With $1,000 on the line in the DI division, a beautiful Tallahassee weekend greeted teams with sunshine and temperatures in the high 70. Sunday saw slight wind that forced many teams to change their style of play, but scoring upwind was not too difficult for a tournament featuring predominantly south east teams.
Open
DI
LSU and UCF both came out firing on Saturday, and showed they came to play. UCF was not happy being second to FSU in their pool, and came out gunning hard for DUF. This would prove to be a huge momentum swing for both teams, as the Dogs of War would go on to dominate the rest of their pool with ease. FSU would go on to lose to Georgia Southern and South Carolina, dropping to 3rd in their pool.
In the B Pool LSU swept through, and Bama got through on the toughness of Zach Moore and Tim Brady complimented by a small squad of hard working rookies. UF-B proved once again they are capable of competing with some of the regions A teams by ignoring their last seed, and winning 3 games.
The 6 team championship bracket meant UCF and LSU would get a bye to semis, while FSU would play Alabama and South Carolina would play Vermont in order to stay alive. FSU’s legs proved to be enough to beat Bama, and South Carolina was able to get past Vermont. The semis would see a FSU vs. UCF rematch, and LSU vs. South Carolina. There was no redemption for FSU as UCF just completely stomped out DUF, again. The Cocks put up a great fight, but the extra rest proved helpful to LSU as they squeaked by 13-10. UCF would use their depth and experience to power through LSU and take home the $1,000 prize.
Final Results:
1. Central Florida
2. LSU
3T. FSU
3T. South Carolina
5T. Alabama
5t. Vermont
DII
Miami, and Georgia State held firm at number 1 in their pools by going undefeated. UNF lost to a Georgia Tech B squad that had obviously come to compete causing the Ospreys to drop seed in their pool. FSU-B and Georgia would have to play into the quarters finals, and Georgia B came out on top. In the quarters Miami soundly beat Georgia B, UNF slid past UF-C, Georgia State defeated UCF-B, and FAU lost to a hot Georgia Tech B squad. The semis were two very close games, and saw UNF upset Miami. Georgia State was able to beat their friends from Hotlanta 12-10. In the finals UNF defeated Georgia State on the experience of some of their club players. Congrats to the first year program on a tourney victory.
Final Results:
1. North Florida
2. Georgia State
3T. Miami
3T. Georgia Tech B
Women’s
The Women’s Division had two teams rise above the pack and pretty much exert their dominance. UCF and Georgia seem to win at will, and both proved to be solid programs.
Georgia Tech coach, Keith Raynor was not surprised by the performance of these two teams. ” UCF and Georgia did mostly what was expected (although Georgia could have had a stronger performance on the scoreboard),” said Raynor, “and Georgia Southern and Florida State are teams on the rise who could ruin someone’s day in the Series.”
USF was the surprise of the weekend finishing second in their pool. They came up short against UCF and Georgia but will be a team to look out for. FSU and Georgia Southern are two teams that also shouldn’t be overlooked, and will definitely do well in the future based on their weekend performances. The championship bracket was a 4 team semifinal that saw UCF matched up against Georgia Southern, and Georgia against USF. UCF stomped out Georgia Southern, and Georgia’s experience got them past USF. In the finals UCF demolished Georgia 13-3, and showed that they are to be taken seriously. Be forewarned this is a team has the talent in Ashley Schermerhorn and Leisha Cavallaro to make a serious run at the College Championships.
Keith Raynor concurs and recaps the top talent of the weekend: “Ashley Schermerhorn and Leisha Cavallaro are leaders on UCF and Ashley’s height and throws make her just about un-markable and an intimidating element in their tricky zone defense,” said Raynor. “FSU pumps it blood through its heart, Megan Reeves, a big flicking handler who has an army of big receivers to hit. Georgia Southern had a big weekend from Lauren Divine, both behind and in front of the disc, and Georgia Tech’s Leah Tsinajinnie continued to prove she is one of the top handlers in the region.”
Final Results:
1. Central Florida
2. Georgia
3T. Georgia Southern
3T. Southern Florida
Erin of University of Georgia, Tina of University of Central Florida, and Kyle of Paideia High School contributed to this article.
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