Scobel Wiggins Photography

Tournament Overview
Women's College Centex 2009 was undoubtedly the tournament of the season. Among the perks were:

• A mixer Friday night with free food for players on various teams to meet one another and build the ultimate community
• Player packs, including a program with team bios and a cleat bag branded with the Centex logo
• Vitamin Water and Clif bars at the fields, in addition to toasters available to heat up the bagels
• UltiVillage and a professional photographer at the fields both days
• An affordable, delicious bbq dinner available during the rookie game Saturday night
• A dance-off, sponsored by Five Ultimate in which numerous teams participated
• Free housing and showers available for all teams who requested it
• Regular e-mail updates and excellent communication with teams regarding travel, scheduling, and weather
• Lined, quality fields, plus directions to the secured back-up location, in case of bad weather
• A chance for all team captains to voice feedback in the seeding process, with extra care taken to minimize repeat head-to-head and intra-region match-ups

Although these amenities were great, what made the tournament truly outstanding was having 32 quality women's college teams together in one location. The top teams saw the competition they're likely to face again in Columbus, OH in May, and the up-and-coming teams experienced the excitement of Nationals-level Ultimate and had the opportunity to learn from the well-established programs.

Dominant Teams
The teams who finished in the top four (Ottawa, UCSB, UBC, and Wisconsin) seem to clearly be ahead of the rest of the field in their level of play. Every player on these teams is a threat both on offense and defense, and there are always several very strong throwers on the field at once, some as handlers and others as cutters who can throw to well-timed continue cuts. These teams also minimize turnovers and capitalize on other teams' mistakes. For teams on the cusp who want to beat these powerhouses later this season or who want to qualify for Nationals, it's unlikely that individual player skills can be improved much between now and the Series. Instead, these teams should focus on strategy. Offensively, minimizing turnovers and playing with consistency and intensity are crucial. On defense, strategic matchups, fielding seven strong defenders for every point, and team defense will be necessary to neutralize the key players on the dominant teams.

Dominant Player
Among the schools my team (Washington University) played, there were definitely key players who stood out and need to be considered when preparing to match up against these teams.

In the Atlantic Coast region, Chelsea Murphy of Emory is a key handler. In the wind on Saturday, Luna looked to her to get off big throws. Sarah "Red" Owenby and Cici Cheng were dominant throwers for Georgia. From either handler or cutter positions, these two dished out hucks to downfield continue cutters. Owenby used her height and speed to dominate in the air in her offensive endzone, too.

Similarly, California's Cree Howard led her team this weekend with sick fakes and big throws as a handler. While Cal has several experienced players, it seemed that Cree spent a fair amount of effort directing cuts and coaching the younger players mid-point while on the field. To get out of the stacked Northwest Region and do well at Nationals, Cal will need to work on their depth.

As for the South Region, Texas' Becca Shelton was a key handler, especially on Sunday when the wind died down and teams were playing man defense. Shelton's huge backhand swings were key to opening up the break side for Melee. Texas capitalized on these breaks by having solid throwers make the break cuts and send beautiful hucks to perfectly-timed continue cuts down the break-side sideline for scores. Stephanie Redfern was one of the cutters who had solid puts downfield; she also used her quickness to shut down teams' short-game offense with her poach D's. From Kansas, Tasha Parman was the standout. Although the Bettys came in as the 32-seed and are still a fairly young team, they played some tough games and displayed a fighting spirit that will pay off over the next few years. Parman led her team with beautiful force-side and break hucks, and she forced other teams to adjust their offenses to minimize the Ds she made with her long reach and tight defense on handlers.

Surprise of the Weekend / South Region Preview
Finishing 18th on Sunday but deserving huge props is Truman State TSUnami. With five players getting stuck in the blizzard in Wichita, KS on Friday, Truman played the entire weekend with ten players. They had only three handlers, and one of their captains was among the five stuck in the snow. After losing all three games Saturday, TSUnami came back with a vengeance Sunday, defeating USC, Florida, and Emory to play in the finals of the 17th place bracket. Emily Tobias, Morgan Shahan, and Julie Sztukowski led the team with their intensity, athleticism, and heart.

Truman State, Texas, Washington University, St. Louis, and Vanderbilt make the South Region perhaps the most exciting Region to follow this series. Throughout last fall and this spring, Truman State and Wash U, St. Louis and Wash U, and Texas and Wash U have all traded games. Vanderbilt, St. Louis, and Texas have all beat Truman State, but most of these games were played in less-than-ideal conditions for TSUnami (intense wind conditions, missing key players, etc). It will be a dogfight for the two bids to Nationals come April 25-26 in Little Rock, AR; whoever wants it the most and can adjust to the weather conditions will earn the tickets to the Big Dance.

Abby Stephens is the Washington University captain.