Ultimate competes in sectionals

Emma Carmichael Assistant Sports Editor

The Vassar ultimate frisbee teams were recently rewarded for their hard work, with the women’s teams qualifying for regionals. The men’s team is hoping for a similar finish from their rescheduled finals game.

This past weekend, the women’s “A” squad decisively defeated Columbia University in the Metro New York Women’s Sectionals’ 3/4 bracket, earning the third seed in the tournament and the right to travel to Regionals along with the top two finishers. The team is currently ranked 44th in the nation out of approximately 200 teams, and only lost 11-6 to the 15th-ranked New York University (NYU) squad in Sectionals. Co-captain Judy Jarvis ’07 said that her team “stepped up and [was] never fazed or lost focus in the course of the tournament,” and gave NYU “no easy points.”

“The [team’s] skill is increasing exponentially,” continued Jarvis, “and I wouldn't be surprised if the team took down NYU next year.”

The squad, nicknamed “The Boxing Nuns” by its players, certainly has improved over the past few years, despite having to fight through a number of injuries to key players this season.

Nuns co-captain Lilian Ho ’07 called this year the “team’s strongest season, despite two of our top players tearing their ACLs very early in the season...The women’s team has grown significantly in the past four years since its beginning.”

The program has grown to include a “B” team, called “G-Love,” which had its own victories during the squads’ spring break trip to the annual High Tide Tournament in Savannah, Ga., where it won the B pool, and made it to the semifinals.

The “A” team’s record is now 17-3, and their success will give them momentum for the rest of the season. Members of the team will travel to Edinboro, Pa. the weekend of May 5-6 and battle for a trip to Nationals.

The men’s team is anticipating its match-up against Princeton University in the sectional finals. Should Vassar defeat the Tigers, they will receive an automatic bid to regionals; if they lose, the team will still have the opportunity to battle its way out of the losers’ bracket and earn a third-place finish. The men’s “A” squad finished third in the High Tide Tournament with a 6-2 record, while the “B” team won its pool outright.

The men’s “A” team co-captain Jerald Isseks ’07 also mentioned the recent progress from which Vassar’s ultimate program has benefited.

“Vassar ultimate is gaining rapidly in so many aspects,” said Isseks. “For instance, men’s “A” was seeded first out of all 15 teams in our section this past weekend, above the likes of bigger schools like Princeton, Hofstra, NYU, and Rutgers. We’re gaining respect from teams across the region.”

In light of their recent success and growth, this respect is well deserved. Both teams will attempt to continue this trend as they compete against the other top teams in the region this weekend.