Women’s Ultimate Takes on Chicago Supersnatch

This weekend, 17 people died in Michigan due to an unexpectedly strong snowstorm that came as a surprise to all. While most people huddled for shelter in their humble abodes, 13 Preying Manti (and 14 Flying Horsecalves, the men’s ultimate frisbee “B” team) braved foot-deep snow and freezing temperatures in Holland, Michigan to compete at the Hope College Dope Cabbage ultimate frisbee tournament for the glory of the pinnacle of all trophies, the elusive Wooden Clog.
It was the first tournament of the spring season for the Manti, and expectations were high. As junior Stacey “co-ed naked” Gerson said, “if we don’t win, I’m gonna shit myself.” To engage the Manti Spirit, the women circle-danced in the parking lot to Destiny Child’s “Jumpin’ Jumpin’”. Thus inspired, the team was ready to face its first opponent, Purdue — but Fate had different plans.
Intimidated by the overwhelming cold and the daunting number of the Manti circle, Purdue’s women quickly seceded the tournament to play co-ed with their men. Mildly disappointed, the women looked to the action on the men’s field to quench their thirst for the disc before their next game. A few rousing cheers later, it was time to play University of Chicago’s Supersnatch. Summing up the general feelings of the Manti, junior Molly “P-tack” Ptacek said, “I’m always down for playing with Supersnatch!”
Due to a low attendance from the University of Chicago players, the game was played with six women on each team rather than seven. Still pumped, the Manti came out strong against U. of Chicago and quickly racked up a substantial lead. However, since no one bothered to keep track of points, the official score is still a matter of debate. Senior handlers Katie “Speedy” Spiess and Rachel “Flourish” Borchardt quickly established control of the field with supreme frisbee skills, while senior Claire “Rocket” Sturm ensured rapid turnovers with her awesome defensive talents (though this might have been partially due to her continuous screams of “Freak a few beans!!”). The Manti were assisted by multiple fumbles by Supersnatch, including one collision that left two of their players dazed. At the end of the game, our best guess at the score was 11-7. One down, two to go.
Cocky from a decisive victory, Oberlin was ready to face Hope College, a team only in its second year of play. In the past, the Manti had never had trouble dishing out shockingly high scores to the Hope Anchors. In the beginning, this game was no different than the rest. With a fast two points under their belt, the Manti thought that the game was in the bag. They were so wrong.
Before the Manti knew what was happening, the tall Hope women had scored not one, not two, but seven points, and it was half-time. Head shaking, captain junior Molly “G-spot” Guidette said, “This is not our team. We can play better than this,” which was greeted with general consent.
The second half started with a tactical error by Hope: the decision to play zone defense on our heroes, the Preying Manti, known throughout the region for their upwind skills. Fifteen minutes and many Hopeless cries later, the Manti had fought their way against the wind to score in the end zone. The Anchors did not repeat their mistake. Elated, the Manti went on to even up the score, led by junior Claire “Northside Pretty Princess Star-Star” Jahns, who tore up the field in her official debut as handler. Gerson also played a pivotal role in the turning of the tide with a key defensive interception, defending as though the future state of her undergarments depended on it. Keeping the flow consistent down the field, swinging the disc across the field, and utilizing cuts from the back of the stack, the Manti were ready to take the game.
As seven stood on the field awaiting the next point, they once again invoked images of the trophy. Circling for a quick huddle, each player looked into the others’ eyes and whispered “clog.” The Manti knew that the winners of this game would be the tournament’s victors, the owners of the holy footwear. They had no choice but to win. Their drive was also spurred by more practical matters, as sophomore Christina “Teener Beaner” Bosch exclaimed, “If I don’t take that clog home with me, my parents will never speak to me again.”
When the snow settled on that infamous field, the score was 11-9 in favor of the Manti. The women showed their love for the Anchors with a particularly spirited conga line and cheer to brighten up Hope College’s day after the upsetting defeat.
Ready to take on another team, the Manti began to look around for Michigan State, their next opponents. However, they were nowhere to be seen. In fact, rumor had it that they had gone back to their hotels. Obviously, wussiness was a problem for other teams. So the Manti were forced to wait to play until the next morning.
At 7 a.m. on Sunday, the snow had still not ceased to fall, and Borchardt noted that the snow had reached the level of the swings in the hotel playground. Fortunately, the Manti had more noble intentions than playground tomfoolery that day. After using the hotel hairdryers to dry out the last of their thoroughly damp clothes, they were ready for more action.
Michigan State was nowhere to be found (presumably due to aforementioned difficulties), so the Manti were scheduled to play their last game of the unexpectedly short tournament against Calvin College. After a grueling first point, the Manti took off flying. Senior Kelli “Kell’s Bells” Gaughan, after bidding for a disc in one direction, jumped backwards over her fallen defense for another bid, much to Gaughan’s chagrin and the sideline’s great amusement.
The Manti fought hard against a taller team, running through the thick snow, as Rachel “Thing One” Auerbach quipped, “like gazelles with knee problems.” The Manti knew that they had this shortened 45-minute game wrapped up when the Calvin captain was overheard saying to her team, “We haven’t learned this yet — I’ll teach it to you tomorrow,” in response to a Manti zone defensive maneuver. Even first-year Emily “Li’l Emu” Wexler had some monstrous defensive shutdowns, despite the fact that this was her first tournament, and indeed, had never even played in snow before. Back on offense, senior Josie “Machine” Ferrel ate some snow in a most spectacular layout, still managing to catch the disc.
When all was said and done, Calvin had handed the Manti a 5-1 victory on a shiny silver platter. The Manti had defeated their last obstacle — the clog was won. Junior Becky “Frankie” Hempel reflected, “We had to play harder than we’ve played all season for this tournament. Winning really meant a lot to us. I believe it was spirit that carried us through the weekend.” While the Horsecalves were not as successful as the Manti, they were congratulatory on the win.
And so, the Manti achieved a goal that had not been realized for three years: they won a tournament.

Senior captain Rachel Borchardt and first-year Rachel Auerbach are members of the Preying Manti women’s ultimate frisbee team.