BY: Andrea Kalb
March 2007

This year, the Metro East looks like it will be one of the most closely contested regions in the country.  Instead of bemoaning the Metro East as the weakest region, the ultimate community can look to the ME to watch a fierce fight for bids to the UPA College Championships unfold.  Assuming a size bid, there are 5 or 6 teams legitimately fighting for only two spots.

The region’s top team in 2006, Swarthmore Warmothers, has suffered a big loss due to the graduation of its star Marie Laurenza.  As a result, the squad is not as strong as it was last year.  Swat will put up a good fight but is not likely to get past some of the stronger teams in the ME at Regionals.  To have a chance, the team will have to overcome its season’s slow start at Hellfish Bonanza where it was winless in poll play and sustained a loss to regional rival UPenn.  At Atlantis, the team went 2-3 with wins over St. Mary’s and Delaware B.

Delaware Sideshow, the number two team in the ME last year, looks to return to Columbus this year.  They have a large core of returning players with nationals experience, a new coach, and a roster big enough split into large A and B teams.  Much of their success will depend on the health of veteran players, especially that of Kayla Burnim (2004 FOTY and 2005 All-Region) and Karin Burghardt (2006 All-Region). These ladies plan to attend a few smaller east coast tournaments with 1 or 2 big tournaments thrown in the mix. Sideshow has never won the region, but these ladies plan to change that fact this year and have a fun time doing it.  The team’s showing at Atlantis is a good first step as Sideshow was undefeated and won the tournament against mostly ME competition.

One of the new contenders in the ME fight is the University of Pittsburgh’s Danger. After a 3^rd place finish at CCC, Danger is looking forward to continuing this momentum into the spring season.  The team is planning on playing in some of the big tournaments this spring and already won its pool at the Queen City Tune Up before losing to Michigan in bracket play.  Playing teams from other regions is only going to add to this team’s depth, which is where their strength lies.  It is not uncommon to see these ladies spread the scoring between 7 or 8 players throughout the game.  They have added a couple coaches and several players gained valuable club experience.  Danger is looking to cause some problems for other ME teams and take one of those bids to Columbus. 

Along with Pitt, the NYU Violet Femmes have taken the region by storm.  Winning several tournaments this fall, NYU finished the preseason with a 21-0 record.  The team is looking to gain experience by playing against the toughest competition it can find at some big tournaments like Trouble in Vegas.  In fact, NYU turned numerous heads in Vegas when it won all its games on Friday and finished with a 5-4 record in the Div 1 bracket.  At Atlantis, NYU overcame a pool play loss to Cornell and went all the way to finals, where it lost to Delaware.  One secret to the Violet Femmes’ success is that they did not lose any players from their 2006 season.  They have learned to play and practice (on what little field space they can find) together as a team.  Teams should watch out for Mia Iseman who gets an uncanny number of hand blocks.  The best part about the team’s story is that in 2005, after never winning a game at Regionals, the players decided their goal was to qualify for Nationals in 2007.  They just might reach their goal.

The University of Rochester EZs have never finished in the top two at Regionals, but they have not been too far away in the recent past. The team has recruited a strong rookie class, and some of its older players have gained experience playing for club teams.  The EZs are going to catch teams off guard with their quick transitions and ability to move the disc quickly. Other teams should also watch out for Cathy Maliszewki, who is the EZ’s catch-anything, go-to receiver.  If this team does not let its youth get in the way, it could surprise some teams and improve on last year’s fourth play finish at Regionals.  This could mean the team’s first bid to Nationals.

Not to be forgotten is Penn State Isis.  The team makes its return to the College Series this year after a two year suspension.  One of the player’s main goals is to show the region that they are still competitors regardless of the suspension.  However, doing this will mean overcoming the loss of five key players.  Penn State had a strong showing at Wolfpack and a strong day one of CCC, and if Isis cultivates the potential of its rookies it may just have a shot at one of the bids.  One of those rookies, Nichole Smith, will be a player to watch, especially as a potential candidate for the freshman of the year. Teams may have forgotten about Isis, but these ladies want to go to Columbus in 2007 as players, not just spectators.

Some other teams that could sneak into the mix are Cornell and George Washington.  They are both strong teams that always put up a good fight but are unlikely to finish at the very top.  Cornell will be hard pressed to improve upon its third place Regionals finish of 2006, although the team did make the semifinals of Atlantis.  Meanwhile, George Washington will probably struggle to advance past this year’s regional quarterfinals.

With the region’s strongest teams looking outside the region for spring tournaments, Regionals may be the first time some of these teams compete against each other. Regular season tournaments at which to watch the competition unfold include Atlantis, Terminus, Huck of the Irish, Southerns, and Spring Phling.  Regionals will feature some of the most difficult games for many of these teams, because there is no standout favorite amidst the parity.  It may come down to which team wants it more.