Nicaraguan Ultimate Club League: Round Robin # 1 Granada, Nicaragua

Presented by:

Managua (Chasen Brokaw/Breaking Borders) -- The Nicaraguan Ultimate Club League is composed of 3 round robins, one each in Granada, Tipitapa, and Managua. It includes Torneo Cocibolca as well in January 2020. Teams gain points by participating and winning games. After these 4 events points will be added up to determine rankings and all will be decided at the Club Championships in March 2020.

This past weekend Las Hormigas Locas (Crazy Ants) hosted the first round robin of the Ultimate Club League in Granada, Nicaragua. The other two participating teams arrived in Granada at 1:30 to see how they would match up against the hosts.

Round 1: Tornados vs Tipitapa Warriors

During the first round the Tornados made a bold strategic move when they decided they would prefer coke to water as the rehydrating liquid of choice for the league. It seemed like their strategy was paying off as they started the game on a 6-0 run. The Warriors responded with their first point on a bold forehand pass from their fearless leader, David Lewis to make it 6-1. The Warriors are a brand new team that has been practicing for about 3 months. They resemble what the Tornados looked like when they first started 3 years ago. They are a young, fun, and laid back group that has already made great advances individually and as a team. Since their inception the Tornados have won the last 2 Club Championship tournaments and been the team to beat in Nicaragua. They seem like the favorites for this inaugural Nicaraguan Ultimate Club League, but only time will tell. Between excellent work from Andy Genet, Exequiel Rocha, and Byron Rodriguez the Tornados finished the game handedly 13-2.

Round 2: Tornados vs Hormigas Locas

The Tornados must have felt comfortable after their first victory because the Hormigas Locas started the game quick with two excellent passes from Kevin Medina to go up 2-0. The Tornados pushed back to make it 2-2 and after trading points took half 7-5. The Hormigas Locas (Crazy Ants) are a team that likes to move the disc around quick and then look for a deep throw to score. They have a very athletic team composed of many speedsters such as Ricky Porta, Roberto Garay, and Chris Allodi, or better known as Abuelo (Grandpa) by the rest of the team. They have a solid group of handlers as well between Kevin Medina, Abner Lopez, and Juan Lopez Ponce. The rest of the team is made up of a good balance of athletic skill players and some players who talk faster than they run. In the second half the teams exchanged points, but the Tornados were able to take advantage of a couple costly mistakes by the Hormigas Locas. Captain Exequiel Rocha wasted no time ending the game with 4 assists for a total of 7 on the game. After an intense game the Tornados win 13-9.

Round 3: Hormigas Locas vs Tipitapa Warriors

Even though the Warriors got off to a rough start, it seemed like both teams came into this game better prepared after having played the Tornados. Abuelo (Chris Allodi) started the game off hot throwing assists to three different players. Some of the newest Hormigas Locas made an impact in the first half of this game; Jose with 2 goals and Norland and Maria Cruz both with one goal. Hormigas Locas took the first half 7-1. The second half was all about the Warriors as they started to find a rhythm and gain confidence in their abilities. Captain David Lewis threw 5 scores to 4 different players, the most exciting being a 45 yard pass to Pilar Cruz Martinez after a multi turnover point by both teams. The Warriors gained confidence and moved the disc well in the second half, but eventually fell to the Hormigas Locas 13-5.

Results

Every round robin and every game in this league counts. By participating in each round robin teams receive 1 point. For every win they receive 2 points. For losses they receive nothing. The team with the most points at the end of the league will be ranked in 1st place for the Club Championships allowing them to play against the 4th ranked team in the semifinals.