Last weekend, Oberlin College hosted its 22nd annual Force Freedom Ultimate Frisbee tournament. Both of Oberlin’s teams, the women’s and trans Preying Manti and the Flying Horsecows, participated in the action.

To begin the day, the Flying Horsecows were divided randomly into two smaller teams, X and Y, for the tournament. Team X chose the name Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG while Team Y chose to call themselves the Battle of the Sandwich. Both teams faced the same opponents, though in a different order.

The Horsecows and the Manti lost 11 seniors last year, leaving many holes for first-years and new players to fill. The teams recruited heavily during orientation, but the question remained as to whether their efforts would suffice. Both MBU and BOS started on a down note, each losing closely to Kenyon’s X team. MBU lost 13–5 in their first match against the Serfs while BOS fell short 13–11. However, MBU was able to redeem the losses in a second match to Kenyon’s Y team, in which they won a close 13–12.

To end the day, both teams competed against The College of Wooster. Each of these matches were blowouts in favor of the Horsecows, with MBU stomping the Ramjam 13–1 and BOS winning in equal measure with a score of 13–3.

Fourth-year Captain Jack Povilaitis was extremely satisfied with the Horsecows’ performance. He believes the Horsecows and their young group have a bright future ahead of them.

“The team blew my mind,” he remarked. “A huge part of this fall semester has been recruiting and getting [new players] up to snuff to fill gaps. So many people … showed the captains that they can step up when we ask them to.”

The Manti started out hot, securing a 8–6 victory against the University of Dayton at the beginning of the day. Though there were many turnovers throughout the game, the Manti were able to weather the storm and emerge victorious. Unfortunately, a winning streak was not in the cards. The team lost their next game 11–1 to a stacked Case Western Reserve University.

“[Despite being] super intense, the game wound up being a really good learning experience,” third-year cutter Claire Rothstein said when asked about the loss.

Going into the latter half of the day, the Manti persevered and put up an impressive fight against two very strong opponents. Playing the University of Pittsburgh proved to be a tough challenge but again served as a valuable teaching moment for the developing team, who lost 13–2.

“It was so cool being able to see such a talented group show off such amazing skill,” Rothstein said.

The Manti rounded off the day with a match against Miami University. In an intense defensive battle with multiple turnovers and a plethora of long points, the Manti saw themselves barely edged out in a close 9–4 loss.

The Manti were proud of their performance, especially with so many new players.

“The team definitely exceeded expectations in a lot of ways and had so much fun,” Rothstein said.

Rothstein and Povilaitis also took time during their interviews to invite any and all students on campus to join the ranks of the Manti and Horsecows. Both spoke to the amount of love and support they felt from the teams and the joy they feel playing the sport.

“The Manti [and Horsecows] are the most loving and friendly teams,” Rothstein said. “We’re always looking to recruit more people, and it’s been so exciting to see such a large group of individuals be so passionate about improving their abilities.”

Povilaitis agreed with Rothstein and added that the Frisbee community is like a family rather than a team.

“You can’t imagine how big of a role this team can play in your life,” Povilaitis added. “If you let us, we will become your family. Everyone deep down is a Horsecow [or Mantis]; you’ve just gotta let it out and fly!”