After practicing for literally dozens of hours in Oregon’s chilly and unpredictable fall weather, the men’s and women’s Club ultimate Frisbee teams hosted the Fall Ultimate Kickoff last weekend in Eugene.
The tournament, which consisted of 37 teams, served as a fund-raiser for both men’s and women’s teams. It was the first time both teams, which are ranked in the top five nationally, competed this year.
Twenty-one men’s teams entered the tournament, and a number of teams split up into evenly skilled squads for the sake of equal playing time.
The Oregon men entered two teams in the tournament, and both made it to the quarterfinals. One team lost to Oregon State, while the other men’s team fell to the second-place team, Humboldt State. Whitman beat Humboldt State in the championship game.
Sixteen teams entered the tournament on the women’s side. Oregon entered two teams — one in the “A” bracket and the other in the “B” bracket. The Oregon “A” team lost to eventual champion Whitman, while the team in the “B” bracket placed second behind Humboldt State.
“This was our first opportunity to see the rookies play in a tournament situation, and for the most part, it was very positive,” men’s captain Markus Brown said. “Most all of the rookies did great in making the crossover from practice to competition.”
After a good fall turnout of newcomers, Brown said, “The hardest part of practice is battling the weather.” He added that spots are still available and he encouraged new players to join.
“In the fall we try to stress team fundamentals,” Brown said. “We try to encourage people to work on their individual skills outside of practice so we can focus more on improving as a team, rather than as individuals.”
Brown said Oregon’s toughest competitors will be California, Stanford, UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz. The real test for Oregon will be in the spring. The fall tournament — much like Oregon’s Fall Ultimate Kickoff for ultimate Frisbee– is mainly geared toward rookies to test their skills and is viewed as the preseason for spring competitions.
Even though Oregon failed to place in the top five, Brown said the tournament was a success for the Oregon teams.

A Successful Road Trip
The women’s Club soccer team hit the road this past weekend in search of its first victory.
The team did not have to travel far as they recorded their first win of the season against Oregon State. Oregon led, 1-0, at halftime and dominated the Beavers in the second half. Cassie Pruett and Tracy Vanderzanden each had a goal and an assist.
“We really came together as a team against OSU, which is very impressive considering we have only practiced with each other for about a month,” Vanderzanden said.
The Ducks then beat Lewis and Clark, an NCAA Division III school, by a score of 2-0 after losing to the Pioneers, 3-2, two weeks ago.
“I think we all remembered losing to them a couple of weeks ago, and so this time it was nice to come back and put two goals away in the second half for the win,” soccer coordinator Angel Anguiano said.
The Ducks ended their weekend in a 0-0 tie against California. Goalkeepers Alexis Bittar and Sarah Kenney combined for three shutout games, marking the first time Oregon has played an out-of-state opponent in five years.