Redhots qualify for ultimate Frisbee tournament in Texas

The University of Richmond women's ultimate frisbee club team, the Redhots, have qualified to compete in Austin, Texas, in the Centex Tournament during the weekend of March 26 -- a tournament the team said it had been striving to enter since October.

The Redhots will be one of 52 teams to play in Austin. Junior Kelsey Sherman said her team was "very much in the running" because this year's Centex directors created a D3 bracket within the tournament for schools with fewer than 5,000 students.

Sherman, who joined the Redhots during the fall of her freshman year, said she was looking forward to the tournament because it would feature the best of the best and provide the chance for teams to engage in "teambuilding activities in a social atmosphere."

Senior captain Sarah Levinn, who played high school basketball and lacrosse, said she had never been part of a sport where the social aspect was just as important as the athleticism.

In ultimate, there is a component called "Spirit of the Game," which is an honor code that players are expected to follow. There are no referees, so players call their own fouls and, Sherman said, were usually very honest. It is also common for opposing teams to cheer each other on, Sherman said.

The Redhots agreed that they were as close off the field as they were on it.

"It happens through long car rides and sharing two hotel rooms with 18 people," Levinn said.

Junior Jenna Petrosino, who joined during the spring of her freshman year, said that for most women on the team, "ultimate is their sorority."

Even freshman Phoebe Krumich, who joined in January, said she already felt the closeness of the team. Since the rules of ultimate require players to throw the disc to another teammate almost immediately after catching it, Krumich said, "I have had to depend on others in a way I've never had to before."

Most of the women had no previous experience with ultimate, several members of the Redhots said. Petrosino, who was not an athlete before attending Richmond, said she didn't think ultimate was a sport.

"I liked the choir," Petrosino laughed. "I never would have dreamed I would play ultimate in college."

The Redhots said they also believed most Richmond students didn't know the intensity that went on behind the scenes in ultimate.

"A lot of people think we do dog tricks with Frisbees," Sherman said.

Petrosino described how the Redhots' weekly practice schedule comprises three, two-hour night practices, a one-hour conditioning practice and a "throw around" day on the weekend.

The women responded differently when asked what the hardest part of being on such a competitive club team was. For Sherman and Petrosino, trying to balance school and ultimate makes it difficult to go to each tournament, which are almost every weekend. Krumich said consistency in the way she played in practices versus games was the hardest part for her. And for Levinn, balancing relationships with 30 active members was challenging.

The University of Texas will host the Centex Tournament and while it is not the national tournament, the Redhots' results from Centex could help them advance to nationals in May.

Contact reporter Markie Martin at markie.martin@richmond.edu