Strong performances by both the men and women's ultimate Frisbee teams at the Red Tide Clambake last weekend point to an exciting, competitive season for Bowdoin ultimate.
Chaos Theory, the women's team, finished 4-1 at the tournament, making it to the semifinals of bracket play on Sunday with a host of rookies on the field. The team went undefeated against three teams in pool play on Saturday, a school first in five years of attending the tournament.
"I have never seen us play as beautiful Frisbee as we did last weekend," said captain Liz Leon '12.
And Leon had a good view of the field—after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament on October 1, she is sidelined for the rest of the year. Before her injury, Leon was a handler—the playmaker on the field—tasked with throwing the disc to cutters.
Cheering from the sideline "is a different role than I usually play, but I'm excited because it'll be good for the future of the team and for other leaders to step up," she said.
"Liz handles for us, so that's the area in which we're hurting most," captain Sadie Nott '12 said in a phone interview with the Orient. "At this point, because of sheer numbers, there are fewer [handlers]. That will be the biggest area in which we'll have to work together."
Chaos Theory has been able to fill Leon's role, however, as shown by its victory over Portland club team Hammer Time, comprised of experienced women in their late 20s. Buffeted by wind and facing a four-point deficit, the girls rallied and won on the universe, or sudden-death, point. Captain Phoebe Aron '13 played a key role as handler in this game.
"[Phoebe] will play the entirety of many of these games," Nott said. "Her commitment and intensity really shone through in the Hammer Time game. Everyone did a really great job. In general, I was just so, so proud of the team."
After weeks of playing with a mixed lineup of veterans and rookies, Stoned Clown, the men's ultimate team, played its full A-side for the first time this season. The team left the tournament with a conclusive 14-3 victory over Harvard and a satisfying effort in a 12-15 loss to Red Tide, the host of Clambake.
"Red Tide is a club team where we rarely score even half the points they score, so we did really well," captain Bill Page '13 said in a phone interview with the Orient. "It was exciting because it was the first time that our A side played together this season, and was shocking how well we were actually playing and how we were in a really tight game with a team we've never been able to compete with before."
Both ultimate teams boast strong A sides, filled with experienced veterans who have the potential to carry the team to nationals. The teams have become more competitive in the New England region, inspiring more commitment to the sport for some.
"When I was a first year, we weren't quite as good, and practice wasn't quite as mandatory," Page said. "Lately, we've been having more serious practices and requiring that our A side is there on certain days. We want to put in the effort that's going to take us as far as possible. This year in particular, we have the potential to go very far in the spring season, at the national level."
Upperclassmen on Chaos Theory have seen the same improvement.
"We are becoming a really much more competitive team than we were last year," Nott said. "That's a decision that the veteran players made together last year—that we really wanted to take it to the next level. That has really helped us become this new entity within the New England Frisbee world."
The fall season has been successful for both teams, a promising indicator for the spring collegiate season.
"Nationals is something that, until last year, we've never been close to achieving," Nott said. "It's a huge possibility and something that we're very excited about and working towards."