IC dD dazzle, dive and dart at mixed regionals
Although nerve-racking at times, the team were able to pull out a win
After a great start to the year for the disc Doctors (dD - Imperial’s Ultimate Frisbee club) with the women performing brilliantly at SICKO and our very own beginners’ tournament, the women in particular were outstanding, scoring an impressive number of points and maintaining the quality of their game. #ImperialGirlsCan.
The 1s came in 2nd at this event last year and were looking to improve. The pool games started well, with convincing wins over Essex, Cambridge and St Mary’s and only one loss to Herts 1s placing them 2nd in their pool. dD struggled going into the power pool against UEA but found their mojo, convincingly beating UCL 9-3. An easy cross against UCL 2s left the team playing 3rdplaced Brunel – a dangerous opponent. After a convincing 9-5 win, Imperial faced Herts 1s for a place in the final. At the second time of asking, dD didn’t quite have enough to win, losing 8-6 and leaving the team with a game for 3rd against old rivals Cambridge. This was an intense game (as expected), but Cambridge are not the all-powerful side they once were. Although nerve-racking at times, the team were able to pull out a win, giving us one last chance to claim a spot in division one nationals.
This game was once again against Herts 1s. dD were determined not to make it three losses in a row and came out firing. With unwavering sideline support from dD2 and dD3, the team put in six unanswered points to take the lead. This energy ultimately secured the 9-2 win at the third time of asking and gave the team 2nd overall, placing them in the division one nationals next month.
The 2s had a difficult pool, with two first teams, however they overcame KCL 2s to finish 3rd. They also performed well in their power pool, defeating Essex 2s and Cambridge 2s on universe point well into overtime. This meant that the team held seed throughout both pool and power-pool stages – a fantastic achievement.
The Sunday games started off against two first teams in which dD2 played well, but ultimately lost out to the quality of the higher placed teams. Whilst they didn’t gain a position, they hadn’t lost a position either, giving them a final game against UCL for 11th overall. This was a very close game, coming down to a single score with the team losing out 4-3 to finish 12th.
Coming into the tournament as a third team means there is no pressure to perform and is a great way for many of our beginners to see what good ultimate frisbee looks like. The initial pool stages of the tournament were always going to be a steep learning curve playing first teams with more experienced players. Despite this, the team kept on improving and put in several points each game. The round robin bracket for 13th -19th was similar, but the team really connected and played commendably, eventually finishing a respectable 18th. The team can look forward to continual improvement with both men’s and women’s regionals on the horizon.
