Author: Larissa Saco
This year’s women’s Ultimate Frisbee team has had the most successful season Occidental has seen from them yet. The Tigers recently placed third in the President’s Day Qualifier tournament on Feb. 5-6, where more than 14 colleges competed. They won five out of six games and beat Cal State-Long Beach in their final game on Sunday, Feb. 13.
“It was a great tournament for us and we played really, really well,” captain Alex Wheeler (senior) said.
Caitlin Ruppel (sophomore) agreed. “It was a great morale booster for the team.”
This year’s roster boasts 25 players, with 15-18 players attending each tournament. This is a welcome change from last year, when the team struggled to get the required seven players on the field.
“We had five people who really wanted to play, and we had to beg two others to come with us to compete as a full team, but this year has been a lot better,” captain Nicole Copti (senior) said.
Last year’s roster was made up of mostly first-years and sophomores. As a result, this year the team has been able to take their game to a new level with returning, experienced players and more depth than ever before.
Practices began in the fall and have been continuing throughout the year.
“In the beginning it’s mostly about building up the team and developing the skills of new players,” Ruppel said.
The Tigers participated in their first tournament in Santa Barbara the weekend they returned to Occidental after winter break from Jan. 22-23. The team was seeded last ( 16) in the tournament, and finished ranked 12.
On Feb. 19-20, the team attended a skills clinic in San Diego, and the following weekend, Feb. 26-27, the girls will be participating in the Stanford Qualifier in Stevenson, CA, seated as the first team out of 16 teams total.
The team was accepted into the Women’s Centex Tournament in Austin, Texas taking place in the last weekend of Mar. 26-27. The team is trying to fundraise by selling cookies in the quad and organizing a disc golf tournament on campus and on a disc golf course in Pasadena.
After the tournament sectionals will take place in April, where Occidental will be competing against regional teams. If they are successful there, the team will hopefully move on to nationals.
Two unique features of playing Ultimate is that anyone can join, regardless of their experience level.
“I really only started playing Ultimate Frisbee at Oxy last year. I played in a few pick-up games at home prior to coming to Oxy, but that is all,” Wheeler said.
The new players are then introduced to the honor system, meaning there are no referees overseeing the game, with each team making their own calls and relying on each other’s honesty.
“The concept is known as the spirit of the game, and so all the calls are self-initiated, which attracts a generally good group of people,” Copti said.
This year’s goals have been to improve the team’s level of play and to compete in the division three nationals.
“So far we have greatly improved, and if we continue to practice hard and play well, I think we have a shot at qualifying,” Wheeler said.
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