Midwest Throwdown: The Unknown

You have to love Midwest Throwdown because not only is it the first tournament of the spring season for many Midwest teams, but it is also a HUGE gamble on so many other factors. In 2010 the weather was beauuuutiful, but it was followed in 2011 with terribly chilly temperatures, slightly unreasonable wind…and rain. With the flashbacks of last year we were determined to be prepared and beat the rain, cold, and our not so satisfactory finish. The past two weeks, as I watched the forecast jump around from freezing and rainy to 60’s and sunny, all I could think about was how awesome it was going to be to get outside and be able to play with all of my teammates rather than against them like in practice. 

This past week was the biggest #strugglefest for our team, trying to get sprints and lifting in, getting to practices, cleaning Hilton for fundraising, and all while trying to pass our midterm exams. Finally loading into the vans and driving out of Ames was a mixture of exhausted relief and nervous excitement for the tournament. A good night’s sleep at Gibbs and Blake’s house was exactly what we needed before Saturday’s games.

Our first game was versus the hosts- Washington University WUWU. Wind and getting used to being outside was the name of that game. WUWU offered up intense defense and gave Scorned trouble both under and deep. Their zone was challenging to break through, and stand out players created turbulence in our flow. The highlight of this game was Caitie Bosco for the most ridiculous point probably of the tournament. After forcing the turn with a hand block on the mark, she caught an up field after bobbling the disc several times, stood up, and threw a 20 yard pass to the end zone which was D’d and tipped to hang in the air for a moment. To everyone’s disbelief, somehow Bosco managed to be in the space to lay out and grab the floaty disc for the assist and score. It was ridiculous! Taking it to hard cap, Scorned took the win. 

10-9 Woman Scorned over Washington University, WUWU 

Our second game put us up against Northwestern, a team full of talented and fun ladies with great hucks and big play defense. The wind picked up a little more for this game, and so did the punting. The Northwestern coach put it pretty accurately, “this is a game of field position.” Within the first 8 points, neither team scored an upwind point, although there were a few close attempts. After some readjusting, Scorned started to solidify our strategy and maintain possession (a little) better. After a getting some breaks on the board, we rallied hard and kept pushing to take the win. This game was filled with big hucks and great grabs by all of our cutters down field. 

11-4 Woman Scorned over Northwestern, Gungho

The last pool play game was against Central Florida. After seeing these poor girls in only shorts and sweatshirts, there was quite a bit of pity and discussion about the probable lies that Michelle must have told them about the weather in Northern Missouri in early March. Sirens did anything but let the weather slow them down though, coming out to take the first 3 points of the game. Luckily, Jazzy-J showed up on our sideline with gifts of chocolate and pretzels to raise our spirits and get us back in the game! Scorned came back strong to tie the game up at 4’s. Scorned and CF dueled it out for the remainder of the game, trading points with the wind, but things got interesting when soft cap went on with the score being 6’s and Central Florida having the wind advantage. CF took the downwind point to make it 7-8, and we realized we were going to have to convert down wind and then make the break upwind on universe to win. With the addition of a few new friends/fans on the side line and everyone into the game, we did just that! After a turn over (possibly hand block or D??) near the upwind end zone, Gapstur to Becca was all it took to make the conversion and take the win! Despite the chilly Saturday, we were glad CF made the trip to the Midwest to compete with us. 

8-7 Woman Scorned over University of Central Florida, Sirens

The last game of the day was a cross over with the division 2. This game was versus SOL, our long-standing sister team from the North Country. These ladies were also happy to be escaping snow and cold weather, and it showed through their energy and intensity on defense. As always, this game was fun spirited and enjoyable on all accounts. The game ended with a pre-planned line of fist pump-blow ups to cheer our friends. 

14-2 Woman Scorned over University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, SOL

Highlights from Saturday:

-seeing all of our alumni and club friends and teammates
-trying to unzip the sleeves of Michelle’s winter coat
-playing real OUTDOOR spring ultimate

Saturday night was nothing short of amazing. Butcher’s dad invited us and ISUC over for a homemade pork chop dinner, desert, hot tub time, and a some frisbee team fun. Both ISUC and Scorned went 4-0 for the day, so there was much to celebrate. 

Sunday morning was much more pleasant with significantly less wind and sunny skies for the first couple games. Quarters put us up against Minnesota first. These ladies are some of our favorites, always bringing the competition hard on the field and never being anything less than a great time. Highlights of this game were big hucks and great lays all around. Mag started out the game right with a huge layout grab for the score on point one.

15- 4 Woman Scorned over University of Minnesota, Ninjas

Semis was a rematch with WUWU in an extremely hard fought battle for the finals. Wash U came out harder, taking the first couple points of the game. Uncharacteristically, this game involved a lot of calls. The defense from both teams was as intense as it gets, with lay outs and pressure in every direction. One highlight involved a huck to the end zone where Cami “the Macassistor” Nelson jumped for the near grab, resulting in a mac for the score by a great grab for the score by Annihka. Scorned rallied hard out of half time to take the game for a trip to the ship.

12-9 Woman Scorned over Washington University, Tilt (or WUWU…cus that’s what everyone actually calls them)

Finals was against none other than Saucy Nancy. There are few rivalries as rich in intensity and friendship as this one. This matchup is guaranteed to occur a minimum of about 6 to 7 times per season, and there is no other team that we know as well on or off the field. With high school friends and club teammates all the way from players to coaches, this match up is always guaranteed to result in a great game. Scorned came out strong after the first point, going up 4-1 in the beginning of the game. Saucy adjusted well and came back to tie the game at 6’s. Despite this run, we fought back with passion and took half with a score from Pesch to Becca (doubly defended) off of a time out on the end zone line. Coming out of half, Scorned rallied hard. As ISUC showed up to help cheer us on, we rushed the field with flags in hand as we continued to build our lead. Saucy never let up, pushing our handlers to work the disc amongst themselves down much of the field with their intense zone defense. 

Everyone from our oldest vets to our youngest (and oldest-Bows) rookies truly stepped up in this game. Jess had an insane layout D to prevent the score, Bows also had a D on a veteran opponent, Gapstur had multiple D’s in one of the points, Janani, Bows, and Anne had monstrous grabs to score, and Kaira, Mag, Pesch, Becca, Bosco, Hoistad, Cami, and Jiear were laying out for grabs. Annihka, Denver, Weino, Alyssa, and Daisy were unstoppable once the handlers we able to advance the disc past the cup. Britt, Pesch, and Sam were especially solid handlers, keeping the disc in the hands of the good guys while patiently working it up the field. Lana, Weino, Sam, and Denver owned the sideline talk, getting us beyond pumped with field cheers and great sideline talk. Coach K was the real talk of the fields though. He was lookin’ fly, coaching it up while rockin’ the cargo shorts and black tights. All in all, it was a great finals game, with the best competition.

14-9 Woman Scorned of University of Iowa, Saucy Nancy

Highlights from Sunday:
-Weino’s calling her first foul ever
-Kevin’s cargo cutoffs
-Winning Midwest Throwdown for the first time ever
-Driving home in a winter storm

Despite coming into the weekend with many factors unknown, the results came out better than we could have imagined. The competitive experience for everyone on our team was better than we could have asked for, the weather (though challenging at times) was perfect to dive us into outdoor ultimate, and the entire weekend was more fun that we can even explain. Huge thanks to Michelle Ng and WUWU for hosting. Thanks to all of our alumni and fans for the support. Thanks to ISUC for the support during the finals, and to Mr. & Mrs. Butcher for dinner and entertainment on Saturday night.  Thanks and love to Gibbsy and Blake for hosting all 22 of us in your house!

One week until Nashville, and so much more work to do!

Scorned Love.

Lindsey Gapstur #2 & Sarah Hoistad #35 (with the help of the van)
edited by Jiear Vang #18