The Seahawk

Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Ian Richardson | THE SEAHAWK The UNCW women's ultimate frisbee team preps for the UPA regionals.

When the words "college" and "frisbee" come together in the same sentence, a few images come to mind. Maybe it's a couple of buddies hanging out on campus, barefoot on a warm, sunny afternoon, lazily tossing a disc back and forth on the lawn. Or a group of friends baking in the sun on a hot summer day at the beach, throwing the disc back and forth before taking an occasional break to gulp down a cold drink or cool off in the waves.

For the members of the UNCW Seamen and Seaweed, however, frisbee is about endurance, speed, teamwork and physicality. It's not just frisbee, it's Ultimate Frisbee.

Ultimate Frisbee is a seven-player team game that combines elements of football, soccer and basketball. Two teams face off on a field similar to a football field, and score points by completing passes in the opponent's end zone. Fouls are similar to those in basketball and, for the most part, are called by the players themselves. The non-stop pace and amount of running gives the game a flow similar to soccer. And sometimes, the game can get a little rough.

"Play can be very physical," women's co-captain Elise Bardsley said. "Especially between two competitive teams who know the rules. They come to a sort of agreement for physical play."

The UNCW Men's Ultimate team, the Seamen, and Women's Ultimate team, the Seaweed, are set to contend this weekend at the Ultimate Player's Asscociation (UPA) regional tournament. The UPA is the national governing body for Ultimate Frisbee at the college, club and youth levels.

Both the Seaweed and the Seamen, known for their aggressive, physical play and athleticism, and are ranked in the UPA's Top 25. The Seaweed are currently ranked eighth in the nation, while the Seamen are ranked 17th.

The Seaweed and the Seamen earned a spot in the regional tournament by winning their sectionals tournament for the first time since the early 2000s. Coming out of a tough sectional tournament, featuring some nationally ranked Carolina-based teams, both teams have earned high seeds in their respective regional tournaments.

"We have one of the hardest sectionals in the country," Seaweed co-captain Sara Casey said. "There are three teams in our section ranked in the top 10."

This weekend is not the first time the UNCW Ultimate Frisbee teams have had success and late runs in spring tournaments. The Seaweed, celebrating their 20th anniversary this weekend, have won two national championships in their history, and the Seamen have traditionally been regional contenders. While both teams suffered a bit of a slump in the early 2000s, a resurgence of great coaching and players has lifted both teams back into the national spotlight.

"In the late 1980s to early 2000s [the Seamen] were regional contenders," Seamen captain Rusty Ingold-Smith said. "In 2002, we lost some key players and coaching. In 2005, we got a new coach and started competing at a high level again."

Ingold-Smith, a senior and Ultimate Frisbee player for seven years, has been nominated for the UPA's Callahan award, which is given to the nation's MVP.

The men's regional tournament will offer three bids to the national tournament, while the women's regional will offer two. Even though a less-than-first place finish may earn the teams a spot in the national tournament, both the Seaweed and the Seamen only have one thing on their minds.

"We want to win it all," Casey said.

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