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The editors of The Review would like to add the following disclaimer to this page: should you be unable to understand fully what anyone is talking about, don't worry-those ultimate players and fencers are undeniably the weird ones of the bunch.

To aid in your understanding: from what we've been able to gather, Idaho was the site of this year's Ultimate frisbee national tourney, 'Digglechupe' roughly translates to 'Pastore' and a sabeur is someone who fences with a saber.

We think.

Preying Manti O-R-G-Y Cheer Captures Nation's Attention

Now that we have your attention...Oberlin Women's Ultimate Frisbee had a phenomenal season. We found the year rewarding for many reasons: frisbee, alcohol, friends, alcohol, frisbee, friends, but most importantly friends, alcohol and frisbee.

No matter where we went we were victorious in spirit, both on and off the field. Taking third at Sectionals, we had high hopes for success at Regionals. As always, we would have to overcome fatigue, school stress, injuries, and weather for two solid days. We'd prepared for it-first or second place would send us to Nationals in Idaho. After months upon months of screaming "who's the ho-Idaho!" and "who loves potatoes?" during sprints, and purposely eating 'taters of all sorts at dinner, it all came down to one weekend of tough competition amongst the hottest women in the Midwest.

We chomped the heads off of three teams the first day, but left U of I free to go on to first place. The second day, we sent our friends on Notre Dame off to beat our rivals, Michigan, putting them in second and third, respectively. We were hungry, so we chomped off the heads of the next team, to take fourth, and decided that Stevenson has darn good potatoes anyhow.

We won't miss Idaho, but the seniors will be remembered with a mushy fondness that will go down in Oberlin Women's Ultimate history. All our rookies will hear about the year that Shawn (Wood) Margles and Abigail (Muffin) Sullivan captained, making a women's team whose unity was recognized throughout the galaxy. But the photos of Shawn laying out will never compare with the memory of her intensity on the field or her support of the team outside of practice. She and Abby helped the team make a huge step for women's sports by encouraging and demonstrating a combination of skill and raw unbridled athleticism.

After playing through a broken wrist (on her throwing arm), Abby returned to break the force with her money forehand and hit teams where it hurt the most. We envy the club teams that get them next.

Two more seniors, Shana (Shamu) Ageloff and Rebecca (Waffle) Lincoln, put the D's in dedication. Shana's crayon breaking experiences brought new levels of excitement to the team. A triathlete and varsity swimmer, Shana never failed to run the crap out of us in scrimmages, but we thanked her later when we dedicated entire endzones to her, commemorating her ridiculous ability to score. Rebecca Lincoln, whose name must be said in its entirety for full effect, utilized her versatility to carry out the calmest, most calculated plays - cementing her role as a leader of the Manti Family. Also known as the hottest woman on campus, Rebecca Lincoln singed the grass with her cuts, rescued the disc from the smoky air, and released it high to score, time and again.

It's not over for the Preying Manti, though. With Sarah (Mickey) McKeever for a captain and more than half of the returning veterans studying ultimate undercover over the summer, we'll be back, strong and fearless in the fall.

-Members of The Preying Manti

This year was a heartening year for the Flying Horsecows, Oberlin men's Ultimate frisbee team. Despite being constantly injured, the team showed flashes of brilliance and what is to come next year. We suffered torn hamstrings, bruised hip flexors, traumatized bursas, torn ACLs and bad ankles and toes to break into the game to go to nationals. We defeated several teams in the top echelon of our region. Sadly, Notre Dame beat us twice at our regional tournament and ousted us from contention at Nationals. We wish them and Michigan (the regional champions) the best of luck.

We are losing Michael Wallerstein, Eric LeBlanc and Todd Daloz to graduation and the real world. Paul Pitcher is our only returning senior, and he will have to make it past a stringent eligibility board as well as shoulder surgery to play in the coming year. On the other hand, sophomore Adam Marvel and junior Kristian Whitsett were absent this year and will return to dominate the opposition's deep game next year. Their absence was a harsh blow to morale. Add junior deep dominator Adam Zucker, and the rest of the region breaks out into a cold sweat.

The captains next year will be veteran mainstays Jamie Merchant and Nicholas Dent. Speed demons "Fortu" Nate Marsh and Isaac Inky-Deter also plan to strike fear into the hearts of opposing offenses in the coming season. Benjamin Longhorns, Mateo Digglechupe, and Jakob Kaizer will be running the offensive show... we expect big seasons from you, boys.

In short, we aren't losing many people. The rest of the region damn well better watch out, because we are hungry, angry and some other word that ends in gry. This was a growth year. The next two years are earmarked for domination.

-Junior Nicholas Dent is a member of the Flying Horsecows

The Flaming Blades rounded out their very successful year with several members qualifying for Nationals at the Sectional Championships. Senior captain Jay Gates, first-years Desiree Herrera and Michael Soong, and senior Catie Bull earned the right to compete individually at Division I, II and III Nationals in Texas in July. Four squads from the Fencing Club had already qualified for Division I Team Nationals, also held in July.

Herrera clinched her slot by taking third in women's sabre. She not only beat a sabreur who was formerly a national champion during the pool bouts, but she came from behind to win her Direct Elimination bout to clinch the bronze. Herrera also qualified in épée and foil.

Bull's sixth place finish in women's épée qualified her for Division II Nationals. Gates was seeded high enough after the pools to get byes to the third round of Direct Eliminations. He ended up placing ninth, good enough to qualify for Division II competition. Gates also qualified for Division III men's foil. Soong earned the right to compete in both Division III men's épée and foil.

Despite having a large budget crunch, the Blades have had a fabulous year. In addition to some outstanding fencing by individual members of the club, four teams qualified for Division I Nationals, three of them for the second year in a row. The club roster expanded this year to over twenty, much of that growth due to a strong group of freshman who came out of the fall ExCo class.

OCFC is entirely self-coached, and club members' victories and impressively good form, as well as their positive attitude, panache and scrappiness, earned them continued kudos and respect from the Northern Ohio fencing community. The Blades are not a varsity team; they compete in US Fencing Association tournaments against opponents who range in age from 9 to 65, and in years of experience from 6 months to over 20 years. This year, the Blades traveled to an average of two tournaments a month in Cleveland, Columbus and Michigan.

The Blades will be saying goodbye to four seniors this year. Gates won two tournaments this year, renewing his "D" rating in foil and earning a "D" in épée as well. Gates also took up sabre on a whim and repeatedly placed in competitions, often beating serious sabreurs with more experience. Gates' leadership and coaching over his five years as a Flaming Blade, as well as his impressively large collection of 80s music, will be remembered and missed.

Bull took third in her first-ever épée competition in October, and went onto make épée her primary weapon. In January she won the Women's Épée competition in Columbus. Due to a shoulder injury Bull tried fencing left-handed and discovered that she is ambidextrous when it comes to swords. She now competes right-handed in épée and left-handed in foil. Bull was also responsible for researching and writing "The History of Oberlin Fencing 1929-1999" (online at www.oberlin.edu/~fencing). Both Bull and Gates will be competing at Nationals as members of team squads as well as individually.

Josiah Wagener fenced outstandingly during Team Qualifiers, nearly beating a highly rated area coach. Wagener will be a member of the team squads at Nationals. His steady, positive attitude was a great asset during practice and the incredibly intricate dragon he embroidered on his team patch continues to amaze.

Another senior whose passion and dedication have been vital to the club's success was armorer Ann Chatham. Chatham kept the club in swords and equipment, always answering fencers' cries of "Ann! It broke!" with a smile and quick and thorough repairs.

Captain Stefan Kamola will lead the Blades next year. With a core group of experienced members and a strong new crop of fencers the club expects to continue its successful streak next year.

-Senior Catie Bull is a member of the Flaming Blades as well as the team's secretary

And elsewhere, the men's rugby team completed their second undefeated season in a row this past spring. Currently, no other school in the area has a competition-ready team, but senior Luke Richter is optimistic about the team's chances of actually playing a game within the next two to three years.