2000 Condors Tournaments

Saturday we beat Toxic 13-4, Stanford 13-7 (after being down 4-0), GUT 13-3, and KFC 13-11 (they won the tournament). Corey might have had the D of the tournament on a huck to the monster Carleton guy where he barely passed him and layed out for the block in the endzone.

Sunday we played the Northwest All Stars in the qtrs. It was a bit of an ugly game with controversial calls and a mix up about what the game would be played to. (Eventually the tournament directors stepped in and made the game to 14.) We basically went back and forth with lots of ties until we went up 13-12. We pulled, got the disc and then promptly turned it over. They got the disc to about 5 yards from their goal and we played tight D until Mike Namkung made a diving block over the shoulder of Tom Barnouw, and then as another bad guy tried to catch the junk, Mike, while falling forward, kicked the disc to the ground. We then worked it a few yards and James hucked a sweet forehand for the winning goal.

In the semis we spotted Seattle a 3-0 lead and tied it at 5-5. We basically kept getting to the tie but couldn't break it. We lost 12-14.

For me it was very exciting to play once again. You appreciate the ability to play when you cannot for so long.

Steve

Terrapin Roster:
1.James Studarus
2.Steve Dugan
3.Greg Husak 'Hollywood'
4.Taro Ramberg
5.JD Lobue, Jr.
6.Corey Sanford
7.Brandon Steets
8.Mike Namkung
9.Blake Garnand
10.Matt Lefevre 'Pepe'
11.John Hammond
12.John Flandrick
13.Eric Wolff
14.Kevin Foster
15.Dan Goldman
16.Jeff Landesman
17.Eric Eckelman

GAME SCORES:

Saturday:
vs Stanford B..........13-3
vs SOIA..................13-4
vs SLO....................13-5
vs Dusty Baker.......13-5

Sunday:
vs Davis..........................13-3
vs Senor Down Brown...13-4
vs Misfits...............................13-10...semifinals
vs Dusty Baker......................15-6.....finals

The Condors simply dominated this tournament. I was hoping for a repeat finals against the Matza Balls, but it was not to be. So the Condors had to be satisfied beating up on Dusty Baker. The Condors played almost flawless Ultimate in the finals (well... they did if you closed your eyes on a few throws from Greg and Sean - however, they both made it up with long hucks for the score).

[Recap compliments of Corey]

1st game on Saturday was against Linkfield & Co. (Portland). We went up early and stretched the lead out to 7-4. Next thing you know it's 7-6, we turn it over, hard cap horn blows as Portland scores, and the game ends in a tie! Very weird format that allows ties.

2nd game against Nutz & Boltz has a nice one word description - bagel.

3rd game was against the Davis Club (Codgers), and although we had a four or five goal lead most of the game, they got two once we reached crunch time, I think the final was 11-8.

4th game was very forgettable, we beat LoveGun, not that close, like 11-5.

Then we had two straight byes into the showcase game against JAM. We came out fired up, took the 5-2 lead in a game to 11, but their sideline trap zone started to get to us. It was very windy, I'd say up to 25 mph gusts, maybe higher. There were a number of turns by both teams, but we fell apart and they outscored us 9-2 to put the game away 11-7. It was not pleasant to give up a run like that in front of the showcase game crowd.

Sunday started us with Sockeye in our last pool play game. We went up early and held on the whole way to win 11-7. Only downer was a Sockeye crunch time goal AFTER we had it on the goal line to win and gave it back.

Because it was round robin, in a strange twist of fate, after the pool play game we then played Sockeye again in the semis. Very weird format comes through again. And in an awful deja vu of Tempe, the Sockeye boys jumped out to an early 3 goal lead after a few mental errors on our part. So from 4-1 we just tried to climb back in, but we were thwarted by a stall on our own goal line after a timeout called at stalling 9. Ouch! That gave them the 9-6 lead, and even though we got it to within one at 9, 10, 11, and 12, we could not get what the soccer announcers call "the equalizer." Final score 13-11 Sockeye.

GAME SCORES:

Saturday:
vs Portland...............7-7
vs Nutz & Boltz.....11-0
vs Codgers.............11-8
vs LoveGun............11-5
vs Jam ....................7-11

Sunday:
vs Seattle Sockeye.............11-7
vs Seattle Sockeye........................11-13 ... semifinals

[Recap compliments of Corey Sanford]

14 men’s teams (six elite and eight open) battled for the excellent first place prizes in their respective divisions. For the A bracket, more Gaia jerseys. In the B bracket, Adidas sponsored the Classic with 15 sweet new duffel bags. With such choice prizes on the line, competition was fierce.

A Bracket
In the elite division, there was JAM, Sick, and Valhalla from the Bay area. The Condors, with a bunch of new faces shooting for a roster spot this fall, split into X and Y. Rounding out the division was Rictus, a new combo team of San Diego and Los Angeles types. Round one featured JAM vs. Condor Y. The teams traded goals early until JAM opened up a 7-4 lead. But Y stormed back and tied it up, only to wilt again under the new offensive set Josh Faust brought with him from NY. JAM went on a four-goal run and took the game 13-8. Other games were Condor X def. Sick and Valhalla def. Rictus. Round two went Y def. Valhalla, JAM def. Sick and X def. Rictus. Rictus was down a bunch and tied it at 11-11, but the Condors regrouped and scored two straight to win 13-11. Round three featured Sick beating Rictus and JAM def. Valhalla. It also featured Condor X vs. Condor Y. Apparently there had been quite a bit of trash talking between the two teams, and when it was all over at the cap, X def. Y by 12-7. Y seemed quite down as the X team strutted their stuff like roosters in the hen house. The last round had Y def. Rictus and Sick def. Valhalla in a tight 13-11 game that had the winner going to semis and the loser headed home. Meanwhile, JAM was knotted in a tight game with Condor X. X was down only one or two the whole game, and JAM contested a controversial stall at 12-11. It would have given X a chance to send it to overtime. But instead, JAM got off the dump on the "nine" count, and marched it down to win 13-11, clinching 1st place in pool play. Sunday morning finished pool play with X def. Valhalla, JAM def. Rictus, and Y def. Sick to set up the semis. Final pool play results:

Men’s A Division Pool Play
JAM 5-0
Condors X 4-1
Condors Y 3-2
Sick of It All 2-3
Valhalla 1-4
Rictus 0-5

The semis for JAM were a breeze. After stomping Sick in pool play 13-2, there was no fear in their eyes. They easily rolled Sick again, this time giving up a few more goals, winning 15-8. The other semi, Condor X vs. Condor Y, attracted quite a crowd. After all the trash talk at the Saturday night dinner (another perk provided with the tourney fee), Condor Y came out fired up and jumped to an early three-goal lead. There were more than a few travel calls, and goals came back to the thrower on both sides of the disc. It was obvious these teams had developed an intense rivalry in one short week! Everyone was giving their all. And it made for a frightening moment as X was coming back. As Y marched it up the field with a 10-8 lead, a short little backhand was tossed into the middle of the field. Mike Weems, trying out after having moved recently from Atlanta, laid out for the poach block, only to be crushed under the Y player that saw him coming and also laid out to make the catch. Mike came up clutching his chest in agony. After a long delay, the game was move to the next field over as Mike waited for the ambulance. Fortunately, all the medical expertise was precautionary. Mike was spotted later that night at the trendy downtown bar that was the excellent party venue. Laced full of codeine and enjoying all the free Guinness he could, Mike was of good spirits, sporting a very dapper neck brace. Although his chest was swollen (every seen a swollen chest?) no ribs were broken and he will be OK. Back to the game, the injury obviously took the wind out of the grudge match. Condor Y held on to their lead and advanced to the finals, winning 15-10.

With the injury bug having taken down many Condors, the very spirited JAM squad asked Condor Y if they wanted to pick up some X players, excluding James and Andy. With Ted, JD, Kid John, and Brandon added to the eleven healthy players Y had left, Condor Y’s fifteen prepared to do battle with JAM’s army of twenty-five. Early in the finals, the two teams traded goals, but the Condors squandered a chance on D to take the lead. After taking their 20-second time out (a new rule being experimented with for the first time) on the goal line, the Condors gave the disc back and this time JAM scored. At 3-3, JAM went on their run and went up 6-3 due to some poor choices from the Condor O squad. Then after another series of trading, JAM again capitalized on Condor turnovers. And if JAM made mistakes, they would get it back with good D and poor Condors execution. Down 14-9, it looked to be finished when the Condors turned it over on O one more time. But after JAM marched it up the sideline, a spectacular layout block in the endzone got it back for the Condors. After converting a turnover on the next point, all of a sudden it was 14-11 and JAM looked a bit nervous. But with their new O team playing chilly, JAM put in three of the next four goals to end it and take home the Gaia gear, winning 17-12.

Semifinals
JAM def. Sick of It All 15-8
Condor Y def. Condor X 15-10

Finals
JAM def. Condor Y 17-12

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[Statistics compliments of Mike Namkung]
[Finals recap compliments of Steve Dugan]

Saturday:
Win against Salt Lake
Win against Valhalla
Win against Sockeye
Loss to Jam

Condors 3-1

Sunday:

Quarterfinals
Condors vs Davis 13-6

Turnovers: 10
D's: 10
Crunch time turnovers: 5
Conversions: 9/16 (slightly over 50%)


Semifinals
Condors vs Seattle Sockeye 15-10

Turnovers: 17
D's: 12
Crunch time turnovers: 5
Conversions: 10/22 (just under 50%)


Finals
We spotted Jam an early lead. We played catch up until being down 12-14 and scoring two to tie it at 14-14. We pulled to them, they scored easily. On our next possession, James threw me a swing on the goal line and I fired a forehand into the ground, intended for the open JD. They scored quickly, 16-14. They then pulled upwind and we had a quick turn on our 2nd pass. They threw one pass to win. We showed grit in the comeback but lacked poise after they scored. The team came together and we played better in the semis and finals but we have a ways to go.

Condors vs Jam 14-17

Turnovers: 17
D's: 3
Crunch time turnovers: 0 (we never got to crunch time)
Conversions: 6/15 (40%)

Roster:
Steve
Andy
Greg
Jason
Tommy Burfeind
Brandon
Garrett
Blake
Ted
Buzz Hellyer (Saturday)
Dan Schneider (Sunday)
Ernie Aubin
JD
Taro
Brent
James
Dan Dewey
Kenbra
Ryan Nation
Mario

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Saturday I watched a great team struggle to find itself. The Condors won most of their games, but it was not great Ultimate. Sunday morning the 2000 Condors were born. The first game began to show a true team emerge. The second game continued their maturing. And the third game, the tournament finals, showed just how great this year's team is.

Jam was also improving over the weekend. So the finals brought two great teams head-to-head. The game showed some of the best Ultimate playing I've ever seen. There were too many foul calls, but the play was outstanding. I've seen the past 3 Nationals final games, and the Emerald City Classic final was on par with them. If these two teams continue to improve, they will be tough to beat at Nationals.

My memories of the game do not focus on the Condors loss. I remember the magic of Mike Namkung's D. Sometimes it seemed he just 'appeared' out of no where to make a block. I remember a guy pacing the sidelines and wanting to get into the game. And when he did get in, he dominated play. I didn't keep stats, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was on the throwing end of more points than anyone else. His name is Taro Ramberg. And I remember Jason Seidler guarding Toaster. You can't completely shut Toaster down, he's too fast, but while Jason was on him, he never was open 'long' and he never scored a point.

I remember Steve Dugan making unbelievable plays. I remember Andy Crews making exteremly tough plays look easy. I remember JD Lobue beating his defender to the endzone for a score many times. I remember Ryan Yarbrough catching the disc for a score like he has done so often. I remember Greg Husak getting the block in the endzone a few times. I remember James playing so flawlessly that you hardly knew he was there.

I also remember the new players that I haven't seen play much emerge on the scene. And they played great. Players like Jimmy Price, John Hammond and Ryan Nation. I remember Adam Glimme, one of the new young Black Tide guys, play as if he had been at the club level for years.

I remember great moments... many of them. And I can't wait to see them play again.

Saturday:
vs San Francisco JAM...............11-15
vs Minneapolis Sub Zero...........15-13
vs Vancourver Furious George..15-11
vs Seattle Sockeye.....................14-12

Sunday
vs Portland................................13-7
vs Furious George....................15-6 (semis)
vs JAM.....................................16-17 (finals)

Pool play round robin:
Jam 5-0
Condors 4-1 (lost to Jam)
Furious 3-2 (lost to Jam and Condors)
Sockeye 1-4 (beat Subzero by 5)
Portland 1-4 (beat Sockeye by 2)
Subzero 1-4 (beat Portland by 1)
(Sockeye made semis on point differential)

Semis:
Condors over Furious 15-6
Jam over Sockeye 15-10

Finals:
Jam over Condors 18-17