Air Squids LITE took two day trips to Pomona for an non-sanctioned tournament that tested the resolves of each Squid that played.

Our first day started off with a bye, but LITE was up and ready to go 90 minutes before, warming up the bones and limbs of each Squid alike. Our first game was against UCLA Smoke where Lite came out guns blazing, winning the first game to 3, easily. Smoke was stifled by Lite’s incredible handler marks and they turned it over point by point. Lite’s offense was also firing on all cylinders, with hucks from Hillel “Gambit” Avital and Qianli “Tsunade” Wu finding the sure hands of Lite cutters downfield. However, as the game progressed, Lite was unable to convert many endzone possessions and were victim to several long points that went Smoke’s way, in the end finishing with a score of 7-9 at hard cap.

In the showdown against UCI Bedtime, LITE got straight-up stonewalled by a nasty zone D that had our handlers scratching their heads. The cup was suffocating, and our flow got totally wrecked in the early going. But LITE ain't no pushover squad—we dug deep and figured that zone out real quick, with Gambit and Benjamin “Casa” Cohan-Schiff popping discs through the cup and bombing it when the deep look was there. The score stayed neck-and-neck with both squads trading punches like heavyweight fighters. Just when momentum was swinging our way, we coughed up a brutal break that we couldn't get back. Tried as we might to claw back, the damage was done. Clock ran out with UCI B taking it 11-9.

Against ASU B, LITE came in confident with our trusted ho stack system, but their freakish athleticism straight-up bodied us from the jump. Their defenders were flying everywhere, making every cut a battle and every throw contested. The game turned into a straight-up endurance test with some points dragging on forever—both squads burning timeouts just to catch their breath and recalibrate. While we were grinding through our possessions, ASU B was launching absolute dimes downfield, their hucks connecting like they had GPS tracking. Despite LITE putting up a fight and showing flashes, ASU B's superior athleticism and deep game proved too much to handle. When the dust settled, we took the L 6-11, but gained some valuable experience against a team that could flat-out fly.

Day 2 started brighter and earlier as the Squids embarked on their 100 minute trip to Pomona to face a familiar foe in the early morning, UCSB Blackout. Unsurprisingly, LITE was on time for morning warm ups and had some fresh faces ready to contribute. The match began with the Squids catching Blackout off guard. Hard, aggressive defense led to two breaks that gave LITE an early 2-0 lead. But Blackout responded fiercely, going on a 3-0 run to take the lead. Similar to the previous meetings in Santa Barbara and SLO earlier this season, each possession was intense and evenly matched, with both teams using the length and width of the field with a Ho-Stack. After an intense first half, LITE found themselves down 7-8. Needing a break to even the score after the soft cap, Blackout switched it up, running a Vert-Stack that the Squid defense could not adjust to. LITE fell 7-10, a third straight loss to Blackout this season. 

Coming off the loss, LITE would then face Smaug, by far their toughest test of the tournament. While it would be easy to lower the intensity level after a loss, especially after having to play a high-level A-team like Smaug is, LITE did not. The message was clear, LITE had nothing to lose so there was no reason not to leave it all out on the field. Having to start off on defense, LITE got an immediate taste of what the Smaug offense would look like. A Vert-stack with quick handler movement, and break-side cuts coming from the bottom of the stack. An Endzone set with the option of an open-side cut from the top of the stack. This put pressure on the mark to hold the force and move quickly to cap a continued break-side throw. LITE rose to the challenge to defend the Smaug attack. Additionally, with the added element of wind becoming a bigger and bigger factor as the game progressed, it would appear as if the more skilled Smaug would assert their offensive dominance through their throwing. However, great handling movement and cutting was able to expose holes in the Smaug zone defense, although it took time to get it running. At the same time, tough marks and great open-side defense forced Smaug handlers into making inconsistent throws to the dump that were denied by Mother Nature. Despite having a flowing offense and forcing multiple turns, LITE failed to execute when it mattered most near the goal line. But while the final score was 4-15, there weren’t any points where it was obvious that LITE was outmatched. The game was a reminder of our potential as a team when we run the systems we practice every week.

Following the challenging matchup against Smaug, LITE found themselves facing a familiar opponent in USC Blockdown for the final game of the tournament. With fatigue setting in and the wind picking up significantly, Blockdown immediately deployed their zone defense, hoping to capitalize on the conditions. However, LITE's experience from the previous day's wind battles proved invaluable, as we patiently worked the disc through the cups with disciplined handler movement. With this being the tournament finale, energy surged through the LITE sideline—everyone was determined to leave everything on the field, vocal support reaching new heights with each possession. Despite LITE's composure, Blockdown's arsenal of beautiful inside breaks and crafty around throws caught the Squid defense off guard multiple times, creating scoring opportunities that seemed to materialize from nowhere. The Squids generated several break opportunities but were ultimately undone by a handful of unexpected drops at crucial moments. These uncharacteristic execution errors proved costly, as fatigue began to affect even the most reliable hands on the team. Despite a valiant push in the closing points, LITE fell short, ending their tournament run with a 6-9 loss to Blockdown.