Surging Ramona ready to rumble at Yale Cup

By Carl Bialik

Ramona, currently ranked fifth in the nation, is enjoying its best start in years. The squad recently picked up wins over number two UNC-Wilmington and number four Carleton, a team that Ramona has beaten twice. Indeed, you can't fault Ramona for expecting to take a trip to the lakes of Minnesota. The squad qualified for Nationals each of the last four years, but many of the players sense that this year's team is especially talented. "We're the strongest now that we've been," Erica Lee, MC '99, who has been on the team for three years, said. "This year, our goal isn't just to get to Nationals, but also to do really well at Nationals."

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Susanna Tenney, MC '98, and Anne Lightbody, JE '99, scrimage in preparation for the Yale Cup

The road to Nationals isn't all about on-field performance. As a club team, Ramona is responsible for raising the bulk of its own funds. According to co-captain Ali Erskine, DC '99, this involves selling shirts and disks, as well as soliciting donations from alumni. The Yale Cup will be one of the biggest money-makers for the team this year.

Everyone contributes as much money as they can, paying for gas and hotel rooms on road trips. Joni Kletter, TC '00, who also suits up for women's ice hockey, has noticed a drop in luxury from the hockey to the ultimate season. "For hockey, you take a bus to the game, stay in a nice hotel with a double bed to yourself, and get money to buy food," she said. "With ultimate, you pay for gas, take a couple of cars to tournament, and you don't have a uniform."

With its spartan lifestyle on the road, Ramona is usually able to stay out of debt. If they make Nationals, the team will be aided by a fund created by the Council of Masters to support club teams on such trips. Still, Ramona typically recieves only $400 a season from the Club Sports Office. Carleton, Cornell, and Pennsylvania, other top teams, receive between $1,500 and $3,000 each year from their respective schools.

Many of Ramona's players can contrast club life to the varsity scene. Although club status has drawbacks, players prefer some aspects of club sports. Jenny Taft, TC '99, one of the team's top performers, played varsity soccer during her first two years at Yale. "I didn't quit soccer because of ultimate, but one decision was contingent on the other," Taft said. She has enjoyed the change. "It's cool to have other players teach you rather than a coach," she said.

Erskine ran track for eight years, including her first year at Yale, but quit to focus on ultimate. "It's not that track was bad, but ultimate was great," she said. "There's no coach leaning over you. You do it for yourself and the team." Kletter added, "On hockey, we can get mad at the coach and he can get mad at us if we're not playing well. On ultimate, it's a problem we'll solve together."

The squad's independence and self-motivation drew several newcomers to the team, including Taft, Kletter, and Sarah Stehli, CC '01. Stehli felt welcome as soon as she joined Ramona. "It was such a great sport to start," she said. "Everyone was so friendly and understanding."

The large and talented group of rookies has added depth to the team, which is important in ultimate, because teams often play four games during a weekend tournament. "I was never as tired running track as I have been playing ultimate," Erskine said. Last year, according to Sarah Lieberman, JE '99, "We depended a lot on one player. [Now] we have a lot of people on the field busting their butts," Erskine said.

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