Club Corner

Halloween Turns Ultimate Playing Bugs into Cats

Ah, Halloween…the crazy costumes, the pumpkins, and the vague feeling that you’ve entered a whole new reality, less serious than the last. And then Frisbee, a game played only in competition if also for fun and in good spirits. Put Halloween and Frisbee together, and you get a rather psychotic tournament, more laid-back than some but with the usual challenges of playing four or five games in a day with little food or rest.
The Preying Manti, Oberlin’s women’s ultimate team, rolled into the parking lot of the tournament at OU, psych tape rattling the change on the dashboard and spilling out the windows. It was early in the morning on Nov. 3 but Frisbee players were swarming around already, warming up and fixing their costumes. To the sounds of “Seven,” the Manti donned ears, tails, black clothes and cleats and stormed the field as “unlucky” cats.
The first game of the day was against the OU alumni, who were dressed as nuns. It was a shame they didn’t believe in the bad luck the Mantis-cats imposed on them as they passed the nuns time and again. The aged alumni’s smart use of the dump and swing and clever poaching in the action zone proved to be too much for the Catbugs, and after many “unlucky” calls, OU alumni won 13-2.
So the Oberlin women made their way to a new field for their next game, only to find it studded with multiple holes and hills. Nevertheless, the Manti started out the next game against OSU, who were dressed in a mix of tacky lingerie, and they pounced on them like a ball of yarn. They kept the intensity throughout the game, swinging the field with zeal and even throwing a bit of zone. The bugs clinched the second game with a decisive 12-6 win.

The Manti’s hopes of moving to a field with fewer bumps for game number three against a Columbus club team were dashed, but the OSU game had given the Bugs momentum. Those poor stick figures hadn’t a chance, especially when their own teammate was screaming “unlucky” whenever they messed up. It’s not certain that she ever caught on to the irony. Among the many noteworthy plays were senior Katie Spiess’ speedy up-the-line cuts and solid throws which kept things going at a desirable winning pace. Rachel Borchardt’s incredible snags were essential throughout the game, and Molly Ptacek in her first time back from an ankle injury claimed a couple of points, too. Lyrica Hammann came off the field in obvious chagrin, as she had begun to feel bad about her repetitive scoring. She was quickly reassured that winning by a lot was okay too, and the Catbugs slinked off the field with another decisive victory.

As the fourth game of the day began, it was clear that Manticats would rather be sleeping in the sun. The University of Michigan’s aggressive playing and teamwork had given them trouble in the past, and with only two subs the Bugs just couldn’t pull it together quite enough. With sporadic offensive highlights, and entirely inconsistent defense, Michigan pulled ahead to win the game.
The Catbug’s games were done, but the day was still ended on a high note when they won the honor of having the best costume, and so they headed off the fields proudly pawing the prize — a bottle of tequila. With the Halloween tourney behind them, they have only one tournament left to look forward to before the end of their fall season — Pray For Sun, the Manti’s very own women’s tournament to take place tomorrow on North Fields. Though they’ll miss the fun of Halloween, the Preying Manti hope to host a great seven team tournament with intense game — and a “spirited” atmosphere nonetheless.

Josie Ferrel is a senior and Lyrica Hamman is a sophomore member of the women’s ultimate frisbee team.