2024 Club Nationals Day Two Recap, Results, Highlights, and More

Everything you need to know ahead of Semifinal Saturday

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If you missed yesterday’s recap, get caught up on pool play here.

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USAU Club Nationals Bracket Play Results

Despite walking less and staying for one less round today, my body and brain are even more tired than yesterday. I'm not sure that says much about my future of making it to USA Ultimate Club Nationals as a player. Still, it says a ton about the exciting non-stop bracket action of today’s pre-quarter and quarterfinal rounds of action. Here’s everything you need to know, plus a little extra about the day’s action.

Pre-quarterfinals Results

M:

#5 Raleigh Ring of Fire 15-12 #3 Denver Johnny Bravo

#9 Atlanta Chain Lightning 15-10 #11Toronto GOAT

#6 Washington DC Truck Stop 15-13 #8 Seattle Sockeye

#1 Chicago Machine 15-11 #16 Salt Lake Shrimp

There were no real surprises in this round based on how yesterday’s results went. Every team that finished second in their pool won, but Bravo going out in pre-quarters was not really on many people’s radars before this tournament began. Sockeye had to be kicking themselves even more for yesterday’s heartbreaker against Machine, leading to them drawing Truck Stop in a close hard, fought loss today, instead of bottom overall seed Shrimp, who Machine took care of.

W:

#10 Toronto 6ixers 14-12 #9 Portland Schwa

#6 Denver Molly Brown 15-13 #8 New York BENT

#7 Seattle Riot 15-12 #11 Vancouver Traffic

#5 San Diego Flipside 15-14 #12 Québec Iris

The biggest surprise from the women’s pre-quarters game was Iris taking Flipside to universe. After sneaking into the bracket on a universe point win yesterday, they nearly pulled off the same thing this morning to sneak into quarters. Molly Brown held off a BENT squad that flashed some potential this week, and 6ixers got their money’s worth for yesterday’s impressive effort despite their third-place pool play finish with a win and quarters berth. Traffic lost by the most of any women’s team this round, but had several opportunities to tie the game at 13s, which they couldn’t capitalize on.

X:

#5 New York XIST 15-5 #2 Austin Disco Club

#13 Seattle Mixtape 15-11 #16 Montana MOONDOG

#4 Fort Collins shame. 15-8 #11 Sacramento Tower

#10 Boston Slow 14-13 #6 Vancouver Red Flag

XIST put a tough day one behind them, absolutely boat racing Disco Club in the biggest bracket win of the day across all three divisions. Mixtape and shame. took care of business in some favorable matchups. However, the highlight of the entire round was running across the complex to the end of the Slow win against Red Flag, where they put four scores in a row together to turn a 13-10 deficit into a thrilling 14-13 victory.

Quarterfinals Results

M:

#10 New York PoNY 15-8 #5 Raleigh Ring of Fire

#4 San Francisco Revolver 15-13 #9 Atlanta Chain Lightning

#7 Portland Rhino Slam! 14-12 #6 Washington DC Truck Stop

#1 Chicago Machine 13-11 #2 Boston DiG

PoNY and Ring are both programs full of talent, so it was disappointing for the game to be so non-competitive. Ring’s offense never was in rhythm, and their defense could not slow down a dominant PoNY attack. PoNY’s resume looks the best this weekend so far. Revolver and Rhino Slam! have both put together incredibly solid tournaments, winning tightly contested game after tightly contested game against excellent teams. While Revolver’s 7-2 and 14-10 leads eventually found their way to 14-13, they took care of business when it mattered most. On the other hand, Rhino took care of business with a little less drama, holding Truck Stop at arm’s length down the stretch. Machine and DiG played one of the most physical games I have ever seen. Machine was getting assessed yardage penalties mid-way through the second half and got a player ejected (again), but DiG couldn’t overcome a stretch at the end of the first half that saw them relinquish their lead, never to regain it.

W:

#1 San Francisco Fury 15-11 #10 Toronto 6ixers

#6 Denver Molly Brown 14-13 #4 Raleigh Phoenix

#3 Boston Brute Squad 15-10 #7 Seattle Riot

#2 Washington DC Scandal 15-8 #5 San Diego Flipside

Once again, Fury let a team hang around for part of the game before surging past their competition. You have to wonder a bit about if 6ixers had snagged a win over one of Brute Squad or Molly Brown on day one, how far they could’ve gone in a different part of the bracket, or if still faced with Fury, would that win have inspired more confidence? In the late window, Brute Squad and Scandal were a class above Riot and Flipside. The game of the day in the division was Molly Brown’s universe point win against Phoenix. Five teams were good enough to make the semis this year, and this was the game where one unlucky team got bounced. Phoenix started better before Molly Brown ended the first half and began the second firing on all cylinders. Their 13-10 lead evaporated, though, and we were treated to double-game-point with a spot in the semis on the line. Molly Brown eventually stabilized their offense and held for the win.

X:

#1 Seattle BFG 15-13 #5 New York XIST

#8 Lexington Sprocket 15-11 #13 Seattle Mixtape

#7 Michigan Hybrid 15-10 #10 Boston Slow

#3 Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust 15-14 #4 Fort Collins shame.

Depth was the name of the game in mixed, with teams pulling away late to secure victories nearly across the board. BFG overcame a tough challenge from XIST in a back-and-forth game featuring five lead changes to punch their ticket back to the semifinals. In the other early game, Sprocket secured their program first-ever semifinal appearance with a win over Mixtape, where their o-line turned the disc over just twice all game. Hybrid pulled away from Slow in the second half of yet another dominant performance (they have played just one game that ended closer than a five-point win and none closer than three) while shame. fell just short of their second comeback from 14-10 down against Drag’n Thrust of the year, as Minneapolis held them off in one of the best games of the day.

Semifinals Matchups

M:

#10 PoNY vs. #4 Revolver

#7 Rhino Slam! vs. #1 Machine

W:

#1 Fury vs. #6 Molly Brown

#3 Brute Squad vs. #2 Scandal

X:

#1 BFG vs. #8 Sprocket

#3 Drag’n Thrust vs. #7 Hybrid

What more is there to say? Four teams are left in each division, all having amazing tournaments. I’m looking forward to spending all day tomorrow watching six straight games of elite, intense ultimate with everything on the line.

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Themes, Observations, and Other Tired Ramblings

The In-Person Experience is Unmatched

Being here in person watching nationals is so special and a massive privilege. I’m beyond excited for tomorrow, but I’m not sure any moment this entire weekend will beat the joy and excitement I felt when I realized the Red Flag vs. Slow and shame. vs. Drag’n Thrust games were still going on at the end of their rounds, and joining a crowd rushing over to watch them finish up. What a beautiful environment.

On a slightly different note, I feel incredibly privileged to watch teams fight for their seasons in bracket play in person. When the complex rushes over to a game, or as the sidelines slowly swell later and later into a round, they often clear quicker than they fill. The streams back home cut off soon after as well. And once everyone else is gone, it’s just the two teams, huddled on the field or back on their sidelines. One jubilant, the other dejected. I stayed for about 20-30 minutes after the shame. and Drag’n Thrust game ended, watching Drag’n celebrate and reflect on a successful day and watching the handful of shame. players who stayed on the field hugging and consoling¹ each other well after the excited crowd dispersed.

It feels almost intrusive to watch teams after they have won or lost for too long. But the importance of observing and acknowledging them for their effort far outweighs that. Not just for their effort on the field but also for the months they spent as a group building to this moment and for the years each individual spent honing their craft. Only one team wins nationals, but that’s not the only reason we play or the only result worth honoring and recognizing.

Pace of Play

We have got to do something about the pace of play towards the end of these high-intensity, high-stakes bracket games. The number one offending game (to my sense of taste, at least) was Phoenix and Molly Brown. Oh my goodness, did the game slow down thanks to an increase of calls late and a handful of times, despite there being discussions with the observers, the resolutions were very slow. I wish observers were more empowered to make active calls and settle disputes quickly so the players can play instead of chatting.

They’re Playing Football in the Men’s Division

We discovered the depths of the rulebook thanks to truly the chippiest and most physical game I have ever seen played live in Machine’s quarterfinal win over DiG. The top two overall seeds delivered a memorable game, but one marred by an ejection, lots of calls, and overall scrappy, physical, and occasionally dangerous plays. Not to keep harping on the same thing, but having a fuller crew of three or four observers may not have fixed things, but it could have made the game easier to control and manage for the crew than it was.

Additionally, Machine was at one point assessed a TMF and yardage penalty to their reverse brick, thanks to double-teaming while on defense. However, the infraction occurred while DiG was on offense. DiG turned the disc over, and then the penalty was assessed. Someone on the sideline explained this to me as the correct interpretation and application of the rules. However, it feels like a flawed system for a penalty accrued while on defense to not be assessed until a team has possibly used their unfair advantage to gain possession of the disc.

Finding Marginal Advantages

One of the joys of watching elite ultimate for me, especially in person, is watching and listening to how teams try to gain every advantage possible against each other. From the constant on-field and sideline communication to the continued evolutions of high-level schemes on defense and offense, it’s fascinating to watch. The number one thing that jumps out at you in person is that the scouting report is out there. You are a known quantity if you are playing at this level, and teams know what throws you have (or don’t), and they’ll be working to take those away.

Pulling is always something I look out for too (as a puller myself, I can’t help it). I’ve concluded that if it’s too windy (or you lack the personnel) to pull it more than 2/3s of the way downfield, you should be trying to consistently roll the disc out. Additionally, it’s been interesting watching how prevalent counter/force middle marks are now at the highest level as teams work hard to disrupt throwers. Additionally, one of the best things to watch, in my opinion, is a team that has nailed their red zone defense. Playing switch-heavy and heads-up red zone defense is so hard, and the few teams that can do it well really use it to make life difficult for their opponents.

Nhi Nguyen

A dog. Unreal for Molly Brown. That’s all, just wanted to share.

Vuvuzela Magic

Hyrbid had two vuvuzelas today and cruised into semis. DiG did not break it out for their quarterfinal game and lost. Makes you think.

Come Say Hi

Come say hi to me! Seeing old and new friends has absolutely been one of the best parts of being here. Whether you know me in person or not if you see me come say hi! I can sometimes be shy or tired but I love chatting to ultimate people.

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About The Breakside

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This newsletter aims to tackle the gap in present coverage of ultimate as a sport. Commentary, analysis, and community are some of the guiding ideals behind the Breakside.

About the Author

My name is Noam Gumerman (he/him). I am from Chapel Hill, NC, and studied Journalism and American Studies at Brandeis University. I am a journalist by trade and have been playing ultimate for over half my life. I love nothing more than combining those two interests. Contact me for discussions, feedback, story suggestions, and more on Twitter (@noamgum/@breaksideulti now too!) or email (noamgumerman@gmail.com).

1. Truly nothing has made me miss playing organized ultimate more than seeing defeated teammates pick each other up and show each other love after a heartbreaking loss