2016 U.S. Open - Men's Division Preview

2016’s U.S. Open Championships hits this weekend, July 1-4, hosted at University of Rhode Island in Kingston. Men’s teams are gathering from various international ultimate communities to compete in this first leg of the 2016 Triple Crown Tour, and they’re all striving for a strong start.



Teams are just now coming away from the 2016 World Ultimate and Guts Championships in London experience and will be looking for some more intense action in Rhode Island. This year the men’s division is made up of primarily American team competitors, though a few international teams will be making quite a trek to play in the country’s smallest state.

Pool A

Revolver

(1) Ironside

(3) Patrol

(6) Guerrilla

(7) Turbine

(10) Urutau

(12)

Leading Pool A with the number one seed (and defending their 2015 U.S. Open title) is San Francisco Revolver. Last year, Revolver held out against GOAT to claim a victory in the 2015 finals. With big names like Cassidy Rasmussen and Beau Kittredge, as well as San Francisco newcomer George Stubbs, Revolver is absolutely a team to watch. Be especially sure to check out Revolver’s games against the next top-seeded teams, Boston Ironside (the three seed) and Philadelphia Patrol (the six seed). Ironside will be drawing attention particularly from players familiar with local New England area ultimate communities. Expect lots of great plays from athletes like Tyler Chan, Will Neff, Jay Clark, Jeff Graham and Josh Markette. After qualifying for their first National Championships last year, Patrol is looking to repeat the feat in 2016 with a solid start this weekend.



Guerilla (8) is a team full of "rookies" hailing from Oakland, Calif. The team is comprised of a set of players making the transition from Boost FC to Guerrilla, and while the roster is entirely new, the players are not. Look for incredible catches from athletes like Sean Ham. After stealing third place at the Southeast Regional Championships in 2015, Turbine (9) travels from North Carolina for their entrance into international ultimate. Pool A’s final spot goes to Urutau Ultimate Club (12) from Cajicá, Colombia. Urutau has seen several years of Colombian National Championships, including a first-place victory in 2009. Their international experience in 2011, 2014 and 2015 should make them dangerous competition for American teams.

Pool B

Sockeye

(2) Machine

(4) Madison Club

(5) Florida United

(8) Ki.e

(9) General Strike

(11)

Pool B’s foundation is Seattle Sockeye (2). For the last 20 years, Sockeye has been a major influence on the competitive club scene, contending at the National Championships nearly every year since 1995 and winning titles in 2004, 2006 and 2007. This year, with all their returners and the addition of players like 2016 Callahan Award winner Trent Dillon on their roster, Sockeye will be one of the most thrilling teams to watch. Chicago Machine (4) has competed in the past 10 National Championships, their best finish being third place last year. Machine’s match ups, against especially Sockeye and Madison Club on Saturday, shouldn’t be missed.



Madison Club (5) treks across the eastern half of the country from Wisconsin, their roster full of players like Brian Hart who will bring some fiery defensive layouts this weekend. Florida United (7) joins Pool B as well, bringing plenty of Southeast Region talent into the mix. The final two teams of the pool round out our international competitors. Ki.e is a Colombian team from Medellín whose experience as another one of Colombia’s top national club teams will also make them a threatening presence to the vastly American lineup. With participation at the Colombian National Championships, as well as several international tournaments in 2009, 2011 and 2012, Ki.e look to come out swinging in their first game against Machine on Friday. General Strike (11) from Manitoba, Canada has proved their mettle, overcoming great distance and speculation in the past. Competing at Canadian Nationals each year, as well as shattering seed (33 places at the 2014 WUCC in Italy), is clear evidence of a team that shouldn’t be messed with.

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