The USN girls’ and boys’ frisbee teams are off to an exciting start this year. With practice multiple times a week, and many scrimmages played already, the 2020 season is in full swing, led by Toby Balzer ’02, girls’ head coach and fifth grade science teacher, and Mikeie Reiland ‘11, boys’ team head coach.
The girls’ team had planned to go to Chattanooga on the weekend of Feb. 21-23 to participate in the Deep Freeze tournament to kick off their season, but with cancellation for weather, they instead played a home scrimmage against rival, Independence High School, in which they took home a victory. USN placed just under Independence at the state tournament last season, making this an exciting redemption.
Key player and one of four team captains, Sydney Neal ‘21, tried out for the US national ultimate frisbee team earlier this school year, and was ready to compete in the first tournament.
Optimistic about results for the team, she said, “We’re looking forward to our first big tournament in North Carolina this weekend.”
Both girls’ and boys’ teams left on Friday, March 6 for Charlotte, North Carolina to compete in the Queen City Tune Up tournament. The girls split the six games they played, picking up three wins and three losses. However, players reported having nothing to hang their heads about, as their defeats were against stellar opponents.
Both teams usually practice four days a week, with the exclusion of Fridays. Additionally, they frequently play in scrimmages during the week and on weekends, either against other high schools, or even college teams such as Belmont and Vanderbilt. With unpredictable Nashville weather, they constantly have to battle with cold, rain, and storms.
Although they may have lost a couple of key players this year, juniors Esha Karam, Sydney Neal, Olivia Gerregano, and Rachel Westerfield serve as girls’ team captains, filling last year’s seniors’ shoes. The girls’ team plans to work hard and grow in their ability to play together as one cohesive team.
“We’re definitely a newer team this year. So we’re definitely in a building year, but we’ve made a lot of progress thus far, and I think next year we can definitely have a shot at being very successful. We have a really sweet team, and we’re super supportive of each other,” said Neal.
So far this season, the boys have played seven scrimmages in all, and they are off to a very hot start, as they are undefeated.
Like the girls, the boys team was also supposed to play in the tournament in Chattanooga, but it unfortunately got cancelled. They are now scheduled to play in the Queen City Tune Up tournament in Charlotte, NC this weekend.
The roster is widely spread across grades, as there are ten seniors, one junior, eight sophomores, and seven freshmen.
As team captains, Shai Rice, DJ Lewis, and David Luffman, along with the other seniors on the team set an example and serve as mentors for younger and newer players.
“I’m really glad to have a large freshman class. It’s fun to be seniors and be good leaders for them and see their growth and improvement throughout the season,” said veteran Shai Rice ‘20, said.
The boys frisbee team seems to have stellar chemistry, and they all get along exceptionally well despite grade differences.
Rice said, “The team is super fun. We have great vibes, and everyone is friendly within all the grades.”
Both teams look forward to continuing to compete throughout the spring and seeing how the rest of the season plays out.
