Ultimate Frisbee is touted as a non-contact sport. The Flying Horsecows have challenged this notion over the past few months.
One player after another has fallen to broken bones and battered bodies, in attempting to field a team for the increasing number of tournaments the spring brings.
Over Spring Break, the Horsecows and the women's team, the Preying Manti, traveled from the cold and snowy wasteland of Ohio to the warm land of Wilmington, S.C., in order to be a part of the seventh annual College Easterns. In attendance were many of the best teams in college Ultimate, including East Carolina University, Carleton College, the University of Georgia and host University of North Carolina Wilmington. The 'Cows went into the tournament missing sophomore Jim Woodroffe, who dislocated his shoulder during practice, first-year Dave Smith, whose finger bones were still mending after a collision during an indoor tournament in February and senior Ben vonFischer, out due to ankle problems. The first pitted Oberlin against W.U.F.O., the Williams College team. The small army of players whom W.U.F.O. brought with them gave Oberlin a run, but in the end a solid offense was able to shred their way through the zone defense Williams threw up. The long contest was neck and neck to the point where the time cap, used to keep games from proceeding into the next allotted block of time, was called. Oberlin was able to put the final points up, winning 14-13.
Next came enough time to stock up on food at the all-day food tent Wilmington prepared for the tournament and to prepare for the Naval Academy's Demon Seamen. Although Oberlin had beaten Navy in nearly all of their previous contests, the Horsecows came out flat, and went point-for-point with Navy until half-time. "They're all in really really good shape," junior Tim Learmonth said. "After all, they are the armed forces. That doesn't mean we should be losing to them."
In the second half of play, the Flying equine-bovines brought up their play, taking care of Navy, and heading straight into a game with Georgia's Bulldogs. Georgia immediately had an upper hand as they brought out shiny new pretty white uniforms for the occasion, and furthered that advantage as they threw long and often, scoring on the Horsecows despite all defensive efforts put forth. The final score was 15-7, and Oberlin quickly pilfered more sandwiches and Fig Newtons to prepare for its final game of the first day against yet another small army of people in Yale's Superfly. The numerical advantage of fresh legs on the field, plus the seven-foot tall giant they had been playing long added up to a quick 7-0 run on the 'Cows.
This domination continued despite some huge defensive efforts which were able to get Oberlin bits and pieces of momentum. Superfly finished off the 'Cows 15-6, sending them back to their semi-spacious hotel accommodations at .500 for the day.
The next day the slightly sore and mostly sunburnt team took the field again looking to win its pool in single-elimination play. First up was Carnegie Mellon University's Mr. Yuk, another team the Horsecows have had previous experience against. Mr. Yuk was put down handily, which sent them up against Macalester College's Blue Monkey. Blue Monkey had gone 0-4 the day before, but had also just pounded SUNY Binghamton into the ground in the previous game. Blue Monkey dispatched the Horsecows with a minimum of fuss sending everyone their separate way for the next week or so.
While most of the team headed north, eight souls were searching for continued warmth and the hope of free beach housing somewhere in the Carolinas. The reason behind this was a tournament the following weekend at Clemson University.
The eight players faced off against host school Clemson first, and were tromped. They vented their frustration by tromping UNC-Asheville, and concluded the up-and-down day by being tromped in their third game by North Carolina State.
After the tromp-fest, the remaining 'Cows decided to head back to Oberlin on Sunday morning, forsaking the second day's worth of games to sleep before classes on Monday.
Last weekend, Penn State University held its annual Spring Phling tournament. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania decided to make sure that any natural phenomenon normally associated with spring was absent from the tournament. A lack of cars and new injuries, including a knee injury to Learmonth, meant that only 10 players were able to attend the first day, and only seven were able to play the second day. The team spent the night before the first day of games in the basement of a friend of the women's team. "It was nice to hear the rats scuttling across the floor," first-year Sandy Bilus said. "The ground water seeping into my sleeping bag was nice too."
The first day of play found gray skies and cold air awaiting. "This is Ohio weather, guys," said junior captain Adam Fagin. "We've got an advantage here." Middlebury's Ultimate Pranksters were first on the 'Cows agenda. The Pranksters stayed with Oberlin point for point for nearly the whole game, and pulled away as the time cap was called. With the game ending at 15, and Middlebury winning 13-8, the Horsecows pulled their play together, tying the game at 14-14. Middlebury had Oberlin with their backs to the goal line but a diving block from first-year Matt Sewell stopped their momentum. Sewell then took advantage of his defenseman by taking off on a full field sprint and pulling down a huck from junior Matt Meisenhelder for the win.
Next came the young and highly spirited Bucknell College Mudsharks. Even though they had extensive knowledge of the Star Wars Trilogy and a tin of Spam for an inspirational mascot, their lack of many basic skills made them easy prey, with a final score of 15-7.
Unfortunately for the Horsecows the lack of subs and constant play took its toll. Sophomore Nachie Castro and junior Mike Dwyer both had to sit out with knee injuries after the game with Mudsharks.
The eight remaining players faced off against Anodyne, a club team from the Washington, D.C., area. Anodyne's experience and Oberlin's depleted ranks combined for a 15-3 loss. The final game of the day was against another club team, Diablo, from Philadelphia. Diablo presented many problems for the 'Cows. One was the lack of spirit they showed on the field. Since Ultimate has no referees and all the calls are made by the players on the field, the idea of the Spirit of the Game, an honor code of sorts by which all players are expected to regulate themselves, is one at the heart of the sport. Many players on Diablo were lacking Spirit, arguing relentlessly about calls made by Oberlin.
A more pressing problem was that Sewell injured his knee midway through the game, bringing the Horsecows down to seven functioning players. Diablo and Oberlin fought back and forth for many points, but eventually Diablo's quick movement upfield proved too much, and Oberlin fell, 15-7.
Three players had to return to Oberlin that night, due to the lack of car space, and the team faced the prospect of healing fast or not playing the next day. The final seven came back the next morning.
This weekend, University of Toledo's Disc-Is are coming to play the Horsecows on Sunday in preparation for next weekend's sectional tournament. The top three teams from sectionals go to the regional tournament, this year being held at Purdue University. Teams in the Central Region, spanning from Colorado to Ohio, will converge and the top three will move on to the College Nationals, held in Minneapolis.
This weekend will also be the time for all the injured players to test out their progress in hopes of fielding a full team for the first time during the spring season.
Copyright © 1996, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 124, Number 20; April 12, 1996
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