Ultimax Fall, 1995

Tournament report by Mark Parris

Straight to individual highlights

Chris's lyrical essay on the first day


Sorry my individual highlights don't have as many highlight plays as usual. My mind is tired....


Darkside headed down to Greenville for Ultimax this weekend. I'll leave it to Chris to summarize Saturday's play. Suffice it to say that we went 0-3 against Anodyne, Penn St, and Duke. Chris, in a fit of disgust, left Saturday night along with Brian Warshaw (actually Chris is presenting a paper at a conference this week and had to get some work done). I was tempted to return as well since I also had a lot of work to do but decided to stay since I could probably get home early Sunday afternoon anyway (sorry, I'm a pessimist). Boy, was I wrong and I'm glad I was.

Some of the team stayed in the lovely home of John Savage saturday night and enjoyed wonderful southern hospitality. Another group stayed at the Fairfield Inn and had a late night snack at Denny's (although Snack himself was already asleep in the room.) Sunday morning we arrived at the fields wondering who we would be playing. We ran into Ed Fox an he was suspecting that we might be playing each other (sigh, Latin again.) A few minutes later our suspicions were confirmed when the tournament director showed up.

So, we went out onto the field to play our old nemesis. Geez, it would be good to beat these guys wouldn't it? Alan spent most of the game covering coach Fox and did an excellent job. Given Fox's excellent forehand we decided to do the unconventional and force backhand on the whole team. This seemed to make things more consistent since you always knew which side of your man you could play on. We also had our sidelines involved, making sure we knew which way the force was and keeping us in the game mentally. We threw a bit of zone at them but in large we played man-to-man. We also noted that they had only two subs and went with a run them into the ground subbing strategy. Our four handlers rotated themselves and the other folks subbed wholesale every point to keep fresh legs in the game and to keep from letting anyone get cold on the sidelines. It all looked pretty good but we were down at the half 8-7. The second half was more of the same for us, only better as we got a lead and put Latin away something like 15-13. And there was much rejoicing.

Before we could even get a cheer, the space bastards (Maryland) captain showed up pushing us to get going because they had to leave after our game regardless. We still gave Latin a cheer and then we went to the other side of the stadium to play the space bastards. This was a team with only one sub so we decided it was time for more of the same and we continued our 4 in, 4 out subbing strategy. Maryland threw a zone at us early on but we had a quick series of passes, culminating with Dan Parrish throwing for a score. I think Maryland decided they didn't want to play anymore zone as we didn't see anymore that game. Of course they did the same thing to us when we ran zone on them early. The game was a pitched battle but our handlers were doing a good job of running the little homey (not a pure homey, just that the handlers are allowed to cut back and make cross-field cuts, etc.) and we were able to execute effectively in the endzone after fixing some early problems. A nice throw from Dave Luebke to Andrew Wilson took the half, 8-7. Maryland was doing a good job of striking deep but we were looking for it and we were putting good defenders on their handlers. The second half saw a few points traded early as the see-saw battle continued. However, around 11-10 we decided to put in a squad of folks experienced running zone and try it again. This time it forced a quick turn and we got a quick score. We scored 3 more running zone while they scored one to take the game to 14-11. Then after working the disc down field a ways, Alan called a time-out with the stall count at 8. We ran the cross field stack (which Latin had just demonstrated to us) and let John Savage cut deep. The other team knew what we trying and poached a defender deep but Alan's throw was on the money and John Savage was there to bring down the catch, the score, and the win. That put us in the championship of the loser's bracket. I ran to find out who we would be playing and it turned out our pool was a bit stacked since Duke had also advanced to the championship round.

Ah, our old nemesis. However, Duke was without the services of Jeff Bacote so we had that going for us. We started off hot, taking a 4-2 lead, then an 8-5 lead into the half. The second half saw us go on a run as we stretched the lead to 12-7. But Duke had a run of its own left as they came back to tie it at 13, then to go ahead at 14-13. Darkside tied it up as Alan threw to John Savage again and it was 14 all. Then the question was whether the game was capped or not. There was some discussion on the line about whether we wanted to go to 17 or 15 straight. The team was divided and it fell to me to make the decision. I decided to count on our defense and push for the stuff and score and agreed to a game to 15. We pulled to Duke and they started down the field. After a few passes, Snack got his hand on a throw and it floated up to be caught by a Duke receiver. A few more passes and Duke threw to Frannie in the endzone for a miraculous comeback. One of the most frustrating loses I've been a part of, yes, but a day to be proud of for the darkside. Also, I know it sucks to lose to Duke, but I'd much rather lose to a spirited class act like them than some of the other squads we've played.

I must admit, there's still a bitter taste in my mouth about the Duke game. Ironic that we would have loved to have a 15-14 game on Saturday and yet we were bitterly disappointed by the same on Sunday. Our play on Sunday (except maybe the last few points of the Duke game) was levels above our play on Saturday and I'm very proud of the way we turned things around on Sunday. As for the Duke loss, I guess we should just look back on it as a lesson to never grow complacent. On to the highlights!

On the team level, I think we have quite a few highlights. I feel like this was a weekend where we made tremendous improvement on several aspects of our game. We increased the effectiveness of our endzone offense throughout the day on Sunday. We found ways to move the disc down the field, either with the little homey or with flow. We were effective against the zone we saw and our zone ran well. I also felt like our handler interplay was working very well. I saw a lot of area passes that in the past would have been given up as dead but that were used for big gains as the handlers were expecting those throws and making cuts for them. It felt like we were a team, much more than just the seven players on the field. Those on the sideline were involved in the game as well, giving us encouragement or information. Hold on to this and build on it for the spring darkside.


Individual highlights

Cory Barlow

Lots of good deep cuts. Solid defense containing the other teams deeps and middles. Played a big role in what should have been a crucial score in the Duke game (well, it was crucial since it kept them from scoring - too bad it wasn't a key to our win.) as he got several catches and passes to get our flow.

Brian Banta

Layout defense. WOW. He probably challenged more catches than anyone else on the team. His contributions handling on offense were excellent as he was continually making the good cuts, running down lead passes, and making excellent passes himself. When the disc was moving well he was usually involved.

Ben Davenport

Excellent long cuts. I remember a pass that was so clearly over his head that I had started to sprint back on defense and suddenly he was just so high up bringing it down. Good cuts in the endzone for scores and defense that just kept his man from getting the disc.

Aron Hall

Just more solid deep cuts. When the point was crucial, I liked seeing him on the line. He was running hard, covering his man, and giving us cuts (or standing still) as we needed him.

Alan Hoyle

I give him a lot of grief but it seems like every weekend I think, boy, he just keeps getting better. This weekend was no exception. He covered key handlers on the other team and continued to be a key handler for us. Worked the disc well and was liberal with sending it. His intensity was unquestionable. You would be hard pressed to argue that anyone put in more effort on Sunday than he did. (Oh, he says I should say something about his pulls - Maryland asked why we always let him pull. - how's that?)

Dave Luebke

Solid handling, solid defense, solid catches, solid. Oh, and what an incredibly sweet "hold my feet inbounds while I fall down out of bounds to make the catch" grab of a huck from yours truly for a score. The other players swarmed him in congratulations.

Emily Larson

excellent defense, several scores, good play at middle. (too bad she was playing for ISIS). Stuck around for 3 or 4 hours in the cold, cheering for us.

Albert Monroe

Intensity. Threw a sweet deep throw to Mark Parris, dumb guy, who was cutting deep on Josh. Unfortunately, Mark couldn't call a strip even though Josh thought it was. Good cuts to the disc, catches, hard defense.

Mark Parris

Should learn to call strips, push for games to 17, and not to do the scream cheer because it's bad luck (or at least, that's what Alan says.)

Dan Parrish

A sweet D in the latin game as he cut off a deep throw to his man. Good throws, judgement, and the telepathic ability to reset the stall count in the mind of the marker. :-)

Santosh Rao

Vocal support for the team, smart cuts, filling for the handlers when necessary, as well as scoring cuts in the endzone (including a great one handed grab)

John Savage

Speed, intensity, did a lot to make us feel like a team. And, his mom brought us bagels. Got the winning score in the Maryland game and brought down several other nice scores.

Ricky Silva

Hard running on defense and reliable catches. I feel like we were missing something because we didn't get him the disc as much as we should have.

Andrew Wilson

Defense a lot like Brian Banta. The only player to play every position? Filled in for handlers when we needed a break and did a fine job. Gave us some much needed height when matching up on the line. Nice hair net.


Chris Rodning's Summary of the First Day

a bold company of knights assembled on a cold clear dawn, verily at daybreak, at those hallowed eringhaus fields. soon afterward, the riders set forth for greenville to do battle at the tournament on those cold and windy fields. these knights turned scribes composed some good cheers and chanted some good chants. it was a tough day on the field.

to begin the day darkside nomads found their way to some fields behind an empty coliseum. there we played anodyne, a tough club team from washington who from what i gather earned a trip to nationals in recent years. no doubt they are a good team, fast and skilled and smart. i should say that quite often our offense had good mechanics to cut through their zone defense. sometimes we had trouble with execution, as the gusting wind blew some throws off target and baffled potential catchers.

chance had it that we remained on the same field all day. next game against penn state, who afterward explained to us what a nittany lion is anyway. suffice to say the noblest of knights would not want to meet a real one on the field of battle. penn state ran hard and played well. definitely on a more level playing field with darkside though, and i would blame our woes on execution again. perhaps with some improvements in mechanics of offense, intensity on defense, and changes in substitution strategies, but here i am foreshadowing the next day which is another summary entirely.

to end the day we met an archrival. duke won. it was one of those days.

not to sound entirely downtrodden about that day, but after having played really well the weekend before in charlotte, it was uncharacteristic to sputter at times there in greenville. it was a fun day, and it was also a bit chilly. some unending and gusting winds which really played some odd tricks during the day as well.

personally i felt like i had molasses on my feet and my head in the ground. but several bold knights distinguished themselves.

as has been a theme this season, i continue to applaud the improvements of new players, if not to the sport at least to the team. prince redbeard, also known as dan parrish, really came through by presenting himself for upfield throws for our zone offense. good stuff. cory barlow has been settling into the offense steadily, and several times he had good cuts for upfield flow passes at just the right time. andrew wilson continues to be a significant field presence, especially in terms of filling in for all positions. he scored all our points against anodyne. ben davenport had some sweet deep cuts and a particularly nice catch on a long pass for a score, as i recall in the game against penn state. brian banta is a gutsy, consistent player who runs hard, plays sound and patient offense, and plays intense defense. a good combination, and we should encourage him to transfer here from clemson, where he has honed many of his skills in the past and will again in months coming soon. good to have ricky sica out there with us, for what i think might have been his first tournament.

other good performances i shall mention here for this day. again albert monroe earns a mister hustle label, as should brian warshaw, who vowed to run until he puked that day. as always, pullster allen hoyle was a field general.[actually, it's "Alan Hoyle" -alan] as was the cat in the hat comma noble parris. must further mention dave luebke who had some fine point blocks and aron hall with good deep cuts for some scores and otherwise nice long passes. the noble savage ran hard and earned the socks award. if you did not see his socks you missed a brilliant sight. good to have snack back for that day, especially as he really helps get the sidelines into the game with encouragement and instructions for the magnificent seven on the field.

ye noble darksiders, though, really turned the tables the following day. prince redbeard passed along news of great victories and pitched battles when i met him at the castle store room later. okay it was just the grocery store. glad to hear that the tide changed and that darkside had a fine showing the second day of the tournament.

i cannot comment at length on their games during the day, but after our games were done the merry men watched a bit of a game between isis and a team from washington. emily was playing for isis this past weekend.

thanks to jen and julie for coming to some of the saturday games to cheer. always nice to have fans.

hope everybody makes practices this week and the tournament this weekend.

cheers, chris.

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Last Modified: 25 March, 1996 back to Sunsite