Pre-Series Record: 11-8 Series Record: 11-3
End of Season Standing: 4th at Atlantic Coast Regionals, eliminated in Backdoor Final (9-13 to Georgia)
Coach: Russell Snow
Recent History:
2010 Tournaments: Queen City Tune Up, 5th at Tally Classic V, 3T at College Terminus, 1st at Geargia/SC Sectionals, 4th at Atlantic Coast Regionals
Georgia Tech was one of last season’s strongest non-Nationals teams. Their only losses to teams that did not make it to Madison were at Queen City, where Tribe fell to future Great Lakes Regional Finalist Michigan State 10-9, and at Tally Classic, where they lost twice to a red-hot Clemson. Elsewhere in the season, Georgia Tech came within three points or less of Nationals qualifiers Georgia (who they later beat at Terminus and Sectionals), Michigan, Cornell, and Middlebury, and their only blowout loss was to National Semifinalist Pittsburgh (3-9). In the Series, Georgia Tech defeated Georgia to win the Section for the first time in recent memory, but they were unable to duplicate this success two weeks later, falling to Jojah both in the Regional Quarterfinal and again in the final game of the weekend.
Roster Turnover and Offseason Club Experience:
Georgia Tech is returning only three of its offensive starters from 2010, having graduated key players Garrett Braun (a captain), handler Michael Spear, Ethan Edgerton, and Alex Bui. Returning are All-Region handler Nick Lance (#11) and deep threat Hogan McCugh. Also coming back are strong defenders Victor Leniewski and Andrew Fish. Finally, another familiar face that will be back for Georgia Tech is coach Russell Snow, a former Tribe player and a member of Atlanta’s Chain Lightning.
While Lance’s speed, deep throws, and ability to break the mark will remain the focal point of Georgia Tech’s attack, Tribe will miss its veterans quite a bit. Braun and Spear provided not only the timely dump cuts and intelligent play necessary to support Lance, but also a defensive intensity and grit that made Tribe a very tough team to break.
In the college offseason, Lance played his second season with Chain while McCugh played with Atlanta mixed team Rival. The rest of Tribe’s roster either did not play club this summer or did not play with teams that made it past Sectionals.
Strategy:
On offense, last year’s Georgia Tech team ran almost exclusively vertical stack. This made for huge break lanes and up line opportunities for Lance, which in turn opened up swings and deep throws for other players on the field. Tribe often kick-started its offense by isolating Lance at the front of the stack and sending him streaking up the force side lane. If he was denied the disc on his first few steps, someone else who could turn and hit him deep was invariably open, and if he was allowed to get open underneath, he was ready to jack it to McHugh, a physical player who positions himself extremely well when he knows the disc is coming his way.
Defensively, Tribe’s major strength is its intelligence in choosing defensive match-ups. Every player on the team hustles to win his 1v1 battle, and each seems to understand his importance in the grand scheme of the team’s defense. A tactic also frequently seen from Georgia, Georgia Tech frequently guarded opponents’ studs with energetic, physical defenders whose mission was to outrun and wear down him down after a turn rather than beat him with skill.
Fall 2010:
This Fall, Georgia Tech attended Itchfest and Classic City Classic, where they fell to Texas, Virginia, and Michigan State. On top of its 2010 graduates, Tribe was missing one of its three top offensive players, and placed much of its focus on allowing new players and transfers to find a role on the team.
2011 Schedule:
Tribe has yet to set its spring schedule, but they are likely to attend Mardi Gras, Easterns, and Terminus, and are considering a handful of others.
2011 Outlook:
Tribe comes into the season knowing that it needs to establish a new offensive identity while continuing to beat teams on defense. The goal, however, is clear: to make Nationals for the first time since the early 1990s. Looking around the new Southeast Region, Georgia Tech’s major concerns go unchanged, as they’ll have to get past Georgia, Florida, or both in order to make it happen.
While 2010’s Georgia Tech team technically peaked when it took down Georgia at Sectionals, Tribe was playing quality Ultimate well into Sunday at Regionals, and had they faced a team that lacked the big-game experience that Jojah has, the story very well could have been different. If Lance’s throws and legs are still good to go late into Regionals, perhaps 2011 will be.
Comments Policy: At Skyd, we value all legitimate contributions to the discussion of ultimate. However, please ensure your input is respectful. Hateful, slanderous, or disrespectful comments will be deleted. For grammatical, factual, and typographic errors, instead of leaving a comment, please e-mail our editors directly at editors [at] skydmagazine.com.