Calamity Jane prepares for sectionals

On a spring evening, a number of IU students arrive at Woodlawn Field and begin tossing a Frisbee around. They appear to be at ease with each other, laughing as they toss the disc. Calamity Jane, IU's women's club ultimate team, is getting ready to start practice.\nThe team will compete in the Central Plains Sectionals this weekend at Purdue. Although most of the other sectionals determine who moves on to regionals, there are so few teams in the Central Plains sectionals that everyone from that sectional will be able to move on to the Great Lakes Regional Tournament May 7 and 8 at Ohio State. However, senior captain Kelli Whall said it is still important to do well this weekend so the team can get a good seed for regionals, where it will be missing its seniors for the first day because of graduation.\nIf the team finishes in the top two of the Great Lakes Regional, it will go on to play in the Ultimate Players Association College Championship in Corvallis, Ore., from May 27 through May 29.\nFreshman Juliette McNamara feels the team has a good shot at success in the nationals, she said.\n"We're a really strong team, and I think we can accomplish what we want," she said.\nThe team reached the nationals three seasons ago but has fallen in the regionals both seasons since. Graduate student Mary Graham said the team is hungry to get back.\n"I think we have a really great opportunity," she said. "Everybody wants it so bad, mostly because we can see our potential, and it's really good."\nAside from competing against other schools' club teams, Calamity Jane also participates in many fund-raising and community service activities that include parking cars for basketball and football games, selling flying discs and working with the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington. Senior Emily Neumann, who is also a captain, said the team is an A club sport and must participate in a certain number of activities to keep that status.\nFor the most part, Calamity Jane is run by the captains, Neumann and Whall. Calamity Jane had a coach for a while, but she moved to Indianapolis a few years ago.\n"She still talks to us every once in a while and helps us out," Neumann said. "But pretty much me and (Whall) run the practices." \nThere is a callout for the team each fall, and everyone can play. \nMembers of the team became involved in the sport in a variety of ways. \nNeumann started playing ultimate Frisbee when she was in high school.\n"I went to a small, liberal school, and the men had a Frisbee team," she said. "I wanted to play either club ultimate or lacrosse, and the lacrosse boys wouldn't let me play. So I started playing Frisbee with the boys my freshman year in high school. The ladies that did come out, we all started a team."\nNeumann was able to convince Whall, who lived on her floor freshman year, to come out as well. Whall said she had never heard of the sport and would not have thought about coming out for the team if it weren't for Neumann.\nMcNamara became involved through the Residential Programs and Services sports fair this year. She signed up for several activities, but Calamity Jane was one of the only ones to respond to her. Much like Whall, she never expected to get involved in ultimate Frisbee. She ran cross-country in high school and expected to join a running club.\nGraham played separately from the team one day on Woodlawn Field, where the team practices, and was spotted by Neumann, who convinced her to play for Calamity Jane. Graham said she is glad she came out for the team.\n"Everyone is so cohesive because everyone has such a great time," she said.\nMcNamara agrees.\n"It's really laid back, it's a really good atmosphere," she said. "Everyone's really friendly. This sport's just really fun, and you get to meet a lot of new people."\nNeumann said playing with this group of girls is a lot of fun.\n"We have a great group of girls," Neumann said. "We have fun when we're winning, and we have fun when we're losing -- obviously more fun when we're winning. But it's a great group of girls, and everyone is friends outside the team."\n-- Contact Staff Writer John \nWustrow at jwustrow@indiana.edu.