Editor in Chief- Grace LaTourelle
This past weekend, the Gustavus Ultimate Frisbee club team traveled to Decorah, Iowa to play in the Luther Invite tournament at Luther College. Playing in a total of six games over Saturday and Sunday, they won two and lost four.
While most teams boasted 12-15 players, the Gustavus team originally brought eight players, with seven on the field and one subbing. The team began on Saturday by playing both Luther groups, Lufda, the A team, and Pound, the B team, winning 13-5 and 13-0 respectively. Following the two wins, the team was forced to play with only seven players, losing their sub. Their final game on Saturday, the Gusties played the Ugly Ducklings, the University of Minnesota’s B team, losing 3-13.
For their first game on Sunday, the team played the University of Minnesota’s C team, the Rubber Ducklings, and lost 8-13. One member from the Gustavus team sustained injuries from the previous game, bringing the total number of players down to six for the rest of the tournament.
Their second game on Sunday was against Udderburn, the University of Wisconsin, Platteville and the opposing team volunteered a couple of their own players to help the Gusties on the field. They lost the game 12-13. Their final game of the tournament was against the Luther Alumni team, the Wild Dogs, which also lended a couple players and the teams decided to play the game with seven players on the field each, instead of the standard 13. They lost the game 3-7.
“We were down to 6 players and everyone was exhausted,” Sophomore Noah Gehler commented. “All said and done, our team was sore and tired but we all had a great time at the tournament.”
Vice President of the Ultimate Frisbee Club and Sophomore Sam Paulsen expressed his pride in the performance of the team during the tournament.
“We played very well as a team…I wish we had done a better job being patient with our throws but overall very proud of us. We also did an excellent job breaking down the zone and swinging the frisbee,” Paulsen commented.
Gehler explained that communication is an essential part of the game.
“There were times we could have communicated better when it came to helping out teammates by switching onto someone else mid point or letting them know someone is open when on offense,” Gehler said. “Communicating these things would help get everyone on the same page so we can be more productive as a team when playing a point.”
While the latter games did not go their way, President of the Ultimate Frisbee club and Junior, Will Van Elswyk affirmed that it was encouraging to get some initial wins under their belt.
“I’ve seen the team improve substantially at our basic mechanics, most notably throwing and catching consistency, which helped us gain the upper hand this weekend, especially when the disc was often slick from recent rainfall,” Van Elswyk said.
The Gustavus Ultimate Frisbee team began their fall season during the first week of the semester, with three practices per week. Van Elswyk explained that when he began playing during his freshman year, the team had around five regular players. This year, with some work amongst himself and the captains, they were able to bring the roster up to over fourteen players.
In the coming weeks, the Ultimate Frisbee team will scrimmage against the St. Thomas and Bethel teams. To improve in the future, Van Elswyk said that the team will continue to work more on “offensive strategy and play design” so that they can more effectively move the disc down the field.
Gehler explained that before coming to Gustavus, many of the players in the club had not played ultimate frisbee before. Thus, regardless of previous experience, students interested in ultimate frisbee are still able to join the team this semester.
“I’d love to see Ultimate Frisbee grow at Gustavus, and want to encourage anyone who’s interested to attend a practice sometime this year! We’re a co-ed team with absolutely zero experience required, and practice is a perfect way to get some exercise and learn a fascinating new sport!” Van Elswyk said.