If you don't believe us about that wind.....

This is actually what it was like:

courtesy of Mary Bisquick 

Welcome to the Windy City: Sectionals 2012

No, not that Windy City... as it turns out, Chicago ain't got nothin' on Cedar Falls, Iowa. This past weekend, the Ninjas headed across the border for the Western North Central D-1 Women's College Conference Championships, where seven teams from Minnesota and Iowa competed for just four bids to Regionals. We were ranked fourth in our conference, behind Iowa State, Iowa, and Carleton, so we really needed to hold (or break) seed. We managed to hold seed, but in the end it came down to the wire... and who won the disc flip for possession in our very last game.

The weather definitely played a huge factor this weekend and, frankly, was super annoying. On Saturday we had some wind, but it was wind we could play in. We lost our first two games vs. Carleton and Iowa State, but won the more important games vs. Winona State and Northern Iowa.

Sunday morning the wind picked up, but we managed to score some upwinds against Iowa's B-team and won the game. Our last game of pool play was against Iowa's Saucy Nancy, and we lost to them in a very windy game. Due to rankings after pool play, we had to play Iowa again right away for bids... and lost again. 

So we moved on to our final game of the weekend, against Winona State, playing for the fourth and final bid. By this time the wind was horrendously strong (it had to be 30-40mph), and it was nearly impossible to move the disc upfield, much less score upfield. Essentially, the outcome of this game was determined by who was on offense first, and thank goodness we won the flip... or we may not have gotten the bid to Regionals! We ended up winning 5-4 in a very short, and painful one-hour game. 

(A shout-out to Brenna, Regan, Sloth and Gootch, who were actually able to string together 11, then 13 short passes in that last game, working it approximately 1/4 of the way up the field!!! It was truly beautiful.)

Here's a little taste of the difference between the "wind" on Saturday, vs the tempest of Sunday...

Now we shift our gazes towards North Central Regionals (practically in our backyard in Northfield, MN) in two weeks, and we pray for decent weather... because we want to play some real ultimate, we're ready to show our region what we're made of, and we're hungry for one of those three bids to Nationals!

-The Bird Nerd 

It's a great year to be a Ninja!

This might be more of a nostalgic post now that I've gotten my paws on it, but I think that's alright. For me, the title says a lot, but it doesn't say it all.

Last weekend the Ninjas took a road trip down to Chi City for the Peder Hedberg Memorial Tournament: The Chicago Invite 2012. As returning champions we were excited to be heading back to defend our title, and also to show the ultimate world what our team is really made of this year.

I couldn't be more pleased with what we accomplished. Not only did we have our full roster including our amazing coaches Christie Dosch and Abby Hagel, but we had a huge support system of family and fans cheering us on from the sidelines. We went 7-0 and did it the Ninja way: playing hard, leaving it on the field, and doing it with love for each other.

2012 Chicago Invite Champions

We head into the final stretch of our 2012 season with our section tournament this weekend in Iowa. I for one am pumped. It's a weekend filled with great competition, great teammates and great friends, how could I not be? One other thing's got me psyched up though, and that's our team ranking. Currently we're ranked 20th/17th respectively by the USAU and Skyd Ultimate (call me biased, but I agree with the latter).


I'm psyched that this program is beginning to be recognized for all of the hard work, determination and love for the game that each of my teammates and I pour into it every year. -- Not to mention our playing has been extra stellar in the past few seasons, and guess what? It's only going to get better.-- As I look at those rankings, it's hard for me not to burst from how proud I am to be a Ninja. It's at this moment that I become nostalgic. Thinking of all the Ninjas past:  coaches, my co-captains and teammates, their families and friends who supported our program and helped us build up to where we are today. I find it only fitting that we go out and continue to strive for excellence, because I know if they were still eligible, they'd be standing on the line next to me this weekend, striving for the same thing.

I've never been great at wrapping up a piece of writing, so I'll leave you with this promise: We are a force to be reckoned with, we deserve the recognition we've received thus far and if you don't believe me yet, I promise you will after this weekend. After all, teams that touch more win more, and the U of M Ninjas are real cuddle monsters.

LOVE, DePalma