Occidental’s men’s Ultimate Frisbee team, Detox, competed in UCLA’s “sandwich day” preseason tournament Oct. 21. According to captain Teddy McGowan (junior), it was a one-day tournament which involved pool play and bracket play.
“We played five games [and] we went 3-2,” McGowan said. “We made it to the bracket, and we ended up getting third place […] USC and UCSD got first and second, but they’re all beatable.”
Captains McGowan and Jack Loudermilk (junior) said they led the team alone at the tournament.
“We brought over 30 people, and our coaches weren’t able to make it, so it was just Teddy and I this weekend,” Loudermilk said. “The first three games were in pool play and we only lost one game to USC, which is a returner-heavy team. They’ve got a bunch of people who’ve played Frisbee before, and our priority for the weekend was just to get new people a lot of touches.”
McGowan said that he and Loudermilk had to manage the Ultimate lines while keeping up the team’s spirit.
“We were just trying to make sure everyone was having fun, especially in the Fall,” Loudermilk said.
The Womxn’s Ultimate team, WAC, competed in another five-match preseason tournament at UCLA Oct. 28. According to captains Lily van Linder (sophomore) and Amanda Iglesias (senior), WAC is planning to bring 20-30 players to the unsanctioned tournament.
“We’re super excited, it’s our team’s first tournament,” said van Linder. “I’m pumped for the season.”
Iglesias said she is also looking forward to another Ultimate Frisbee season.
“It’s exciting to see our growth throughout the year,” said Iglesias.
McGowan said that Detox has seen an influx of promising new members with the start of the academic year.
“We have like 20 new people on the team, and pretty much everybody is just an absolute animal. [Everyone is] super athletic and picking up the Frisbee skills really quickly,” McGowan said. “We’re going to be a dangerous team.”
Detox member Alex Nguyen (first year) said he noted the skill of incoming members as well.
“The athleticism that these new freshmen bring, I think it’s amazing,” said Nguyen.
Van Linder said she is excited for WAC’s growth.
“There’s so much potential and everyone here is having fun and has gotten so much better already… In the spring, we’ll be unstoppable,” said van Linder.
According to Nguyen, Detox and WAC remain popular largely due to the team spirit and community each has built.
“I love the camaraderie, I love the captains — I think they do a great job,” said Nguyen.
Loudermilk and McGowan said they work to ensure Detox’s environment remains social and fun.
“We are social, we are friendly,” Loudermilk said. “It’s not just practice.”
According to McGowan, the Oxy Ultimate community extends beyond Detox and the relationship his team has built with WAC is crucial.
“The relationship we’ve developed with the Womxn’s team is also super important. WAC is awesome and being close with them makes our team more fun,” said McGowan.
Meiyi Weisbord (junior), a WAC captain, said the team’s community is particularly valuable to her, as she’s been on the team since her arrival at Oxy.
“It’s a really good community to have at Oxy,” Weisbord said. “It always makes my day better.”
Van Linder said she also loves the WAC community.
“The sport is really, really fun, but what makes me stay is just the people here and the environment overall. It’s such an inclusive environment and I feel like everyone feels very comfortable at any skill level,” said van Linder. “There’s no restrictions of how good you can be, so it’s really nice to have everyone involved.”
Both teams share practice space on Patterson Field, another source of community. WAC shares the field with men’s rugby according to Iglesias, while Detox shares space with the Womxn’s rugby team according to McGowan.
According to McGowan, Detox went to Division III nationals in Ohio last year with just 17 people (as opposed to the regular 25), and placed 13th. McGowan and Loudermilk also said that it was the first time anyone on that team had gone to nationals.
“That was super exciting, just getting to all be in Ohio surrounded by other people who love frisbee, competing at a high level,” said Loudermilk. “That was a super cool experience, and now all we want to do is go again.”
Contact Eli Heringman at Heringman@oxy.edu
