Ultimate Cup II (ultimate "Frisbee")

[The Babbage Islands]

ZAMENHOFA URBO (BPA) -- The Babbage Islands extended their winning streak to five in the second Ultimate Cup with a 17-10 victory over Lithatrius. Valentine Fulton continued to have a big tournament for the Bumblebees, scoring eight times and making five interceptions.

Team captain Catherine Wilson cautioned against overconfidence, but the mood in the stands and on the field is clearly upbeat and looking forward to an upcoming battle with the defending champions The Zoogie People, also at 5-0.

[The Babbage Islands]

Ultimate Cup II
DAY 6

Lithatrius            9   8 - 17 (3-3)
Undeadzombiee         5   8 - 13 (2-4)

Delaclava             6   5 - 11 (2-4)
Churchma              9   8 - 17 (2-4)

Toiletdonia           9   5 - 14 (0-6)
The Zoogie People     5  12 - 17 (6-0)

Tyrrin                2  11 - 13 (3-3)
Virabia               9   8 - 17 (2-4)

The Babbage Islands   7   8 - 15 (5-1)
Sarzonia              9   8 - 17 (5-1)

[The Babbage Islands]

Ultimate Cup II
DAY 7

Sarzonia              7  10 - 17 (6-1)
Lithatrius            9   6 - 15 (3-4)

Virabia               5   3 - 8 (2-5)
The Babbage Islands   9   8 - 17 (6-1)

The Zoogie People     9   8 - 17 (7-0)
Tyrrin                5   6 - 11 (3-4)

Churchma              9   8 - 17 (3-4)
Toiletdonia           7   8 - 15 (0-7)

Undeadzombiee         5  12 - 17 (3-4)
Delaclava             9   5 - 14 (2-5)

[The Babbage Islands]

Ultimate Cup II
DAY 8

Lithatrius            3   7 - 10 (3-5)
Delaclava             9   8 - 17 (3-5)

Toiletdonia           9   7   2 - 18 (0-8)
Undeadzombiee         4  12   3 - 19 (4-4)

Tyrrin                8   9 - 17 (4-4)
Churchma              9   4 - 13 (3-5)

The Babbage Islands   9   5 - 14 (6-2)
The Zoogie People     7  10 - 17 (8-0)

Sarzonia              9   8 - 17 (7-1)
Virabia               7   5 - 12 (2-6)

[The Zoogie People]

A lot has happened in the past few days; for those who haven't been f following the news, a cliff notes of the TZP side's recent exploits:

Round 5

After reserve Chester Stanson guaranteed a victory, Zoogiedom Ultimate fell behind 5-9 at the half. But in the same up-and-down pattern of their first two matches, it was only a precursor to a dazzling 2nd half offensive explosion.

This was the closest game yet. ZU fell behind 12-5, and Delaclava looked poised to close the game out and hand ZU its first loss in Ultimate Cup play, but ZU coach Mitch Friedman really rallied his troops - who went on to score the next and final 12 points of the game.

In a tournament filled with absurd performances by the TZP side, this was the craziest one yet.

Round 6

Another week, and another halftime scare for the TZP squad, which fell behind 9-5 at the break. A slow paced second half eventually wore down the Toiletdonia side, however, which was denied its first victory even as TZP staved off its first defeat.

Round 7

A much anticipated match between Tyrrin, one of the pre-cup favorites to contend, and TZP ultimately played out decisively in the latter's favor. It was not a blowout by any means, but the game was always well in hand and lacking in dramatics. At 3-4, Tyrrin ends the game tied for 4th best record. It's been a lopsided tournament dominated by TZP, Sarzonia, and the Babbage Island hosts.

Round 8

A few days ago, Babbage Islands was caught looking ahead to its match against TZP...foolish in retrospect, as they were playing the mighty Sarzonia squad that day.

Nonetheless, the home crowd were out in full force in one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the tournament thus far.

TZP seemed initially flustered by the Babbage side's unusual choice of uniform numbers - "Gets me every time!" complained a peeved Grant Dawson after the game - but returned to play a masterful second half.

A couple of controversial pick calls has some home fans fuming, as they feel that scoring opportunities were negated and swung the momentum of the game.

The aging Scott Taylor has emerged as a reliable scoring threat these past few games and was rewarded with the start in game 8, over Vondry Brown. He scored 6 of TZP's 10 second half points and 8 overall to steal the spotlight of the day...despite the slow-down caused by his age, he retains the same uncanny field awareness that made him in his prime one of TZP's most celebrated ultimate players.

Round 9: ZOOGIEDOM VS SARZONIA

OOC:

Two warm allies on the political scene, TZP and Sarzonia share little friendliness on the pitch. There's a bit of an unofficial rivalry brewing between the two Ultimate Cup heavyweights.

TZP players have been ribbing their Sarzonian pals nonstop since the tournament began in anticipation of the final match before the playoff period begins, and the build-up hasn't disappointed: the two teams boast the best two records of the field.

Sarzonia is 7-1, and Zoogiedom 8-0. It's been an exciting dash to the finish line for Zoogiedom, which has something special to fight for.

"What?" exclaimed a surprised but happy-to-return Aaron Hawkins. "We still haven't lost yet? I thought there were a few while I was gone...naw, you're kidding, my teammates know how to play?"

Hawkins had suffered a quad pull in practices before the Delaclava game, and as a precaution, was placed on a 4-game injury disabled list. The question now becomes, who does he replace? Michael Reeve has been nothing short of astonishing in Hawkins' relief, and is simply too hot to keep off the field at this point.

Hawkins, the biggest star on the TZP side, is most likely assured a spot back, but no official announcement identifying the new disabled list player is expected until gametime. As with the Hawkins announcement several days ago, Sarzonia will be notified pre-game and well in advance once the earl morning decision deadline is reached.

Asked for how he feels about his return and whether there's likely to be any rust to be shaken off, Hawkins just smiled and said, "We're gonna beat these guys."

That remains to be seen...these Sarzonians don't joke around. They've fought tooth and nail for plenty of victories, and faced plenty of adversity - which they have overcome - in this tournament. Meanwhile, the undefeated Zoogiedom side is still a mystery: a streaky team that flashes unbelievably at times and just can't seem to lose. If they could just have figured out how to play two bad halves in a row without scoring 10 points in a row at some point in between, they might now find themselves in a much more precarious position in the standings.

An even more interesting dynamic: it's a lopsided cup tournament that features an undefeated team as well as a winless one, and three teams have split from the pack. However, thanks to last night's TZP over Babbage Islands victory, and the Babbage Islands loss to Sarzonia earlier in the week, the #1 and #2 seeds have already been clinched. Regardless of the outcome of tonight's match, TZP and Sarzonia will face off again in Round 1 of the playoffs. Babbage Islands will be the 3rd seed, and who locks up #4 is anyone's guess at this point.

As it stands, it's going to be the first of a DOUBLEHEADER: Zoogiedom (8-0) vs Sarzonia (7-1). We'll take your bets, folks...latest lines are pretty dead even.

[The Babbage Islands]

ZAMENHOFA URBO (BPA) -- The Babbage Islands national ultimate team dropped a 17-14 match to defending champions The Zoogie People in Ultimate Cup II. After jumping off to a 9-7 lead in the first half, the Bumblebees watched their game slowly erode under relentless pressure from the undefeated Zoogie squad. Despite valiant efforts from Doug Kendall and Katelynn Doll to reverse the trend, including four of the five second-half scores, the Zoogie defence repeatedly came up with key takeaways in a 10-5 second stanza to secure the win.

Regardless of results on day nine, The Zoogie People and Sarzonia have clinched the top two playoff berths and the Bumblebees have clinched third. The fourth playoff slot is still wide open.

[The Babbage Islands]

Ultimate Cup II
DAY 9

Virabia               9   6 - 15 (2-7)
Lithatrius            7  10 - 17 (4-5)

The Zoogie People     9   8 - 17 (9-0) First
Sarzonia              7   5 - 12 (7-2) Second*

Churchma              9   6 - 15 (3-6)
The Babbage Islands   7  10 - 17 (7-2) Third*

Undeadzombiee         9   8 - 17 (5-4) Fourth
Tyrrin                3  12 - 15 (4-5)

Delaclava             6   7 - 13 (3-6)
Toiletdonia           9   8 - 17 (1-8)

* Sarzonia ahead of The Babbage Islands on head-to-head win.

Thursday's playoffs:

The Zoogie People (9-0) v Sarzonia (7-2)
Winner advances to final; loser plays Friday

The Babbage Islands (7-2) v Undeadzombiee (5-4)
Winner plays Friday; loser eliminated and places fourth

[Sarzonia]

Even though the first match between Sarzonia and The Zoogie People was essentially meaningless, Tom Cottle was disappointed.

It wasn't the first time Sarzonia lost in the second Ultimate Cup, but this loss was against the team they were battling for supremacy in the ultimate world. His team was workmanlike in their seven wins, and even in the loss to close friends Delaclava, but just couldn't get anything right in their 17-12 loss.

"I've never seen a team defend the stack so well," Cottle said of the disciplined strategy his team adopted. "It was like the Zoogie defenders were everywhere."

It wasn't just on defence that Zoogie got the better of Sarzonia. On offence, the Stars were a step slow the entire way.

"We didn't adjust to the speed they play this game with," said Clara Buxton. "We tried to use our man-to-man defence and it just backfired." During the team's second time out of the first half with The Zoogie People leading 7-4, Buxton suggested switching to a zone.

"We can't keep up with them," she said. She was overruled, but the team switched over to that defence after the Zoogie People scored five of the first six points of the second half, taking a 14-8 lead. The move paid off at first: Sarzonia scored the next four points to cut the Zoogie lead to 14-12, but the Zoogie People adjusted and scored the last three points.

"We know we've got them again tomorrow," Clint Gregory said. "We're going to have to be a hell of a lot better tomorrow, that's for damn sure."

"We've already talked about things," Cottle said. "We're not going to be able to match their speed so we're going to have to throw a few wrinkles out there." On offence, "we're just going to have to be more accurate with our throws."

[The Babbage Islands]

Ultimate Cup II
PLAYOFFS: ROUND 1

The Zoogie People     7   8 - 15
Sarzonia              9   8 - 17 (advance to final)


The Babbage Islands   9   8 - 17
Undeadzombiee         5   4 - 9 (eliminated; fourth place)

Friday's match:

The Zoogie People (9-1) v The Babbage Islands (8-2)
Winner advances to final; loser eliminated and places third

Saturday's final:

Sarzonia (8-2) v Friday's winner

[The Zoogie People]

FINALLY!

Ultimate Cup fans breathe a sigh of mixed relief and anguish as the undefeated Zoogiedom side fell for the first time - and in spectacular fashion. Streaks are meant to be broken, and it's hard to imagine a worthier streak-breaker than Sarzonia.

For diehard fans of TZP, it was a moment of heartbreak. For the rest, it was a well-deserved shattering of an aura of invincibility.

The Zoogie team had been streaky all tournament long. Periods of stagnant or erratic play were followed by explosive showcases of offense, and nobody knew which team was going to show up even on a minute by minute basis.

Ironically, in the Sarzonian rematch, the TZP side played some of the best frisbee they had all tournament. They were simply outclassed by an incredible display from the Sarzonian side that had appeared lackluster merely a day prior.

Aaron Hawkins was rusty in his return from the injury list on Day 9, when he replaced Chester Stanson on the active roster, but upped his game considerably in the rematch. The whirling dervish known as Michael Reeve continued a second game as a full-time starter, alternating into a handler role depending on the substitutions package. The 17-year old rookie has surprised many by showing himself as easily the team's most athletic player, and he was a big part of Day 9's disruptive effort against Sarzonia's typically well-run stack.

In the rematch, the TZP defenders continued to fly across the field, but couldn't make plays even when they were in position to do so.

"It was a matter of want to," said a visibly livid coach Friedman after the game. "Making the right plays, getting into position, all means nothing if you don't want it as much as the other guy."

It was Sarzonia today that made one impossible leaping grab in the endzone after another, making fast breaks and scoring points when they needed to. After trying man and zone in the first game, they committed to a man defense all game long, but had considerably more success doing so.

"In the end, it was just two competitively even teams fighting tooth and nail. And the better team won," said an exhausted Aaron Hawkins, shaking his head after the match. "Congrats to the Sarzonians."

TZP will get another chance to advance to the final. They face Babbage Islands, which it defeated on Day 8, for the right to rematch Sarzonia.

[The Babbage Islands]

Ultimate Cup II
PLAYOFFS: ROUND 2

The Zoogie People     9   7   3 - 19 (advance to final)
The Babbage Islands   8   8   2 - 18 (eliminated; third place)

Saturday's final:

Sarzonia (8-2) v The Zoogie People (10-1)

[The Zoogie People]

It's going to be a drama-filled finish to this Ultimate Cup II. Zoogiedom defeated the Babbage Island hosts in a thrilling overtime victory, with the winning point scored by Nick Bell on a deep huck by Curt Overton. Bell positioned himself between two defenders on a fast break play off a turnover that almost failed because the Babbage defenders were able to recover their position so quickly.

Now, the TZP side faces Sarzonia for the third time in four matches. The series thus far is even. It's anyone's game.

[The Babbage Islands]

Ultimate Cup II
PLAYOFFS: ROUND 2

Sarzonia              8   4 - 12
The Zoogie People     9   8 - 17

Congratulations to The Zoogie People on a successful title defence!