Jon Ambrose
Staff Writer
“Ultimate!” The player yells, throwing the frisbee as far as he can. Most college students have started an Ultimate Frisbee game this way, but most haven’t played with the intensity Eastern’s team has. This team is no joke; they mean business.
Sending two teams to a tournament at Houghton College in New York, Eastern placed second and third out of 10 teams.
First-year Redmond Brubaker was extremely pleased with the results. “Outside of one competitor, the host, Houghton, we dominated play,” he said.
The teams went through round robin play and were then put in brackets accordingly. Brubaker’s team won two games in round robin, and lost one to Houghton by about eight points.
Unfortunately, they ran into Houghton’s team again in the semifinals, and only lost by three. In the championship, Eastern’s other team came within two points of defeating the host.
This year up to 30 people showed up to practice, but senior Ultimate leader Dan Boyle said commitment varied from week to week. Those who showed up to play would be rewarded by receiving the most playing time in matches set up throughout the year.
The Ultimate team typically plays teams like Messiah, Franklin and Marshall, Drexel and Villanova. However, Boyle said he’s played against schools as big as Maryland and Georgia Tech.
The competition can get pretty intense too. First-year James Davis Rideout points out that it gets pretty heated in practice as well as games. “We get pretty into it,” Rideout said. ‘There’s scratches, full out tackling and, oh yes, quite often blood.”
“While it’s competitive, anyone can play. It’ll teach you a lot about teamwork, and it’s just a great atmosphere to compete in,” Brubaker said. Boyle encourages anyone with interest, male or female, to come and play. For those interested, the email address is easternultimate@gmail.com.
With daylight in short supply, the team will be moving practices to the gym. The team is also hosting a tournament that supports YACHT on Dec. 1 that offers everyone a chance to come and see what the Ultimate Frisbee team is all about.