d's, we had five drops. no one could see. in the end ucsd won 12-11.

Looking back, I'm glad the tournament turned out the way it did. We beat Stanford, gave the Condors a scare, and you better believe UCSD has a spanking coming their way. The reason we play these early tournaments is for experience. We got that and a whole lot more to build on.

Pool Play:

Game 1 vs Dolemite:
at one point the game was tied 2-2. then for a long stretch we forgot how to throw and catch. these aspects are vital in the game of ultimate. we ended losing 13-2. welcome to club level ultimate.

Game 2 vs NW All Stars:
this was the #1 seed in our pool. we went down early, about 4-1, but then rallied back strong to cut into the lead. we were pretty fired up for this game, especially when one of their players started acting up. at one point, Dan and their player got into it and on the next play, Dan got an amazing lay-out d on him. the player, of course, called a foul. once again, welcome to club level ultimate. we played well, but lost the game 12-9.

Game 3 vs Riot:
Riot was the #3 seed, we were the #4 seed. we used this game to prove the tournament director wrong. both our zone o and zone d worked better then it had all year and we rolled to a 13-8 victory.

Game 4 vs Monsoon:
last game of the day. we jumped up to an early lead, rolled through half-time, but then had trouble closing the door. Monsoon rallied to bring the score to 12-11, but our offense then stepped up and calmly moved the disc 70 yards for the score. final score 13-11 Tide.

Sunday-Elimination Round:

Pre-quarters vs Colorado:
there were 4 college teams in attendance at NYF. we pulled one of them in the pre-quarters. we jumped up to an early lead 3-1. our zone d was working well and we played it out to take half 7-5. the second half was a different story. Colorado came roaring back, we made too many dumb mistakes and they took the game 13-9. losing sucks.

Black Tide 3 - Dolemite/Jam 13
Black Tide 9 - NW All Stars/Seattle 12
Black Tide 13 - Riot 8
Black Tide 13 - Monsoon 11
Black Tide 9 - Colorado 13

Saturday: Pool Play
at a 3 day tournament, the pool for the 1st day is normally pretty watered down. this tournament was no different. we rolled through UCSD "C" 13-1, Idaho State 13-4, Rice 13-8, and Davis 13-9. then mother nature stepped in.

Sunday: Restructured Pool Play
it rained so hard saturday night, that all of the fields at UCSD were shut down. the alternate fields were farther south and closer to the ocean. the new fields were decent, the weather was not.

early on, we beat Cal 11-6 and UCSC 11-8 in two ugly games. it rained on and off throughout the day, but the wind never died down. all of the games were upwind/downwind games, both teams slapped on their respective zones and upwind goals were at a premium.

we played Stanford for our 3rd game of the day. the wind was howling. each team got one upwind score. they capped the game at 10. we tied it at 9-9, but Stanford was going downwind on game point. final score 10-9 Stanford.

we finished the day with Pomona and quickly rolled to an 11-4 win.

Monday-Elimination Round:
due to our loss, we had to play in the pre-quarters. the weather wasn't any better and we once again played two ugly early games, beating Oregon State 13-6 and Oregon 12-8.

this put us into the semifinals against Colorado. this game was bad and we got embarrassed 15-5. it was not a good car ride home.

we have work to do.....

Saturday
Black Tide 13 - UCSD C 1
Black Tide 13 - Idaho St. 4
Black Tide 13 - Rice 8
Black Tide 13 - U.C. Davis 9

Sunday
Black Tide 11 - U.C. Berkeley 6
Black Tide 11 - U.C. Santa Cruz 8
Black Tide 9 - Stanford 10
Black Tide 11 - Clairmont/Pomona 4

Monday
Black Tide 13 - Oregon St. 6
Black Tide 12 - Oregon 8 (quarterfinals)
Black Tide 5 - Colorado 15 (semifinals)

Finals: Colorado over Stanford 15-6

Our team is young but very athletic, and we hope to put a stop to losing at Stanford. See you there! - Buzz

[Recap by Joe Seidler]

SATURDAY:
I saw one of the best games I have ever watched... it was the Tide's 2nd game against Brown. But first things first.

The Stanford Invite this year put the really good teams in one bracket, and the other men's teams in another bracket. The Tide was seeded 3rd in their pool:
1. Brown
2. UCSD
3. UCSB
4. UNC-Wilmington

Before I got there, the Tide had played their first game against UCSD. At the Santa Barbara tournament in January, UCSD had beaten the Tide twice (each by one point). So I thought this would be an important and tough game to start the tourney. Weather and darkness was a factor in January; today the weather was sunny and nice. Result: Tide 12 vs UCSD 8.
Down with #2 seed.

I got there just before they were starting their 2nd game against Brown. I had asked one of the tourney directors how good Brown was, and he said they were the best. The sun went in, it got a bit cooler, but no rain. Brown went up 2-0. They traded points for a while, but the Tide made errors and Brown did not. At half-time, Brown was up 8-3. It looked like a blowout. The Tide came out in the 2nd half making fewer errors and forcing a few by Brown. The score went to 10-6. A Tide score, a D, and another Tide score. At 10-8, the two teams had one of the longest points I've seen. Both teams lost the disc 5 times before Brown scored, 11-8 (I'd guess the point took 7-8 minutes). 11-9. A great D, and it was 11-10 with a catch by Glimme about 1 inch inside the goal. 12-10 and the cap was put on; game to 14. It didn't look like the Tide would win, but they had proven they were tough. Score 13-11. Then 13-12. The Tide pulled to Brown, and it looked like it was over. But... a fantastic D, and the Tide got the disc. An amazing catch by Tommy and it was 13-13. Wow - what a comeback. But the reality was they still had to pull to Brown again. Brown worked the disc up past mid-field, and... yes, another D and the Tide had the disc again. Short throws, down the field. Then to the corner of the field about 5 yards from the goal line. A short throw by Adam to just over the goal line with Nick running horizontal to the goal line; he grabs the disc and falls out of bounds. SCORE! The Tide win 14-13. It got pretty noisy... not so much the players, but the parents: Schneiders, Aubins and me.

I still don't know all of the new Tide faces, so I cannot give you all of the great plays by the new guys. Jamie, Adam, Tommy, Ernie and Buzz played their normal great steady game (with a few awesome O's and D's along the way), and Dan played his normal intimidating game. Also playing a lot of very good Ultimate were Nick, Matt, Dwight, Oren, Eric, Kevin and Taylor (sorry if I missed anyone). I think the 2nd half was the most exciting Ultimate I have seen. And I have it on tape.
Down with #1 seed.

The third, and last game, was against UNC-Wilmington. This game started about 10 minutes after the Brown game ended, so the Tide were tired. By now it was getting cold, but still no rain. The score went to 2-2, 3-3 and then the Tide started to do their thing. Half-time was 8-6 Tide. Then 10-7 and the cap was put on; so game to 12. The Tide, though tired, played the game they often do at the end and pretty much took control. The Tide won 12-8.
Down with #4 seed.

Tomorrow the Tide will probably face Stanford and Colorado to get to the finals. So it doesn't get easier. But the sweetness of the comeback win against Brown still lingers.

SUNDAY:
I have 2 words: MUDDY AND BLACK.

It rained Saturday night and Sunday morning, so the fields were muddy. Not just a little muddy, but standing pools of water muddy. The only thing I can say good about the weather Sunday was it didn't rain. When I got there, the Tide were finishing their first game against Washington; they won 11-5.

Quarterfinals were next against Michigan. Another easy game (despite the ankle deep mud), and the Tide won 11-4.

Stanford had beaten UCSD in their quarterfinals, so the Tide played Stanford in the semifinals. After six points, it was 6-0... the Tide ahead. And this was the team that beat the Tide in the Presidents' Day tourney in San Diego last month. It was the Tide 8-2 at the half. Stanford came back to 12-9. The Tide then got tough, and the score went to 14-10. It was time for the hammer... so from 20 yards out, Tommy threw a hammer across field to Adam for the grab and the win 15-10. A very sweet victory since last year at this tournament, Stanford beat UCSB in the quarterfinals.

Colorado had beaten Brown in their semifinals, so the Tide played Colorado in the finals. This was the team that beat the Tide 15-5 in the Presidents' Day tourney. It started good with the Tide up 2-0, 3-1, 4-2. Then Colorado fought back to tie the score at 4-4. From there Colorado went ahead for a while, but the Tide took the half 8-6. Colorado fought back again to 11-11. Then Colorado went up 11-12. The Tide scored, 12-12. Then two D's and two scores - first Ernie to Dan and then Adam to Dan - and the Tide were up 14-12 (game to 15). Again Colorado would not die and came back to tie 14-14. The Tide scored for 15-14 (must win by 2). So the Tide pulled to Colorado who marched up the field close to their goal line, but the pass into the endzone was dropped. So the Tide got the disc and moved down the field. Tommy got wide open in the endzone, and Ernie hucked it right into his arms. The Tide win the finals and the tournament!

You may remember I started this recap of Sunday saying the 2 words for today were MUDDY and BLACK. Muddy you understand now. Black... it stands for the cheer I heard (you must have heard it too) coming from the Black Tide huddle after the win:

THE BLACK IS BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday
Black Tide 13 - UCSC 8
Black Tide 5 - Stanford 13
Black Tide 9 - Misfits 11
Black Tide 13 - Mojo 6

Sunday
Black Tide 13 - Quake 10
Black Tide 2 - Matza Balls 13