This post has taken me awhile to prepare, which may be expected – as it may be my last. I can only say that this team, who will be referred to as Miss Red, has completed our transformation. We are no longer the saplings other teams used to trample but the majestic young redwood towering over the neighboring junipers and cedars. As we prepare of the next season, we will age and mature – domineering over the South Region. But, I guess this post is about Erica and my last tournament with Miss Red – the highlight of my college career and ultimate career thus far.
We started Saturday morning, bright and early at 6:30 am to get to the fields in time for our 9:30 am game with a solid warm-up in Hockley, TX. The fields had been beautiful prepared with straight lines 
and plenty of dust from the drought. It was going to be a long day with 1.5 hr rounds and four solid games ahead. The first round was against Texas B, a team that we had played all year long at varying intensities. We showed up ready to play, warming up our offense and defense for many tough games ahead. We finished the game 13-3.
Colorado State was our next game. We had time to scope them out briefly before we played them – they matched WashU decently but lacked the athleticism to keep running with them. The coaches quickly figured out who were their go to players and their throwers. With smart match ups and a relentless intensity, we out ran them 13-6.
Kansas was another story. The heat and the afternoon must have infiltrated our judgment or we chose to loosen up slightly because they were the lowest seeded opponent. They had a few really solid, athletic receivers who managed to catch a lot of swill. Our offense must have been getting tired because we were throwing away a few unnecessary throws. Either way, with better fundamentals and a competitive heart, we beat Betty 13-2. A great warm-up for the best game of the day!
WashU, as we all know, beat us quite miserably at Centex. It was the end of the day and we could not run with them. But we came with our A game today. Kudos to Edith for dominating this game. With a slow start, we went down really early 0-3. Deciding the best decision was to put our heads down and play intensity defense, we tied the game up at 3-3. Trading points for the game until half, we knew that this game was within our reach. Using really smart match-ups and focusing on shutting down the handlers strongest throws, we kept the game close when soft cap came on. I am not quite sure what the score was but I think it was 10-9. The game was to 12. We saw some crazy critical run through Ds from Buttercup and some crazy layouts from Wheeler. Edith had an incredible deep D on one of WashU’s upwind break attempts. At 11-11, we had worked it up to our endzone where we called a time out. It was ultimate point. We called out the play and executed it perfectly when WashU called the receiver out. Man, did I see the coaches flip out. Jay got in a bitch fight with a girl on WashU (it was really endearing). [Side note:I am fairly certain that if Jay and Eric thought I was in, I was in because they were watching me] Either way, in hopes of ending this game in good spirits, we decided to take it to the endzone where we restarted our play. I threw the disc to Evi in the center of the field who then swung it to Kathleen for the score! WE HAD JUST BEATING THE NUMBER 1 SEED IN OUR REGIONAL 12-11! It was at this moment, we knew we could get to Nationals this year, this tournament, the next day.
Our last pool play game was against Colorado, a team that had snuck into Regionals after a team from the Ozarks forfeited their bid. I commend them for flying down to Houston because it must have been expensive. Either way, they were lining up to play us this early Sunday morning. It was sort of like an old western movie where we were separated by a dusty field. All we were missing was a tumbleweed to fly across the field. The game started off with a bang and we had gone up 2-0 when Colorado called a time out. The heat must have affected them because they never woke up that morning. Switching to our zone D their handlers could not break through. We suffocated all their options, playing with so much heart and determination. They were the last obstacle to the championship game and we were not going to let them get an inch on us. It may have been our most beautiful game all season, offense flowed nearly perfectly and defense was executed with a decisive hand. Our cup – kudos to Fran, Monica, Evi, Wheeler, Erica, and Ruthie - was incredible. Kathleen handled the short deep position like the pro she is. It was incredible, the most exhilarating game that we should strive to build from. We saw incredible downfield flow from our cutters, great upwind hucks from all our handlers, and of course the most enthusiastic sideline talk! It’s [was] like breathing! We cleaned that game up 13-1 in the shortest time all weekend (about 1 hour).
The bye to the Championship game was incredibly long. Plenty of time for nerves to creep up on us. Both teams were prepping for this moment – the culmination of practices 3 times a week, multiple tournaments, and hours and hours of throwing outside of practice (for some of us). It was going to be a great showdown of athleticism and finesse. I am not sure what was going through everyone’s mind but mine was certainly all over the place. I had never really wanted to win something so much but at this moment, I was overwhelmed with the realization that Nationals was in my hand, I could almost feel it. Unfortunately the game might have reflected our nerves. We played a little timidly, the FLOW and chemistry from the morning was off and we had a lot of unexpected turns against Colorado College’s wall/junk D. A little after half, the coaches pulled the plug on the game and we finished the game with an “honorable retreat.”
Having washed away the tears, the angst, and the nerves, WashU came out ready to play us. We had beaten them yesterday but this game seemed more challenging. Our legs were starting to give out from under us and we had trouble keeping up with our matchups from the day before. Sam and Kami had beautiful chemistry. Eventually, they started throwing a zone against us upwind which with solid handler movement, we broke through a few times but could not convert. I can say that we played with everything we had, there was nothing to regret. Two good teams playing against each other with everything we had left in our reserves. It was a great game and one that I will never forget. Everyone on and off the field gave it whatever we had and we played until we could not walk anymore. I don’t really have an answer for why we played the way we did, it was with 100% heart and Miss Red love but we were not intune, everyone was playing a slightly different key on the field. I guess it could be never having been in a finals together, we were thrown off beat. It may not be the perfect underdog ending but I owe the team of 18 girls who were wearing the same jersey and the 3 dedicated coaches a round of applause and a sincere thank you for the best season of ultimate of my life. It has been an incredible journey and I have lived 98% of my college dream by getting to these games. I have lived College Nationals in those 3.5 hours we played together Sunday afternoon.
Just goes to show that if you believe in something enough, don’t let anyone stand in your way of achieving it ! They are just jealous they don’t have the guts to do it!
There are some people who may not have been playing with us but who have been an incredibly important to our success this year:
Lynn Quon – The woman that inspired a dream. Without her selfless dedication to Miss Red, we would not have the dedicated leadership in our small but superstar upperclassmen. To plant a seed in a desert and nurture it to a sapling takes an incredible amount of blind faith, sacrifice, and love. We would not be here today without you!
Pascal Mickelson – This man has always loved to coach and teach. Patient, caring, and sympathetic, he lay the foundation for the future. You can see his influence in a few of the older players flicks and backhands. Even with trying to finish his PhD at Rice, Pascal has played and captained Cloud and been very involved in teaching the leaders of Miss Red the fundamentals of ultimate, teamwork, and leadership. He coached Miss Red three years ago, devoutly attending nearly every practice and tournament and even volunteered to coach the team the following year in a fall tournament. He has been a resounding influence and we miss his ambidextrous throws on campus. Thank you Pascal!
Cat Shirvell – Shirvell, Belgarde, something like that right? Cat will forever be remembered for “Never have I ever” among the upper classmen. She was one for quick, funny stories of her college days or yelling at the line for forgetting the dump swing. Dedicated as she was to Miss Red last year, she has continued that dedication by giving the Rice girls a place to play during the summers. Inferno is gonna kick some ass! Many many thanks to you for keeping ultimate alive for women in H-town.
Johannah Sanchez-Adams – Thank you for always supporting Miss Red! Your dedication and leadership in my early college years helped show this team what it is now capable of achieving!
Thank you for the time and dedication you have given to this program. We would be lost without you. I would also like to personally thank each of you for being such a huge influence in my captaining career here at Rice.
Special thanks to Judy Le, Katherine Pouns, Kali, Alfie, Allen C., Booger, Amber A., and of course our loving fans [parents] for believing in us and keeping the dream afloat through inspirational words, a passing toss, or a kind donation!
Forgot one special special person - AJ Beard. You sort of supported me to do all the things that I didn't do, haha but Miss Red almost made it to Nationals! (at exactly or almost exactly the costs you told me) Thanks for teaching me how to captain, being my outlet when I need it, and teaching me some athletic stuff along the way. You for sure have been a HUGE influence on my ultimate/captaining/life - more ways than I will ever let on. Thanks for always being there and looking out for me!! I miss you!
and will miss you as I leave Rice. See you on the field!
