COURTESY OF LUKE DIORIO
After six years of being in existence at the University of Hartford, the Ultimate Frisbee team has finally made it big, as they will play in the USAU Regionals in Saratoga, New York this weekend.
The Ultimate Frisbee team has never reached the Regionals before, so although this accomplishment alone is monumental in the history of University of Hartford athletics, the players themselves aren’t letting the hype distract them from the next round.
“All of our veteran players are like, ‘do not let being in Regionals make you complacent, we can win this tournament,’” said junior Nitesh Desai, a player on the Ultimate Frisbee.
After having a fall season kick off with great success, their record carried over into the spring season where they had their first major tournament of 2013 two weeks ago in the USAU Hudson Valley D-III College Open. Going into the tournament 12 teams competed in a bracket format, where the top four teams would move on to the Regionals in New York taking place on Saturday.
Hartford competed against teams such as, Wesleyan University, Marist College, Rensselaer Polytech, Bard and Union, whom were all in Hartford’s pool. Overall, UHa finished 3-2 in the pool defeating Marist, Rensselaer Polytech and Union on their way to finishing fourth out of the 12 teams, qualifying them for the upcoming Regionals.
“Our goal was to reach Regionals before the season began and now that we’ve accomplished our goal, we’ve just been practicing hard to break seed,” said Taylor Campbell, a player on the Frisbee team.
The Regionals event will take place on Saturday with the first match being a 1:00 p.m., as the 12 remaining D-III teams in the New England region will go head-to-head and only two will move on to Nationals where only 16 teams from around the nation will get the opportunity to claim the title of Ultimate Frisbee National Champions.
Competing against Hartford in the Regionals will be Connecticut College, SUNY-Fredonia, Colgate, Stevens Tech and Stockton, as far as their Pool A match ups go. With only two teams moving on to play in Colorado, it will take everything the young UHa squad has to give the more experienced teams a run for their money.
“The whole team this year wants to win it for our seniors, so that’s the real motivation for us to continue working hard everyday,” said junior Luke DiOrio. Those two seniors being Lucas Hope and Adam Velk whom have been with the team since its infancy days back in 2010.
Win or lose, the University of Hartford Ultimate Frisbee team is on the map and is gaining popularity fast within the school and the USAU league itself, the rankings alone show a growing respect for the successful streak as of late.
“When we started, I think we were ranked like 540 in the nation, now we’re in the top 150, which is just crazy when you think about it. We can definitely compete with some of the best teams in the tournament, so now we just have to go and do it,” said Desai.
The two-day event will conclude on this Sunday, April 28 in New York as win or lose, UHa Ultimate Frisbee has arrived and they plan on staying relevant for years to come.