Congratulations to UC-Santa Barbara and Humboldt State for coming in first and second at the Stanford Invite Qualifier and getting the chance to compete at the Stanford Invite on March 6th and 7th. UC-Santa Barbara defeated Pacific Lutheran (15-4) in the finals to take the title. Pacific Lutheran (PLU) then had to play Humboldt State in the backdoor game, where Humboldt emerged victorious (15-6). Full write-up coming shortly.

Last year, the Invite Qualifier had two spots to send to the Stanford Invite and there were exciting Regionals-style backdoor games-to-go. This year, there will also be two bids, but a last minute drop leaves the tournament with an unfortunate 15 team schedule. This will be the first tournament of the season for many of the teams in attendance, so predictions are rather difficult. However, I'll take that challenge...

Based on fall tournament performances, previous years' history, and the results of the Santa Barbara Invite, I predict UC-Santa Barbara, Whitman, Pacific Lutheran, Humboldt State, Stanford B, Chico State, Simon Fraser and Cal Poly to make quarterfinals. UC-Santa Barbara gave its rookies a lot of playing time at SoCal Warm-Up and still did well. The team will also have the experience of already playing at its own January tournament where it upset UC-Davis and only lost in quarterfinals by one point to UCLA. Pacific Lutheran also looked strong this fall, making quarterfinals of Sundodger and the semis of O.F.U.K. It will have a tough pool with Humboldt State vying for the easier road in quarters. Humboldt State made it to the finals of C.H.U.G., but then did not look as strong at the later Sean Ryan tournament. Still, the team has a number of veteran players who make the difference in close games. Stanford B has a number of experienced returners and athletic rookies who have already had one tournament (Santa Barbara Invite) to come together as a team. Last year, Stanford B made it to the semifinals of the Invite Qualifier. Chico State looked stronger this fall than it did last year, so this tournament could be a good chance for the team to prove itself. In its first year with a college team, Simon Fraser is a dark horse in this mix, but they have a lot of previous experience and will likely play a non-stack offense that many teams will not have played against before. Cal Poly also played at the Santa Barbara Invite and traded games with Stanford B. This should be a good tournament for the new team to continue coming together. The rest of the teams at the tournament are younger, more inexperienced squads that will benefit greatly from the competition of battling out games against other teams with similar skills.

The teams that make it to semifinals and finals will have to be deep. Shallow rosters could hurt PLU, Chico, Whitman, and Cal Poly especially. With its strong performance in January, UC-Santa Barbara is the favorite to win the spot to the Stanford Invite. Check back here after the tournament to read about how it all played out and who will be back in Palo Alto March 5th and 6th.