This weekend, the men’s ultimate Frisbee team will go somewhere they have not been in two years: regionals. This trip is being made possible due to the team winning the sectionals meet for the first time since 1994, which the Tide hosted two weeks ago at the Student Recreation Center.
“We hosted sectionals two years ago, and it was awesome to do it again,” said co-captain Zachary Moore. “We have great facilities, and the Rec is always really good about helping us out and giving us what we need. Plus, it’s always good to have a home field advantage. I also have made some pretty good friends from the other teams and it’s always a good time to see them again.”
The men’s team beat out all the teams in its section, which includes Mississippi, Louisiana and western Tennessee, to claim one of three spots for a trip to regionals in Austin, Texas, on April 30-May 1.
“There was a lot of pressure on our team going into sectionals this year,” Moore said. “We were seeded No. 1 going into it, so I really felt like our team had to perform. We also had not won sectionals since 1994, so we really wanted it bad as a team.”
To make it to the championships in Madison, Wis., the team will have to place in the top two at regionals, which will also include teams from Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.
“To date, we have never been to nationals and I would love nothing more than for our team to make it there,” Moore said. “It won’t be a cakewalk. We will have to play the best we’ve played all year.”
The men’s ultimate Frisbee was established in 1978 and its membership numbers have remained consistent at just less than 100. But the team, much like other club sports on campus, would not mind seeing campus awareness and support increase along with team numbers.
“I think ultimate is one of the fastest growing sports in the nation right now,” Moore said. “I’m from Huntsville and I have seen a large increase in number of players in the summer league that I play in. I think once people actually watch a competitive game they are very impressed with the athleticism of the players. It’s not really a sport of hippies anymore and is attracting more and more athletes.”
Perhaps national exposure will help shed light on the fairly young sport. CBS’s College Sports Network will be covering the 2010 UPA College Ultimate Championships as a part of an hour-long highlight show of other alternative sports. This program will air as the ALT Games highlights show on June 14th at 4 p.m.
“CBS coverage is an awesome thing, and I really hope it helps gain support for our team,” Moore said. “This will also help us get some good recruits. There was actually an ultimate play on ESPN’s Top Ten about a year ago that showed the U.S. beating Japan in the finals of the World Championship tournament, so ultimate is definitely growing in popularity.”
