The women’s ultimate Frisbee team was one point away from winning the Purple Valley tournament Sunday, eventually falling to Brown 17-15 after relinquishing their 15-14 lead in the finals.
The loss leaves the team — known as Ramona — with an 18-3 record against colleges during their fall season. Before losing to Brown in the finals and the Williams A team in round-robin play, Ramona had an 8-0 record against colleges in October stemming from their eight wins at the Snowball tournament Oct. 4-5 at Rutgers.
Although Ramona fell to Brown in the finals, the Elis defeated the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the quarterfinals 11-7 and dominated the University of Massachusetts-Amherst 15-4 in the semifinals. Before entering single elimination, Ramona was 2-1 in round-robin play, defeating Williams’ alumni team and Wellesley, but losing to Williams’ A team.
Although Ramona did not capture the Purple Valley championship, their win against MIT — a squad that was the No. 1 bid for nationals from the Northeast region last year — bodes well for the Elis’ chances at entering postseason play in the spring.
“Although we were the underdogs, we pulled through, poised and determined, with a decisive victory,” Shoshana Woo ’04 said of Ramona’s win against MIT.
Brown and Yale rounded off the Northeast region’s bids last year, making the tournament a showdown of frisbee elite. The match against Brown was one of the Bulldogs’ most demanding matches of the year.
“It was an intense 50-50 battle between two competitive teams hungry for the win,” Woo said. “We had some great grabs and good handling.”
Yale has the opportunity to avenge their loss to the Bears in the Hunk a Hunk of Burnin’ Pumpkin tournament at Brown Nov. 2-3. It is the last tournament in Ramona’s fall season.
The Elis eager for a chance to redeem themselves after this weekend’s loss to the Bears.
“It was an incredible game and we stepped up and played really well,” Liz Waldman ’03 said. “We’re looking forward to a chance to take them on again and beat them on their home turf.”
A solid performance at Brown would give Ramona the momentum it needs as it prepares for the spring season and a chance for a repeat appearance at College Nationals in Spokane, Wash., where the top 16 teams from around the country compete.
“Our goal is to go back to Nationals, and we have so many new, talented rookies that will only continue to improve until the spring,” Woo said.
The Bulldogs lost just one player from last year’s team but hope that 12 new rookies and two graduate students will help them in their efforts to return to Nationals in the spring.
“Last year was our best season in three years, and this year our roster is 26 strong, the largest it has been in four years,” Waldman said.