On the weekend of April 15-16, the UC San Diego Women’s Ultimate A-Team had their annual Sectionals game in San Luis Obispo. Every year, Division I Ultimate teams in the Southern California section battle each other to determine who deserves to go to Regionals, and ultimately, who deserves a bid to Nationals. At this tournament, the UC San Diego Psychos played against UCLA, SDSU, UCI, Claremont, USC, and UCSB.
The first morning, the Psychos played their first game in a windy match against UCLA. The Psychos started off with a point on offense, however, #8 nationally ranked UCLA came back with 2 points to take the lead. From there, it was essentially a battle to see who could handle the wind better. The psychos managed to tie it up after UCLA’s early lead, however, UCLA responded by moving the disc well and scoring 4 points in a row. Highlights include lay-out bids from Dena “Chrome” Eimelech, and hucks to break UCLA’s strong zone defense by rookie Samantha “Khaso” Wool. The final score for the game was 6-10, with the Psychos trailing slightly behind UCLA.
The UCLA game was the most competitive game that the Psychos would play that day. The wind began to die down, allowing the Psychos to dominate as per usual. Later that day, the Psychos played UC Irvine, with a final score of 12-0. Highlights include Maria “Fluxx” Zavala with multiple breaks as a handler, good defense by rookie Katie “Doku” Kissner, and a near Callahan attempt by rookie Quinn “Pigu” Fujii. The Psychos went on to win against SDSU with a final score of 13-1 and 13-0 against Claremont. Overall, the Psychos had a fun day, with 3 wins and 1 loss. After the UCLA game, open lines were called, including rookie lines in which long points resulted in the Psychos scoring.
On the second day, the Psychos again played their most competitive game first. The wind conditions were negligible, as the Psychos took on #16 nationally ranked USC. After the Psychos scored first on offense, USC responded with a score and a break. The Psychos kept their intensity up, and for the rest of the game USC and UC San Diego traded points back and forth. UC San Diego’s sideline was extremely loud and spirited, which enabled the team to keep up their high energy. Both teams played incredibly well, however, USC ended up taking half, and after going to universe point, they ended with the win. The UC San Diego Psychos played an easy game against UCSB next, and ended with a 13-2 win after calling two rookie lines.
Overall, the Psychos placed 3rd at Sectionals with 4 wins and 2 losses, and are moving onto Regionals. They will be playing in Roseville, CA the weekend of April 29-30.
Article written by Jasmine “Pyro” Simmons
