Men’s Ultimate team rides community, commitment to success

For fifth-year players Mickey Thompson, Tony Petraglia, and

Benny Aldridge, the 2003 season of Ultimate Frisbee could not have

started any better. The 7 – 0 squad is not only off to a noticeably

good start, but this year they did something they haven’t done in a

long time.

“We had a tournament in Utah last weekend, and we ended up

winning,” said Petraglia, graduate student in chemical engineering

and co-captain of the team. “There’s only three of us fifth-year

players here, and this is the first tournament we’ve won in those

five years.”

The tournament the team won was the Big Sky College Warm-Up

Tournament, held at Utah State. Among the 14 teams entered, CSU

emerged as the victor.

A combination of the veteran players and the large influx of

younger players has been a big plus for the team this year,

Petraglia said.

“The sheer number of kids we had come out for the team was huge,

not to mention the talent many of them brought,” Petraglia said.

“We took 32 players to the (tournament), we’d never taken that many

since I’ve been here.”

While the fall season serves as a preparation for the spring

season, the goals for each season hold the same values.

“The number one goal is always to play in as many tournaments as

possible, to get beginning guys some experience,” said Thompson, a

senior philosophy major. “We’re going to try and get to Nebraska

for a one more tournament this season, but ideally our goal is to

qualify for Nationals.”

While the major boost this year has been the amount of incoming

talent, a few returning players have stood out with their

contributions to the team.

“There’s a few guys who have stepped up their leadership roles

this year, and really helped us out,” Thompson said. “Juniors Brett

Kolinek, Adam Zwickl and Quinn McClain, just to name a few, are

doing really great this year.”

Morale and community are two other aspects that Petraglia said

play a big part on the team’s success this year. While Ultimate

Frisbee is sometimes referred to as a party sport, Petraglia offers

a different perspective.

“There is a great sense of community within the Frisbee

community,” Petraglia said. “For example, at every tournament, the

host school will generally throw a party for all the participating

teams after the first day of games.”

Petraglia also believes the sense of camaraderie within in the

team can be just as important to the season.

“This year we’ve got a bunch of guys that work really hard, and

know how to have a lot of fun together when their not working

hard,” Petraglia said. “I think if you have a good combination of

those two, you’re probably going to be a pretty successful

team.”