1. Virginia
2. Georgia
3. Penn State
4. NC State
5. Michigan
6. UNC-Chapel Hill
7. Rutgers
8. Emory
9. George Washington
10. Duke
11. Florida
12. UNC-Wilmington
13. William & Mary
14. Michigan State
15. Appalachian State
16. UNC-Chapel Hill B

    1. Virginia
    2. UNC-Chapel Hill
   3/4. Penn State
   3/4. Georgia
   5/6. NC State
   5/6. Emory
   7/8. Rutgers
   7/8. Michigan
     9. Florida
    10. Michigan State
11/12. George Washington
11/12. Duke
13/16. William & Mary
13/16. UNC-Wilmington
13/16. UNC-Chapel Hill B
13/16. Appalachian State

Virginia won the Queen City Tune Up for the second year in a row over UNC-Chapel Hill. Check out the tournament results posted to rec.sport.disc by the tournament director, Elliot Murray. Also, this was the first tournament for the real-time score reporting of Charles Kerr's Score-O-Matic. Below is the tournament write-up, written by Baker Pratt.

Unlike last year, Saturday’s games opened with beautiful weather, albeit a little bit of wind. Every round was pushed back a half-hour due to the owner’s concerns of frost on the fields, but after that, the rounds went off without a hitch. Some of the games were low scoring, due in part to the wind, but mostly to the short rounds. Since the Queen City Tune-Up is one of the earliest tournaments, the seedings were slightly up in the air. That being said, UVA, NC State, Penn State, UNC, and UGA were all favorites to continue their winning ways.

Pool W played completely to seed, with UVA only seemingly being challenged by George Washington, a game they eventually won 10-7. Emory also put on an impressive performance, dismissing GW 13-5 in the first round.

Pool X also found every team holding seed, with Georgia having their way, though they did have to pull out a close game against Rutgers, winning 8-6. Duke, having been to nationals just a couple of years ago, seemed to be on a very slow start, scoring 0 points against Rutgers, 1 against UGA, and finally putting something together against Appalachian State, winning 10-7. ASU ended up winless in pool play, but seemed to put up a good game against Georgia, losing 7-4.

In Pool Y both UNC and Penn State won their early games. UNC was particularly dominant, holding their first two opponents to a combined 1 point. The UNC v PSU match-started out very evenly, with the first points staying on serve until 4-3 UNC. Many of the points featured multiple turnovers, with Penn State playing a lot of zone, and both teams hucking to their capable receivers. On the eighth point UNC player Kelsey Clark (#7) got a D and UNC converted, going up 5-3. Both teams were playing short rosters, but PSU seemed more hampered by it, losing a couple of people to injuries as the game went on. Just before half, Erin Crider (#00) injured herself for PSU, but played through it despite her teammates’ concern. UNC ended up taking the half 7-3.

In the second half PSU seemed to run out of steam, though both Erin Crider and Karen Schulte (#44) played phenomenally, scooping up deep D’s, and making great bids and throws. On the other hand, Carolina was anchored by a stable of experienced players, led by the sure handling of Sara Stanley (#06) and transfer Lindsey Hack (#23). UNC pulled away in the end, winning the game 12-6.

To round out the pool, Florida edged out Michigan State 8-7 to gain the third spot.

Pool Z featured a couple of upsets, and tie-breakers. The first round saw NC State over William & Mary big, and UNC-W over Michigan. In the second round it was State over UNC-W Seaweed and Michigan over William & Mary. However, in the third, round both Michigan and William & Mary put some good games together and came up with victories. Michigan came out on fire and went up on NC State to take half 7-2. After that, State began clawing back, but too little, too late, as they ended up losing in the cap, 8-7.

The format then moved straight into pre-quarters for the fourth round of the day. All of these games went as expected, though once again, Appalachian State showed ability by giving a good game to Michigan, losing 11-7. The closest game of the round was Emory over Florida, 12-11.

Sunday brought perhaps even slightly better weather, with the wind a little less of a force, but still kicking in from time to time. Since the women had already played pre-quarters on Saturday, the A-bracket moved directly to the quarter-finals. All of these games were won by decent margins, save for the UNC victory over NCSU 12-11. Both teams had been forcing in-cut turnovers all game, and UNC in particular was having some red-zone issues early on, though as a whole seemed more cohesive than State. After half, UNC maintained a 2 point lead, until 11-9 when State scored two in a row to tie it up at double-game point, with the cap. The final point saw multiple turnovers by both teams, until UNC finally punched it in for the nail-biter win.

In the semi-finals, UNC beat perennial Atlantic Coast power-house Georgia, while UVA squeaked past a very determined Penn State team. These victories set up a repeat final of Queen City 2004. Meanwhile, in the B division, the finals saw Florida persevere over Michigan State to take the Chumpionship crown.

The women’s finals began a very tight match, with the score remaining even. Again, defense was a high priority as both teams forced turnovers repeatedly. UVA jumped out to an early lead 5-2 with some solid defensive play by Adrienne Dass (#7). UNC countered with a 2 point run, capped by a huck from captain Ellie Bolas (#12) to Kelsey Clark (#7). UVA answered in return with a 2 point run of their own, taking half 7-4 on a hammer catch by Laura Berman (#52).

After half, UNC came out of the gates with a huck by Sara Stanley (#06) to Lindsey Hack (#23) for a score, but from there on out UVA took control. There was zone-to-man D played by both teams, and plenty of turnovers, but the Virginia women simply seemed more disciplined at taking advantage of their opponent’s miscues. Captain Kirsten Clemmenson (#09) played outstanding for Virginia, throwing plenty of hucks, along with notching a point-block late in the game. In the end, UVA ran away with it 15-6. The score is a little misleading, as UVA had to work for their points, but they also played excellent defense, and Carolina simply couldn’t get the offensive disc moving. In the end it was all UVA, as both the men and women’s teams won their respective division, with UVA women capturing their second straight Queen City Tune-Up title.

This is the first tournament on the east coast for the season, so it's a great chance to test out new plays and defenses while rookies continue to get a feel for the game. It's also the first time that teams get to play competitive ultimate this year and see how they stack up against the opposition.

The top favorites to make semifinals of this tournament are the four pool leaders Virginia, Georgia, Penn State, and NC State. The remaining spots of the quarterfinals could see some upsets as Duke, Florida, and UNC-Wilmington could all make it in with a good game or two against Emory, Rutgers, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Michigan. Nonetheless, I would peg Michigan and UNC-Chapel Hill as the most for-sure bets to make it to the championship bracket out of the 2nd and 3rd teams from each pool. It is simply too early in the season to call the rest...

Out of the four top ranked teams, Virginia has the edge coming in as the number 1 seed. UVA has been ranked in the top 15 by the NUMP poll this whole year and made the UPA College Championships last spring. Losing the team's top player could hurt, but it returns a number of experienced players who know what it takes to win (such as Katie Klein and Andrea Duran).  NC State is another NUMP ranked team that competed at Nationals last year. Also during the fall, the team's top players (Molly Doyle and Johanna Vidales) played with the women's club team Backhoe that made the semifinals of the UPA Club Championships.  Georgia has the advantage of already competing in one tournament prior to the QCTU. At Mardi Gras Georgia made it to the finals, only to lose to Iowa, so expect to see the HoDags go far in Charlotte too.  Penn State has the disadvantage of still being in the middle of winter as compared to many of the southern schools. Still, as a team that qualified for Nationals last year, Penn State has a few very talented players (especially Erin Crider and Karen Schulte) that could make the difference this season.  As other cold weather school, Rutgers, Michigan, and Michigan State could also have trouble translating drills and indoor practice to grass, but traveling this early in the season can only be a good thing for the teams' development.