Hodags Take CCC Title in Atlanta for Second Year in a Row
The first tournament of the year landed the Hodags in Athens, Georgia where they would eventually defend their crown as Classic City Classic champions. The tournament was held November 17-18, 2002, so the Hodags had less time to prepare for this tournament then in previous years. The Hodags came in as the number one seed but knew they would face solid competition at CCC. William and Mary, a semi-finalist at Nationals was there, along with Illinois, Brown, and many east coast teams. The stage was set for Wisconsin to prove their number one ranking and defend their CCC crown.
Saturday, November 17
The Hodags woke up to pouring rain on the first day of the tournament. The bad weather forced a change of venue as the tournament was moved to a local Athens state park. Inches of rain provided for sloppy field conditions that effected ultimate for the weekend.
Pool Play - Round 1 - NC State
Mouths of the Hodag rookies were salivating to play their first game under the Baby Blue. Freshman cutter, Dan Heijman was getting himself pumped up on the sidelines. In a Rudy-esque moment Heijman said, "I've been waiting my whole life for this moment". Returning players were ready to start a season that they had been waiting for since the loss to Stanford in the championship last year. The Hodags were ready to play.
Rain and wind provided for sloppy play against NC State. The Hodags traded points with NC State and both teams were struggling to find the endzone. An experienced handling core, lead by senior Tyson Park, along with juniors Andrew Brown and Ryan Carrington provided stability and solid hucks through the rain. Newcomers Dean Bolton and Grant Zukowski played solid defense throughout the game. Sophomore Scott Allen saw his first action in the Baby Blue and took advantage of it, tallying his first point as a Hodag. Matt Ley caught two nice hucks from Tyson Park and Bryan Paradise, and established himself as one of the go-to guys for the tournament. The game was tied 8-8, game to nine. Game point was intense and also long. Senior Tyson Park got a layout D, and Jimmy McMurray got a handblock that led to the Hodags score. Final, 9-8 Hodags.
Pool Play - Round 2 - Georgia
Rain continued to come down as Wisconsin started their second round game against Georgia. The wind was starting to pick up and teams everywhere were having trouble scoring in these conditions. The field was full of puddles and mudpits as gametime approached, but the Hodags were ready. The Hodag offense looked a lot smoother than the previous round. The disc was flowing well and Lawrence Klein and Tom Burkly got their first goals as Hodags. The Hodags were up 5-3 when sophomore sensation, Gigo Valdivia made the play of the day. Gigo lured his offensive opponent into a false sense of security, and when the disc was thrown Gigo layed out perfectly, knocking the disc into the ground and sliding through a huge mud puddle. Phil Altman hauled in the goal, and the Hodags were rolling. Final score, 9-5 Hodags.
Pool Play - Round 3 - Colorado State University
Wisconsin dominated CSU from start to finish. Tom Burkly had two great defensive breakups, and Lawrence Klein along with Brian Frederick tallied goals and were very impressive in the Hodags win. 6'5'' Sophomore Jim Igielski was next to impossible to guard as he skied over CSU opponents in helping the Hodags to their first shutout of the season, 11-0 Hodags
Sunday - Quarterfinals - Duke University
Since the Hodags won their pool, they got a bye into Sunday's quarterfinals where they would face Duke, a team they lost to last year at Easterns. Once again, the weather would play a huge factor today, as 20mph winds and 30-40 degree temperatures hampered many an upwind huck and caused many dropped discs.
The Hodags came out strong against Duke, taking a quick 2-0 lead. Duke countered back with two points of their own, but the Hodags responded with an upwind Bryan Paradise to Matt Ley goal. The Hodags then put their four man cup zone on Duke, and seemed to cruise from there. Tyler Spindler continually won the deep discs, as Duke looked to huck deep on almost every possession. Doug Rassier's mark on the zone was next to perfect, resulting in many Duke turfs and turns. Duke was never able to stop the Hodag zone, and Wisconsin cruised to victory 13-6.
Sunday - Semifinals - UC Berkeley
The Hodags and Berkeley were playing for a birth to the championship. Both teams had come a long way to prove that they were among the elite ultimate teams. The wind picked up for this game, and would prove to be a huge factor in the games outcome.
Both teams scored two points early, going downwind. There were a lot of turns going upwind, and it seemed that the first team to get an upwind goal might win the game. The Hodags had two goaline stands and worked the disc upwind patiently as Andrew Brown found Bryan Paradise for the first upwind goal, and a huge momentum swing in the game. This pumped up the Hodags and Berkeley seemed to sulk around the field, amassing only one point after the Hodags goaline stands. The Hodags dominated from that point on. The defense was swarming, and the offensive was simply hot as the Hodags dominated for a 9-3 win. The Hodags were poised to defend their crown against Illinois.
Sunday - Finals - Illinois
The stage was set for the Wisconsin Hodags to defend their CCC crown against Illinois. The wind and cold drove off all the other teams from the fields as a very small crowd showed to watch the championship. The Hodags were one game away from a great start to the season.
Illinois looked solid from the start, and the Hodags could feel that the championship wouldn't be as easy as the previous two games. Illinois went up 3-2 on several huge hucks that would be a constant for them all day. The Hodags had some big game jitters and dropped some easy passes that lead to Illinois scores. Illinois was up 5-2 and had the momentum, looking to keep on rolling. Enter Tyler Spindler, the 6'2'' deep threat who came back for his fifth year as a Hodag for moments like this. Tyler stepped it up with a huge d and goal assist to get the Hodags started again. Andrew Brown, Bryan Paradise, Tyson Park, and Ryan Carrington were huge in the Hodag handling crew, not turning the disc over and hitting cutters on the mark. Tyler made a great cut, and hucked the disc upwind to Matt Ley for a huge goal. With Tyler and the handling crew starting to gel, the Hodags went on a roll, taking half 8-5 and ready to finish off Illinois. The Hodags got quick points in the second half going up 10-6, but Illinois would not go away as they closed the Hodag lead to 10-8. The teams exchanged points, and then Illinois got a huge d and scored, 12-11 Hodags. The Hodags were reeling and needed someone to step up. They were facing a huge upwind point that they needed to have. After a turnover deep in Illinois territory, the Hodags were getting beaten on in cuts. Illinois was ready to tie the score and take the wind advantage. Co-captain Bryan Paradise made the play of the tournament as he had a huge layout d near the Illinois endzone against one of their best player. Paradise led the Hodags down the field and threw the goal to give the Hodags a huge point, putting them up 13-11, game to 15. Paradise's d and assist proved to be the deciding factor in the game, and the tournament, as the Hodags went on to win the Classic City Classic Championship for the second year in a row. Final score Wisconsin 15, Illinois 12.
The Hodags came up big when it counted. There were new holes to fill with the departure of Pete Rank, Matt Bruss, Matt Pankratz, and Zach Morrison. Tyler Spindler, Bryan Paradise, and the emergence of Matt Ley, leading the Hodags with 15 goals for the tournament have helped ease the pain of those huge losses. The 2002-03 Hodags have a lot of experience and depth. They have 18 players returning from a team that finished second at Nationals last year. That experience showed in the crucial moments of CCC when the veterans came up huge to lead the Hodags to their first tournament victory of the season. Wisconsin showed that they will be among ultimate's elite college teams this Spring by defending their CCC crown in Athens, Georgia.
By Jimmy McMurray