Between Nov. 13 to 14 the Brandeis men’s and women’s club ultimate frisbee teams headed to regionals. The women’s team is called Banshee and they participated in regionals at Williamstown. The men’s team is called Tron and they traveled to Stonehill College to compete in regionals. Both teams played during the season, but regionals was their opportunity to compete with some of the best teams around and get a chance to head to nationals.
This season was different from others but Tron states that they eventually hit their stride. “The season has definitely been strange but also really fun. We’ve gotten to attend so many more tournaments than we normally would in the fall, which has really helped raise the individual skill level of our players and get us back up to speed after a year without real ultimate. COVID-19 had a huge impact on Ultimate and our team, so there was the hiccup of starting up the season so quickly and getting everybody ready for a competitive fall series as well as building team chemistry.” said Tron player Joshua Wan ’23 in an interview.
At regionals the Tron team was ready to compete and vie for a chance to go to nationals. “In regionals, we had our ups and downs, and I think this tournament really highlighted that when we put our minds to it, we can play ultimate at a high level. On the other hand, it also showed that we have to keep our energy up, really want the w, and put in the work to get it.” said Wan when asked about how regionals went. The Tron team proceeded to win enough games to get a chance to participate in nationals. “Nationals is 17 to 20 of December in Norco, CA. We’ve got a lot to do, but I think if we go into it with the same mindset that we went into the final game of regionals, I think we have the potential to do really well at nationals.” described by Wan.
When asked about what makes Tron so special, Wan answered by saying, “I’d say that the community is what makes Tron so special. It feels good knowing that no matter what, someone will be there for me on the field and even outside of frisbee. Our team is goofy but has a drive and desire to be great.”
According to Banshee player Nina Zhang ’24, there were many challenges throughout the season. “We lost both games at sectionals but were still qualified for regionals. I feel like because we lost those first few games, everyone on the team were extremely driven and worked really hard to get the team to where we are now. Without everyone’s effort and dedication, we wouldn’t be able to get as far as we did.”
However, according to Zhang, Banshee continued their season and got better over time. “I think the season went pretty well though there were definitely some ups and downs. Regionals this weekend was pretty fun and stressful at times, but we did it!” The team ended up winning enough games to also make it to nationals. In an interview with The Hoot, Zhang described her excitement toward nationals, “I think to prepare [for nationals] we’re just going to maintain our normal practice schedules and scrims. I’m really excited for the tournament. It’s Banshee’s first time making it to nationals!”
Zhang went on to say, “Banshee is really special to me because it’s a welcoming and friendly community. It has a special place in my heart.”.
Both teams will proceed to nationals between Dec. 17 to 20 in Norco, California. After a year where competing for ultimate frisbee was difficult, the Tron and Banshee teams practiced and will now compete with the best in the nation.
