First and foremost, a huge thanks goes out to Imli, our Tournament Director, and Michelle Ng for helping create this tournament and making it all possible. And another huge thanks to all our sponsors for the weekend. Taking place from February 19th to the 21st,  our 3-day home tournament, Presidents' Day Invitational, was threatened by a forecast of heavy rain and rained-out on-campus fields. This forced us to relocate the first day of Pres Day Invite to the backup fields in San Bernardino. Seeded 19th overall, the Psychos started off pool play with a game against the Michigan Flywheels. Unable to stop Michigan's deep plays, the Psychos lost 5-13 to the 6th seed.

After taking a short bye, our next pool play opponent was Chaos. After losing to Western Washington on universe point last year at Pres Day Invite, we were seeking redemption. As Chaos took halftime, they were able to widen their lead by two points at 8-6. After making key plays on defense, UCSD rallied on offense tying the game at 8. Chaos was then able to score the next point after soft gap, which meant the game would end with the first team to reach a score of 10. Under pressure and on game point, the Psychos came back with a quick score on offense, tying the game 9-9. On universe point, we started on defense, but forced a key turnover and with a quick offensive transition, a huck from Agave and a downfield score from Blitz in the end-zone, secured the win, ending the game 10-9. After forcing key turnovers on defense and rallying on offense while down, we broke seed.

With the weather in San Bernardino fairly sunny, our next game was against the 3rd seeded Wisconsin Bella Donnas. After trading points in the beginning of the game, Wisconsin was able to take half with a strong lead. As it began to rain, the Psychos opted for an effective huck offense, which allowed us to score several points. But unfortunately, the more experienced Wisconsin team took the win with a 12-5 score.

As the rain died down, we had one more bye before facing our last opponent for the day, UCLA. While warming up, the wind started to pick up and in addition to the rain, it began to hail. Regardless, the games went on and as it poured, each point became longer and longer. Unable to grasp a firm grip on the disc, there were constant turnovers from both teams. Eventually, BLU was able to pull out a decisive 11-3 victory in the rain.

The next day, games were held back on campus and split between the RIMAC, Warren, and Muir fields. Playing in a more familiar sunny weather, our first game was against the USC Hellions. After costly turnovers in the red zone, the Hellions were able to capitalize on our mistakes and took half. The Psychos played a better second half, but a successful zone defense wasn't enough as we were unable to convert in the end-zone. Although we rallied in the second half, the Hellions reached cap with an 8-13 win.

The next game was against Ottawa, a team from Canada who we haven't played against in years. Again, defense played extremely well, but turns on offense hurt us as Ottawa took the game, 6-13. The last game of the day was against Humboldt State, a team that had to qualify for the tournament. After the Hags took a three point lead, our effective zone defense, led by Joule, shut down their main handlers - forcing incomplete hucks and turnovers on our end-zone. As the game progressed, we took a 10-8 lead and looked to close out the game by reaching cap at 12, but the Hags rallied, refusing to give up and scored 4 points in a row. They closed out the game, 10-12.

A win against Humboldt would have put us in contention for the 13th place bracket, but with the loss, we were forced to play for 17th place. With only two games on the third and final day of Pres Day, our first game was against UC Davis. The Psychos had played the Pleiades during Santa Barbara Invite earlier this year and lost in a heartbreaking game on universe point. Fueled by redemption, the Psychos set the tempo on offense, scoring on breaks and converting points on the red zone. Although Davis was able to score a callahan on the first point, our zone defense shut down their offense, taking away the deep option and forcing turns. Our offense improved from the previous days having significantly fewer turnovers in the end zone. With a pumped up sideline we continued our momentum throughout the second half, and although the Pleiades threatened to tie the game, we closed out the game with a decisive 13-10 win.

Carrying the momentum from a win against Davis, we played Colorado State, determined to win. With a windier field this game, the Psychos capitalized on the Hell's Belles drops and successfully converted points in the red zone. After dominating the first half 7-1, the Psychos continued to score quick breaks on offense and forced several turnovers with a dominant zone defense. Colorado State continued to fight, scoring 6 more points in the second half, but wasn't enough for a San Diego team, determined to end the tournament with a win. The Psychos took 17th place with a 13-7 win, ending Pres Day Invite by breaking seed.

Official tournament photos can be found here

More photos can be found here

After an unexpected bid drop, UC San Diego's self-hosted tournament, Pres Day Qualifiers was left with 15 teams. Held on February 5-6th, Pres Day Quals is a tournament for Berserk, but UCSD's A-team also participated to fill the void. However, the Psychos only played in Saturday's pool play as to give teams a fair chance at qualifying during elimination play on Sunday.

It was a great weekend for Berserk's first home tournament. In the first game Saturday morning, Berserk encountered a tough clam defense by Humboldt State, the team that eventually went on to win the Qualifier. Undeterred by Humboldt's intense defense, Berserk played a strong zone which continued to improve throughout the rest of the day in games against Claremont and Redlands.

Sunday saw Berserk playing both of Cal's B teams, winning the last game of the weekend against Cal B-X on Sunday afternoon. Berserk's defense really shined this weekend as new players literally stepped up to get important run-through d's and did a great job setting the hardest marks the team had seen all season. Especially memorable were Slush's layout d's, beautiful hucks from all of our handlers, and watching our rookies' field sense and decision-making get better and better. The whole team is ready to work hard and continue growing at practice, and Berserk is looking forward to its next tournament later this month.

The Psychos' first opponent on Saturday was Stanford B. UCSD got to a slow start, giving Pterafly multiple opportunities to tie the game. However, the Psychos quick-start offense and consistent defense gave UCSD a 10-8 win.

Seeking redemption after a previous loss against CSU Long Beach No Regrets during Santa Barbara Invite, and an unsettling slow performance during the previous game, the Psychos rallied against No Regrets pulling a decisive 11-1 win. UCSD's efficient box plus one defense shut down No Regret's captain and key player, completely shutting down their offense and preventing a huck game.

UC San Diego then went on to sweep pool play with an 11-7 win against the UC Irvine Grass Ninjas, a team the Psychos have constantly faced. With San Diego's infamous cup, a highly effective zone defense, the Psychos were able to stop Irvine's offense, immobilizing the deep game. This victory was, however, not without cost as one of the returning handlers was injured during a point and unable to return. After an extremely successful tournament for the Psychos, UC San Diego watched as Humboldt State upset #2 Claremont, and picked up a 15-10 win against Cal Poly SLO in the finals, earning a free bid to Pres Day Invite.