Shuttle Bop’s Carter Nettell prepares to toss a Frisbee during the International Frisbee Tournament championship match against Whiskey Disc Sunday at the Hancock Driving Park. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)

HANCOCK — A year ago, Shottle Bop, one of two top Guts Frisbee teams in the Copper Country, was on top of the world coming into the 67th Annual International Frisbee Tournament in Hancock, only to place fifth in the tournament at the Hancock Driving Park.

For a year, they had to live with that failure. Sunday, they were able to do something about it, defeating Whiskey Disc in straight sets to reclaim the title, 21-13, 21-19.

“Last year, we had a bad show,” said Will Blau. “Fifth place is nothing like we can play. So coming back this year, we wanted to just make sure we were clicking on all cylinders, not making stupid errors, sticking with the lineup.

“We know that’s going to work, not making changes on every other throw. If they score, they’re going to score. Teams are going to catch. They’re in the finals for a reason. But we have to attack their weak links when we can, and it really showed. I mean, two games, I’m not saying it was an easy finals, but it was, it felt like we were in the driver’s seat pretty much.”

Winning the IFT at home in Hancock is the best feeling, according to Blau.

“Well, most importantly, being the home tournament especially means a lot, because the fans, they come here to see us play, and the Monte Carlo. So, especially when we’re in the finals, both of us in the top four teams, that makes a great turnout for the crowd, all the people driving along the way. We want to make a great atmosphere for the fans, and we know we can win.”

Shottle Bop’s lineup of Blau, Gabe Coppo, Stephen Dudenas, Alex Nettell, Carter Nettell and Kyle Suvanto, stayed mostly the same throughout the tournament, until Suvanto suffered an injury that kept him out of the lineup on Sunday.

“Kyle Suvanto had played the best weekend of Guts,” said tournament MVP Carter Nettell. “It was unfortunate that he had to sit out a little bit today, and in the championship. But, he played the best weekend of Guts Frisbee. He means just as much to the team as anybody else.”

The majority of Shottle Bop has played together for several years now, and that makes winning the IFT that much sweeter.

“I mean, the ups and downs are crazy,” Carter Nettell said. “From best friends outside of Frisbee to being our worst enemies in Frisbee, we are the reason why we lose tournaments. We’re the reason we take ourselves down, and being able to do it with them is so special. Playing with my uncle Will Blau, who’s been my best friend forever, Steve-O (Dudenas) tagging along, and getting to know him, has been amazing, and he’s my best friend. Adding Gabe Coppo from Calumet has been fantastic.”

Blau agreed with Nettell.

“All winter, we’re talking about how we’re going to win the tournaments,” Blau said. “We always seem to win Wisco (Wisconsin) often, tend to fade out during the IFT and Marquette. So, we know if we come strong to this IFT, that’s all. This is the one we want to win. If you’re going to win any tournament, it’s the IFT. For us to win it on our home field again, it’s just so sweet for us.

“Because we were watching teams, when we were younger, drinking from the cup, and we were thinking about doing that. Finally, we’re in our 20s and we’re able to do it. So, it’s just great.”

The finals were, by no means, easy. Whiskey Disc, a team made up of several players from the greater Marquette area, including Derek Stone, Trevor Bratonia, Tim Meyer, Rudy Tikkanen, Max Mraz, and Lucas Jensen, had knocked off last year’s winners, U.P. Hardwood, also from Marquette, which had been the first team from the Marquette area to the IFT since 1990, 21-18 in the Loser’s Bracket semifinal.

In the first game of the finals, Whiskey Disc jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and seemed to catch everything that Shottle Bop threw their way. That deficit grew to 8-2 before the first side switch. Slowly but surely, Carter Nettell’s throws started to find gaps, and then so did some from Dudenas. Blau then came up with a big pair of plays, first a catch off a tip, and then a subsequent throw that scored, and suddenly, the game was tied at 9-9.

Carter Nettell took over the game from there. He had four key throws, including the one that sealed the first game.

“I would say the wind was actually in my favor all weekend,” he said. “It made my disc do things it never does. And, I think that threw off some of the best defensive players in the tournament. I was able to score on people you don’t always score on. It was great.”

In the second game, Whiskey Disc again jumped out to a lead, this time 3-0. That was as far ahead as they got, however, as Carter Nettell continued to throw with purpose. He tied things at 3-3, and again at 6-6, and again at 11-11.

The two teams kept battling until the score was 15-13 in favor of Shottle Bop before a key catch by Tikkanen pulled his team back within one. Whiskey Disc tied things again at 15-15, but that was the last time the game was even, because Carter Nettell scored one more key throw, and Alex Nettell managed two key throws after that, including the one that sealed the second game and the match.

Shuttle Bop’s Gabe Coppo takes a moment to prepare before a toss during the International Frisbee Tournament championship match against Whiskey Disc Sunday at the Hancock Driving Park. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)