History: 2017 – 2018 Season
Roster:
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| Head Coach: Nick Kaczmarek* denotes team captain Assistant Coach: Colin Conner, Marcus Ranii-Dropcho |
Awards:
Callahan Finalist: Dylan Best (5th Year/Grad)
Ultiworld D-I Player Of The Year Second Runner-Up: Michael Ing (Junior)
Ultiworld Breakout Player of the Year First Runner-Up: Noah Robinson (Junior)
Ultiworld Coach of the Year: Nick Kaczmarek
Ultiworld 1st Team All-American: Michael Ing (Junior)
Ultiworld 2nd Team All-American: Dylan Best (5th Year/Grad)
Ohio Valley Player of the Year: Michael Ing (Junior)
Ohio Valley 1st Team All-Region: Michael Ing (Junior)
Ohio Valley 1st Team All-Region: Dylan Best (5th Year/Grad)
Ohio Valley 1st Team All-Region: Jonah Wisch (5th Year/Grad)
Ohio Valley 2nd Team All-Region: Leo Warren (Junior)
Ohio Valley All-Freshman: Will Hoffenkamp
Ohio Valley All-Freshman: Harry McNamara
Ohio Valley All-Freshman: Marcel Oliart
Ohio Valley All-Freshman: Myles Cooper
Ohio Valley All-Freshman: Kevin Tsui
Tournaments:
2017 Steel City Showdown: Pittsburgh, PA – October 13th – 15th, 2017
2017 Classic City Classic : Athens, GA – December 2nd – 3rd, 2017
Bubble Bowl: Pittsburgh, PA – January 20th – 21st, 2018
2018 Queen City Tune Up: Charlotte, North Carolina – February 3rd – 4th, 2018
Alumni Game: Pitt Sports Dome: Pittsburgh, PA – February 18th, 2018
2018 Stanford Invite : Stevinson, CA – March 3rd – 4th, 2018
2018 Eastern’s: Myrtle Beach, SC – March 31st – April 1st, 2018
West Penn D-I College Men’s CC: University Park, PA – April 14th – 15th, 2018
Ohio Valley D-I College Men’s Regionals 2018: Columbus, OH – April 28th – 29th, 2018
D-I College Championships: Milwaukee, WI – May 25th – 28th, 2018
Pittsburgh-B
Pittsburgh-B Roster:
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| Head Coach: Michael Van Ness* denotes team captain Assistant Coach: Kalene Morozumi, Sean Tuxill |
Pittsburgh-B Tournaments:
2017 Steel City Showdown: Pittsburgh, PA – October 13th – 15th, 2017
Bubble Bowl: Pittsburgh, PA – January 20th – 21st, 2018
Warm Up: A Florida Affair: Tampa, Florida – February 16th – 18th, 2018
CWRUL Memorial 2018: Columbus, OH – March 24th – 25th, 2018
Ohio Valley Dev Conferences: State College, Pa – April 14th – 15th, 2018
Ohio Valley D-I College Men’s Regionals 2018: Columbus, OH – April 28th – 29th, 2018
2017 Steel City Showdown: Pittsburgh, PA – October 13th – 15th, 2017
Steel City Showdown champions.
Team A:
Showcase Game (0-1)
Showcase Game: Carnegie Mellon 15 – Pittsburgh 13
Team Hamburgers (X):
Pool Play (3-0)
Pittsburgh-Hamburgers (X) 15 – West Virginia 0
Championship Bracket (3-0)
Quarterfinal: Pittsburgh-Hamburgers (X) 15 – Shippensburg 2
Team Hot Dogs (Y):
Pool Play (3-0)
Pittsburgh-Hot Dogs (Y) 15 – SUNY-Buffalo 5
Championship Bracket (1-1)
Quarterfinal: Pittsburgh-Hot Dogs (Y) 15 – Princeton 7
3rd Place Bracket (1-0)
Final: Pittsburgh-Hot Dogs (Y) 15 – Virginia Tech 6
2017 Classic City Classic : Athens, GA – December 2nd – 3rd, 2017
9th Place Finish On The Weekend.
Pool Play (3-2)
Emory 11 – Pittsburgh 8
9th Place Bracket (3-0)
Quarterfinal: Pittsburgh 15 – Brown 13
Bubble Bowl: Pittsburgh, PA – January 20th – 21st, 2018
Pitt A hosts their own indoor tournament and goes 6-0
Pool Play (4-0)
Pittsburgh 13 – Ohio State 4
Championship Bracket (2-0)
Semifinal: Pittsburgh 13 – Ohio State 4
2018 Queen City Tune Up: Charlotte, North Carolina – February 3rd – 4th, 2018
Pitt takes on North Carolina for the first time in 8 years.
Pool Play (3-2)
Maryland 10 – Pittsburgh 9
9th Place Bracket (1-0)
Quarterfinal: Pittsburgh 6 – Tufts 4
Alumni Game: Pitt Sports Dome: Pittsburgh, PA – February 18th, 2018
2017 Alumni Game.
A fun and competitive game to end a great weekend of events. The old men edging out the young boys at the very end. Look out for alumni weekend information in the near future: Planning on having the event on homecoming weekend. Hail to Pitt!
Alumni Game (0-1)
Other: Pitt Alumni 15 – Pittsburgh 13
2018 Stanford Invite : Stevinson, CA – March 3rd – 4th, 2018
Cali Baby!!
En Sabah Nur traveled out west, flying business casual as usual, to San Francisco for this year’s Stanford Invite, a tournament that the team won last year. Due to multiple storms in the Bay Area in the days leading up to the tournament, the tournament site was moved from the Fremont Sports Complex, a short drive from San Francisco, to the backup fields in Stevinson, CA, a full two hours out of the way. The backup fields famously hosted the 2014 Stanford Invite in 30-40 MPH crosswinds. Luckily, this year’s tournament featured much tamer weather than 30-40 MPH crosswinds, but, like Queen City, the weather did not cooperate as well as the team would have liked.
Pool Play (2-1)
Pittsburgh 13 – Brigham Young 9 recap
Championship Bracket (1-1)
Prequarterfinal: Pittsburgh 13 – Colorado 10 recap
5th Place Bracket (0-1)
Semifinal: Brown 12 – Pittsburgh 10
7th Place Bracket (1-0)
Final: Pittsburgh 11 – Cal Poly-SLO 8
Pool Play: Brigham Young
We faced BYU in its first game on a cold, sunny Saturday morning. BYU has garnered a lot of hype due to consistent play with some statement wins, however they are unable to play on Sundays because of religious reasons. Nonetheless, we played them as they would any other opponent. We broke early to take the lead, only to have BYU come back and break for half to put the game back on serve. Out of half, the teams traded points to 9-9 (games were to 13 all weekend). BYU played a lot of zone to stagnate our O-line cutters and force a lot of passes, but the O-line remained composed. Then the break train came in hot. En Sabah Nur’s starting D-line turned up the pressure and forced BYU into a lot of bad huck looks as the game entered crunch time. On the final four points, we broke four times in a row to win the game 13-9.
Pool Play: California
In the second game of the day, we faced Cal UGMO. In a somewhat sloppy first half for both teams, with 5 total breaks, we broke for half when, for the second year in a row, it started hailing and play was delayed for 30 minutes. After the hail and lightning delay, Pitt came out hot in the second half to take the victory 13-9.
Pool Play: North Carolina
In the final game of pool play, Pitt faced a tough matchup against North Carolina Darkside. In intermittent rain and increasing wind speeds, the O-line struggled against UNC’s tight defensive pressure and we fell into a 3-8 deficit after getting broken out of half. We were able to grind out breaks in the second half, but consistent offense from UNC earned them the win 8-13.
Prequarterfinal: Colorado
Due to the weather delays, prequarters were moved to Sunday morning, when we faced Colorado Mamabird in a rematch of last year’s final. With an emphasis on staying up and keeping energy high for a full game, Pitt played its most complete game of the weekend to win 13-10. Highlights included fifth-year Dillon Tranquillo going full Jumpman and skying a pack of three taller Colorado players for a break.
Quarterfinal: Washington
In quarterfinals, Pitt played Washington in a hotly contested game with a lot of zone thrown as the wind increased. Both lines struggled on offense, with the D-line failing to convert and the O-line stagnating against Washington’s zone. In the end, Washington broke consecutively out of half to take the lead and went on to win 10-13.
2018 Eastern’s: Myrtle Beach, SC – March 31st – April 1st, 2018
Eastern’s 3rd Place Finish.
Pool Play (3-1)
Pittsburgh 15 – Central Florida 8 recap
Championship Bracket (1-1)
Quarterfinal: Pittsburgh 13 – North Carolina 12 recap
3rd Place Bracket (1-0)
Final: Pittsburgh 11 – Auburn 7 recap
Pool Play: Central Florida
We started off hot in our first game of the day against UCF. After trading holds for the first few points, we broke three times in a row to go into half up 8-5. From there we rolled through the rattled UCF offense, winning the game convincingly, 15-10 after a 0 break game from the O-line.
Pool Play: Carleton College
The second game of the day was against the 1-seed in our pool, Carleton. After giving up a few early breaks, En Sabah Nur held their composure to earn a couple breaks back. Carleton managed to break again, making the halftime score 5-8 bad guys. The second half was more of the same, with the final score being 10-15. Although the team took the loss to the defending National Champions, the coaching staff is confident that we can give them a run for their money if we’re to meet again in the postseason.
Pool Play: North Carolina-Wilmington
Our biggest game of the day was against an (at the time) undefeated UNC-Wilmington team. In a matchup that always seems to lead to an exciting finish, this game was no different. After giving up a few early breaks, the team was facing a 3-7 deficit. The boys’ confidence never wavered, and after a huge break lead by D-line stud Dan Goldstein, the defense began to roll. The score going into half was back on serve, 7-8 Wilmington. The 2nd half was tight the whole way. Wilmington had several opportunities to break the En Sabah Nur O-line, but big plays by key players kept us in the game, including a point block Callahan by Jonah Wisch. A late-game break by Goldy turned the tides in our favor, making the score 11-10. From then on, both teams held, and The Program won another classic game on double game point, 13-12.
Pool Play: California-Santa Barbara
Our biggest game of the day was against an (at the time) undefeated UNC-Wilmington team. In a matchup that always seems to lead to an exciting finish, this game was no different. After giving up a few early breaks, the team was facing a 3-7 deficit. The boys’ confidence never wavered, and after a huge break lead by D-line stud Dan Goldstein, the defense began to roll. The score going into half was back on serve, 7-8 Wilmington. The 2nd half was tight the whole way. Wilmington had several opportunities to break the En Sabah Nur O-line, but big plays by key players kept us in the game, including a point block Callahan by Jonah Wisch. A late-game break by Goldy turned the tides in our favor, making the score 11-10. From then on, both teams held, and The Program won another classic game on double game point, 13-12.
Quarterfinal: North Carolina
The team ended the day with a 3-1 record, earning themselves the 2-seed in the pool and a spot in the quarterfinals against the #1 overall seed in UNC. The boys didn’t seem worried at all and came out firing, getting a 4-1 lead after some high-pressure D seemed to rattle UNC. Huge performances by players on both lines lead to a Pittsburgh lead at half, 8-5. The second half was cause of much stress, as UNC clawed their way back into the game, leading to another double game point. The coaching staff put out a kill line for the final point of the game, and they worked it down the field with ease, eventually punching in the goal to take the win. Performances by veterans Jonah Wisch and Kyle Hartley, as well as rookie Marcel Oliart, were key to the team’s big win over the undefeated Darkside team.
Semifinal: Massachusetts
Unfortunately, the team struggled to ride their wave of success into their semifinal matchup against UMass. After going down early, the team managed to bring the game back to 14-14, game to 16. UMass quickly held after a man was left open, and then punch in the break thereafter to win the game 14-16
Final: Auburn
Pitt went on to beat a fiery Auburn team to take 3rd place in the tournament.
West Penn D-I College Men’s CC: University Park, PA – April 14th – 15th, 2018
Pitt Ultimate once again are the kings of the section
Pool Play (6-0)
Pittsburgh 13 – West Virginia 2
Championship Bracket (1-0)
Final: Pittsburgh 15 – Carnegie Mellon 10 recap
Pool Play: Carnegie Mellon
Against CMU, we came out hot and held a comfortable lead into half, riding it out to a 13-9 win. We played well but knew we needed to keep improving as we expected to see them again in the finals.
Pool Play: Penn State
On Sunday, the temperatures dipped down to the low 40s with frequent gusts of wind. Despite the weather change, the boys took care of business against Penn State.
Final: Carnegie Mellon
En Sabah Nur met CMU once again. We came out hot to take a 7-1 lead, but staggered and came into half at 8-5. We struggled with the wind and CMU clawed back to make it 10-9. To close out the game, the D-line, and Leo Warren especially, went to work and we rode the break train to win the game and section 15-10.
Ohio Valley D-I College Men’s Regionals 2018: Columbus, OH – April 28th – 29th, 2018
THE 2018 PITT ULTIMATE MEN’S TEAM IS GOING TO NATIONALS
Congratulations to the all the Ohio Valley teams on great seasons!
We have more work ahead. #onward
ESN takes the region once again.
Pool Play (3-0)
Pittsburgh 14 – Dayton 5
Championship Bracket (3-0)
Quarterfinal: Pittsburgh 15 – Cincinnati 5
Pool Play: Pittsburgh-B
Pitt B traded hold for teh majority of the first half. Coming out of half in both games, we turned it up and strung off breaks to close out the day. Jonah was a rock in the backfield all day. He constantly got open upline with his signature box out move for key goals and also turned it up on D to shut down handlers and even scored a layout Callahan.
Semifinal: Villanova
In semis, we faced Villanova, who have been trending up since former En Sabah Nur player, “Jersey” Dan Wickens took the reigns as head coach. Early in the game, we struggled to minimize their star player’s impact, and they kept converting to make it 6-6. After a bad bid into Jonah and some on-field drama, we used that fire to do score eight in a row. Matt Hanna and Goldy were huge for the D-line as they figured out Nova’s offense and clamped their top guys. We closed the game out with the O-line’s first point of the second half to win 15-7.
Final: Carnegie Mellon
In finals, we faced CMU yet again for a ticket to the Big Dance in Milwaukee. In our fourth meeting of the season, CMU brought the competition to us. They broke on the first point, but it was the only time they would lead all game. Kyle, Marcel, and Goldy put up huge performances for the squad in the final. Goldy had an unreal upline D where contorted his body around their guy to make the play. CMU kept it close all the way to cap, but The Program remained in control to win the Ohio Valley and claim our hard earned bid to Nationals.
D-I College Championships: Milwaukee, WI – May 25th – 28th, 2018
The “Baddest Men Alive” finish the Pitt 2018 Season with their strongest performance yet! Peaking at just the right time to make a run deep into the tournament and finishing 2nd in the nation!
Sporting our new hardware and custom Sabah Jerseys!
Pool Play (3-1)
Pittsburgh 15 – Florida State 9
Championship Bracket (2-1)
Quarterfinal: Pittsburgh 15 – Wisconsin 8 recap
Semifinal: Carleton College
In the biggest surprise at the men’s College Championships, Pittsburgh En Sabah Nur advanced to the final on Sunday night with a 15-11 win over top-seeded Carleton. The upset ends Carleton’s chance for a title repeat and sends the upstart Pitt team into a championship showdown with North Carolina Darkside.
The first point was emblematic of the entire contest, but, at the time, it was just Pitt finding a flow against the CUT defense. Mike Ing boxed out Tim Schoch and went up for the 1-0 hold. The defense was tight, but Pitt’s best were just too good.
“Mike Ing deservedly gets all of the eyeballs,” said Carleton coach Phil Bowen. “But clearly they have more than just Mike.”
CUT scored an early break, but the Pitt response made the lead short lived. For most of the first half, the game was a tight contest that featured freshman playing the biggest game of their young careers. CUT appeared to have that facet of the game won when freshman Harry Wolff Landau showed a burst of speed to outrun Pitt rookie Harry McNamara for the 5-5 goal.
The goal felt quintessentially Carleton. Dillon Lanier had his fourth assist of their first five scores, and a speedy freshman shone bright in the high pressure moment. Those who know what CUT has been able to do this season felt that the run might be coming for the favorites. But Pitt’s mentality kept them focused on the task at hand, and they weren’t about to shy away from a fight.
“[Assistant coach] Marcus Ranii-Dropcho had an incredible gameplan,” said Pitt head coach Nick Kaczmarek. “He knew what he wanted to do the whole way.”
With the 6-5 lead, Ing took over the game. A few Carleton turns offered Pitt an opportunity, and he took advantage with a big sky for the 7-5 lead. It was the first time in the game that Pitt was up a break. Pitt had failed to capitalize on break chances earlier in the game, lacking offensive firepower. But with Ing in the game, the offense felt different, and it was.
Carleton had two chances to get the break back in the first half, both inside the red zone. First, Joe White threw a scoober into the ground. Then, Alex Olson led Eric Taylor way too much on a backhand. Pittsburgh held for the 8-6 halftime lead on a walkoff lefty backhand from Jonah Wisch.
The missed opportunities brought the first sense of panic to the CUT faithful. Some offensive miscues that didn’t carry much weight earlier in the week were now being exploited by an explosive team with superior intensity.
Out of half, CUT was just as efficient as they were in the early goings. Henry Fisher got on the board with a goal, if only to show how relatively quiet he’d been up to that point. Despite the cleaner looks, they still needed a break to get back into it.
Enter Noah Robinson, whose second half performance slammed the door shut on any potential Pitt offensive miscues. A sky over two CUT defenders for the 10-8 lead was one of his four second half goals. Only a moment later, Dillon Tranquillo registered a huge layout block that set up a quick Pitt break. The energy of Carleton had been sapped and it would never come back.
Robinson, standing out as the best deep cutter in the game, dominated the final moments, with a big sky in between Joe White and Eric Taylor for the 14-10 lead. Carleton forced him under on the final point in hopes of keeping him out of the end zone, but Robinson’s smooth huck to Matt Hanna sealed the 15-11 upset.
“Noah has had some injury bugs, and missing that time is missed time to develop confidence in yourself as a player,” Kaczmarek said. “We knew this is what he could be. I think it’s a huge testament to his own work physically, and even more so his mental toughness.”
Pitt has come a long way since their early season struggles. A win over UNC at Easterns gave them belief, and they pushed a new identity all the way to a national final.
“I’ve told them multiple times, I can’t put my finger on what you guys are quite talking about,” Kaczmarek said. “They switch mentalities and try on different identities. This tournament it’s ‘the baddest man alive’ and it’s working for them.”
Written by Preston Thompson for
Ultiworld
Pittsburgh-B Tournaments
2017 Steel City Showdown: Pittsburgh, PA – October 13th – 15th, 2017
It was sunny. The team finished 11th and another season begins….
Pool Play (1-2)
Maryland 15 – Pittsburgh-B 4
Championship Bracket (0-1)
Prequarterfinal: Shippensburg 15 – Pittsburgh-B 12
9th Place Bracket (1-1)
Quarterfinal: Pittsburgh-B 15 – Towson 14
11th Place Bracket (1-0)
Final: Pittsburgh-B 15 – West Virginia 6
Bubble Bowl: Pittsburgh, PA – January 20th – 21st, 2018
Pitt B go 0-5 but have close games against Michigan and Case Western Reserve
Pool Play (0-4)
Case Western Reserve 10 – Pittsburgh-B 8
Championship Bracket (0-1)
Quarterfinal: Michigan 13 – Pittsburgh-B 7
Warm Up: A Florida Affair: Tampa, Florida – February 16th – 18th, 2018
The Pitt B Bad Boys return to Tampa and come out with a second place finish.
Pool Play (5-1)
Pittsburgh-B 13 – Central Florida B 6
Championship Bracket (2-1)
Quarterfinal: Pittsburgh-B 15 – Florida Atlantic 6
Pool Play: Northwestern B
Bagel.
CWRUL Memorial 2018: Columbus, OH – March 24th – 25th, 2018
The Pitt B Sad Boys Travel to Columbus for some good BBQ and some better games.
Pool Play (0-3)
Kentucky 13 – Pittsburgh-B 9
Championship Bracket (1-1)
Prequarterfinal: Pittsburgh-B 15 – Cedarville 9
5th Place Bracket (1-1)
Semifinal: Pittsburgh-B 8 – Rochester 7
Ohio Valley Dev Conferences: State College, Pa – April 14th – 15th, 2018
Pitt-B sweeps the competition, going 6-0, to claim it’s 4th Straight bid to Ohio Valley D1 Regionals!
Pool Play (6-0)
Pittsburgh-B 13 – Pennsylvania B 2
Ohio Valley D-I College Men’s Regionals 2018: Columbus, OH – April 28th – 29th, 2018
Thank you to all our supporters for following along this season!
We finished 15th in a very competitive Ohio Valley this year!
Look for the 2018-2019 Bad/Sad Boys to make another deep regional run!
#SadBoys #BadBoys
Pool Play (0-3)
Case Western Reserve 12 – Pittsburgh-B 9
13th Place Bracket (1-1)
Semifinal: Pennsylvania 13 – Pittsburgh-B 9