1. Florida
2. Emory
3. UNC-Chapel Hill
4. State College
5. Wake Forest
6. Rutgers
7. Michigan
8. Purdue
9. NC State
10. Maryland
11. Virginia
12. Michigan State
13. Elon
14. Appalachian State
15. Duke
16. UNC B

1. Florida
2. State College
3/4. Emory
3/4. Wake Forest
5/8. UNC-Chapel Hill
5/8. Michigan
5/8. Virginia
5/8. Purdue

See the Score Reporter or Score-O-Matic for full consolation results

Saturday:

Saturday of Queen City Tune Up found every team scrabbling to alternate locations. The rain was falling, and there was no sign of it letting up. Ramblewood soccer complex was closed to activity for the day. The alternate locations were the best any high caliber tournament could offer. Sure there were fields that were only 30 yards across or with end zones only 15 yards deep, fields with mud pits down the middle so deep that if you stepped in it, you had to yank your leg out of it, and fields pools got kicked off by the local police, but at least there were fields. Needless to say, with rounds starting late, less than favorable weather conditions, and even less than favorable field conditions, rounds were shortened, games had low scores, and it was hard to say if what was going on was really ultimate. I suppose we could liken Saturday to what Stanford Invite or President’s day was last year.

Pool A, B and D went according to seed. Pool B was a battle between Emory and UM. The middle part of the game was a bunch of momentum swings with each team going on 2 or 3 point runs but then the other team coming back with their own run. Emory had a crucial 3-point run after half to give them the lead and after that it was all trading points. 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, 12-12. Towards the end, there were several epic battle points that UM ended up winning, but then Emory got it right back with quick O points with no turns. They had really smooth offensive flow. Emory played well against the zoneD. They have two handlers that look to throw hammers and blading forehands over the cup to the vulnerable flats on the sides. Pool C saw some upsets with UVA taking UNC by surprise in the first round on Saturday morning and alternately UVA beating Rutgers as well. UNC greatly underestimated UVA’s abilities from start to almost finish. Duran of UVA played marvelously and her throws are quite dangerous. I personally itched to put my cleats on as numerous injuries had sidelined me during these conditions, but I watched as UNC tried to mount a comeback. It was too little too late in these shortened rounds. It should be noted that Rutgers only had eight players at this tournament and even with that UNC beat them pretty handedly. So with that, and the conditions of the tournament, I think it would be very early to count Rutgers out of any nationals talk. In pool D, State College went up on Wake 6-1. Wake went on to outscore State 7-5 for the remainder of the game, but again it was too little too late. State college won that one, 11-8.

Many crossover games did not happen. People were tired, wet, and cold. I do know that the UNC vs. UM game did happen though and UNC finally played like they knew how to and won 10-5. From what I understand, most of the top eight did not play their crossover games as these games had no Sunday implications.

Sunday:

Sunday was a much better day with no rain although much more windy. Rounds were delayed a half hour due to frost on the field, and since the TDs had to delay the games, the rounds were shortened to an hour and fifteen minutes. I have personally grown to despise shortened rounds. By the time a team gets in a groove or figures out what works best against an unknown opponent, the cap goes on and the final score is like 8-7 – hardly more than half a real game. Despite that, pre-quarters saw no upsets and the sun was out and shining brightly.

The quarters brought some snow and the gusts increased. Florida played UM in a very tight game, which they won by one in the cap. FL was all about the quick huck off the pull and any turnover. Nice hucks too. Flywheel had a tough time defending the long throws. They seemed to just keep floating and the FL receivers stayed with them well and made amazing reads and grabs in traffic. UM made a nice comeback at the end to bring it from 5-3 FL to 6-5 UM. Cap had gone on at 5-5, game to 7. UM had several chances to win the game with an upwinder. They were moving very nicely against the FL zone. But on every turn, boom went the punt and FL finally connected on one. Then on the last point, FL made an amazing full extension layout grab to win the game 7-6. The game was fast paced, but with the wind and huge D, the points were long and hence the low score. Funny note- during the UM comeback, a dark cloud came over the sky and snow flurries started coming down. Several of the FL players had never seen snow before and were running around trying to get snowflakes to land on their tongues. Very cute.

UNC played Penn State in a very close game, where cap rules were implicated as well. The cap rules were quite unique in the sense that if the horn blew between points, the cap was on right then and there. Typically, if the horn blows between points, that point is already considered in progress and the cap is put on after the next point. Also, in that game, only one was added to the top score, unlike the UM vs. Florida game. Tied at 2s, State College went on a 5-0 run, UNC mounted another run to bring it to 7-6 State College, but again, too little too late with the shortened rounds. State College gutted it out to win this one 9-7 and advanced onto semis. Wake Forest played UVA in quarters, had them at 9-4 when the cap went on, and finished off the game finally at 10-6. The other quarterfinals game was between Emory and Purdue, where Emory dispatched with Purdue 11-1.

The next round was marked by an increase in winds and lots of turnovers. Semis saw Florida playing Wake Forest and Emory playing State College. The State College vs. Emory game looked very similar to the UNC v. State College game. State College won this match-up 8-6. The Florida vs. Wake Forest game found a lot of hucks by both ends, a lot of turnovers, and basically a field position game where Florida came out ahead 10-6. I watched a great deal of both of these games and Florida's zone is quite tough. If a team is playing a three handler set, a different person in the "cup" is marking each throw. Therefore, if the disc is in the middle, the middle-middle in the cup is marking, straight up. The "cup" is very flat and encourages the swing. The short deep is in very close as well. Therefore, over the "cup" seems like the logical option, but a little tough in windy conditions.

I did not stay and watch much of the finals between State College and Florida. I watched the first few points, was shaking uncontrollably from the cold, and decided to go home. But, from what I understand, Florida won this one 12-7 and I am not surprised because they are pretty deep with a number of players that have good 20 yard throws into the wind. Before this tournament, I questioned whether Florida’s CCC win was a fluke, and rightly so despite what people may say on RSD. In 2005 this team lost to both UGA and UNC 15-4 at regionals, NCSU 13-5 at Terminus, Wake Forest 13-11 at Southerns, and UNC 13-0 at QCTU. I would like to sit here and say that one tournament win is the real deal, but that would be a little haste. Now that they have won both CCC and QCTU it can be safe to say that Florida is the team to beat from the Atlantic Coast region. It is inspiring to see a team improve that much in one year. They are a very deep team with a lot of athleticism. Erin Brown is as good as I have said in the past and loves her flick. Alexa Dix had a good semifinals game and touched the disc a lot. Robyn Gallo is another well rounded player with dependable throws. Cathy Marshall is a solid receiver and Sara Puyana is another handler type with really fundamentally solid throws. Florida’s offense and defense thrives in windy conditions. When I reflect on club nationals, maybe it is beneficial to play in that weather all the time. I don’t know how windy it is at UF, but it is probably more windy there than the rest of the AC.

All in all, Florida has proven they are a team to beat. It will be really exciting to see how they do at Centex this year and of course, AC regionals will be an interesting tournament as always.

Thanks to all teams this past weekend for making this year's QCTU a success despite the less than favorable conditions.

Pool A:

It would be a pretty safe guess to state that Florida will roll over the teams in pool A, but do not be surprised if NCSU pulls off a win during the second round. Despite losing a lot to graduation, the NCSU veterans learned a great deal about winning from last year’s seniors. Look for standout performances from Teresa Rouse and Sarah Immel. If Florida does lose this game, they will reenergize quickly for the Purdue game and set things right. Florida will be lead by Erin Brown this weekend with her low, but accurate forehand hucks. Teams in the AC may have found an answer for Florida’s offense and defense though after the showing at CCC. Purdue will be pretty tired from the long trip down here and will find that their horizontal stack offense does not flow that well against the tough straight up mark of NCSU. UNC-B finds itself at its first big tournament. Despite maintaining a practice schedule almost as intense as the A squad’s, UNC-B will have a hard time pulling off a win during pool play.

Pool B:

UM hardly ever performs well at CCC. They travel the miles, but play the rookies. This may or may not pay off at QCTU this weekend. A great game to watch will be Emory v. UM in the final round of pool play. UM will use its agile handlers to move the disc quickly, and with precision. Emory might have an answer with the athleticism of Amy Smith and the handling of Lauren Truxillo. Beyond that, things should go according to seed. The Maryland v. Duke game will also be an interesting match up. Duke did not produce a very strong team last year at QCTU, but this year could be a different story with some added talent and organization.

Pool C:

It is very difficult to find any information on the 2005-2006 Rutgers team. Although a National qualifier in 2005, it is hard to say if Rutgers is that caliber of a team again this year. UNC would like playing like a national caliber team and the last round will give them an opportunity to prove just that. UVA is in the same boat as NCSU, lost a lot of seniors, but those who remain have less to work with than the girls of Jaga. It can be assumed that this will be a rebuilding year for UVA, but that does not mean a handful of those girls don’t remember how to win. Look for them to easily roll over App State and possibly give Rutgers a headache or two.

Pool D:

This pool is the toughest to call. Even though State College has been a metro east powerhouse in years past, the suspension is starting to loom over them. This takes a toll on a team and it makes recruiting difficult. Wake Forest will be pumped and ready for their final round match up against Isis and Crider could very well be injured in about four places at that point in the day. Wake Forest wins that one. Earlier in the day, MSU could catch either Wake Forest or State College sleeping. Michigan State has the talent to win this pool, and they also have the ability to take last place in the pool. It all depends on what team shows up that day. As mentioned about two seconds earlier, if the lackluster MSU shows up, Elon wins the three v four match up.

Quarterfinalist Teams: Florida, Emory, Rutgers, Wake Forest, UNC, NCstate, Purdue, UM are the best guesses. But, Michigan State and State College could most definitely be up there as well.

Semifinals: Could easily be all AC teams, but look for Purdue, UM or Rutgers make an appearance.

Finals: Was Florida’s win at CCC a fluke?