Ultimate Club Looks to Regionals

Ultimate frisbee is not one of the more tradition-laden sports at Harvard. But this year, the Crimson's ultimate club is for real.

Harvard reached the semifinals of The Ultimate Affair last weekend at UMass-Amherst. The Affair is the biggest tournament of the fall season, fielding over 60 teams. Just making it to the second day of competition is a task.

And the Crimson accomplished that with ease, winning all four of its matches last Saturday. Harvard rolled over Middlebury, Trinity, SUNY-Binghamton, and defending national-qualifier SUNY-Purchase. It may have been the greatest day in Crimson ultimate history.

"We're used to losing all four matches from the past couple years; when we went 4-0, we were in shock," Dave Reiter said. "It's going to be a good season."

Unfortunately, eight of the 16 team members returned to Cambridge Saturday evening, leaving Harvard undermanned for Sunday's competition. Even so, the Crimson managed to defeat Vassar, 15-10, to reach the final four.

"We're much better than we've ever been," Captain Zeph Landau said. "With several good new people and a deeper team, we're flowing well and really playing well together.

Harvard now has its sights set on the sectionals two weeks from now in Providence, R.I. Last year, the Crimson advanced to its first regional tournament appearance by grabbing the fifth and last qualifying spot. This year, the team is looking for more.

"It's tough to say how we're going to do, because we don't know many of the teams," junior Doug Hendricson said. "But whereas last year it was great just to qualify [for regionals], this year we can win the sections. It's really amazing."

It just may be the beginning of a new tradition.

What's on Tap: Today at Franklin Park, the Harvard men's and women's cross country teams will run in the Greater Boston Championships. The women are slated to go at 3:30 p.m., and the men will race at 4:15 p.m.

In other home action this weekend, the Harvard field hockey team, off to its best start in years, will host Fair-field tomorrow at Soldiers Field.

The Crimson (4-2 overall, 2-0 Ivies), which has never won an Ivy title, will return to its Ivy schedule next weekend at Cornell.

Tee Time: Yesterday at the Middlebury Golf Club in Middlebury, Vt., the Harvard golf team placed 10th in the 19-team ECAC Northern New England Regionals.

Although the team did not qualify for the ECAC Championships to be held October 13-15 in Bethpage, L.I., two Crimson golfers qualified for a shot at the ECAC's individual championship.

Sophomore Robert Kincade (77) and Captain Mike Foster (78) earned the trip to Bethpage by finishing in the top 10.

"This was the first time in a couple of years that Harvard players have qualified," Foster said.

The Harvard duo will compete in a field of more than 50 qualifiers for a chance at the ECAC title.

California Dreamin': The Harvard men's water polo team will be catching some "rays" in California this weekend, when it plays in the Berkeley International in Berkeley, Calif.

The nationally ranked Crimson will face three other top-20 teams--California-Berkeley, Fresno State and Stanford--as part of its six-game schedule.

Friday, Harvard opens against Cal-Berkeley at 12 noon and then battles Oregon State's club team at 5 p.m. The Crimson plays Claremont-Harvey Mudd at 8 a.m. and Air Force at 4 p.m. Saturday. Finally, Harvard battles Fresno State at 10 a.m. and the Cardinal "B" team at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Overall, there are 19 squads competing in the invitational, including the top-20 contingent of top-ranked California, second-ranked UCal-Irvine, Harvard, Fresno State, Stanford, Brown and USC. California's "B" and "C" squads, Stanford's "B" team and two California junior colleges will also compete.

Quote of the Week: "My team never really got started out there tonight. We looked like scared high school kids."--Lowell women's volleyball Coach Ann Leonard, after her squad was swept last Tuesday by Harvard, 15-8, 15-9, 15-13.

Runner-up: "My pulse is down to about 1000 now."--Harvard men's soccer goalie Jamie Reilly after the sophomore netminder recorded his first collegiate shutout in the Crimson's 1-0 win over Penn last Sunday.

Michael Stankiewicz and Julio Varela contributed to this story.