Horsecows come on strong in spring opener

How now, Horsecow
What is that feat you do
Advancing to the finals
With toes and fingers blue
Now Arctic Vogue is over
The crappy club teams past
Spring season has begun
It's time to kick some...butt

The Flying Horsecows, Oberlin's Ultimate Frisbee team, advanced to the finals of their second straight tournament, albeit three months after the previous tourney. The 'Cows put together a 2-1 first day and won the first two games on the second day of Arctic Vogue in Cinncinnati before falling in the finals to club team Lemon. Lemon hosted the tournament, and boasted a team made up mostly of club team Pumphouse Five, who, in the fall, advanced to club regionals.

The weather, as it is wont to be with a tournament in early February, was a major factor on the first day. In fact, it was a major factor even before the first day, as severe snowstorms Friday night prevented a car carrying Horsecow first-year handlers Jake Lubarsky and Isaac "Inky" Deter-Wolf from making the trip. The normally three-and-a-half hour trip took most cars in the great caravan upwards of six hours, with many periods of total stoppage on the highway.

Snow covered the ground Saturday morning, and the air carried a fierce chill. Most of the 'Cows did not shed their parkas and winter gloves until gametime, which was delayed further by virtue of Denison's lateness. It didn't matter. The extra time gave the sun a chance to rise higher and begin to melt the layer of fine powder that coated the fields.

Denison caught Oberlin off guard on the first point of the first game of the day, and scored first to take the lead. But the 'Cows scored the next eight points to take the game to half, and scored all seven of the second-half points to cap their 15-0 run and take the game 15-1. On account of the absence of one team in Oberlin's bracket, all four teams played without byes on the first day, and played their games to 15.

By the time of the pull for the second game of the day, the snow was nearly gone from the fields proper, and as Oberlin prepared to take on club team Dr. Spectro, the sun shone its rays and raised the temperature to perhaps even above freezing.

As in the first game, the 'Cows used heavy rotation in order to give playing time to first-years and alternates in the Dr. Spectro game, and took the match 15-1, again. Of all the first-year stars, perhaps none shone as brightly as those of Adam Marvel, who saw major playing time throughout the weekend and pulled down throw after throw from above his opponents, often in the end zone, and Nate Marsh. Marsh, who joined the team following the fall season's final tournament after shining in Intramurals, saw major first-day playing time but fell lame to an injury and was unable to compete on Sunday.

Saturday's final match pitted the 'Cows against veteran club team Lemon, who as is noted earlier consisted mainly of club team Pumphouse Five. Loyal readers of this column will recall that Pumphouse Five defeated the Horsecows by a score of 13-2 in the last contest of the day at the first tournament of the fall season, Club Sectionals. This was not to be a replay of that contest.

The Horsecows came to play, and were intense throughout on both of the rotating O and D teams. Lemon, however, was able to capitalize on most of Oberlin's mistakes, infrequent though they were, and played virtually mistake-free with laser-precise hammers, putting the 'Cows down 15-7. The game was much closer than the final score indicated, as the second-day rematch would prove.

The 'Cows retired to their unusally spacious digs under the weight of proper nourishment, but with the promise of downright balmy 40-degree-plus weather on Sunday.

And balmy it was on the fine Sunday morning. The mercury quickly rose from the night's sub-freezing temps, which had left the fields a bizarre sort of gnarled permafrost.

"It was like running on frozen waves, except instead of water, the waves were made of mud," first-year Ben "Longhorns" Gleason. The waves, however, quickly rolled away into mud as the play progressed.

The first game of the day was the quarterfinal against club team Hucking Foosiers. The 'Cows took some time to iron out the early-morning kinks, but put the game away 13-10, thanks in large part to the heads-up play of several longs, who used their athleticism to maximum advantage in pulling down throw after throw. Especially large was the play of Todd "Twinkie" Daloz, Adam "Chunk" Zucker and Marvel. Marvel said of bringing down the disc early in the morning, "It was like trying to get control of a greased-up pig. You know, like in a greased-pig scramble. C'mon, I'm from Idaho."

The victory in the quarterfinals put the 'Cows into the semifinals, a place they had never before visited at Arctic Vogue. The opponent was the Z club rookie team, Dripping Snatch, which boasted among its stars OC grad and former Horsecow Matt "Brady" Meisenhelder.

No matter. Oberlin jumped out to a 2-0 lead, and had the look of destiny in their eyes. Though Snatch went on a 5-1 run to make the score 5-3 in their favor, Oberlin quickly turned the tides and went on a 5-0 run of their own to take the game to half at 8-5. Though Snatch nipped at the 'Cows' heels through the second half, Oberlin was in control, thanks to an all-around effort and constant layout defensive efforts but especially the marvelous hucking of senior handlers Scott "DQ" Houghtaling and Sandy "Space Monkey" Bilus. Houghtaling also ended up scoring the final two Oberlin points himself, as the Horsecows won 15-13 to advance to Arctic Vogue's final round fo the first time.

And who was waiting but the tournament host, Lemon. Lemon had survived a semifinal scare in a close game against Magnum, a combination of Michigan's team and Ann Arbor club players. Close, but no cigar, and so Lemon set up to play the Horsecows in the final. Lemon is a veteran team that relies not on athleticism but on its experience, throws and psychological warfare. Their throws had been precise the first day, and Lemon had also managed to rattle the cages of several 'Cows in winning 15-7. But the second day was different.

Though Lemon got out to an early lead, their age (and smoking, and drinking...) began to catch up with them, and the 'Cows kept it close, and took advantage of their athleticism, going long successfully and often. On a sour note, sophomore Nick "Lint Trap" Dent went down with an injury in the first half and did not return. Among the more memorable hucks were those pulled down by sophomore Kristian Whitsett over Lemon's top long and Daloz' skying of the tournament director, courtesy a Bilus huck. But perhaps the most memorable moment came in the second half when Dan "Podin" Feldman went high up in traffic over Lemon's infamous Turbo Tool, "Eric," and landed not on the ground, but full-body on top of the Tool.

Though the 'Cows stayed close throughout, and seemed poised to mount charges when down 13-10 and 15-12, they were never able to rally fully, finally going down 17-12. However, if you will note the simple mathematical progression of the three games against Pumphouse Five, it doth bode well for the future: from 13-1 to 15-7 to 17-12.

This was the second straight tournament in which the 'Cows have advanced to the finals, with a combined record of 9-3. The next tournament is the weekend of March 6 and 7, Frozen Over in Bloomington, IN, and against exclusively college teams. The Horsecows are thusfar undefeated against college teams in the spring (though Denison is so far the only victim). And they're not prepared to relinquish that status easily.