After dropping their matchup against the Claremont Colleges 6-13 at the Sinvite 2025 tournament in Las Vegas on March 29, one of Occidental’s two ultimate frisbee teams, WAC, is looking forward to their rematch on April 26, cutter Claire Wilson-Black (junior) said.
“I want people to show up,” Wilson-Black said. “We’re a very energy-dependent team, so if we’re feeling the energy and we’re all excited to play together, that’s when we play our best.”
The best-of-three matchup in Claremont will decide which team gets a bid to DIII Ultimate Nationals this May in Burlington, Washington.
Co-captain Meiyi Weisbord (senior), a handler, said the game against Claremont in Las Vegas was the first time the teams played each other this year. WAC beat Claremont in an unsanctioned match at UCLA April 6.
Weisbord said she met a lot of her closest friends in college through WAC.
“Everyone is funny in their own way,” Weisbord said. “Everyone has their little contribution that makes people laugh.”
WAC also played the University of Nevada, Reno twice at the tournament in Las Vegas, winning their first game 8-6 and dropping the second 6-10.
Handler Nadiya Koth (first year) said WAC also traveled to a tournament in Santa Clara earlier this spring, going 4-2 over the weekend of Feb. 15. Koth said the team was down several players at the Las Vegas tournament due to injuries.
“I think we’re still in the running against Claremont later this month,” Koth said.
Koth said she joined WAC for the team’s encouraging community. She said the team walked around and got dinner on the Strip during the tournament in Las Vegas.
“It’s a really tight-knit community, and it’s nice seeing them on campus,” Koth said. “There are people I can always fall back on.”
According to Assistant Coach Jaya Duckworth ’23, Claremont won the sectional meet from 2014–2018, with Occidental winning in 2019 and from 2021–2024.
“We have had a lot more of the momentum and have had a really long streak,” Duckworth said. “Even though this year they just lost in Vegas to Claremont, they were missing a few key players who weren’t there, and I think we still have a really good chance at beating them again.”
Duckworth said WAC and Claremont are the only two teams in the southwest section vying for a single bid to nationals.
“It’s always kind of a battle between the two,” Duckworth said.
Duckworth said that at the sectional meet last year, Claremont won the first game and WAC won the second two. According to Duckworth, because Claremont has five colleges, they have a large talent pool.
“It’s pretty impressive that Oxy has been able to compete and win over the past several years, even though we have a smaller team and student body,” Duckworth said. “I think our athleticism really carries in that way […] to just grind through those long, hard points goes a long way.”
Duckworth said one of the team captains, Lily van Linder (junior), is abroad this semester. She said the other captains are phenomenal and that a standout this year has been Audrey AlQatami (junior).
“She has always been really fast, but her cutting has been really decisive and explosive in a way that has made a big difference on the field,” Duckworth said.
Duckworth said WAC Head Coach Enway Melo reached out to Duckworth about helping coach the squad after she graduated.
“This program gave so much to me — it was such an important part of my college experience — that I wanted to make sure that the current players had coaches and had people who could come to tournaments with them and were invested in them as players and as people,” Duckworth said.
Weisbord said she is grateful for the people she has met during her four years on WAC.
“It has really helped me through every single year, being able to lean on my friendships and teammates and [have] kind of an escape from when Oxy feels really overwhelming in the semester,” Weisbord said. “It’s always just a time to have fun and forget about the other things that are going on in your life.”
Contact James Miller at jmiller4@oxy.edu
