2010 Pre Season Record: 9-14 Series Record: 6-6
End of Season Standing: 12T Northwest Regionals eliminated in the first round of the Backdoor Bracket to UC-Davis (12-15)
Coaches: Neale Mahoney, Krishna Rao, Dan Silverstein (2011)
Recent History:
2010 was a rebuilding year for Stanford, as Bloodthirsty missed the USAU Collegiate Championships for the first time since 2003. During their 6 year stretch of qualifying for Nationals, Stanford made the Semifinal in every year except 2008. After the 2009 season, Stanford graduated twelve players leaving a roster with no 5th year Bloodthirsty players. In addition to losing a large graduation class, 2010 found Stanford without a go-to player for for first time in years. In 2006 and ‘07 Bloodthirsty had Robbie Cahill, they had Mark Sherwood 2007 and ‘08, and in ‘09 they had Tom James, but 2010 saw Stanford without a superstar to turn to.
Given their depleted roster, expectations were not high for Stanford in 2010. Bloodthirsty made the best of their situation by continuing to play high caliber tournaments Santa Barbara Invite, Stanford Invite, and Centex. Stanford finished 4th at Bay Area College Sectionals (the first time they finished outside the top two in memorable history) and used regionals to gain experience for their young players finishing 12th.
Roster Turnover and Offseason Club Experience:
Given their youth in 2010, Stanford is predictably returning a majority of their roster for 2011. Bloodthirsty is losing two grad students, James Yan (Princeton ’09), and Mapolo Buessing (Northeastern ’09) and two home grown players Will Wagstaff (NW FOTY ’09), and Derek Frome. Stanford’s success this coming season will be based not only on their large group of returning players, but also on how their returners spent their summer.
In 2010, former Bloodthirsty players still in the Palo Alto area started a club team, Boost Mobile, made up of only current and former Stanford students. Boost Mobile finished 5th in the ultra-competitive club Northwest Region with the support of 11 Bloodthirsty 2011 players. In addition to the men playing with Boost Mobile (Where you at?), one 2011 Bloodthirsty player played on Emerald City Ultimate (ECU) over the summer.
Past Strategy:
Vertical stack possession offense is often referred to as the Stanford Offense, and with good reason. That being said, if Boost Mobile is any indication of Stanford 2011, opponents can expect to see a possession based horizontal stack that utilizes the whole team and the middle of the field. On defense, Bloodthirsty has used a mixture of defenses including zone, man, and transition Ds.
Fall 2010 Performance:
In the only meaningful Southwest fall tournament, the Sean Ryan Memorial, Stanford held seed finishing tied for third. They rolled through pool play and Quarters only to lose in a very windy Semifinal to Cal Berkeley.
Scheduled Regular Season Tournaments:
Santa Barbara, Kaimana Klassik (Non USAU), Stanford Invite, Terminus
2011 Outlook:
Having a large group of returning players used to playing at the faster pace of club ultimate, the 2011 season looks promising for Stanford. Bloodthirsty is out to prove that their 2010 season was an aberration, and they will bring back the faceless army strategy of the first half of last decade to do so. Don’t be surprised to see Stanford back near the top of USAU’s college rankings this spring.
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