Who are the best players in the Metro East region? This is an open thread to discuss All-Region nominations, All-Freshman nominations, coaching awards, and more. Stay positive and keep it civil.
There’s one name that should be on everyone’s ballot for this region. Ithaca College’s Eli Robinson. He’s the engine that keeps this team moving, with amazing throws, as well as relentless movement and fluidity, enabling him to always get the disc back in his hands. Not to mention being a viable deep threat and a tenacious defender.
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Three names from Connecticut College stand out for me:
- Jake O’Brien (#81), who led the team in assists, points played (by around 15), and was top three in goals and Ds, showed up in the game to go especially with 4 goals and 2 assists. His deep hucks and hammers were there all weekend long.
- Kevin Scannell (#33) had over 170 throws on the weekend, constantly resetting the offense and finding ways to break high caliber zones.
- All Freshman - Prosser Friedman (#20) led Conn College in Ds, was top three in assists, and did it all with a sprained wrist. He was uncoverable and an absolute menace on defense.
I’d also shout out Ian Donohue on Ithaca who played a large role in shutting our offense down in the finals.
Dan Orlich #93 on Ithaca should be coach of the year. I’ve never seen a more efficient stat taker in any ultimate game I’ve played in 4 years. His tally marks are straight S tier and I can’t wait to see that on full display in Milwaukee
For Wesleyan, I have a couple standouts.
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Definitely Jack Kwon (#7), the team’s only fifth year grad student. He’s been part of the team making crazy plays for so long and is central to the offense and defense units. Layout catches and blocks all over the place, crazy flow, all the skills. An uncoverable threat anywhere on the field with stifling defensive presence.
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Gaelin Kingston (#22) who’s a living highlight reel. Got massive blocks including a first throw layout D against SUNY Cortland and is a rock for our offense and drives possessions quickly and sneakily. His deep defense kept us in the tight games and his offense kept giving our D line chances to get breaks.
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Sam Harris (#47) who is an offensive rock. They’ll play in any role on the field but stands out for calm composure and intelligent plays to break good zones. Very relentless and dynamic cutter/handler hybrid who’s central to the team and tricky to guard. They were flying horizontally more times than we could count this weekend, on offense and defense.
All freshman: Jack Noble (#59), another deep defensive threat and central handler. Definitely one of if not the most well rounded freshmen on the team.
Huge shoutout to Jake O’Brien on Conn who always makes playing against Conn that much harder. The man is everywhere offensively and defensively, and is really an amazing guy to play against and get to know.
Hey Y’all, Bart from Cortland here,
Just wanted to throw a few names out there who caught my eye this spring season from our region.
First off is number 2 from Ithaca. In the few games we played against Ithaca this semester he was a serious threat throughout the game and seemed to always be running things both offensively and defensively. Seemed like he was able to get just about any throw he wanted on the field.
Secondly someone who I feel like embodies ultimate frisbee in its entirety is the Gennesseo captain Kirby. Had some fantastic games with them this year and not only was he a clear offensive leader, he was an absolute great sportsman who showed great spirit. He was very reasonable in dealing with situations that may arise on and off the field.
Thirdly I’d like to throw our a nomination from our school and thats one of my co-captains Mark Weidman #23. We have played a ton of games this semester and I can confidently say I think Mark is one of the most flawless players in the region. His throws are some of the best in the region in my personal opinion. His defensive efforts are just as elite. Our team would not have accomplished half of what we did without him.
Apologies for not having the full names of some of these guys please help me out if you got their full name. Thanks for a great year back from covid y’all and good luck to those of you who are still in the post season.
All the best,
Bart
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One player from SUNY Cortland I want to point a spotlight on is captain Mark Weidman. Incredible offensive and defensively. There isn’t a single flaw in his game. Good things happen when the disc is in his hands.
Another player I want to highlight is #33 on Connecticut college(Sorry I don’t know his name). Conn college’s offensive seemed to flow through him this weekend and he made virtually no mistakes.
#41 from Cortland here, wanted to congratulate everyone for a hard played and fun weekend. Enjoyed meeting new teams and playing in a tournament with so much talent. I want to shout out some players on our team and congratulate them all on their well-played weekends! so here’s some names that stood out against the competition.
#0 | Senior | Matthew Bartley (Sneasel) - Matt is a captain of SUNY Cortland Team Rocket and has showed exemplary leadership skills throughout a year where Cortland played in many more tournaments than most other teams. Also a leader by example, Matt leaves everything on the field when out there and doesn’t dwell on any mistakes that he may make (although they are few in number). Last weekend, Matt could be see flying through the air and catching any disc that was challenged by another defender en route to a weekend that saw him score 5 Goals and Assist 11 scores despite primarily being a cutter. As the President of the club, he lead the team to its best finish ever at Regionals and will definitely be remembered as a tough competitor by all the other teams at last weekend’s Metro East Regionals.
Final weekend stats:
Vs Skidmore: 2 Goals, 5 Assists
Vs Conn Coll: 2 Goals, 2 Assists
Vs Rochester: 1 Goal, 1 Assist
Vs Wesleyan: 2 Assists
Vs Conn Coll: 1 Assist
#1 | Senior | Sam Dunmire (Bayleef) - Sam is a captain and the Vice President of the team. He did a bit of everything at last weekend’s Metro East Regionals as he constantly shifted from handler to cutter at will (sometimes mid-point) and excelled at both positions scoring a total of 5 Goals and Assisting 10 scores. As much as his presence was felt on offense, his defensive presence was arguably larger, as he shit down any deep looks that were targeted all weekend, sometimes even bidding from ridiculous angles to force turnovers. Sam’s leadership and willingness to go all out cements him as one of the standout players of the tournament.
Final weekend stats:
Vs Skidmore: 1 Goal, 4 Assists
Vs Conn Coll: 1 Assist
Vs Rochester: 2 Goals, 2 Assists
Vs Wesleyan: 1 Assist
Vs Conn Coll: 2 Goals
#88 | Senior | Brandon Cajigas (Alakazam) - Brandon was terrorizing defenses all weekend with hard cuts and great throws. Playing as a cutter/handler hybrid for most of the weekend, Brandon found himself with the disc in his hands quite a bit, but he always made the most of his opportunities, throwing only 2 turnovers all weekend. Brandon’s ability to get height and high point the disc resulted in him scoring 7 Goals against Connecticut College in the winners semifinal, including 5 out of the first 6 scored for Cortland in that game. If there was any player on Cortland that caused teams the most frustration all weekend, it was Brandon.
Final weekend stats:
Vs Skidmore: 3 Goals
Vs Conn Coll: 7 Goals
Vs Rochester: 1 Goal, 4 Assists
Vs Wesleyan: 2 Goals, 2 Assists
Vs Conn Coll: 1 Goal
#23 | Junior | Mark Weidman (Scizor) - Mark is a Junior and a captain for the team. He missed Saturday due to a PE conference in New Orleans but flew back Saturday night and drove from Rochester Sunday morning in order to play in the teams elimination bracket games. Mark’s presence on the field was instantly felt as he scored 3 goals and assisted 5 in the first game of the day vs Rochester. Mark is also a tenacious defender in the middle who got horizontal multiple times to get D’s in every game Sunday. Mark’s impact on Sunday’s results was felt even beyond the field as he is a leader that really energized Cortland during a day where they needed every ounce of energy left to finish 3rd.
Final weekend stats:
Vs Rochester: 3 Goals, 5 Assists
Vs Wesleyan: 2 Goals, 5 Assists
Vs Connecticut College: 2 Assists
Standout players from other teams:
Connecticut College: #33 - Excellent throws and amazing accuracy, very good handler cuts and recognition of different defensive play styles, #20 - Awesome reflexes and great handler movement, I enjoyed talking with you about your team on the sideline! #5 - Ridiculous deep threat and high pointer.
Rochester: #13 - Caused major trouble for us on offense all year, very quick looks that break down zone defenses and excellent slow pace play.
Wesleyan: #22 - Great upfield cuts and transition play, great person defender.
Thank you everyone for a great weekend, good luck to the teams playing in Nationals!!!
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Yes, certainly the MVP of the season for Metro East!
For being suspended for 2 years and not being able to recruit new players until this January, RPI has brought in a handful of promising rookies (and held on to some older players).
Antoine Mathieu (rookie) (number unknown because we didn’t order jerseys, but he is tall(ish) and has the best booty in the Metro East): Hailing all the way from somewhere in France, though he claims to be from Massachusetts, Antoine found his way to the social tech startup at RPI called Trudge. This kid stepped up into a starting handler role and dominates the field. His bids are thunderous and make everybody stare in awe as he takes flight. His shin splints only exist when we’re having practice, but his superb human powers make them disappear at tournaments. Antoine puts up big (smart) hucks, but also shreds zones crashing into cups and weaving down the field.
Bryce Markel (3,13,63? he wears like three different jerseys) Going for the record for most eligibility used at RPI, Bryce returned as one of our captains this spring. As a classically trained cutter, Bryce will hit you with his jab step and catch a thick under, but he isn’t afraid to be a handler when half the team is injured and make zones look silly. Don’t wait to throw him the disc on stall 3 or 4, or else he’ll look at you disapprovingly with his arms out, sorry dad. Nothing stops him from putting his body on the line, even when he messes up his shoulder every time that he bids.
Jesse Hartman, 33 From the stinkiest state in the Northeast, Jesse brought his frisbee skills back to Trudge this semester. He might have refused to drive anyone to any of our tournaments, but he is still a crucial part to this team. Jesse is the solid handler to rely on for our O-Line, and didn’t drop a single disc all season. Don’t watch film to verify that, its totally true. Had over 171 throws on the weekend.
Dimitri Lopez, i^2 (rookie): Dimitri is a rookie who has some of the most luscious locks in the area. Only seen riding a long board to and from practice, we are not sure if he knows how to walk since he is always sprinting 100% on the field. Dimitri puts on a stellar mark in the cup and bamboozles throwers, but they could be distracted by his hair. The kid puts up hucks so big he dislocated his shoulder at regionals, then popped it back in himself right on the field (No trainer? no problem).
Quick shout out to some non-Trudgelings:
Eli Koester, Skidmore: Eli is one of the most fun people to play against. The Skidmore-RPI rivalry (bromance? partnership?) would not be the same without him. Going up for a 50/50 against him? Good luck. Having spicier pulls than him? Good luck. Solving a static truss loading problem? Well nobody on skid could do that at regionals, RPI nerd school for the win. When Eli’s bucket hat falls off, you know he’s about to pop off.
Frenchie, Skidmore After getting injured at sectionals, I spent two games walking back and forth on the sideline with you. Whether it was talking about obvious fouls that didn’t get called or trying to figure out what was up with the timing/game system at regionals, it was a pleasure coaching/playing against you. You also wear a cool hat.
Jack Kwon, Wesleyan: Fast. Neither of us played against each other this season, so I never got beat by him, but I probably would have. Also, best calves in the Metro East.
Anyways, Trudge is super happy to be back and playing against all of you once again. We look forward to next season. Good luck to Ithaca and Conn College at Nationals, prove all the Metro Beast doubters wrong.
I have a few shoutouts for all reagion:
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Connecticut College Jake O’Brien - finished with 18 assists, and 6 goals, played 76 points and pulled over 50 times (only 3 went out of bounds), and had several Ds. He gets open against anyone on person defense, finds the holes in zone, and shuts down whoever he covers on the other end. He’s got a great array of throws (hammers, scoobers, etc.) and can hit someone in the back corner of the endzone with only a few inches of space. He had around 130 throws on the weekend and played 25 out of 27 points in the semifinals to help us advance against Cortland.
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Gaelin Kingston on Wesleyan - always a tough matchup for our team, his handler give and gos keep their offense flowing ahead of our defenders and his presence on D is huge, if you’re throwing deep you have to pray its not floaty.
Hey all,
Oliver from Geneseo Snail here (#17), we didn’t get to play everyone in the region, but I’ll comment on some of the teams that we did play.
Ithaca- These guys had a deep roster and lots of weapons, but there were a few standouts.
#2 Eli Robinson - Big threat on both sides of the disc, tough to get open against and tough to shutdown, has very good throws too.
#32 Luke Pohlman- Very athletic and a high IQ player.
Cortland- They definitely had the best zone we faced all year.
#23 Mark Weidman- Felt like their offense ran through this guy. When he had the disc in his hands the field would open up and he could hit spots that set his cutters up perfectly.
#0 Matthew Bartley - Light on his feet and fast. Tough to guard and very dependable.
Rochester
#13 Fritz - Great throws and spirited player.
#00 - Had some huge backhand hucks
Geneseo
#72 Jack Kirby - Agile, shifty handler who rarely makes mistakes and can consistently break the mark.
#1 Alex O’Reilly - An athlete and a skilled thrower, played a ton of points on O and D, and his impact was felt on both.
Best of luck to everyone competing at natties!
Bryce Markel has got that dog in him
Hello, #33 on Connecticut College (Kevin Scannell).
I think there’s quite a few good players that I wanted to shout out, don’t really know their names, and theres plenty of other players who I didn’t mention that are deserving of a mention.
Cortland: #0 (Apparently named Matthew Bartley)
Solid player, tall, athletic, gets open. He’s got solid throws and can move. He’s not a player that is terrifying in any single category, but he’s a package deal and is all around good.
Courtland: #23 (Mark Weidman)
I’ll be honest, the first time we played he wasn’t there, and the second time we played I don’t think he really played anywhere near his best. I’ve never seen him play outside of that one game and I wasn’t impressed, but the team that smacked us 15-4 in the finals said he was an incredibly good player and the only reason that they lost to them. I’m kinda disappointed because I wanted to see how good he was, but we didn’t get the full force. That being said, he was still a good and solid player, confident with the disc, good vs zone.
TCNJ: #14
Surprised he hasn’t been mentioned yet (or I don’t think he has yet). Easily their best player, tall, fast, difficult to cover. No disrespect to his team, but if he had throwers who could put it deep consistently to him, he would be an absolute menace to guard. Very strong throws, and he’s good at small ball give and go offense.
Wesleyan: #7 (Jack Kwon)
Terrifying player, our entire team is scared of him and we draw lots before every point to see who has to guard him. Great throws, very quick and hard to cover especially when he’s back as a handler. Don’t really have anything else to say, he’s just very good.
Ithica: Alot of their players
I don’t know their names or numbers, but I’m just gonna say, they have quite a few good players and basically anybody on their team who gets “nominated”, I would probably support it because I think that team is in a league of its own in this division.
Connecticut College: #20 (Prosser Friedman)
One of the best players on our team indisputably, great throws, great hands, very good on offense and defense. We regularly match him up defensively against their best players and he is great on defense against them and still gets open consistently. He’s a real workhorse and never seems to get tired. He’s also a freshman and, honestly, if he doesn’t make “All-Freshman”, I cannot believe what is going on at ultiworld as I refuse to believe there are 7 players better first year players than him.
Connecticut College: #81 (Jake O’Brien)
The goat. This year we’ve had a new injection of talent and ability on the team. While still one of the best players on the team (I’d rank him top 3), he’s taken more of a support role on the team (not in a bad way). He still gets open easily, fantastic on defense, one of the most athletic players in the division, great hands and throws. The big step up I’ve seen, this year in particular, is his decision making. He values the disc much more, and as a result, our team has been playing better. If I had to nominate anyone from this list, it’s probably him.
Connecticut College: #8 (Leo Claney)
The other fantastic freshman (although we do have quite a few honorable mentions), Leo is already a starting handler for our team and a very capable thrower. Defensively not as consistent as the two listed above, but he’s rock solid with the disc in his hands and tears threw zones like no other. I’d put him a step below our other Freshman nominee, but he’s still a fantastic player.
#5 TCNJ - Matt Mancuso
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Heyo, Eli (#2) from Ithaca here just wanted to shout out some players that I have played against and with this season - I’ll be using names and numbers from Earlier in the Thread and USAU rosters so apologies if I mistake or Misspell a name
Conn College -
Jake O’Brien (#81) - Main focal point of both offense and defense for this team. Comfy throwing break side and stretching the field with deep looks when needed.
Leo Claney (#8) - Very comfortable throwing hammers against the Cortland Zone in the game to go and picked it apart with patient over the top throws. (Also apparently a freshman as stated above)
Cortland -
Mark Weidman (#23) - Cortland’s Go to guy. He plays mid/short deep in their zone and is comfortable in that position and is able to clean up D’s and layout to make plays. On offense he effortlessly goes every other and either throws deep or works it up the field having the throws to do either.
Wesleyan -
Jack Kwon (#7) - Great defender able to keep up with basically every matchup. On offense very comfortable breaking the mark and throwing low around throws where only his receivers can get there.
Rochester -
Fritz (#13? USAU says 10 but I remember 13) - Wanted to shout out fritz for being able to throw blades into tight windows against our zone and was able to shred it quite easily. Especially since each time we played it was snowy and windy.
The twins (Ben and Jake Kelly, #00 and #01) - Rochester ran through these guys. They run their zone on defense and on offense the huck from 01–>00 is deadly
Skidmore -
Eli Koester (#?) - Great player who always plays with a smile on his face. Tough on D and runs the O
Levey? (#26) - Great hustle player not afraid to go horizontal to make plays on both sides of the disc.
Geneseo -
Oliver Stordahl (#17) and Jack Kirby (#72) - These guys are the main O-line handlers of Geneseo and they go hand in hand because they work so well together in their vert stack set. Loving to go back and forth working it up in the field. In addition they both are very good at breaking and throwing around and underneath the mark. Definitely a challenge to stop on defense.
Colgate -
Eric Barber (#4) - The only time we played colgate this year was in about 9 inches of mud but I remember from the fall he got a layout block on uni then punched it in about two throws later. In addition to his great play on the field another guy who is always smiling and a joy to play against.
Ithaca - Just want to go over some rookies who have been a huge addition to our team this year
Nadav Berkman (#16) - Already a key piece in our O-line able to work the disc around and not afraid to throw absolutely delicious dimes into the endzone. In addition, very comfortable against zone. Willing to throw 20+ throws but also able to find the holes through the middle or over the top.
Owen Young (#11) - O boy. He’s crazy, The hammers and scoobers over the top when there is someone wide open. The layouts to get a handblock, The crazy hands running around, and the mega poaching that is done. the exact opposite of his counterpart Nadav, Owen is the definition of non-standard. And while there are some turns and bloody noses, most of the time this strategy works generating wild blocks on defense and crazy scores and assists on offense
Sawyer Simmons (#20) - The “ideal” cutter. He’s tall, fast, and can catch the disc in the air and in the endzone. A great addition to our offense and has improved significantly over the course of the year. If only he knew how to throw upfield.
Hey guys, captain from TCNJ here. Obviously, we’re a smaller program who hadn’t reached regionals in a bit so I’d like to highlight some key members from this past season:
Josh Simpson (14) was the linchpin of our offensive and defensive operations. A very technical player, Simpson soundly took the role of leader of the squad, a role he used to bring the team up from the doldrums of previous seasons. Looking at our metrics, it was very clear he was the most valuable player this season.
Westfield product Josh Camacho (13) was the most accurate handler on the team, completing 94% of his passes. His trademark “Camacho Cut” routinely fooled his defender and his understanding of the game and open space gave the team a competitive advantage in every match they played.
The junior trio of Evan Sapirman (0), Brian Nigro (22), and Tyler Hallowell (2) each made strides through the season, emerging as key players. Evan set a team-record single-game record with 8 assists against Colgate, Brian lived up to his Nitro moniker by emerging as a key cutting threat, while Tyler developed into one of the team’s top handlers.
We wouldn’t be anywhere without our sideline, who I’m sure you heard plentiful this weekend. Our resounding TCNJ chant was the brainchild of Elliot Nyguen and Chris Goodwin and for their spark of innovation, we are very grateful. Their idea is one of the many reasons why our team’s mentality was altered from previous years.
We showed up to regionals with 15/22 of our players first-year players. That being said, each freshman and underclassman played a pivotal role last weekend. That speaks to the talent of The Core (Phil Aufiero (6), Macy Desmond (36), Raymond Wright (21), John Supple (4), Casey Conti(1) and Francis Aldridge (11)) and we look to seeing how they perform in the years to come.
Josh, Josh, and I (#5, Mets hat) are confident that we left the program in good hands and we can’t wait to see their eventual deep postseason run.