Southeast Regionals Full Recap

Putting a bow on a great weekend, and looking ahead towards nationals

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I will try to see as much live ultimate as I can as long as I am able. I had the same kind of realization back at College Easterns, but wow. It is such a privilege to watch teams fight for their seasons, playing high-level, intense ultimate, as the months of work together and years of time and energy people have poured into this sport pay off.

It was also a profoundly inspiring weekend for me and the future of The Breakside. I realized that at least three times the number of people playing in the tournament compared to current subscribers to The Breakside and that seven other tournaments just as big were going on at the same time. This realization helped me believe in the ability to grow this platform and inspired me to work even harder to provide better coverage for this sport.

And not to mention that, as always, it was a true joy to see so many friends in the same place, old and new, and to see so many of you compete at such a high level. I look forward to doing it all again on an even bigger stage! I’m beyond excited to report to you all live from San Deigo. But now, onto the action!

The Biggest Winners:

Here’s a snapshot of how things played out at the business end of the weekend:

Women’s:

1. Phoenix* (Raleigh)

2. Ozone (Atlanta)

3. Tabby Rosa (Gainesville)

4. Chaos (Charleston)

Men’s:

1. Chain Lightning (Atlanta)*

2. Ring of Fire (Raleigh)*

3. Raleigh-Durham United (Raleigh/Durham)*

4. Alliance (Alabama)

5. Boneyard (Triangle)

6. Florida Untied (Ocala)

Mixed:

1. Space Force* (Huntsville)

2. ‘Shine* (Nashville)

3. Toro (Durham)

4. FlyTrap (Wilmington)

5. Murmur (Athens)

6. Storm (Charlotte)

Chain Lightning and Space Force were the weekend's biggest winners. Winning the men’s and mixed tournaments is no small feat, and both teams went through both of their closest rivals to do it.

Chain beat RDU and Ring in two tight games in the semifinal and final as the two Triangle-area teams couldn’t match the Atlanta squad’s intensity and execution when it mattered most. An early-tournament tight game wobble against defending master’s division world champions Boneyard didn’t rattle Chain, and they only got better as the weekend continued, finishing as the undefeated regional champions.

Space Force won its second-round game over Toro 14-12 in a matchup of the two regular season bid earners who lost their sections, keeping them in the upper bracket. They thrived there, winning their next two games and the region in dominant fashion, 15-8. That game against Toro was the only time all weekend anyone scored even double digits on Space Force.

Phoenix, the women’s regional champs, are harder to judge. They were never tested, and the gap in talent at the top of the region to even the next best team has never looked wider. They were pulling every time I peeked over at their game to go from my spot watching the mixed one. They won the game 15-3. The closest anyone got was a 13-4 pool play game. As we knew going into the weekend, this team’s measuring stick for success is how they do in October. However, in a testament to their focus and strength as a team, it can still be hard to stay as focused and locked in as they did over the course of seven games in a one-bid region. And the fact that they were only broken once all weekend deserves recognition.

If we list these nationals-bound teams according to how good their weekend was, the next best weekend probably belongs to RDU. Although they took third, they were a level above any of their would-be challengers for the third bid in the region. They played a really good game against Chain in the semifinal. They probably feel like they should’ve put it away. And their 15-6 loss to Ring only got as bad as it did because the game didn’t really matter, and after going down, the whole team seemed to decide they’d rather conserve energy. Two extremely comfortable wins over Boneyard and Alliance in the third-place bracket locked up the final bid for the region.

Yes, ‘Shine did steal a bid. And they had a good weekend to do it. However, they did sort of luck into the one seed and an easier path, struggled against Murmur in the semifinal, got dog-walked by Space Force in the final, and drew an exhausted Toro team that had two extra games in the legs by the time the last round of the weekend rolled around. But hey, it’s not their fault that Toro and Space Force blew it at Sectionals, and they took care of business when it mattered most. They’re going to California, and despite at least three or four other teams being good enough on paper to get it done, they didn’t, and ‘Shine did.

While Ring did take second above RDU, based on their expectations for themselves, I think it’s fair to say they’re probably the most disappointed out of any team that qualified for nationals. After all, this does extend their streak of appearances at nationals to 27 years in a row. Qualification is the bare minimum. In fairness, probably all but about eight or ten teams in the country would trade places with Ring of Fire right now, but that’s the price of those high expectations and lofty goals. They’d beaten Chain twice this season and should always consider themselves favorites over RDU, so not winning the region this year is disappointing. And from their games that I got to see, the offense was not quite as in sync as we’d expect it to look.

Exciting Weekends From Non-Nationals Teams

Sure, going to nationals is exciting, but only 16 teams in each division get to do that. Hundreds of other teams’s journeys together end far (or not so far) before San Deigo. And the journey is often far more important than the destination. So, while these teams came up short of making it to nationals, they all had extremely noteworthy weekends in Bermuda Run.

One reason teams may also not be shooting for nationals is that it’s a huge financial and time commitment. FlyTrap had an incredible run in the mixed division. They lost their first game on universe point to fall into the second-place bracket and then lost again on universe, one point away from a game to go against ‘Shine. All of this was despite, and I heard this from multiple people at the complex, being explicitly unsure if they’d go to nationals as a team if they earned a bid. That embrace of the moment and lack of pressure is perhaps why perennial men’s division stars Jack Williams and Sean Keegan pickup with FlyTrap for this season. Watching those two integrate into an already-talented roster and pull off some upsets on their run to the lower-bracket final was a real treat.

Also in the mixed division, Murmur (Athens) had an exciting weekend. They stormed through their first two games, winning 15-9 and 15-8, on their way to a date with ‘Shine in the upper bracket semifinal. That game was one of the highlights of day one. It was back and forth the whole way, not at all clean, but in the most exciting way as the teams traded deep shots back and forth on critical possessions. Unfortunately, Murmur fell just short of the upset on universe point, losing 13-12 and the opportunity to play two games to go. They drew Toro in the lower bracket and lost their second straight, unfortunately ending their run. But they played a truly incredible weekend of ultimate, and are absolutely talented enough to play in San Diego in the coming years.

In the women’s division, Chaos burst onto the scene as a first-year program and made the semifinals, breaking seed by two on their way to a fourth-place finish at regionals. Their only losses were to Phoenix and Tabby Rosa, well-established regional powerhouses. And in a nine-team tournament, breaking seed by two is huge. In the Chaos and Phoenix spirit circle, I heard captain Chloë Greene mention that this was the first year Chaos was a team. I contacted the team and spoke with captains Greene and Christina “Tuna” Marsicano about the team’s weekend. Greene and Marsicano highlighted the intentional creation of positive team chemistry as the driving force behind the team’s success. To Chaos, at least this year, competitive results took a backseat to culture, establishing program systems, and getting competitive women’s ultimate off the ground in Charleston, a part of the Southeast lacking in those outlets.

In the long term, Greene and Marsicano aim to turn Chaos into a “stalwart program in the southeast” and provide players in South Carolina with an outlet to play competitive ultimate without traveling to the Triangle or Atlanta. Stay tuned for a deeper dive into the Chaos program, its goals, and its first season as a team in the coming weeks, too!

On the men’s side, Alliance was the surprise entrant into the game to go against RDU. They came into the weekend seeded ninth, finished fourth, and had big upsets over Cash Crop 2 (Chapel Hill) and Florida Untied, two teams with big dreams of stealing a bid. Although they ran out of gas and didn’t ever threaten RDU, Alliance finishing the tournament with Top-Select status is very impressive. Additionally impressive was Boneyard, who pulled up to the series to prep for Masters competition and finished regionals, having only lost to the three bid earners and having defeated all other challengers. They put up double digits on all three teams, too. Being able to hang with the class of the region has to be what Boneyard was looking for, and they’re looking sharp six weeks out from the Masters World Championships.

Perhaps Not Quite What They Were Hoping For

Not everyone can win. For every upset, there’s a team falling short of the expectations they set for themselves. Or, at the very least, there are teams whose seasons end before they were hoping.

Probably the most frustrated team in the complex was Toro, given that they earned the region a bid in the regular season, but ‘Shine beat them in the game to go to and will be representing the region at nationals. Toro continues to provoke the age-old question (at least where I live): ‘Why can’t the Triangle field a nationally competitive mixed team?’ We don’t have the answer yet, but this is the second year in a row Toro has missed out on nationals. Perhaps the team's vibes and performance could be improved if they elected not to roster someone who holds a spot on this list. That feels like it would make building team chemistry a challenge. Just a thought, though, and one that I will admit is deeply impacted by my personal experience.

I know that Cash Crop 2 was disappointed not to get a shot at RDU again on day two after a closer-than-expected 15-12 game on day one. Injuries proved challenging to overcome, and they blew a lead to Alliance, which knocked them out of the lower bracket. Florida Untied was likely hoping to make the game to go after coming into the weekend seeded fourth, but they, too, fell to Alliance’s lower bracket run.

While the weekend largely went as anticipated on the women's side, Tabby Rosa and Ozone probably felt disappointed to not put a better fight up against Phoenix. They made nationals as recently as 2021 and 2022, respectively, but the gap on the field has only gotten wider between them and Phoenix. Whether it's improving recruiting, scheme, or mentality, something has got to level for these teams to get back to challenging for the region moving forward.

Regionals Roundup From Around The Country

We’ll dive deeper into the results from around the country during the previews leading up to nationals, but there is one tidbit worth discussing. Of the 48 teams who earned a bid to nationals, 44 of them did their job at regionals and will be in San Diego, including all 16 teams in the women’s division, 15 of 16 bid earners in the men’s division, and 13 of 16 in the mixed division. I was initially disappointed not to see bigger upsets before realizing I saw 25% of all bids stolen during regionals weekend!

The other upsets as far as bids to nationals go (besides ‘Shine over Toro) were Mallard (Minneapolis) taking Sub Zero’s (Minneapolis) bid in North Central Men’s¹, Rally (Washington DC) beating Amp (Philadelphia) in a one-bid Mixed Mid-Atlantic, and Mischief (San Francisco) crashed out of Southwest Mixed Regionals early, and Lawless (Arizona) swooped in and won the region despite not earning a bid after the regular season.

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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. This was actually the region’s auto bid as no team in NC Men’s finished in the top 16