The Observer, January 26, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 14
Women's ultimate Frisbee team runs tournament
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With some teams traveling as far as eight hours for good competition, the Veale Center was alive last weekend as the Case Ultimate Fighting Gobies hosted their annual CWRUL tournament. Traditionally, the event is a dual men's and women's tournament with only four teams, but this year saw an expansion. Eight women's teams came to campus to compete on their own day, with the men's tournament scheduled for a different day.
As the first tournament of the more serious and difficult spring season, the young women's team battled in three matches before bowing out of the tournament with a loss to Ohio Northern University. The women were impressed with the progress they have made since the beginning of the school year and learned a bit from their opponents. Archrival Carnegie Mellon walked away as the champions of the tournament after defeating Earlham in the final round.
"We had some strong performances by Ashley Gan and Megan Norr on offense and Theresa Gates and Elaine Leung on defense. We just couldn't quite pull it [the game against ONU] off," co-captain Sarah Pokalsky said.
With the constant turnover associated with the club sport, it has been difficult for the Gobies to establish continuity from year to year, but the momentum seems to be shifting in their direction. This past fall was one of their most successful recruitment seasons, and with commitment and talent, the women are starting to hit their stride. The captains of the team hope that if the players work out with other teams over the summer, they can solidify the program in the long-term.
This tournament was held in memory of Rima Viliamas-Boncha, while it normally honors the late Professor Morrison, a former advisor of the club. Viliamas-Boncha was an alumnus, teammate, and friend who recently passed away in October due to cancer. A portion of the funds raised from both the men's and women's CWRUL tournaments are donated. This year the Gobies were lucky enough to be able to schedule separate events with the help of Rebecca Copeland and Pat Kennedy from the Athletic Department.
"We had a full tournament with eight teams competing this year, and we were really
excited that we were able to get that many separate teams willing to come and throw down," said Andrew "Ajay" Feczko, who organized the tournament.
The club has been running a winter tournament for seven years and has a solid network of team contacts in the area. Furthermore, a regional Frisbee website was used to advertise the event. Since Case's team has been around for a while, it is respected, and its tournament is well attended every year. Other schools that participated this past Saturday included The Ohio State University, Edinboro, Wooster, and Indiana University, the team who traveled the farthest to play.
The rest of the season builds towards the UPA College Series sectional and regional tournaments in which the Gobies will be competing. Although this tournament was not completely triumphant on the field, the women were able to learn from their competitors and measure the team's success. Furthermore, they were able to raise funds to honor friends who have passed away and have fun at the same time. By any measure, including amount of pizza eaten, the CRWUL tournament hosted by the Case Ultimate Fighting Gobies was successful.
