... where people you know/friends are getting married. So far 3 high school friends, or rather acquaintances, are engaged. And these are well educated individuals--all of whom are attending better universities than I am. Perhaps book smart is not everything then. Hahaha. And my mom also told me that I could pick between her friend's sons to marry. I told her I'd pass. Wow. I guess we are maturing quickly. Today I was at a happy hour, ordered a drink. The waitress merely asked if I was 21, and took my word for it. Whaaaat?
I got a mai tai, it was pretty strong. I think I got a little tispy.. Maybe not. It's weird though, considering the other night when I went to a club (first clubbing experience! kinda overrated. :P) and got 2 drinks and was totally fine. But first Wednesday back to Davis, $5 wiki's, yeah??
Another note, I love glee! I'm re-listening to all their songs. It's pretty amazing. I'm jealous. Now if they'd only cover Taylor Swift songs....
12.31.2009
11.03.2009
Fire it up!
Hi girls!
This email will probably be long because then I'm not studying! Duh! Anyways, as you know we've brought up the A/B teams at practice last week. And we're going to be splitting the team in a few weeks, so right now is when you need to decide what ultimate means to you. One thing we would like to mention is that the team that you were on previously has no impact this year, everyone is starting with a fresh slate -- a new opportunity to step up, show your improvement and dedication, and prove yourself.
Rad and I have high goals for both teams this year. Specifically for the A team, we would like to make it Nationals. But that involves the whole team, and it includes practicing/working out/throwing/preparing outside of practice. I have asked a few of you periodically if you are throwing or lifting outside of practices, and honestly, I have been disappointed with the responses. There are a million excuses not to do something, but there's only one way to get it done. Look on the doodle chart, there are people who are free that can throw with you. The ARC is open from 6AM to 1AM on weekdays. Find a buddy! When Rad and I lift, we've never gone to the ARC before 8PM (on a weekday), nights are when it works for us, so that's when we go. Find a time, not an excuse. Your actions need to match your goals. You need to dedicate yourself, there's no time but now.
Decide if this is what you want and if it is, it's not too late to start! We need to all put our minds to it, motivate each other, and know that your teammates are working as hard as you are. You are not alone, this is a team effort. We are the Pleiades, and it's never enough! We're going to be looking for this passion and dedication to the team and the sport in the next few weeks when making roster decisions.
That said, we're not trying to make ultimate a chore. But you need to prepare for the speed bumps -- the extra workouts and occasional lack of time to hang out with friends. But hopefully when we're playing in the game to-go-to-nationals and fighting for our spot, you'll realize that it was all worth it and you would do it all over again. So, what can you do to help the Pleiades make it to nationals?
Pleiades LOVE,
T&R
---------------------------
pleiades. nationals 2010. believe it. live it.
This email will probably be long because then I'm not studying! Duh! Anyways, as you know we've brought up the A/B teams at practice last week. And we're going to be splitting the team in a few weeks, so right now is when you need to decide what ultimate means to you. One thing we would like to mention is that the team that you were on previously has no impact this year, everyone is starting with a fresh slate -- a new opportunity to step up, show your improvement and dedication, and prove yourself.
Rad and I have high goals for both teams this year. Specifically for the A team, we would like to make it Nationals. But that involves the whole team, and it includes practicing/working out/throwing/preparing outside of practice. I have asked a few of you periodically if you are throwing or lifting outside of practices, and honestly, I have been disappointed with the responses. There are a million excuses not to do something, but there's only one way to get it done. Look on the doodle chart, there are people who are free that can throw with you. The ARC is open from 6AM to 1AM on weekdays. Find a buddy! When Rad and I lift, we've never gone to the ARC before 8PM (on a weekday), nights are when it works for us, so that's when we go. Find a time, not an excuse. Your actions need to match your goals. You need to dedicate yourself, there's no time but now.
Decide if this is what you want and if it is, it's not too late to start! We need to all put our minds to it, motivate each other, and know that your teammates are working as hard as you are. You are not alone, this is a team effort. We are the Pleiades, and it's never enough! We're going to be looking for this passion and dedication to the team and the sport in the next few weeks when making roster decisions.
That said, we're not trying to make ultimate a chore. But you need to prepare for the speed bumps -- the extra workouts and occasional lack of time to hang out with friends. But hopefully when we're playing in the game to-go-to-nationals and fighting for our spot, you'll realize that it was all worth it and you would do it all over again. So, what can you do to help the Pleiades make it to nationals?
Pleiades LOVE,
T&R
---------------------------
pleiades. nationals 2010. believe it. live it.
9.15.2009
9.13.2009
2009-2010
Heading back up for the 2009-2010. AKA Senior year! So far not as exciting as high school senior year. Primarily because I have no solid plans for what's to come after I walk. But let's keep the mood light for now, and cross that bridge when I am indeed homeless and jobless.
All in all, senior should be fun though. It seems like just yesterday when I was a freshman moving in. And senior year also marks my last year of (college) ultimate (probably not going to grad school straight out of college, if I choose to go to grad school). I have high hopes and expectations for this year. Things are changing. It'll be different. Watch out.
There are also other goals in life that I wish to accomplish within the next year. I won't specify other than someone made me feel slightly ashamed (in a caring way, really! They were merely asking), so I will do better. Sometimes it's hard to keep focus in face of all these distractions.
So here's to the 2009-2010 school year! May many things be accomplished and successful!
All in all, senior should be fun though. It seems like just yesterday when I was a freshman moving in. And senior year also marks my last year of (college) ultimate (probably not going to grad school straight out of college, if I choose to go to grad school). I have high hopes and expectations for this year. Things are changing. It'll be different. Watch out.
There are also other goals in life that I wish to accomplish within the next year. I won't specify other than someone made me feel slightly ashamed (in a caring way, really! They were merely asking), so I will do better. Sometimes it's hard to keep focus in face of all these distractions.
So here's to the 2009-2010 school year! May many things be accomplished and successful!
8.13.2009
At Home
I'm boooored at home. When I first got back, my roomie, Amy, came down with me. So we did tourist-y things. Example: Seaworld. 2 times. Beach. 2 times (different ones mind you). DAVE AND BUSTER'S! So much fun. I had to get a dad to get me in though because of their stupid 21 year old rule. However, I lost my phone in SeaWorld the second time. And either no one has found it, or someone has and decided to steal it.
Anyways, Bruce and I dropped off Amy at the airport the day after I lost my phone at SeaWorld. Since SeaWorld is on the way back from the airport to my house, we decided to see if anyone found it yet. That lost and found sheet is a golden ticket. I got free parking by showing them the sheet, I got both of us into the park for free. Well, I was let in to check the lost and found offices. But once I did, I figured we were in the park anyways, we might as well go through it again. So I've been to SeaWorld 3 times now. And I'm actually thinking about going again to make myself feel better about losing my phone.
Anyways, Bruce and I dropped off Amy at the airport the day after I lost my phone at SeaWorld. Since SeaWorld is on the way back from the airport to my house, we decided to see if anyone found it yet. That lost and found sheet is a golden ticket. I got free parking by showing them the sheet, I got both of us into the park for free. Well, I was let in to check the lost and found offices. But once I did, I figured we were in the park anyways, we might as well go through it again. So I've been to SeaWorld 3 times now. And I'm actually thinking about going again to make myself feel better about losing my phone.
7.30.2009
7.23.2009
Some People Are... Idiots
While at work today, a client asked for my help. I went over to her computer station, and she pointed at the screen saying how she didn't know how to read the time. She was on her MyUCDavis homepage which displays the classes and the time of the classes. And the time of the classes were not written in regular 12 hour time, but in military time. So she points at "1410" and says, "I can't read this, what does that mean?" Even after explaining to her it's out of 24 hours as opposed to 12 hours, she still had me decode all her class times.
Later, she asked for my help again. She didn't know how to download files or attachments. So I went over again, and she showed me where she got stuck. After clicking on the file, a download window pops up, her two options are "Save" and "Cancel" and that's where she became confused. Are you SERIOUS?!?
Wow. Some people.
I've been going to the gym and working out regularly. Hooray! But for the past two days, every muscle aches. My calves, thighs, triceps, biceps, pecs. Took a little break because going into a tournament sore is probably not the way to go. I'm a little nervous for this tournament since it'll be my first club tournament. Well, not if you include Pleasure Town Throw Down last year. We'll see how this goes!
Later, she asked for my help again. She didn't know how to download files or attachments. So I went over again, and she showed me where she got stuck. After clicking on the file, a download window pops up, her two options are "Save" and "Cancel" and that's where she became confused. Are you SERIOUS?!?
Wow. Some people.
I've been going to the gym and working out regularly. Hooray! But for the past two days, every muscle aches. My calves, thighs, triceps, biceps, pecs. Took a little break because going into a tournament sore is probably not the way to go. I'm a little nervous for this tournament since it'll be my first club tournament. Well, not if you include Pleasure Town Throw Down last year. We'll see how this goes!
7.19.2009
BAG
I went to BAG practice today. Kinda spontaneous. Sai invited me to go with them a few days ago, and I agreed if there was space for me in the car--which there was, so I went. It was actually a lot more fun than I expected.. I think I did fairly well. Not sure if I want to play though. Mainly just because of the commitment, I kinda like not having an obligation to play ultimate. It's my only freedom from ultimate. But I was invited to play with them next week, and if I so desire, the Series. We'll see. And plus my knee is still a bit tweaked, I really should get it checked out. And I should use this time to heal for the college season. But anyways, it was fun.. and I might end up playing ultimate this summer. We'll see where this goes and how next weekend goes.
BTW I love summer school! Well, it's just that I'm only taking two classes, so I can focus on my classes. Plus no ultimate or work, so I can actually take the time to do my work and study. There's no distractions or excuses. Only Davis is effing hot in the summer. Today before we left for BAG practice in SF, it was getting hot in Davis, and I assumed it would be the same there. So I brought my Patagonia short sleeves and that's it. We get there, it's all overcast and windy. I was freezing. Haha. Clearly not running hard enough. It's interesting how much the weather can change without being too far away.
Weeeee.
BTW I love summer school! Well, it's just that I'm only taking two classes, so I can focus on my classes. Plus no ultimate or work, so I can actually take the time to do my work and study. There's no distractions or excuses. Only Davis is effing hot in the summer. Today before we left for BAG practice in SF, it was getting hot in Davis, and I assumed it would be the same there. So I brought my Patagonia short sleeves and that's it. We get there, it's all overcast and windy. I was freezing. Haha. Clearly not running hard enough. It's interesting how much the weather can change without being too far away.
Weeeee.
5.18.2009
Vermonster
Vermonster--20 scoops of ice cream, 4 lades of hot fudge, whip cream, sprinkles, nuts, m&ms, gummie bears, brownie, and cookies.
Eating team--4 ultimate girls with a HUGE appetite: Colleen, Mel, Kendall, and Teresa (L-R).
Conquered.4.12.2009
Sectionals!
Sectionals in less than a week. First off, if it all goes according to plan, my secret buddy gift will be BALLA! No joke. I'm excited to make it, but dreading it all at the same time. Heh. Second, the non-important stuff, ultimate itself.
Stanford-Will probably roll through sectionals without a second thought. From what I've seen this year, I feel like they have a huge cast and not one player dominates their team which is what makes them so powerful. Plus they have a pretty big team, and they run hard each point.
Berkeley-I feel like on paper it looks like their team should dominate (um.. Cree, anyone??), but from Score Reporter they seem to be losing a few big games, especially when matched up against Stanford.. But it's sectionals time, and they should have the intensity and potential to take it all.
Santa Cruz-The game against them at DUI (10-9 SC) was heartbreaking for me. But we gave them a damn good game, and during certain moments I believe it was my best playing. I think I had at least 3 assists. They are a solid team, with experience and a few years behind the disc. Alina was a huge pick-up for them. If we meet again: REDEMPTION.
Sonoma-Great team for such a young program and small team. Brinn is hard to contain, she is everywhere. Hucking, scoring, D'ing. I heard last year at sectionals she played every single point. Baller status right there.
Davis-We're still a pretty young team. Definitely not in the same league as Stanford or Cal, but someday, maybe. We've had some pretty good games. Sectionals will probably have a tighter rotation (speaking of which I shouldn't have ate half a bag of Lay's Cheddar and Sour Cream chips in one sitting, but they're so addicting!!), and hopefully that can produce better results. We should be able to place 3rd in our section. I am pumped.
This is what we've trained all year for. This is why we run Bethany's hell track work outs. This is why I'll be practicing at 6am tomorrow morning. This is why I give up all my time and devote it to ultimate. This is why I play. Sectionals 2009.
Stanford-Will probably roll through sectionals without a second thought. From what I've seen this year, I feel like they have a huge cast and not one player dominates their team which is what makes them so powerful. Plus they have a pretty big team, and they run hard each point.
Berkeley-I feel like on paper it looks like their team should dominate (um.. Cree, anyone??), but from Score Reporter they seem to be losing a few big games, especially when matched up against Stanford.. But it's sectionals time, and they should have the intensity and potential to take it all.
Santa Cruz-The game against them at DUI (10-9 SC) was heartbreaking for me. But we gave them a damn good game, and during certain moments I believe it was my best playing. I think I had at least 3 assists. They are a solid team, with experience and a few years behind the disc. Alina was a huge pick-up for them. If we meet again: REDEMPTION.
Sonoma-Great team for such a young program and small team. Brinn is hard to contain, she is everywhere. Hucking, scoring, D'ing. I heard last year at sectionals she played every single point. Baller status right there.
Davis-We're still a pretty young team. Definitely not in the same league as Stanford or Cal, but someday, maybe. We've had some pretty good games. Sectionals will probably have a tighter rotation (speaking of which I shouldn't have ate half a bag of Lay's Cheddar and Sour Cream chips in one sitting, but they're so addicting!!), and hopefully that can produce better results. We should be able to place 3rd in our section. I am pumped.
This is what we've trained all year for. This is why we run Bethany's hell track work outs. This is why I'll be practicing at 6am tomorrow morning. This is why I give up all my time and devote it to ultimate. This is why I play. Sectionals 2009.
3.17.2009
3.09.2009
Breaking the Mark
Cuz I have a paper due tomorrow. And I was reading The Huddle. I wanted to write about breaking the mark.
I personally love breaking force flick marks. Either with a low release backhand, or if the mark shifts over too much, an easy IO. For me, since backhands really require that arm/body motion, it's easy to make a realistic fake. Especially when you want to throw to the break side, shift the mark over enough/make them fall over, and IO flick. My personal break is being forced flick, step out and fake that flick throw, and immediately step back and low, nice easy backhand low release break.
I read somewhere that great throwers don't pivot. And I guess I agree with that (not saying that I'm great thrower but that fakes are often overused and abused). I rarely fake/pivot for the sake of faking. I fake when I know what I'm going to throw, and I use that fake to make space for the throw I plan on throwing, and if my mark doesn't react to that fake then I just throw it. But it's not always like that, there are instances where I fake constantly, usually when I have a huge mark on me and I need to fake for space and see what openings they give me. But in general, I don't fake much. And the best fakes are viable throws.
Speaking of not faking much, I'm not sure how big of a fan I am of thrower-marker drills. Because it is (in my opinion) completely unrealistic. I will never start faking from stall 0 until I throw. I don't think anyone does/should. In faking that much, you might be looking off open throws because you faked to the other side and cannot pivot back fast enough for those throws. But the drill is useful in that it really makes the mark react quickly to the fakes and quick releases. And making the throwers fake and throw quickly, and taking opportunity in anything the mark gives you. I find the offensive side of the drill is not directly applicable to the game.
I will break marks and hearts all day.
I personally love breaking force flick marks. Either with a low release backhand, or if the mark shifts over too much, an easy IO. For me, since backhands really require that arm/body motion, it's easy to make a realistic fake. Especially when you want to throw to the break side, shift the mark over enough/make them fall over, and IO flick. My personal break is being forced flick, step out and fake that flick throw, and immediately step back and low, nice easy backhand low release break.
I read somewhere that great throwers don't pivot. And I guess I agree with that (not saying that I'm great thrower but that fakes are often overused and abused). I rarely fake/pivot for the sake of faking. I fake when I know what I'm going to throw, and I use that fake to make space for the throw I plan on throwing, and if my mark doesn't react to that fake then I just throw it. But it's not always like that, there are instances where I fake constantly, usually when I have a huge mark on me and I need to fake for space and see what openings they give me. But in general, I don't fake much. And the best fakes are viable throws.
Speaking of not faking much, I'm not sure how big of a fan I am of thrower-marker drills. Because it is (in my opinion) completely unrealistic. I will never start faking from stall 0 until I throw. I don't think anyone does/should. In faking that much, you might be looking off open throws because you faked to the other side and cannot pivot back fast enough for those throws. But the drill is useful in that it really makes the mark react quickly to the fakes and quick releases. And making the throwers fake and throw quickly, and taking opportunity in anything the mark gives you. I find the offensive side of the drill is not directly applicable to the game.
I will break marks and hearts all day.
3.04.2009
Stanford Qualifiers
3 things note-worthy:
1. In our game against Claremont, we had worked our the disc slowly downfield in ho-stack. So we were still in ho-stack formation when we were pretty close to the endzone. I was trapped on the flick side around 10 yards from the endzone. It was pretty cluttered in the open side, and they had defenders poaching into the open side. I was running out of options, it was stall 7. I looked over to the break side, and Corrina was poached all the way on the other sideline in the endzone. I faked a flick, and threw a hammer. Corrina took like a few steps and the hammer fell gently into her hands. Wee. Hammer for the score. Nice.
2. I laid out successfully for the second time (first time was like.. 4 days before the 2nd successful layout). We were going upwind. Danica had misread the pull, and it went all the way into our endzone. Bad throw + upwind = no good. I jumped for the disc, realized I wasn't going to get it, turned around quickly and saw the disc slowly falling towards the ground. And we were right by our own endzone, and it was the first pass off of the pull.. So my body just did what it had to do, laid out for it, and got it.. however..
3. Shortly after that lay out, it was a turn. But Santa Cruz turned it as well. Our disc again on the goalline. SC threw a trap zone, it was getting cluttered. And I think Danica threw a high release backhand (probably no look. haha), I jumped to get it, as a defender was running towards me and jumped to get it. She knocked me down while I was in the air, and I fell straight back and hit my head SUPER hard. Concussion number 2. Took me a bit to get up, and when I did my whole vision blurred and I had no balance. One person had tried to help me up, but when I wobbled and almost fell over again, someone else came and helped me as well. Don't exactly remember what happened after that, Minky was filling me in on it. Haha. But I was out after that. I think I played a few more points but I was feeling dizzy and light-headed each time I ran. Haha.
1. In our game against Claremont, we had worked our the disc slowly downfield in ho-stack. So we were still in ho-stack formation when we were pretty close to the endzone. I was trapped on the flick side around 10 yards from the endzone. It was pretty cluttered in the open side, and they had defenders poaching into the open side. I was running out of options, it was stall 7. I looked over to the break side, and Corrina was poached all the way on the other sideline in the endzone. I faked a flick, and threw a hammer. Corrina took like a few steps and the hammer fell gently into her hands. Wee. Hammer for the score. Nice.
2. I laid out successfully for the second time (first time was like.. 4 days before the 2nd successful layout). We were going upwind. Danica had misread the pull, and it went all the way into our endzone. Bad throw + upwind = no good. I jumped for the disc, realized I wasn't going to get it, turned around quickly and saw the disc slowly falling towards the ground. And we were right by our own endzone, and it was the first pass off of the pull.. So my body just did what it had to do, laid out for it, and got it.. however..
3. Shortly after that lay out, it was a turn. But Santa Cruz turned it as well. Our disc again on the goalline. SC threw a trap zone, it was getting cluttered. And I think Danica threw a high release backhand (probably no look. haha), I jumped to get it, as a defender was running towards me and jumped to get it. She knocked me down while I was in the air, and I fell straight back and hit my head SUPER hard. Concussion number 2. Took me a bit to get up, and when I did my whole vision blurred and I had no balance. One person had tried to help me up, but when I wobbled and almost fell over again, someone else came and helped me as well. Don't exactly remember what happened after that, Minky was filling me in on it. Haha. But I was out after that. I think I played a few more points but I was feeling dizzy and light-headed each time I ran. Haha.
2.17.2009
Prez Day Recap
So after the long drive (though lots of teams traveled from MUCH further), we got rested, played around with my parents' new dog, Toastie. He especially liked Doug, male-bonding I suppose.
The weather looked good the next morning, it was pretty sunny. Had our first match against Texas (don't think I've ever played them before). We came out SUPER strong. I think the score was 3-1 us at one point. However, they quickly regrouped and matched it. We weren't prepared for that, and they shut us out and took half. We pretty much forgot how to play ultimate. We got beat on the open side again and again and again. They would just put it down the sideline again and again into the endzone. When I was on the line, I suggested forcing middle to stop their offense from just going down the sideline. But we decided to keep the force one way, and really use the opportunity to work on our open side D (we still need to work on it). And I think they started throwing zone on us, and it was shutting us down quite a bit. And it was simple things that we couldn't do, like throwing and catching. We had a ridiculous amounts of drops. So it seemed like the offense was working, we just needed to learn how to catch. Final score was 4-13.
Next up, we moved onto Muir fields. They were nice, plush fields as I described them. Matched up against Claremont, we played against them at Santa Barbara Invite. In that game, we came out strong, but lost it later in the game. I think we're a pretty good match-up against this team, so we were ready to bring it out strong again. I think we started off okay, but Claremont took the lead after a bit. They have a huge cup. #10 has a huge mark on the cup, and when they trap the thrower on the sideline, the cup shifts the mark over to the back to stop the dump throw. And #40 is a big receiver (I think I heard she usually handles?), but she is good at reading the disc and plays a great deep deep when those throws do get out of the cup. I got hand blocked and foot blocked within the span of a few minutes by #10. First was a huck, but I guess that was pretty telegraphed. And I got the disc again after a turn, decided to break her mark (and the cup) with my low release backhand, but she put her foot in the way. I had a few flick hucks down the sideline when trapped, but not all of them were completed. But when they were, we totally had the cup beat. This was a very tiring game--long points. We hit soft-cap, and Claremont was still in the lead. But we gave it our all, and came out on top on double game point (7-6). Definetly a great game.
After that, we were up against UCSB. Strong team this year. They have a super quick offense, and they are super fast. They get a D, and they just roll and scored. Not much to say, but they are ready to win that Nationals title this year. They are good. Final score was 3-11. One score that I remember was I hit Kelley on the dump, sprinted past my mark and went up the line. Got the disc, and was waiting for someone to cut deep for me. Corrina saw me cut up the line with the disc and changed her cut to the back cone, and I just put it. Right along the sideline, and she just ran it down, and scored.
Last game, against Berkeley. Also a pretty strong team this year. It seemed like their plan for their offense was to break the mark and have a open throw deep. So we really worked on our marks, and they still had break mark throws, but they were a lot less and much harder throws. After they had a considerable lead on us, they started resting some of their players like Cree and Anchi. That made the game a bit easier for us, and we were able to score a few. Final score 8-11.
After a long day of great games, headed home, my parents ordered Chinese. And we met up with some of the Dogs and went to grab froyo.
Next day was not quite as nice. Gloom was coming out. Had our first game against Colorado. And then against USC. Another point I remember against USC was being forced middle on the sideline, and I had a pretty big mark, so I had a hard time getting it past her. And it happened like twice. So on the third time, I realized that I was going to have a hard time throwing past this mark, so I sprinted to the disc and put up a huge backhand rip before the mark was completely on. It drifted perfectly over the sideline and stayed in, and Colleen got it right by the endzone line, and had a great throw to Barbara for the score.
We had one more game on Sunday against Neela and Cornell. I think this was also a pretty good match-up. They had a poachy defense, and very activate calls for the mark. They called strike often and it stopped some of my open side throws, but at the same time, it did open up other options. One of the times, Kelley cut up line, and completely faked out her defender, wide open. I was ready to throw it for the score, but I guess someone called strike, and the mark shifted over and my throw was a little too low. Another time right on the endzone line, Rad cut up line for me, also burned her defender, but the mark shifted over, and completely cut it off, but it opened up the whole break side to me. So I put it towards the middle of the stack, and we scored. This was a really fun game. Final score 8-10. I felt like the game was closer than the score shows.
We then went to Souplantation for dinner, I ate enough to feed a small country. And we headed up to LA cuz the tournament was moved due to the rain. We crashed in Claremont's dorm lounge along with Colorado, Oregon and Carleton. On Monday we had another game against Claremont because Long Beach and Sonoma forfeited their games. The fields were crazy soaked with puddles. And it was brutal, wet and windy. We lost that game 4-13. It was pretty hard to throw and catch in that game. But yeah, we just weren't ready to play in those conditions. I can't wait to play them again at Stanford Qualifiers.
The drive back up was brutal because the weather closed off the 5. It took around 8 hours? But we had a lot of fun with fast faces.
This is long, and I'm completely over it. Haha. Back to studying.
The weather looked good the next morning, it was pretty sunny. Had our first match against Texas (don't think I've ever played them before). We came out SUPER strong. I think the score was 3-1 us at one point. However, they quickly regrouped and matched it. We weren't prepared for that, and they shut us out and took half. We pretty much forgot how to play ultimate. We got beat on the open side again and again and again. They would just put it down the sideline again and again into the endzone. When I was on the line, I suggested forcing middle to stop their offense from just going down the sideline. But we decided to keep the force one way, and really use the opportunity to work on our open side D (we still need to work on it). And I think they started throwing zone on us, and it was shutting us down quite a bit. And it was simple things that we couldn't do, like throwing and catching. We had a ridiculous amounts of drops. So it seemed like the offense was working, we just needed to learn how to catch. Final score was 4-13.
Next up, we moved onto Muir fields. They were nice, plush fields as I described them. Matched up against Claremont, we played against them at Santa Barbara Invite. In that game, we came out strong, but lost it later in the game. I think we're a pretty good match-up against this team, so we were ready to bring it out strong again. I think we started off okay, but Claremont took the lead after a bit. They have a huge cup. #10 has a huge mark on the cup, and when they trap the thrower on the sideline, the cup shifts the mark over to the back to stop the dump throw. And #40 is a big receiver (I think I heard she usually handles?), but she is good at reading the disc and plays a great deep deep when those throws do get out of the cup. I got hand blocked and foot blocked within the span of a few minutes by #10. First was a huck, but I guess that was pretty telegraphed. And I got the disc again after a turn, decided to break her mark (and the cup) with my low release backhand, but she put her foot in the way. I had a few flick hucks down the sideline when trapped, but not all of them were completed. But when they were, we totally had the cup beat. This was a very tiring game--long points. We hit soft-cap, and Claremont was still in the lead. But we gave it our all, and came out on top on double game point (7-6). Definetly a great game.
After that, we were up against UCSB. Strong team this year. They have a super quick offense, and they are super fast. They get a D, and they just roll and scored. Not much to say, but they are ready to win that Nationals title this year. They are good. Final score was 3-11. One score that I remember was I hit Kelley on the dump, sprinted past my mark and went up the line. Got the disc, and was waiting for someone to cut deep for me. Corrina saw me cut up the line with the disc and changed her cut to the back cone, and I just put it. Right along the sideline, and she just ran it down, and scored.
Last game, against Berkeley. Also a pretty strong team this year. It seemed like their plan for their offense was to break the mark and have a open throw deep. So we really worked on our marks, and they still had break mark throws, but they were a lot less and much harder throws. After they had a considerable lead on us, they started resting some of their players like Cree and Anchi. That made the game a bit easier for us, and we were able to score a few. Final score 8-11.
After a long day of great games, headed home, my parents ordered Chinese. And we met up with some of the Dogs and went to grab froyo.
Next day was not quite as nice. Gloom was coming out. Had our first game against Colorado. And then against USC. Another point I remember against USC was being forced middle on the sideline, and I had a pretty big mark, so I had a hard time getting it past her. And it happened like twice. So on the third time, I realized that I was going to have a hard time throwing past this mark, so I sprinted to the disc and put up a huge backhand rip before the mark was completely on. It drifted perfectly over the sideline and stayed in, and Colleen got it right by the endzone line, and had a great throw to Barbara for the score.
We had one more game on Sunday against Neela and Cornell. I think this was also a pretty good match-up. They had a poachy defense, and very activate calls for the mark. They called strike often and it stopped some of my open side throws, but at the same time, it did open up other options. One of the times, Kelley cut up line, and completely faked out her defender, wide open. I was ready to throw it for the score, but I guess someone called strike, and the mark shifted over and my throw was a little too low. Another time right on the endzone line, Rad cut up line for me, also burned her defender, but the mark shifted over, and completely cut it off, but it opened up the whole break side to me. So I put it towards the middle of the stack, and we scored. This was a really fun game. Final score 8-10. I felt like the game was closer than the score shows.
We then went to Souplantation for dinner, I ate enough to feed a small country. And we headed up to LA cuz the tournament was moved due to the rain. We crashed in Claremont's dorm lounge along with Colorado, Oregon and Carleton. On Monday we had another game against Claremont because Long Beach and Sonoma forfeited their games. The fields were crazy soaked with puddles. And it was brutal, wet and windy. We lost that game 4-13. It was pretty hard to throw and catch in that game. But yeah, we just weren't ready to play in those conditions. I can't wait to play them again at Stanford Qualifiers.
The drive back up was brutal because the weather closed off the 5. It took around 8 hours? But we had a lot of fun with fast faces.
This is long, and I'm completely over it. Haha. Back to studying.
2.13.2009
Prez Day
Our pool has UCSB, Cal, Texas, and Claremont. We just started learning a few new offenses, but to be completely honest I'm not too comfortable with it yet. We only ran it without defense, so I have no idea what it's going to look like with defense.. We'll see how it goes. But I think we have good potential, as long as everyone plays our offense and are on the same page.
And also the tournament could be moved because of all the rain.
Oh, and I hate drama. I need to destress. There's a lot of... blahhh. Whatever. This is public forum, though I doubt anyone reads this or cares. But just in case, I'll stay silent.
PREZ DAY!
And also the tournament could be moved because of all the rain.
Oh, and I hate drama. I need to destress. There's a lot of... blahhh. Whatever. This is public forum, though I doubt anyone reads this or cares. But just in case, I'll stay silent.
PREZ DAY!
1.28.2009
Too Nice... Or Wimpy
I need to be more confrontational. Because you are a bitch, and you're getting away with it because I can't confront. But it is not okay.
1.22.2009
SB invite
Stupid hip flexor. Pulled it at Beware-O and then played on it the following Monday practice. After that on Tuesday, I could barely walk. Been off of it since. Tried to play a bit last night. Could barely move my leg up to pivot, and my leg gave out and I just fell, so I stopped playing. Looks like I'll be out for most of Santa Barbara. I've never sat out for a tournament before... so this will be fun. Not.
Give me some vicodin and let me play!
Give me some vicodin and let me play!
1.18.2009
Gross. Life sucks sometimes.
Quite a few of eventful things happened this week... in ascending order.
4. Ripping off my plastic cover of my laptop.
3. Taking someone to the ER to get stitches on their eyelid.
2. Friends from Berkeley coming to visit.
AND
1. A drunk chick puking in my car, plus got a bit on me and my sweatshirt.
My roommate had called me at 1am on Friday to ask me to pick her up cuz she was too drunk to walk home. I go over to pick her up, and a friend was staying over, but there were also two other drunk girls that I have never met before but I agreed to give them a ride. They were trying to give me directions to another party, but I had no idea how to decipher drunk directions, so we decided to take them home. While driving them home, one of the girls felt really sick, as I started to pull over and roll down the windows. She projectile vomitted all over. It got all over my car door, the back of the driver's seat, a little bit got on the roof of my car and steering wheel, and speckles of it got onto me. Grossness.
She tried cleaning it up, she was able to wipe off most of the gross stuff, but once I got back home I realized that drunk people don't really clean up that well. Two of my friends were kind enough to help me clean up my car (and another helped wash my sweatshirt). I 409'ed and Febreezed my car like crazy, but this morning it smelled like a mixture of 409 and vomit. So gross. But I got the girl's number, and she was really sorry and cool about it and I asked for 50 bucks to get the inside of my car cleaned. So tomorrow (hopefully) I will be getting my car cleaned, otherwise I'll have to wait until Wednesday. Ugh. Drunk chicks. I mean at least she was cool about it and willing to pay to help me get it cleaned. But still......
4. Ripping off my plastic cover of my laptop.
3. Taking someone to the ER to get stitches on their eyelid.
2. Friends from Berkeley coming to visit.
AND
1. A drunk chick puking in my car, plus got a bit on me and my sweatshirt.
My roommate had called me at 1am on Friday to ask me to pick her up cuz she was too drunk to walk home. I go over to pick her up, and a friend was staying over, but there were also two other drunk girls that I have never met before but I agreed to give them a ride. They were trying to give me directions to another party, but I had no idea how to decipher drunk directions, so we decided to take them home. While driving them home, one of the girls felt really sick, as I started to pull over and roll down the windows. She projectile vomitted all over. It got all over my car door, the back of the driver's seat, a little bit got on the roof of my car and steering wheel, and speckles of it got onto me. Grossness.
She tried cleaning it up, she was able to wipe off most of the gross stuff, but once I got back home I realized that drunk people don't really clean up that well. Two of my friends were kind enough to help me clean up my car (and another helped wash my sweatshirt). I 409'ed and Febreezed my car like crazy, but this morning it smelled like a mixture of 409 and vomit. So gross. But I got the girl's number, and she was really sorry and cool about it and I asked for 50 bucks to get the inside of my car cleaned. So tomorrow (hopefully) I will be getting my car cleaned, otherwise I'll have to wait until Wednesday. Ugh. Drunk chicks. I mean at least she was cool about it and willing to pay to help me get it cleaned. But still......
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