CCC LIII Previews: Jojah Bulldogs

They say that success is contagious. If that’s the case, then Jojah is certainly in for one of its most successful seasons of all time.

Since 2003 Jojah has only missed Nationals once. It is safe to say that the Bulldogs have made themselves a staple of the competitive Ultimate scene. However, apart from their trip to the semifinals on the back of future World Champion Dylan Tunnell, Jojah has not had much in the way of success once Nationals has rolled around. Last season was no exception as Georgia, the No. 2 team from the Atlantic Coast, won one game in Columbus and finished tied for 19th in the nation.

“For all our players that were on the team last year,” Jojah captains Peter Dempsey and Rob Herrig wrote us in an e-mail. “(That) was an embarrassment.”

However, Jojah has been surrounded by success this offseason, as two of men who play pivotal roles on the team, fifth year captain Dempsey and coach AJ Tiarsmith helped lead Atlanta’s Chain Lightning to its first UPA Club Championship.

Morning Pull: TEP Medellin

In case you don’t read UCatch, check out TEP Medellin’s site and Facebook page.

Check out the tournament brochure (it’s in English!) for more information. This may be the biggest Ultimate event ever produced.

Georgia and UNC previews to come later today.

CCC LIII Previews: Wisconsin Hodags

Life is tough when you are one of the best. Expectations run rampant and you have a standard to live up to. Such is life when you are a Wisconsin Hodag.

Over the last ten years, the Hodag name and symbol have become synonymous with elite level college ultimate. It has been ten years since the Hodags missed a trip to UPA Nationals. The Hodags boast a Callahan winner among their alumni, a group who are as renowned for their talent as they are for their dedication to the ideal that is Wisconsin Ultimate.

However, along with all the fame and all the glory comes a great burden as well. The 2009 UPA series was the first time in four years that Wisconsin did not find itself among the semifinalists at College Nationals. In fact, earlier in the season, at Trouble in Vegas, the Hodags went winless for a day of Ultimate. A feat that, according to the Hodags has never been  seen before in Hodag Ultimate history, aside from winless Sundays at college Nationals.

While for most programs, a replica of Wisconsin’s 2009 season would be the season to end all seasons, the Hodags were certainly not overwhelmingly pleased with their results. This left many folks asking the question, “What is wrong with Wisconsin ultimate?” and “What does this mean for next year?” As a large group of the Hodags’ core was leaving for the great beyond of post graduation. Including Callahan nominee Jim Foster.

CCC LIII Previews: Florida FUEL

As a South Carolina football fan, we can safely say that there almost nothing more painful in sports than coming close to success but finding yourself just short once again.

Such was life for Florida FUEL last season. The ladies from Gainesville found themselves either in the Finals or Semifinals of four of the five tournaments that they entered last season yet FUEL failed to advance to Nationals.

However, also having been in that position, we can tell you that few things push you to success more than coming up short. FUEL currently resides in that state of mind, driven by the shortcoming of last season, FUEL is fired up and ready to compete for Nationals this year.

“All our players are one year more experienced,” Senior captain Alisha Stoun wrote us in an e-mail when asked what would help get her team over the hump. “We have added workouts and we’ve got a few especially hungry players who are pushing the others harder.”

Another entity that is pushing FUEL to more and more success this year is the addition of a coach, Carlo Mosca.

Morning Pull: Interesting Criticism

When we saw this video we could really only think of one thing and one person. This young man is the type of person who clearly has no room to be criticizing our boy Fitty. Nonetheless he continues to rail against him and, more for the spectacle than anything else, people watch and listen.

Anyone else see where we’re going with this?

Now, the Ulticritic has some good points and we don’t want to take that away from him by joining the masses of folks that simply mock him because of his, *ahem*, unconventional style. That being said, we find it interesting that he continues to piss into the wind on RSD.

Why doesn’t he do something about all the things he says? Why doesn’t he, at least like Frank Huguenard, create something new? If Ultimate is as hopeless as he says.

To be honest, we couldn’t really care less about whether or not Ultimate is ever on ESPN. We love to game to play the game. Perhaps this will change as we get older but for now, we don’t see any necessary changes. Sure, the game isn’t perfect, but baseball has been around for over 100 years and even after this postseason, the MLB still sees no reason to adopt instant replay.

Change takes time, but for now, we’re content to toss the disc with some of our best friends and have debates with other people about whether or not we were both vying for unoccupied space or if we were careening out of control into space already occupied.

CCC LIII Previews: South Carolina Gamecocks

(Ed. Note – We did go to South Carolina. We do believe that USC has the most charming, best looking and overall awesomest Ultimate program that has ever graced the face of the planet. That being said, we will now carry on with our completely unbiased team preview.)

As interesting as Nationals level teams are, the fact of the matter is, most teams that compete in the UPA Series are not Nationals caliber teams. In fact, just over 20 teams make it to Nationals every year out of the, literally, hundreds that compete in Sectionals. The struggles, challenges and everyday life that goes along with being one of those teams that isn’t basking in the limelight of the sport at the end of May are rarely told. Historically at South Carolina, Ultimate hasn’t necessarily been about winning Nationals. It’s more about the constant improvement of oneself and the goal of competing at the highest level that one can compete at.

However, South Carolina captain, senior Kevin Anderson, is ready to change that tune just a little. The Gamecocks haven’t made it out of their section in three years and Anderson believes this year is the year for USC to make some noise.

CCC LIII Previews: Michigan State Burning Couch

Michigan State Burning Couch is a team that has been on the fringe for quite some time. Meaning that MSU has spent many years on the outside looking in at College Nationals. The team has competed in the Great Lakes Region for many years but has been missing from the Nationals scene since 2006.

Burning Couch captain Alex Edinger hopes to change all of that this season.

“We have some pretty high expectations for this year,” Edinger, MSU’s Callahan candidate from the 2009 season, wrote us in an e-mail. “We hope to make an impact on the scene and put Michigan State Ultimate back on the map.”

Classic City Classic LIII

When we started this blog it was our dream that one day the idea of responsible journalism around Ultimate would catch on and become the norm rather than the exception. It seems that the ball has started rolling on that dream sooner than we expected. You may or may not have heard that we are working with Jojah Ultimate to bring the Ultimate world in depth coverage of college Ultimate’s premier fall tournament, The Classic City Classic.

You can have your No Wiscosequences and your Wilmington 8s but for our money, CCC is one of the best run tournaments in the nation. This year is going to be no exception as Jojah has gathered a group of top tier talent as well as observers and, of course, the best Ultimate journalism out there.

So strap in readers, these next couple weeks are going to be chock full of team previews, polls, announcements and schedules. We’re thrilled to be here and we hope that you enjoy the coverage.