BY DENNIS FAN

In print | Published September 18, 2008

The Swarthmore Men’s and Women’s Frisbee Teams opened their fall seasons well, finishing in the top halves of their respective tournaments this past weekend. An outing full of success stories, the Earthworms (Men) placed fifth out of twelve teams at the Founders Open Sectionals in Freehold, NJ while the Warmothers (Women) took third place out of nine teams at the Founders Women’s Sectionals in Mercer County, NJ. Both teams finished with 4-3 overall records.

During the tournaments, the teams had to fight the heat and humidity (not to be understated, as Frisbee games can often last an hour and a half) as well as tough opponents in pool play on Saturday to qualify for single-elimination Frisbee in the Championship Bracket on Sunday. While the men would drop out in the first round, the women forged ahead until falling, 10-8, to Jersey College, the team that would eventually win the tournament.

Jen Yi ’09 commented that she “didn’t expect the team to do particularly well” going into the tournament. For parts of the tournament, the team had only ten players including four first-years. However, the Warmother’s strong performance spoke for itself. On Saturday, the team pulled off a major upset, defeating the University of Pennsylvania team 11-8. The first-years were crucial in the Warmothers’ performance. A few had played Frisbee in high school, and others had played soccer, giving them a good ‘field sense’ for a game like Frisbee. Yi added that the freshmen were not frightened of playing in their first tournament, but were enthusiastic about going out and competing. “We have a lot of talent on the team,” agreed Bryn Lindblad ’09.

The Earthworms showed tremendous improvement over the course of their tournament. Though the team lost to Villanova, 5-15, they learned from their mistakes and defeated Villanova, 13-11, in bracket play. Travis Rothbloom ’10 commented that Keith Torrey ’09 produced spectacular results on offense and that Jimmy Jin ’10 played tight defense to push the team deep into tournament play. Danny Riser-Espinoza ’09 was also complimented for his “defensive rampage” on Saturday. Obtaining outstanding results can only come from practice. A usual Frisbee practice starts with about ten minutes of warming-up throws, a jog, and stretching. The players then run drills and scrimmage at the end of practice to apply what they have learned.

Practicing and playing with each other brings teammates closer together. The teams even have regularly scheduled social activities outside of practice. “There is a nice balance of competition and fun,” states Lindblad, who also commented that there is a much different culture in Frisbee than many sports. Even at highly competitive tournaments, players on both sides of the field are supportive of each other and the end of the game they usually end up friends, regardless of the score. The congenial spirit of Frisbee is reinforced by the policy of self-refereeing, or the honor code. For example, if players are aware that they have stepped out of bounds, they determine the call themselves.

Andrew Crispin ’09 embodied the balance of competition and fun in describing his team’s play this weekend. “We performed like a champ … like Mike Tyson…[or] like George Foreman after he retired from boxing and decided to sell an ingenious fat-reducing grilling machine,” Crispin said.

Lindblad commented that the Warmothers are “always enthusiastic about accepting new players” as it not only adds depth to the team, which is important during long weekend tournaments, but new players also make the social events much more enjoyable. The teams practice on Mertz Field Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and take newcomers as well as experienced players.

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