Braving their way through wildfires and unseasonably warm weather, the Oberlin Flying Horsecows on Nov. 17 and 18 made their way down to Knoxville, Tenn. for the tournament that each year signals an end to the Horsecow fall season, the University of Tennessee Ultimate Tournament. And, as in years past, UTUT gave the ’Cows much to ponder over the long winter months, some good and some un-good.
Oberlin came into the tourney with high expectations: not only their own, but those which the name Oberlin carries in the minds of others in college ultimate. Seeded first in their pool — as were Great Lakes Regional rivals Indiana, Michigan and Notre Dame — the ’Cows began their Saturday with a match against Tennessee school Carson Newman, which Oberlin had beaten resoundingly at UTUT in years past including in Carson Newman’s first-ever tournament trip, the 1999 edition of UTUT. But there was something else in the air this beautiful fall morning. No, not just soot, something more sinister. Acrid, but different acrid than smoke.
In a surprisingly short time, Oberlin found out what that smell was: defeat. Carson Newman, the fourth seed in the pool and 13th in the tourney, defeated the Horsecows by the embarrassing count of 13-8. The boys from Tennessee, with deep numbers, impressive athleticism and a devil-may-care attitude with regard to their throws, simply caught Oberlin off guard, and by the time the ’Cows adjusted with a modest post-halftime rally, it was already too late. Senior co-captain Rich Raz, sidelined with a broken collarbone, summed up Oberlin’s frustration as only he could; “Oh I wish I wish I hadn’t killed that fish!”
Next up for the Horsecows was the University of Virginia, a team some ’Cows still harbored a grudge against for a close loss nearly two years before. Those team members are obviously a little too dorky about their frisbee; heck, there probably weren’t more than one or two players on UVA who were even in that other game. But that didn’t stop some crusty old veterans from gettingt psyched up in the way they needed to right after dosing up on anti-inflammatories, putting on the Icy-Hot, lacing up one brace and snapping the Velcro on two others.
So it was a warm and ready OC team that came out against UVA, and they came out strong. Controlling play early, the ’Cows made a few key mistakes and Virginia got just lucky enough to keep it close at half, though Oberlin still held the lead. But Oberlin’s mistake-filled early play — even if it led to early leads — came back to haunt them, as UVA inched back and the time cap went on at 8-7, Oberlin, with the ’Cows pulling. Virginia scored to even it up, and after a hotly-contested game point, was able to put Oberlin away, 9-8. Seeded third in the pool and 12th in the tourney, UVA would go on to make the semifinals. Nice guys, though. Sophomore Bryan Wolliner wondered aloud after the game whether UVA would like to “hang out” later, with junior Aaron “Barbie” Webber wondering if Virginia liked to “listen” to some “music” or something.
And then there was Tennessee. Oberlin and UT have a long history of hotly contested matches, with a UTUT finals matchup (in ’98) won by UT, and two dramatic Oberlin comebacks — from 12-7 and 12-8 — in the collective memories of the two teams. So it was with some drama that the teams took the field this fine Saturday afternoon on light-industrial park fields outside Knoxville. Um, it turns out there really needn’t have been so much drama. In a spotty and at times encouraging game, the ’Cows folded, 13-5, to complete a rather disappointing oh-fer on their first serious day of college ultimate of the year. “I liked the clouds,” first-year Ted Olds commented. Sophomore teammate Noah Hoskins-Forsythe astutely pointed out that there weren’t any clouds, dumbass, the sky was clear blue all day.
But hang their heads they did not; they instead focused on the good play of the day, which came from many sources. The tandem of senior co-captain Nate Marsh and senior Jake “Lebowski” Lubarsky in their first serious tournament reunion in nearly a year provided at-times electrifying play; first-year Ben “Penny” Warrington played a ferocious long, and his first-year cohort Keith “BBC” Apfelbaum seemed to be permanently open. So the Horsecows turned their attention to immediately pressing matters: eating Mexican food (at Chez Guevarra — this reporter thought the name was funny, anyways) and seeing a movie (The One — never, EVER see this movie: never).
Oberlin finally put their real game faces on Sunday morning, and wasted no time plowing through Towson (formerly State) in a 13-8 victory that easily could have been larger. Senior Adam Marvel seemed caught off guard after catching the winning score, and burst into a rendition of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” that stopped every member of both squads dead in their tracks. Marvel quickly explained that he was singing the original, not that schmaltzy George Michael duet crap version, but was quickly and wisely silenced by several teammates.
The next game, the B-bracket semifinals, pitted the Horsecows against Emory, who are really a lot like Oberlin, see they even had this hippie with a drum drumming for them (I can’t make this stuff up). Yeah, a lot like Oberlin, except they’re in Atlanta and are Republicans. Resident team Naderite and social democrat sophomore Will Miller began spouting out a “corporate greed list” of people intimately associated with Emory, until it was pointed out that several on the list were also Oberlin benefactors and Miller shut his fool face.
The game, which would prove Oberlin’s final match of the tourney and last outdoor match until at least February, was at the same time both frustrating and encouraging. Featuring energized play and sideline involvement and extensive use of the veteran core of the team, it was a close contest throughout. The play was lent further excitement by a far-shorter-than-regulation field, which made it even easier for Emory’s 6’5” giant to bring down score after score. With hotly-contested points after nearly every pull, the game dragged on, as noted by the score 10-9, Emory. The boys from Atlanta were able to put in the score to take an 11-9 lead, and the time cap went on: game to 12. Despite valiant play from OC, Emory punched it in for the 12-9 victory, and sent Oberlin home with a 1-4 mark for the tourney.
All was not bad in Mudville, however. The Horsecows received impressive and encouraging play from every man on the roster, all two dozen of them — and the whole team wasn’t even there. So it is with heads held high and manes shining that the ’Cows begin their days in Jones Fieldhouse and Phillips Gym. Long days. Hard days. Discovering muscles they didn’t even know they had. Big muscles. Hard muscles.

Senior Jacob Kramer-Duffield is a member of the ultimate frisbee team.