FATAL Frisbee Team wins Oberlin collegial tournament

BY DANIEL KIM
STAFF WRITER

Last weekend, Franciscan University Ultimate Frisbee Club Team, FATAL, swept another fall collegial tournament in Oberlin, Ohio.

Following an outstanding result two weekends ago at the tournament in Buffalo, New York, FATAL is looking stronger and stronger as the fall season matures.

Competition at the Oberlin tournament was tougher than the Buffalo tournament. However, FATAL was once again successful. With regular practices throughout the week, FATAL players were prepared to meet the challenge.

Team FATAL demonstrated an excellent coordination between the cutters (players who shake off defenders and catch passes to advance the disc) and the handlers (players who keep the disc moving and look for long passes) to take-on their opposing teams.

Starting each game with a prayer for strength, confidence, and humility, FATAL came out on top of their tournament pool with flawless four wins and advanced to the championship game by defeating host teams, Oberlin Alumni in the quarter-final and Oberlin A in the semi-final.

Although FATAL lost to a semi-professional team from Cleveland, the fact that Franciscan Ultimate Frisbee team was able to best all the other collegial teams at the tournament is beyond admirable.

The co-captain of the team, Steven Wilson, showed his high hope for the spring season when many of former teammates return from Austria and newcomers gain more experience.

Jay Ratajczak, Peter Radzialowski, and Joey Simeo were some of the prominent players at the tournament. Dominic Schuster, even though this is his first year of college, showed a superb performance.

When asked about the future plan, FATAL expressed their hope of hosting a tournament at Franciscan University, which has never been done before and would help with fundraising for future tournaments, publicizing the team and gaining further experience.

With enough awareness and support from the Student Government and the University, hosting a tournament is not only feasible, but a worthy way of showing encouragement and care for a team representing Franciscan University of Steubenville in the region and quite possibly around the nation.

FATAL will participate in a tournament in Cincinnati on the all-Saints break weekend where they hope to play against some of the best teams in the region and proudly represent Franciscan University.