Ultimate Frisbee players such as 5-foot-8 junior David Lerner have learned to make the most out of what they have. As the disc floats through the air down field, players leap for the catch, using whatever means necessary. Many of the members of the Ultimate club don’t have the height advantage preferred by most players, but Lerner says sheer determination will always win out.
“I can jump over people who are 6-feet tall if I really want to,” Lerner said. “Your desire to work is huge, because whoever wants to catch it can catch it.”
Despite a size disadvantage, the men’s Ultimate club has established itself as a regional power in the Atlantic Coast region. After disappointing losses to North Carolina last year toward the end of the season, the club had a successful start to this year, taking second place in the Queen City Tune Up Tournament in Charlotte two weeks ago. One of State’s victories came in a 9-7 win over Georgia, a perennial power in the AC region.
“The win over Georgia was a real big win for us,” Club President Jim Ashcraft said. “It helped assert our regional dominance.”
The club has been successful since the mid-’90s, making its first trip to nationals in 1996 and winning the championship in 1999. Senior James Murray attributed this year’s success to the team’s speed and how physical the players are.
“We’re one of the fastest teams in the country,” Murray said. “Plus, the state of North Carolina sort of has a reputation for not being the nicest guys to play against, and we’re kind of proud of that.”
With most physical contact being illegal in Ultimate, the sport has earned the reputation for not being rough enough. But Murray, who fractured his elbow playing, said the physical aspect will always be there.
“To play good defense you want to get in people’s way, to force them to go around you or even through you,” he said. “There’s always going to be contact when it’s up in the air on a floating throw.”
With the growing popularity of the sport, the club has grown to 31 members this year. Ashcraft said the popularity isn’t surprising.
“It’s an emerging sport, and it’s fun to watch it grow and to see more interest spark up around practice,” Ashcraft said.
The club hosts an event called Record Exchange every fall, where it recruits new members and teaches the sport to those who have not played it before.
“We invite anyone to come out and learn about Ultimate,” Ashcraft said. “It’s also a recruiting event for us, so we can scout out people and maybe approach them about joining the team.”
The team has athletes who have played numerous sports throughout their life, and as Murray notes, Ultimate is a great sport for those who want to play multiple sports.
“It’s a great outlet for a lot of people coming out of high school in a lot of different sports, but they’re not quite at the level to play the varsity sport in college,” Murray said. “So we’ve got guys from soccer and basketball, hockey, wrestling, tennis, baseball, all kinds of sports.”
The team will travel to Georgia at the end of spring break for its next tournament, followed by one of the biggest competitions of the year — Sentex. Sentex is held in Austin, Tex., and invites the top 25 teams in the country to compete.
“In terms of competitiveness, many people rate Sentex higher than nationals,” Murray said. “This tournament really draws the strongest teams from each region to the tournament.”
As the club continues to grow and be successful, Ashcraft and the other team leaders say they’re glad to get the chance to play competitively.
“It’s just fun to watch everyone learn,” Ashcraft said. “It’s a very intense sport and so much fun to play.”
