2011 Preview – Tufts Ewo

[stextbox id=”alert” color=”050505″ bcolor=”6cc3f8″ bgcolor=”ffffff” big=”true” image=”null”]School Name: Tufts University
Team Name: Ewo
Captains: Laura Glassman (Juice) and Anna Chute (Princess)
Coach: Sangwha Hong
Year Founded: 1981
Jersey Colors: Black/Blue, Blue/White, Brown/Blue…
Website: http://ase.tufts.edu/ewo/index.shtml
Score Reporter
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How did you get involved with Ultimate at Tufts?

Anna Chute: I swore not to play a sport in college because I wanted to try out new things. But then a friend forced me to contact the ultimate captains because we played casually in high school and he thought I should play for real in college. I went to the first practice and left early because I thought three hours was unnecessarily long. But then I started getting reeled in by the returning players, started to dig the team, and was 100% hooked within a couple weeks. I haven’t stopped playing or thinking about ultimate since. It has defined my college experience and will likely continue to define my life.

Laura Glassman: I came to Tufts thinking I would tryout for the field hockey team, but decided I didn’t want the commitment of a varsity sport (little did I know…). My friend was on the mens Frisbee team, and when I realized I missed being on a competitive sports team, he suggested I come to pick-up one day. Though I was terrified, I went and started talking to some of the girls there. I got tooled on but I had a lot of fun and started going to practices and hanging out with the team. I went to the very last tournament of the fall season, and realized that I loved playing and was dedicated to make the team.

How did your team do last year?

Ewo Captains: We went into Regionals seeded 1st and finished 3rd, which is not what we had hoped for. We had a strong season and took half in the finals at Regionals, but weren’t able to punch it in at the end. Probably the highlight of the season for me was beating Harvard 15-3 at Sectionals. We were fired up in that game and decisively earned the #1 seed for Regionals.

Who is your favorite team to play against? Tell us about a memorable game.

Anna: We like to play teams that challenge us and have good spirit. There’s nothing better than good competition on the field and mutual respect on the sidelines.

Laura: One memorable game (though I was injured at this point) was our game against Yale during 2010 New England Regionals. It was a extremely challenging game in windy conditions, and I just remember being so impressed with how hard everyone was working and supporting each other, both on and off the sidelines. We won on universe 11-10, and after the whole team was so excited and pumped. It was a great feeling.

Tell us about your leaders. What do they bring to your team?

Anna: Well Juice and I are clearly awesome and amazing at Frisbee and especially good looking… and can in no way answer this question objectively. Sangwha knows a lot about the game and is there to support us with the goals we set and push us to keep improving. I really appreciate having someone knowledgeable there who can help us make adjustments quickly during games and who helps with logistics like subbing so that we can 100% focus on playing. We’re lucky to have her.

Laura: Sangwha is known by other teams for being a little intense, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. She has continually pushed our team to be the best we can be, and I know I am a much better player for it. Sangwha makes a huge effort to know what everyone on the team is capable of, and utilizes people’s strengths in games. Sangwha also brings us the most delicious vegetables and basil from her garden to our house so we don’t starve. Thanks wheezy!

Are there players on your team who deserve consideration for Callahan, All-Region, or Freshman of the Year?

Ewo Captains: We have some serious ballers on the Ewo who will certainly receive some attention in the spring. We will see who leaves it all out there on the field and we’re sure they’ll be appropriately recognized. Last year Claudia Tajima and Hailey Alm were recognized as the two freshmen of the year for the NE region.

What player is most likely to make a huge play as a thrower? As a receiver? On D?

Anna: Mariel Franklin (2012) has silky hucks and very accurate throws. Hailey Alm (2013) is a great receiver. She’s tall and has great grabs, making impressive catches look like it ain’t no thang. Claudia Tajima (2013) makes sexy, explosive layout Ds.

Laura: Princess is being modest, shes got great hucks and breaks. She also can tear through a 4-man cup like no other and I love popping for her in a zone offense. Rebecca Hershow (2011) also is a great defender, and is someone who continuously gets Ds on her players. Leah Staschke also plays great, aggressive defense.

It’s easy to see when someone throws a huge huck or gets a layout D. Who’s a player you have to watch more carefully to see how valuable she is to your team?

Anna: I’d say the two players that make a big difference in the game but aren’t celebrated enough are Rebecca Hershow (aka Marv) and Mariel Franklin (aka Sonny). Marv is a fantastic cutter and a great defensive player. She always gets open, continues to surprise me with her throws, and works really hard. Mariel is a Paideia HS alum who has silky throws and a great attitude. Trap Mariel backhand on the sideline? Try to shut off her around backhand on a swing? I dare you. Also, Laura Glassman (aka Juice) deserves a lot of credit. She tore her ACL in February and was out for the spring season. However, she continued to be an excellent captain throughout and has been so dedicated on the sideline. She’s now cleared to play and will be back tearing it up on the field this coming spring. As someone with fast cuts and great throws, I’m positive she’ll be awesome this season.

Without giving too much away, what does your team like to do on offense and on defense?

Anna: Dominate.

Laura: Play aggressive, tight man defense. I hate poachy, lazy defense. No, but really… score as much as possible. That’s what she said.

Has your team set any goals for this season?

Ewo Captains: To make Nationals and show that the NE has some prowess by making some noise.

What has your team been doing this fall to prepare for the spring season?

Anna: Going to a lot of tournaments and thinking a lot about what we want to do in the spring. We’re mostly just super pumped to hit the ground running HARD as soon as we get back next semester.

Laura: We’ve been sending out weekly workouts as well as videos, pump-up jams and stories. We’re trying to get the team excited for the spring now so they begin strengthening and training in the fall.

What does your team do to get pumped up for a big game?

Ewo Captains: Get ready physically by doing running workouts together, delicious team dinners, pump up mixes, watch highlight videos, email chains of random youtube videos (Smang It Giiiiirl), talk about Frisbee, daydream about Frisbee, and then we go TOUCH IT on the field!

What song would you pick for the soundtrack to your team’s 2011 highlight video?

Ewo Captains: Voglia Di Dance All Night by Eiffel 65. Obviously.

What do you think about the USA Ultimate College restructuring?

Anna: Well, it means that there will likely only be one bid to Nationals from our region, which is a bummer. We’re going to have to work that much harder to secure that spot.

Laura: Though the requirement of having 10 UPA sanctioned games to be considered for strength-based bids was instigated last year, its something I feel that puts teams in the northeast at a disadvantage. It is almost impossible to have a tournament in the northeast due to weather (Roll Call, Umass, have all been cancelled) before April, and the cut off from the UPA was at the end of march. This requires northeast teams to travel down south to make their minimum game requirement, which many teams can’t do. Last year we went to Vegas and Southerns, but because Roll Call was cancelled, we had to drive 16 hours in one day to make a Sunday tournament up in Boston just to get our tenth game in. Because half the bids to nationals this year are strength-based, this will put much more pressure on northeast teams to spend extra time and money and miss school to meet this requirement.