Liam O’Neill (first year) said the team’s first game on Saturday morning was against Whitman College, the top-seeded team in the tournament. The game ultimately ended in a 10-13 defeat, but O’Neill said it was a hard-fought battle.
“It was really exciting to be able to play in such a competitive game against a good team,” O’Neill said.
According to Ian Terell (junior), Detox also had the chance for a rematch against teams who they had played at nationals in previous years, including Colorado College. Terell said it felt good to play the team again and do better.
“I had smiles most of the tournament because even when we were losing, it was just good competition,” Terell said.
Terell said other standout games included a Sunday showdown against the US Air Force Academy team, with Detox coming out on top, 13-9.
Courtesy of DetoxTeam captain and president Teddy McGowan (senior) said the Grand Prix is an annual affair, but this was the first time Detox had flown to a tournament during the regular season. McGowan said the team came in as the 9th seed and tied for 5th by Sunday’s end.McGowan said the team adapted in tough moments and made improvements as they competed.
“We played pretty well against some really good teams, and we took care of business against the teams that we were […] supposed to beat, which was good,” McGowan said.
According to Terell, Detox’s main goal for the tournament was not taking first place.
“The reason we went was to get some exposure to some competitive Division III national-level teams, and we accomplished it,” Terell said.
Terell said he was in charge of booking flights and hotel rooms for the trip. He decided the team would fly to Portland a day early and spend the Friday before the tournament exploring the city.
“Portland’s a cool city,” Terell said. “We just walked around, and it [was] a good bonding activity, especially with our coaches.”
According to O’Neill, some favorite stops included Powell’s Books and Buffalo Exchange. O’Neill said the trip gave Detox members a chance to connect with each other, even in between moments of travel and competition.
“There’s also kind of some mutual suffering doing all the early mornings,” O’Neill said.
According to McGowan, Detox hopes to go to nationals in Burlington, WA this May, to compete on the highest level of Division III Ultimate Frisbee. In order to get a bid to nationals, McGowan said the team must defeat Claremont McKenna and Caltech this coming April in the nationals qualifying tournament.
According to O’Neill, the future of Detox looks bright. O’Neill said Detox had a decent base of first-year members and that he plans to keep playing with Detox during his time at Occidental.
“It’s fun, just being able to hang out with people that have a shared interest and getting to have some fun upperclassmen friends too,” O’Neill said.
McGowan said he is excited about the talent of Detox’s current first-year roster, especially as the semester continues.
“We really just want to make sure everyone’s on the same page with our system now and make sure we can function as a unit,” McGowan said.
As a captain on the team and a senior at Occidental, McGowan said it has been a privilege to be part of the leadership for Detox.
“The team gave me a great community my freshman year and ever since then, I’ve just been trying to give back and sort of foster that community as much as I can,” McGowan said.
McGowan said that for him, the bonds formed by playing Ultimate Frisbee matter just as much as winning games.
“It’s who you’re doing it with and how you’re doing it together,” McGowan said. “It’s definitely not a secondary feature of the club. It’s sort of hand-in-hand with the competition of it.”
Contact Molly Malin at mmalin@oxy.edu.
