As the winter snow continued to pile up in Hanover over spring break, Dartmouth's men's and women's Ultimate Frisbee teams migrated south in search of better weather and stiff competition. They succeeded in finding tough opponents, but good weather was hard to come by, as one of the teams' two major tournaments was cut short by tornado warnings.
Over the weekend of March 22, the men's team competed in the College Southerns tournament, one of the largest national competitions. The team faced off against 40 other teams but no team was able to slow Dartmouth down, however, as the team gutted its way to its first major tournament victory in recent history. The team finished its spring break trip undefeated at 10-0.
Fifth-seeded Dartmouth cruised through pool play on Saturday. The men defeated their four opponents by an average margin of over eight scores. The closest game came against Northwestern, which Dartmouth won, 13-8.
On Sunday, Dartmouth faced more tenacious opponents. The team began with a game against Williams College, the sixth seed going into the tournament. Williams proved to be no match for Dartmouth's team, however, as Dartmouth won the contest, 15-6, and moved to the quarterfinals.
In its match against Ohion State, the tournament's fourth seed, Dartmouth faced its toughest opponent according to captain Watson Sallay '08.
"Ohio State was very aggressive and played with a lot of passion," Sallay said. "But everyone on Dartmouth was able to play calmly and we made sure to keep a positive attitude, which made a huge difference in our play."
After the 14-10 victory over OSU, Dartmouth moved on to the semifinals against first seeded UNC-Wilmington.
"I think that game [against UNC-Wilmington] proved to be our best showing," Sallay said. "The were an extremely athletic team."
Tough play and gritty determination allowed Dartmouth to defeat UNC-Wilmington, 13-12, to advance to the finals against Tufts University, Dartmouth's Northeastern rival. But Dartmouth forged on, taking home the trophy with a 12-10 victory.
Standout performances came from Sam Snow '11, who commandeered some key plays against UNC-Wilmington, and Graham Baecher '10, who played consistently well throughout the weekend.
That same weekend, the women's team competed at the Centex Tournament in Austin, Texas, against some of the nation's best squads. Many of the teams had been practicing for weeks, but Dartmouth had not played outside since the Trouble in Vegas Tournament in February. Of the teams, Dartmouth was one of only five from east of the Mississippi, and the only team from north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
As the 20th and final seed in the competition, Dartmouth's opponents had low expectations. Dartmouth was placed in the same group as Washington, Oregon, Colorado and North Carolina. Dartmouth made its original seeding look foolish, however, going 2-2 in group play before eventually finishing in 11th place.
In its first game, Dartmouth knocked off southern powerhouse UNC, ranked 15th in the nation going into the tournament, by a score of 13-10.
Dartmouth then fell to Washington, 13-7. Washington eventually lost to the University of British Columbia in the finals.
Dartmouth ended the day with a loss to Oregon, but defeat Colorado, to finish third in the five-team pool and qualify for the championship bracket.
Sunday was not as successful for Dartmouth, as wind and fatigue slowed the team as it faced tough competition. The team fell to the University of Pittsburgh, 13-8, and Texas, 9-6, before defeating Michigan to finish in 11th place.
"I think we could have played better on Sunday but fatigue and our lack of time outside definitely played a role," co-captain Nora Johnson '08 said. "It is a great building block for the rest of our season and I'm very excited to start our regional play."
Molly Roy '09 posted strong performances throughout the weekend, scoring the majority of Dartmouth's points. In addition, Allison Caley '09 and Katie Nash '09 had impressive performances on defense.
The team's captains, however, insisted that the entire squad is responsible for the team's success.
"Centex is really just a starting point," co-captain Masi Rooke '08 said. "Our success there makes the spring all the more exciting."
Both teams began their spring break trips at the College Terminus Tournament in Atlanta, Ga., on the weekend of March 15, . The women's team went into the tournament as the third seed of 16 and was placed in a pool with Truman State, City College of New York, and Emory University. Dartmouth began against City College of New York, which it defeated12-5.
The second game against 11th- seeded Emory proved to be a more difficult test. Dartmouth was leading when tornado warnings and high winds put an end to the game and the tournament.
The men's squad, seeded sixth in the 10-team men's draw, was only able to play one half of a game before the the game was called off on account of the weather. They were ahead of number one-seeded North Carolina State, 8-5, before the tournament was called off.
Both teams begin regional competition this weekend, as they work towards the national tournament, which will take place in May.
