Club Ultimate Frisbee Competing in First Tournament

BY CHRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ

Senior Staff Writer

From Feb. 23-24, the Sacred Heart club ultimate frisbee team will be competing in their first ever competitive setting at the “Bring The Huckus 10,” tournament, in Vineland, N.J.

At the Tournament, Sacred Heart will be playing the Penn State B team, Ithaca, the Princeton B team, and the State University of New York Buffalo. The first day will be pool play determining the seeding for Sunday’s elimination rounds.

This is the first time Sacred Heart Ultimate Frisbee will be playing United States Ultimate (USAU) sanctioned events and will be competing in the College Series Championships beginning in April, according to Club Sports.

“This is our first season playing as a registered team in the league, but this is our second year being a club sport at Sacred Heart,” said junior co-captain Joe Samilenko.

During practices, the team has implemented offensive styles to prepare for the upcoming tournament in New Jersey.

“The intensity has increased and everyone is realizing what this sport takes. You know it’s not just a regular game you play in the backyard,” said graduate student and co-captain Evan Sigouros. “It incorporates skills from all types of sports from basketball to soccer to football, and it’s very new, too, so we’re giving people the chance to learn it.”

Head coach Tom Barnouw has been involved with ultimate for over 30 years. According to Sacred Heart club sports, Barnouw became a two-time ultimate world champion in 1997 and 2002, and is a nominee for the USA Ultimate Hall of Fame.

“Being that he played professionally and did very well, we see what works in a more professional setting instead of before when we didn’t have a coach,” said senior Joey Leo. “Before, it was just us all of the kids on the team and doing what we knew and what we’ve learned, but now having someone who has actually done it professionally is better than we could ever try to do without him.”

Last year, the team was primarily run by students. But with the addition of Barnouw this season, the program is looking to grow competitively.

“The main goal is to introduce these guys to throwing, catching, and cutting skills, which are the basic elements of the game,” said Barnouw. “Hopefully, I have the underclassmen for a number of years and we get better as a team.”

Along with the competitive spirit, Barnouw also teaches the importance of having fun and learning.

“Our goal is to learn what it’s like to play in a competitive setting against other universities and getting comfortable in that environment,” said Barnouw. “I’m very competitive so winning is something I obviously want us to do, but for this first tournament, I’m more concerned for these guys to appreciate the experience and see the team build their ultimate IQ.”

For anyone who is interested in joining the team, you can visit the club sports website and go on the club ultimate frisbee page where you can see the team’s and Barnouw’s information and email; barnouwt@sacredheart.edu. You can also ask questions and contact the team captains.

Evan Sigourous- sigourose@mail.sacredheart.edu

Joe Samilenko – samilenkoj@mail.sacredheart.edu

Josh Belluche – belluchej@mail.sacredheart.edu

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