Club Corner

The loss of 13 graduates, including eight key players and three co-captains, might seem like a tough blow for men's Ultimate to absorb. But Josh Kaplowitz, ES '00, one of this year's co-captains, and his team aren't worried.

JENNIFER CHRISTENSON/YH Despite losing several seniors, the members of Süperfly have Nationals on their minds.

"Other lesser teams might say we're having a rebuilding year," Kaplowitz said. "We lost around 10 seniors in 1998, so people expected that we weren't going to be good, but last year's captains got us focused on the goal of making Nationals, which we did." The nearly 30-year-old club has a long history that has been rather illustrious recently. Last year's fall season record was 12-6, and in the spring it posted a 33-18 record. Since 1995, Süperfly, as the team is nicknamed, has been to the national championships four times. Last year's trip was made possible by a victory over Har-vard in the regional competitions. "There's a real good chance that this year we're going to measure up to the past few years," co-captain James Click, MC '01, said.

In addition to 15 returning members, the team now has a substantial freshman presence. More then 25 new students attended practice on Tues., Sept. 7, and although that number is likely to drop, Click was positive about the potential. "I've been really impressed so far with their willingness to run and really give it all they've got," Click said.

Süperfly rides out to the intramural fields three times a week for a three-hour session. In this part of the season, practices are geared toward assimilating the new players and teaching them skills. The team will also enter six tournaments this season, the first of which takes place on Sat., Sept. 11 at Penn. The Yale Coffee Cup, an annual tournament that for the past few years has been held at Wesleyan in Middletown, Conn., will return to New Haven this October. The season will end with the Fall College National Championships in early November, giving the team a lengthy recess before its winter season begins in January.

Last fall, Süperfly compiled an impressive record, winning "Retired to Stud 4," a tournament in Philadelphia, defeating rivals Wesleyan and Buck-nell. The squad was not happy, however, with a late-season 15-4 loss to Harvard and two losses to Brown. The team plans defending its crown at "Retired to Stud" on Sun., Sept. 12 and then will go on to compete in fall sectionals on Sept. 25-26.

The team, however, won't begin serious competition until the spring. "[In the fall] we're not going to focus on wins, we're going to focus on getting it together," Kaplowitz said. Click agreed that this season should be spent in development. "A lot of teams in the Northeast have lost a lot of personnel," he said. "I think we've got the talent to step up."

—Rachel Kamins

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