On the weekend of May 8-9, the men's Ultimate frisbee team showed that they were more than just the cultish group of students that throws food and talks too loudly in the corner of Collis every day. The team, christened the Pain Train (referring to a line in the "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker" ads of yesteryear), came within two games of returning to the national tournament before losing to No. 3 seed Harvard 16-14.
The Dartmouth team, seeded ninth going into the tournament, was captained by seniors Dan Perrell '04 and Ryan Abraham '04. Other leaders of the graduating class are Mitch Emmertrout, Adam Ogusky, Nick Mancini, Ben Hunt and Colin Powers.
The weekend began with an amazing Dartmouth comeback to defeat eighth seed Yale. Down 14-10 in a game to 15, the Pain Train rallied to take seven of the next eight to win, 17-15. Adam Sigelman '05 threw four of those seven scores, including a crossfield upside-down fast-moving throw he invented and calls the "screwdriver" to John Agan '05. Perrell put the proverbial nail in the coffin with a half-field forehand huck to medical student Adam Templeton.
"I never lost faith in our team when went down four at the end," said Perrell. "The burning flame of hope was always alive in my soul."
The Pain Train faced a tough second round match against the No. 1 seed Brown, as the Bears cruised to an easy 15-3 victory. Brown would later win the tournament and the first bid to nationals, outscoring their opponents 60-13.
Dartmouth then faced elimination, but refused to give in. They defeated Boston University and Williams College Saturday afternoon without much trouble to make it to the quarterfinals Sunday morning. Standouts on the field included Emmertrout, who described his own play as "super sweet" and Sam Routheir '07 with his long forehand pulls (similar to kickoffs in football).
David McCune '05 also had two successive hand blocks on opponent's throws and then athletically yanked the disc out of the air for the score, yelling "Sweet Sassy Molassy -- you are gonna pay, and the cost is going to be prohibitive!" Players and fans alike were confused but impressed.
The Harvard game was a tough loss for the Pain Train. Both teams more or less traded points until Dartmouth pulled away 13-10 thanks to great play from Abraham, Perrell, Dan Yi '04, graduate student Gaetan Haberkoss and Templeton. Agan had another spectacular catch, this time reaching over his defender's shoulder to snatch the disc right in front of his face.
Perrell also had one of the most athletic defensive blocks in the tournament, laying out in full extension to bat away the disc in the end zone. But Harvard battled back and later capitalized on a pair of Dartmouth turnovers close to their own end zone, much to the dismay of the numerous B-teamers and fans that had come out to support their team.
Many members of the team stuck around to watch the women's team defeat Tufts to earn their first-ever bid to the big show. Pain Train players even performed a spirited, impromptu layout show at halftime that received a warm welcome by the fans and left many of the participants limping and in pain.
The team is hopeful for their chances next year, as the '05 class is widely considered to be the team's most talented.
Adam Sigelman is a member of the Dartmouth Mens' Ultimate team.
