[stextbox id=”alert” color=”050505″ bcolor=”6cc3f8″ bgcolor=”ffffff” big=”true” image=”null”]School Name: Sonoma State University
Team Name: D’Vine
Captains: Brinn Langdale, Maggie Ruden
Coach: James Yeager
Jersey Colors: Purple and White
2010 Record: 25-15
Score Reporter
Lined up for the pull at the 2010 Stanford Open. Photo Credit Alexander Yuen
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Tell us a little about yourself. How did you get involved with Ultimate at Sonoma State?
Brinn Langdale: I got involved in Ultimate my freshman year. I went into college knowing i wanted to play, but found out we only had a men’s team, so I started to play with them. I played with them for a full semester and part of the spring but by then had decided to start a women’s team. By the next year we had a full on team that was going to tournaments. We competed in both sectionals and Regionals that year.
Maggie Ruden: I started playing Ultimate my freshman year at SSU. I met Brinn when she was recruiting at my Summer Orientation for the first season of D’Vine. I knew that I wanted to play a sport in college so I became one of D’Vine’s original rookies!
How did D’vine do last year? What was the highlight of your season?
Brinn: We did the best we have ever done. We placed 6th in the Northwest region when the top 4 go to Nationals. I think the highlight was flying to Seattle as a team and being able to compete in good games for a high overall ranking.
Who is your favorite team to play against? Tell us about a memorable game.
Maggie: We love playing against Sol from UC Santa Cruz. They are an amazing, spirited team and we always have intense, fun games against each other. We like to think of them as both our rivals and our best friends. Even though we love playing against Sol, one of our most memorable games came in January 2010 at the Pres Day Qualifier against SDSU. We were playing an intense finals game with them and we were losing 7-4. Our coach, James, called a time-out and we didn’t talk, we didn’t worry, we just turned on our boombox to whatever song came on. Just Dance by Lady Gaga started to play and we just danced with each other and let loose. We let out out a D’Vine cheer and ran back to the line. Our top rookie of last year, Cindy ‘Dollar’ Cruz, came up to me on the line and said, “They aren’t going to score another point.” And they didn’t. We went on a four-point run and won 8-7 in hard cap. So we were on our way to San Diego for the Invite. That’s D’Vine for you. Epic.
Tell us about your coach and captains.
Brinn: James Yeager has been our coach for the past two years and is a terrific leader. He himself has been a captain on a nationally ranked team and went to college nationals with the Santa Cruz Slugs in 2008. He is all about team building and getting our team to gel on and off the field. He has great strategy and insight into the game as well. Our captains are great leaders. Maggie is very spirited and lighthearted with a lot of intensity when it comes to playing the game. She leads by example by never giving up. She goes after and gets the disc whether she is on O or D. She went from being a dominate cutter to a great handler so she is very much an overall player.
Maggie: Brinn is the original D’Vine captain and she has incredible leadership skills, as well as intensely awesome Ultimate skills. She is an amazing player who teaches and cares for D’Vine with a passion. She is a very smart player and can do it all.
Are there players on your team who deserve consideration for Callahan, All-Region, or Freshman of the Year? Tell us about them.
Maggie: One of our most promising freshman this year is Candice ‘Chopper’ Pacheco. With only two months of Ultimate experience under her belt so far, she is a dominant cutter and works hard for the disc. She understands the game and cuts like a veteran on the field with her quick changes of direction and deep cuts that few can keep up with. Chop those feet Chopper!
It’s easy to see when someone throws a huge huck or gets a layout D. Who’s a player you have to watch more carefully to see how valuable they are to your team?
Maggie: Two of our veterans, Lindsey ‘Gadget’ Boyd and Cindy ‘Dollar’ Cruz are two very instrumental pieces to D’Vine 2010-2011. They both have consistent throws and are smart, intense players.
How does your team bring new players up to speed on ultimate?
Brinn: We are a young team and feel like we are forever teaching people about the game. We throw a lot of people right in and hope they catch on. We try to get new people out to pick-up to play with a different crowd to increase field awareness. This year we have played a lot of 3 vs. 3 so people touch the disc a lot. We so focus on throwing the beginning of every practice to help focus on and address individual throwing issues. We also have throwing pods as well.
Without giving too much away, what does your team like to do on offense and on defense?
Brinn: We teach the vertical stack in the beginning and then transition to horizontal. We like to throw both but want to rely mostly on horizontal by the spring. On D we like to play man but we also like to throw zone. We have a couple different zones to play as well.
Has your team set any goals for this season? What are they?
Brinn: This year it is our goal to go to Nationals. Every year we have moved up in ranking and this year we know we can do it.
What has your team been doing this fall to prepare for the spring season?
Brinn: We have been lifting weights twice a week to help with injury prevention and overall strength. We also have throwing pods to help players w/ their throws. We have played more tournaments this fall than any other year as well.
What tournaments do you plan to attend in the spring? Which one are you most looking forward to?
Brinn: We are planning to go SB invite, Presidents Day invite, Stanford Open (possibly invite) Centex, Sectionals, Regionals and Nationals! We are probably most excited about the possibly of going to Texas. We have never gone to Centex before but we think it will be very fun and very beneficial for us. In addition to Centex, we are also really excited for Presidents Day.
What does your team do to get pumped up for a big game?
Brinn: We listen to awesome pump up music. We might play some silly game to get us fired up as well.
Maggie: We love getting pumped up by cheering, getting focused, dancing, and playing games
Which team has the best shot at winning the 2011 USA Ultimate College Championships?
Brinn: Oregon or Santa Barbara
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