Women's Ultimate

CAYTE PUSHKAREVA/YH Ramona members will give it their all at the Coffee Cup tournament on the IM fields this weekend.

Ramona has adjusted to its depleted roster with surprising ease, however. In spite of having a squad composed mostly of freshmen, the Elis performed well at the SUNY-Purchase tournament on Sat., Sept. 25. At SUNY, the Elis rolled over Wesleyan and Vassar but dropped a match to Columbia, 4-7. "It was an amazing feeling to go to the tournament during what we feel is a rebuilding year and still beat two teams by a significant margin," Co-captain Divya Rao, SM '00, said. "We did a lot better than we expected."

Ramona has plenty of time to continue exceeding its own expectations, since the actual season doesn't start until the spring. Fall games do not count toward national standing, but the Elis still participate in tournaments to give rookies an opportunity to hone their skills. So far, the season has witnessed an admirable effort by the freshmen. "Our rookies have been absolutely amazing," Rao said. "I feel really comfortable putting a rookie in a starting lineup because I know she'll step up."

The rookies will have another opportunity to showcase their talents at the Coffee Cup Tournament, which will be hosted by Yale on Sat., Oct. 9. Eight teams, including Tufts, Princeton, and Columbia, are slated to attend. The Elis expect Tufts to be their toughest competition, although they are also looking forward to the grudge match against Columbia. "We had a close match with Columbia [at SUNY], which we think we could have won, so we're looking for revenge," Rao said.

The Coffee Cup tournament will also bring in much-needed funds for the Elis. Each year, the University provides $500 to $700 to all club teams, but Ramona requires several thousand more to pay for travel expenses. In addition to hosting the Coffee Cup tournament, Ramona asks alumni for donations. Nevertheless, all of these fundraisers are hardly sufficient to cover costs. "Our team is only eight years old, and since we're such a young team, most of our alums don't have high-paying jobs yet," Rao said.

If the Bulldogs can manage to raise enough money, they look forward to a successful season. "There's a lot of optimism," Co-captain Joni Kletter, TC '00, said. Rao also sees bright days ahead. "The talent I've seen and the heart the team has been throwing into it has just been amazing," she explained. "The team feeling we've developed has already transcended all my expectations."

—Sara Sani

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