2008 Pacific Sectional Playoff Results
11 pm Thurs., March 6
Everyone on the team made it safely to Northridge today. The players are getting a good nights' sleep and will be ready for tomorrow's games against the Northridge Kings and the UofA Wildcats.
Mac, Michael and Steven will be evaluated by a full panel of three classifiers first thing tomorrow morning. By the end of the tournament, they will have their official USQRA classification. Mac and Michael have been playing with temporary classifications issued by a single classifier at the beginning of the season. Steve hasn't been evaluated formally at all. Will keep you posted as we hear the panels' decisions.
Reno has decided to come to the tournament with an unrostered
player. They have received permission from the USQRA to do this, but
will forfeit all of their games as a result. Who is this player? We'll
find out tomorrow. He's rumored to be a 2.5 with some experience.
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11 pm Friday, March 7
Mac and Steve are class 0.5 - though the classifiers still have to
watch Steve on the court for his class to be finalized. Michael is
classed a 2.0, which gives the team some interesting options for line
ups!
The tournament was a very long and full day without any significant surprises.
Sharp 60 Northridge Knights 31
Portland Pounders 33 Nevada Bighorns 11 (though really 1-0 because
(Reno is forfeiting all their games because they are playing an
unrostered player)
Northridge Kings 49 Seattle Slam 30
UofA Wildcats 48 Sin City Skulls 30
Portland Pounders 50 Northridge Knights 25
Sharp 1 Nevada Bighorns 0 (They didn't keep score on paper because Reno is forfeiting)
UofA Wildcats 47 Seattle Slam 35
Northridge Kings 47 Sin City Skulls 18
Tomorrow we play the Las Vegas team - Sin City Skulls. This is an
important game because they are really gunning for us. Then it goes
into the crossover games.
Everyone is playing well and having a very good time.
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6:30 pm Saturday, March 8
This was the most exciting day of Seattle Slam quad rugby in a decade.
Here's what happened. The Slam went up against Las Vegas this morning.
The Slam started out strong, won the tip off, was ahead by a few
points. Then the Sin City Skulls caught up and it was nip-and-tuck
until the Skulls pulled ahead. But the Slam rallied, caught up, and it
was very close until the end. The Skulls won.
But wait! Yes, everyone was a bit dejected after that game, but the crossover games matched the Slam up with the
Northridge Knights. Another important game because some individuals in the league think the Slam should be seeded behind the Knights.
Everyone on the gym who wasn't actually in the other game being played was watching this game.
Quad rugby games cannot end in a tie, so it went into OT. That means three more minutes of play after a one minute break.
The Slam started the OT period strong, took possession at the tip-off and immediately scored a point. The Knights scored a point or maybe three (if I'm remembering...) during the entire period, but the Slam stayed ahead, never let them get closer than two points, and won the game by three points.
I cannot begin to describe the excitement in that gym.
Tonight everyone is going to bed early and getting a good night's sleep. We lose an hour to Daylight Savings Time, and we have to check out of the hotel and be on the bus at 8 am.
So no parties tonight - tomorrow morning at 9:30 am in Court One we again take on the Sin City Skulls. And the Slam really wants to win this game to show Las Vegas that this morning was a fluke.
The Slam is playing harder and better at this tournament than they have in years. And I can't single out a player and say he is responsible - it really is a team effort. And the Slam's demonstrated ability to come back when behind by five or six points is evidence of how well the team's mental game has progressed, in addition to the physical skills.
In other games, Portland was still playing the Northridge Kings and the U of A Wildcats were still playing Sharp when we had to catch the bus back to the hotel tonight but it looks like it will be Portland v U of A Wildcats for the championship tomorrow. Which means U of A and Portland will both go to the National Championship Division I tournament in Louisville and U of A made a good decision to transfer into Pacific Section.
The San Diego Sharp and the Northridge Kings will represent the Pacific Section at the National Division II Championship tournament.
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11:30 pm Sunday, March 9
All the players and support staff arrived safely back in Seattle this afternoon and evening. But the mood waiting for our flights at Burbank Airport was somber.
The bottom line: we lost to Las Vegas. Final score: Sin City Skulls 49, Seattle Slam 37. The Skulls got possession at tip off and scored, the Slam made some mistakes causing some turnovers, the Skulls caught some breaks, and we never caught up.
After the game, coaches and players from other teams who watched the game against the Knights yesterday came up to me dumfounded - asking how the Slam could play such a fantastic game yesterday and blow it this morning playing against a team clearly our inferior. The Slam will be working on the answers to that question, reviewing the video footage of the game, analyzing what went wrong and determining how to fix it.
So we are not going to Nationals - this year. But the team sure has learned a lot this season and come a looooong way from where we were a year ago. Next year will give the Slam an even better chance as the new players, who are showing lots of potential, continue to improve their skills and conditioning and the team continues to develop overall.
Click here for scores for all the games this weekend.