The spring season has arrived early for the men's ultimate team. Amid snow and wintry temperatures, the team will compete in its first tournament of the season this Saturday at the University of New Hampshire (UNH).
Playing against UNH, Boston University (BU) and Middlebury, the team is eager to see how it stacks up against competition after practicing indoors all winter.
"We're trying to gauge ourselves against other teams," said senior captain Jonathan Coravos. "We're trying to figure out what our strengths and weaknesses are. There are a bunch of teams at this tournament that are good representatives of the teams we want to beat this season. We will pay close attention to how we do against these teams."
Junior captain Dylan Kane added, "Middlebury was one of the top teams in the country last year, [and that match] should be a really exciting opportunity to test our skills. BU and UNH should also be great games. We're really looking forward to the outcome of this tournament."
By competing in a tournament that will give it five USA-Ultimate-sanctioned games this early in the season, the ultimate team hopes to build momentum early and improve its finish from the previous season. Last spring, after winning its first three games, the Bears faltered down the stretch and tied for a disappointing fifth place at New England Sectionals.
Perhaps more significant to its postseason aspirations, the team is excited by the formation of a separate D-III college conference.
In years past, the college postseason series consisted of all college teams in New Hampshire and Maine trying to qualify for Regionals. However, under the new structure, the team can advance from within its new conference that comprises small schools under 7,500 students in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. In postseason play, this conference will host its own tournament from which teams can advance to D-III Regionals, with opportunities to eventually compete in D-III Nationals.
"We definitely want to build upon what we did last spring, namely beating teams we should have beaten," said senior captain Adit Basheer. "We think we have a good chance at D-III Nationals, especially with the new structure. It has made things more competitive. We are also returning a very core group of juniors and seniors, which has helped us develop better chemistry."
This group of returning upperclassmen includes junior captain Adam Mortimer, Will Alexander '12 and Ben Johnson '11 as primary offensive disc handlers. Coravos, Basheer, Robby Bitting '11 and Taylor Tremble '12 would serve as their primary offensive targets at the cutter position.
On the defensive side of the disc, the team has Coravos, Kane, and Bill Page '13 as primary handlers, along with Nick Riker '12, Woody Mawhinney '12, Dan Peckham '12 and Basheer as cutters.
It should be noted that in ultimate, despite these assigned positions, players must be ready to play both offense and defense and fill multiple roles on the field.
"I think the team has really embraced a new mentality," said Basheer. "We've started the season earlier than normal since we've been conditioning and practicing at a high level earlier than we have [in the past]. We want to become competitive outside of just the region and New England."
Looking ahead on the schedule, the team will see further sanctioned competition during the New England Open from March 26-27, as well as at the Garden State Open from April 2-3. It will begin conference competition in mid-April.
"What we want to do differently is to meet our potential, and we want to have a season that reflects the talent we have on the team," said Coravos. "We had some good come-from-behind games last season, and I want to be able to do that more this season. It all depends on how we play together."