“Ultimate Frisbee” or “Frisbee Football” is a sport played by nearly one million people in the U.S. During the spring term, teams from across the country compete for prestige in tournaments for this generally unrecognized sport. Since the beginning of college ultimate, RPI has been a very active participant at the sectional, regional, and national levels.
With little recognition, ultimate has become a popular sport to college students because it combines the running of soccer with the tactics of football and basketball. Contrary to stereotypes of relaxed hippies, high level ultimate players are required to be open as receivers and make smart throws as quarterback.
Ultimate may be unfamiliar to some of the student body, but both the women’s and men’s teams generally practice three to four times a week from September to April, excluding tournaments. This year was the second year that RPI was able to compete at sectionals with a women’s team.
This past weekend Trudge, the RPI men’s ultimate team, competed in the Upstate New York Sectionals, part of the Ultimate Players Association’s national college series, with over 300 teams. In preparation for sectionals, RPI played and placed highly in several tournaments. With a record of 16-5, RPI earned the fourth seed in the tournament field of 22. As the No. 1 seed in its pool, RPI was scheduled to play Bard College, SUNY Buffalo, Syracuse University, Colgate University, and Hamilton College. RPI quickly dispatched Bard, using the entire roster to score points quickly with a 9-2 victory. Vindicating an early knockout by SUNY-B last year, RPI played intensely and controlled Buffalo with a stifling zone resulting in a 13-6 final score. In their last game before a bye, RPI again applied a hard zone on Syracuse to jump to a 5-0 lead. The two teams traded points until RPI topped the D1 school, 12-5. Having already secured the No. 1 seed in the pool, RPI used a combination of zone and man defense to topple Colgate 11-7 in an ECAC matchup. The final game of the day was forfeited by Hamilton College, and RPI went to the hotel to rest with a 5-0 record. In the high winds of the first day, RPI’s offense successfully moved the disc around the field before junior Eric Twomey and senior Sean Frick would find junior Andrew MacEwan and sophomore Jon Heslin in the endzone.
After pool play eight teams were left competing for four spots in the regional tournament. To start the second day RPI would play perennial powerhouse Cornell University. Starting a little flat, RPI went down 3-5 before regrouping to a 6-7 half. In the second half both defenses played very physically, causing multiple turnovers each point. RPI’s downfield defenders were able to generate turnovers, well complemented by junior Chris Weyers’s jedi-like mark which held Cornell throwers at bay. Shortly after halftime the game was ended early at 7-10 with RPI on the short end of the stick.
While many teams were surprised by RPI’s strong performance against Cornell, the next challengers, St. Lawrence University, another ECAC opponent, had a different agenda. RPI quickly fell behind 5-0 to the Dark Horse team from north of the Adirondacks. Using a clever zone and an opportunistic offense, St. Lawrence used RPI turnovers to score. At half RPI found themselves in 3-7 hole. After half RPI regained a sense of urgency, and quickly used SLU miscues to lead to points. Battling back from a 3-8 deficit RPI went on an 8-1 run to win the game 11-9. This impressive come-from-behind win showed RPI’s competitiveness, with everyone playing incredibly tight defense despite the disparaging deficit.
With a 1-1 start to Sunday, only one more win was needed for RPI to make the regional tournament, but Queens-Kingston stood in their way, a team that qualified for nationals three years ago. RPI would need to muster intensity and discipline to control a well groomed Queens offense. Coming off their dramatic win RPI did just that, scoring on several easy opportunities created by tight defense. Going into half RPI was able to enjoy a comfortable 7-4 lead after some spectacular scores made by captains junior Steve Calebrese and graduate student Zac Hilton. With wise substitutions and using superior athleticism RPI was able to secure a spot in the regional tournament with a 13-9 victory.
After three hard-fought games RPI celebrated their first regional bid in over five years with a boom box and friends from other teams. To end the day RPI played one last game against Cornell to determine regional seeding. This game pushed the very limits of RPI’s roster with three of the starting seven players sitting due to injuries. Despite these injuries, many of the younger players brought their game to a new level against Cornell. Of particular note were sophomore Nico Sayavedra and freshman Chetti Persichilli who were able to generate turnovers on defense and gain crucial offensive yards. However, at the end of the game these plays were unable to stop the very efficient Cornell offense which pulled out an 11-13 victory.
Almost as notable as its Frisbee prowess was RPI’s undeniable sportsmanship. Their lively and colorful cheers left parents blushing and girls swooning on the sidelines while boosting morale to keep the RPI machine powering forward even when things looked grim. Even during the final game of the day against the renowned Cornell Buds, with injuries and exhaustion abounding, RPI maintained a non-stop dance party of unparalleled performance.
Now that the dust has settled on Upstate New York Sectionals, RPI finds itself in the middle of a highly contested regional tournament for the first time in five years. Nationally, RPI’s team is ranked seventh among Division III schools and is No. 82 overall—comparable to several RPI varsity sports. Despite a record of 23-7 the team still feels a need to prove itself to the ultimate and RPI communities. Both the men’s and women’s teams are open to new recruits. They hold practices at 8 pm on Anderson Field.
