The busy fall season of the Tufts E-Men, Tufts' men's ultimate frisbee squad, has begun.
The E-men have participated in two tournaments so far this season, club sectionals and club regionals. The tournaments, however, were at the club level, which is one step above college ultimate, so the squad went in knowing it was an underdog.
The team logged a 1-5 record at club sectionals in Devens, Mass., two weeks ago, finishing sixth out of eight teams. Despite its poor record, Tufts notched a victory against Brown University, last year's national collegiate champions, and finished as the top collegiate program at the tournament. Three of its losses to club opponents were by very narrow margins, with Tufts falling by less than three points in each.
"We played really well," senior Chris Healey said. "We knew going in that the tournament would be tough and we were very happy with the way we performed."
By placing sixth at club sectionals, the E-men were one of a few college programs to qualify for Club Regionals, also in Devens, Mass., last weekend. The E-men did not fare well there, as they experienced extremely tough competition and inclement weather conditions.
"We struggled and we knew it," Healey said. "It let us know where we need to make some improvements. We're not worried."
The squad took the tournaments with a grain of salt, however, because they were mainly against club, not college, opponents.
"We haven't had too many wins because we have been playing teams that are peaking to go to their own nationals," senior captain Rob Spies said.
There was a solid turnout of interested players to the initial meetings and practices. These talented new players as well as 15 returning A-team members have bolstered the E-men's chances in their bid for a berth at college nationals in the spring.
"We have some freshman and sophomores who look promising," Healey said. "A lot of them are very athletic, and even though some of them don't know the game very well yet, we're confident they'll pick it up and really help the program."
"So far everyone we've taken to a tournament has looked pretty solid," Spies added.
The fall ultimate season is mostly for tryouts and team building, as the team aims to cement its final roster and prepare for the spring, the E-men's main competitive season.
"We like to use the fall to just get the returning guys back in shape and to try out some new players," said Spies. "We're definitely going to make a few new additions to the A-team at the end of the fall."
A note on the rules of Ultimate Frisbee: there are seven players on the field at one time, and every score is worth one point. Matches are played to 15 points, with a time cap that sometimes causes the match end before the score reaches 15. The game is self-refereed and emphasizes sportsmanlike conduct, a principle known as the Spirit of the Game.
The Jumbos have several upcoming college-only tournaments, including the Purple Valley Tournament at Williams this weekend, and two tournaments in upcoming weeks at Yale and Brown.
"If we don't win the tournaments, we expect to have a pretty good showing," Healey said.
"We've only had two or three games against college teams so far," Spies said. "It'll be nice to play in the upcoming tournaments. We definitely should do well. I'm pretty confident about them."
The Purple Valley Tournament is a more relaxed tournament and is open to any A or B squad player who wants to go.
"It's not that intense of a tournament," Healey admitted. "It's kind of a big party."
However, the E-men will certainly get serious in their next two tournaments. The competitions are A-team only and will help the Jumbos tune their tactics and decide on their final lineup. While the fall season helps the team to come together, the results of the fall tournaments can be somewhat deceiving.
"Every team has to go through a rebuilding process in the fall," Spies said. "It's always very hard to tell who is going to be a college nationals contender this early."
