Friday, March 23rd, 2007
Terminus 07: rung up again
Finish: runner-up; 6-2 record, both losses to winner Ring of Fire
The first ultimate of any sort for Chain Lightning this calendar year occurred at Terminus this past weekend. The blustery weather we had was our version of the winter storm that kept some of the planned teams and players stuck at airports in the northeast, leaving only 3 other teams to share Saturday’s power pool with Chain. The mix of players for this tournament was about like a split squad game in baseball spring training: about 70% returners, 30% tryout-types of different sorts, with several of the vets present coming and going at odd intervals. Notably missing were some of our younger stalwarts, such as UGA’s Tunnell & Swanson, Paideia’s Lindsley (played Sat.) & Stubbs, and Ga. Tech’s coach Frito (played Sat.).
Pool play Saturday morning saw the team handle the wind better than both the mid-Atlantic area’s Truck Stop Glory Hole and North Carolina’s LCN, winning each game comfortably and spreading a lot of PT around. The next round was not so kind, however, as perennial Terminus powerhouse Ring of Fire (Raleigh area) humbled Chain 15-8, with the Atlantans not only thoroughly outplayed, but adding to their own problems with double-digit drops. The day finished with a bounceback crossover victory over Alabama’s Iron Men.
All the teams played prequarters games Sunday morning, with CL defeating (I believe) Medicine Men before taking on Jacksonville’s Hammerheads. The Floridians hung tough early, answering downwind scores, but midway through the 1st half, Chain’s defense broke several times for scores, and the margin widened into a several goal victory for the homefolks. The semis, versus upstart UNCW, actually played out similarly, except that the collegians never quite folded and showed an impressive amount of athleticism and competitiveness.
The finals, then, featured a rematch with Ring. Prior to Saturday’s loss, Chain had handed RoF tough defeats twice in the ‘06 fall season, including once at Nationals. In this game, Chain Lightning stiffened its back again, particularly in comparison to the previous day’s effort, but still came up short 15-11, in a better performance by both teams. The gusts of wind that had been largely absent on Sunday kicked up again right before the game began, leading to another upwind/downwind match. Both teams had broken through to score into the wind a couple times when, at 7-7, Chain received going downwind in hopes of taking the half on-serve; after a timeout 5 yards from the endzone, Chain turned it over on the goal line and Ring marched the disc upfield for the score and the half, a crucial turn of events in a game like this. In the second half, Chain could never quite close the gap, with a couple of potential upwind scores falling barely incomplete. On this day, Ring had a few more players with effective throws into the wind and tighter team defense near the disc and earned a weekend victory that likely signals another season of hardfought games between these foes.
For the local team, the motivation to get on with preseason training was amply provided and we got to run hard for the first time in a while. As importantly, the rudimentary foundation for long overdue new team cheers has been laid.
Tags: 07season, recap, results, ring, terminus, tournament