Before nationals, Hoosiermamas set sights to sectional play

After making a run to nationals in 2007, the Hoosiermama?s ultimate frisbee team begins the road to a return trip this year when it opens sectional play Saturday in Naperville, Ill.

The team finished the pre-series with an 18-10 record, but it wasn’t happy with its 1-6 effort two weeks ago at the Huck Finn Tournament in Saint Louis.

“We’re just going through a rough patch,” freshman Steven Hightshue said. “We were working on what we were lacking. We were trying to win the tournament and not get hurt. I mean ultimate is ultimate, you can run yourself out of it.”

Part of the trouble was a banged-up team. Concussions, broken wrists, sprained ankles and other various injuries hampered them throughout the season.
“It’s pretty taxing, but we feel like if we didn’t have these injuries, we would be peaking at the right time,” senior Ed Wu said. “We’re all in the best shapes of our lives.”

Training for a season that started in mid-February began during winter break, and practices during the season last two to three hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

“Being a freshman, I kind of knew it would be physical and intense, but I didn’t know about the injuries,” Hightshue said.

Team workouts have been intensified and other measures have been taken to avoid letdown seasons like 2008 and 2009.

“Our overall goal was going to nationals, along with that we wanted to have a ‘B’ team that played at sectionals with like 15 people, and that’s something we haven’t had,” senior Casey Bybee said. “It’s all new to us trying to recruit and just keep people around.”

Since the last run in 2007, the team has been nearly wiped clean of its core players. The only remaining players from that team are seniors Steven Kane, Jesse Roehm, Mike Moore and Wu.

The team looks for newfound chemistry to lead it through the college series and back to nationals.

“We’ve always peaked at sectionals and regionals and played our best ultimate at the end of the year,” Bybee said. “I think if we come out fired up, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”