In the beginning was the Disc, and the Disc was with god, and the Disc was god... at least to those rare persons known to the outside world as Ultimate players. And so they came to the nation's capital, meeting on the hallowed lawn of the Catholic University of America law school, there to form a team. As time passed, more followers of the Disc arrived, and CUltimate was born. Since that time, many moons have passed, players have come and gone, but one thing has always remained the same... the People STILL want a Hammer!!!
Alright, enough of that sad attempt at wit. CUltimate, a.k.a. Salty Sea Bass, a.k.a. Ultimate Church Go-Hoers (who came up with that one!?) is the name for the Catholic University Ultimate team whenever we participate in tournament or league play. The team started sometime in the mid-1990's, but kind of died off until the summer of 1998, when juniors Brian Smith, Bob Bamsey, John Riehman, Tim Maloney, Tim McGovern, Jeanne McInerney, Matthew Ing, Tuna, Rich Cecil, et al started to play games again on the law school lawn. That fall, they recruited a class of freshmen to join them, and CUltimate was reborn.
The team played in tournanments in Philadelphia in both the fall and spring of that year, and proudly won the spirit award at each event (the team was still much very much just about fun, and not too much about competition). Late in the spring, disc golf also became part of the CUltimate repertoire, and the team looked forward to the next year and even bigger team.
Smithers took over captaining duties in the Fall of 1999, and helped recruit another large class of freshmen to the team. With this dedicated group of players, CUltimate continued to go to various tournaments throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, showcasing our love for the game at each stop along the way.
Our participation in the Washington Area Frisbee Club clique league began that fall as well, when then-sophomore Matt "Mao" Austin came up with the idea of forming a team. The idea was that this team would allow for more game play and a chance at improvement for those who wanted to pursue their Ultimate talents in a slightly more competitive environment than the traditional law school lawn games allowed. And so Matt single-handedly assembled the original team, a small but feisty group that both won and lost games during the season, but was almost always competititve. And that's when CUltimate's love affair with the rocks, puddles, and mud of the blessed Anacostia Fields began.
That love affair would continue into the spring of 2000, when Matt would again serve as captain and marshal the veterans as well as some newcomers for the new season. Just like in the fall, the team played in the lowest division of the clique league, C, in order to gain some valuable experience before moving up to a higher division. The season went pretty well, though we weren't able to take part in the end of the season tournament since the school semester had ended a good two weeks before it took place. Still, it was another fun season, and the team looked forward to the fall (at least this writer did).
Over the summer, change came to the team as Matt let everyone know that he would no longer be able to captain the team due to an increasing workload both at school and at work. As a result, it took the team awhile to get its act together, and so we skipped the fall WAFC season after the league commissioner so kindly informed us that there was no room for poor, ol' CUltimate. Instead, we spent the autumn having lots of fun at various tournaments, including a tourney at Mary Washington, sectionals at the Naval Academy, and the famous Shippensburg night tournament (best Ultimate tourney ever!). We also participated in something called Rogue WAFC, which was a kind of impromptu league of WAFC teams that had not gotten their applications in on time to be part of the official league. Anyways, we kept ourselves busy, just lying in wait to emerge again in the spring, refreshed and ready to go.
And so it was during a dinner conversation between three of the original team members that Alan Woods and Dave Marroni decided to take over the captaining duties of CUltimate for Spring 2001. With a few of the original team members and a whole load of newcomers in tow, we returned to beloved Anacostia in March, sporting brand new red shirts while maintaining our same great spirit. We moved up a division, into what was ironically called the C division (there were now four levels...we really did move up a notch, I swear). It was a good season, and we were competitive in every game. Unfortunately, the team got into the not so pleasant habit of playing really well for 3/4's of a game, and then blowing it for just long enough to allow the other team to win. While our record would not be what most would consider good, it really didn't speak to the true talent level of the team, or the progress we had made. Several members of other teams, in fact, informed us that we were one of the best teams they had played in the division, and were shocked when they learned our record.
As the Fall 2001 season approached, the team was raring to go and ready to make our record match our talent level. We played in the C division again, but there were some changes to the team this time around that made a big difference. A practice schedule was implemented, the roster was capped at 12 and then expanded to 15, and a recruitment effort led to the addition of 3 new players. During the season, the team really showed a new level of commitment, and played with the flow and spirit of an experienced team. As a result, CUltimate was able to dominate most of its opponents and compile a winning regular season record of 6 wins and 3 losses. In addition, the team survived the qualifying round of the tournament and made it as far as the quarterfinals before bowing out in style. The Fall season thus ended on a positive note, with CUltimate playing at a level where we could beat any team on any given Saturday, regardless of that team's record.
In the spring, Alan and Dave led the team one last time, rallying CUltimate for strong performances at college tournaments in Edinboro and Lancaster, and pulling together the strongest WAFC team yet. In fact, the team finished 8-1, the 2nd highest record in its division. The team alas could not play in the tournament, as it was the same day as commencement. Still, it was a great season, as CUltimate continued to improved by leaps and bounds.
As the fall 2002 season approaches, the group of freshmen that the founding members of CUltimate first recruited will now be moving on. But the future for CUltimate looks bright, under the leadership of Megan Callaghan, Michelle Gaffney, and Mike Kemp. Who knows what the new season will hold in store for us, but its sure to be fun! And so the history of CUltimate continues... |
