11/1-2/25 - K-Fall Tournament at UCSD 

Team A: 

This past weekend, the UCSD Air Squids hosted the Kendra Fallon Tournament for many teams in Southern California, as well as some teams from Arizona. Besides our 7 on 7 practice scrimmages, this was our new members’ first time playing official matches together. Team A, the Avatars, was made up of returning squids and newly initiated fish which made up an impressive squad. Our team arrived early to make custom jerseys using spray paint which mainly consisted of Aang’s blue arrow and orange flames to represent our names sake, the animated show, Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Our first game of the tournament was against the University of Southern California’s Lockdown. Without an official coach, we had to organize our own line ups and playing time, which was something that we optimized over time. We began with a motivational speech from our team captain, Nico "Corn" Nonemaker, who reminded us that a lion doesn’t back down from a fight. UCSD A started off strong, opening with an early lead at half time which boosted our morale. We were reminded that our defense would inevitably be broken, but to preserve and stay positive through the rest of the match. At the start of the second half we remained strong, but did end up conceding two points in a row in the last quarter. Despite the thunderous “We are SC” chants after every point and their pokemon themed line names, the Air Squids emerged victorious 10-8 against USC.

The second game against the University of Arizona was a hard fought. After a long game against USC, it was difficult for the weathered squids to keep up with the tall line ups of the Sunburns. During this game, the squids struggled with two main issues. The Sunburns used a “bracketing” defense that deterred both inside and deep cuts, which required the squids to adapt their offensive gameplay and overload the lanes. Additionally, without set line ups, UCSD A struggled to have handlers on one of the lines. Down 5-7 at half, the squids kept it close but ultimately lost 9-11. 

Team A faced off against CSULB for the final match. Having been revitalized with gatorades, grapes, and special peanut butter cookies, the squids were as strong as ever, having improved greatly over the course of the day. With the wind picking up and weaker throwers on the opponents team, we forced them to throw upwind and deep, making it very difficult for them to find and connect passes. Up big at half, the A's put in an all-rookie line up, and they scored! The Squids ended the day off with an outstanding 11-4 against the Pyramid Scheme of CSULB.

Day 2 game 1: When day two came the whole team was still on a rush from day one. We were all eager to get back out and play. Our first match was against USD. For some players who couldn’t make it to day one, this was going to be their first match of the tournament adding to the already exciting atmosphere. When the match started we didn’t know what to expect but we soon realized it was going to be a great match. Going against USD was a rewarding and enjoyable experience. They pushed us to improve and adapt on the spot yet simultaneously being uplifting and down to earth. Even though they had sportsmanship they were just as eager to win. However only one team was leaving the field as the victors. With team work and love of the game UCSD took the win. A fantastic start to day two.  

On game 2 of day 2, we played the San Diego community team, we had more players, but less experience. They varied strategies, and had a close, hard fought game throughout, and the San Diego community ultimately came out on top , but only by one point, with a final score of 10-11. On game 3 of day 2, we played UCLA. Despite everyone being tired, we had a steady lead the entire game, with some questionable “fouls” called, and long points, some of the all-fish lines struggled to consistently gain points. And several all-fish points were played. Even with everyone exhausted, all the fish greatly improved by day 2, having good offensive and defensive plays, only really failing by occasional slight mistakes. The final score was 11-7.

Team B:

Team B performed phenomenally this past weekend at the Kendra Fallon tournament. Our first game was against SDSU. The game started neck and neck, as our team had barely played together (2 days) and needed to still work on its chemistry. However, as pressure makes diamonds our team began to work hard and push through, securing an early lead against them, forcing them to use a timeout. We kept that energy up throughout the entire game, securing a 9-5 victory against them.

Feeling confident, we jumped straight into the next game against ASU. However, this game would be the most physically taxing game for all of us, with points lasting for a long time while everyone was still playing as hard as they could. We took no timeouts on either side, as both teams were eager to win and could not lose their focus. The game was neck and neck, getting us to 12-12, when our returners, exhausted from constant play, allowed ASU to score the winning point. It was a hard fought battle, but it did not destroy our spirits, because as a newly formed team we were able to stand up to people who have worked so hard as a group for a long time. 

Our last game of Saturday was a fun yet very taxing game, where we had to learn on the fly a new zoning technique that the other used. While it gave us a bit of trouble, we were able to secure a 13-6 victory with an all fish point at the end to top it off. Overall it was an amazing day and our efforts allowed us to qualify for the top 8 bracket. 

We kicked off our Sunday with confidence in our game against USC. Despite having a slightly reduced active roster, team B showed out - with completion rates nearing 100%, we held USC to only 1 point in the first half. Energy levels remained high throughout the game, and we ended with a 13-2 blowout dub. Chemistry, confidence, and above all else, execution were the determining factors in this victory for team B.

Team C: 

The UCSD Chair Squids played with grit and determination throughout the Kendra Fallon tournament this past weekend. Our name was decided after a short brainstorming of words that begin with C and consensus vote. We arrived early to the tournament to spray paint the titular chairs onto newly bought white shirts, and warmed up to be prepared for the day ahead.

Our first game of the tournament was against the UCLA B team. We started the game up 3 breaks, forcing errors through run through D’s and lockdown pressure and cleanly converting on offense. With this strong start and a continued effort throughout the rest of the game, we ended up winning 13-4.

Our next game was against the San Diego Community team, a team full of San Diego natives who play in adult club leagues, including UCSD’s own Professor Zid.  The community team showed their expertise in the sport, demonstrating their game IQ and knowledge with clean offensive holds and capitalizing on our team’s missed throws and catches. The Chair Squids unfortunately lost 6-9.

Our 3rd game was against the UCI A team Nightlife. They showed their explosive speed through quick passes and throw and go motion, moving it up the field before we could catch our breath. The game was very back and forth and ended up at 8-8 on universe point where we got broken for the game. A devastating loss to end day 1, but the team was proud to come so close to victory against a fully fledged A team and we kept our heads high. 

Day 2 started off against the 1st seed of Pool A, UCLA A team Smaug. The game began with a few shaky turns from both teams, with UCLA earning the first break and taking an early lead by capitalizing on skilled break throws to get around our marks.  The Chair Squids fired right back though with some well placed hucks to capitalize on Smaug mistakes. The game ended with a long universe point with several turnovers. Both teams patiently worked the disc up the field, relying on lots of handler movement. UCLA ultimately won the point with a massive layout block on the endzone line and converted with slow and steady offense to win the game 10-9. 

Our next game for our fight for 5th place was against the University of Arizona A team. The team was much bigger than our team of majority freshmen, but that didn’t stop us. We strategically forced them under to make them throw multiple completions in order for them to score. This ultimately led to errors over the course of the game, leading to a Chair Squids win.

Our 3rd and final game of the day was against the USC A team Lockdown.  The game had lots of turnovers due to everyone being tired from a long day. The squids made multiple tough blocks to get possession, allowing for another Chair Squids win for 5th place.