BUTLER, PA- The Ave Maria University Ultimate Frisbee team's perfect 9-0 record carried the team into the two-day B-Team Brodown Tournament. The Gyrenes played six games, coming away with a 5-1 record.
Upon entering the tournament, Ave Maria was seeded 14th out of 16 teams. Day one consisted of pool play, where the Gyrenes were slated to play three games. First the team faced Penn State University. The teams duked it out on a muddy field, in wet and cold conditions. As time expired, the Gyrenes walked way with a 11-9 victory.
As the weather, warmed so too did the Gyrenes. Next, AMU earned a statement win against Carnegie Mellon, 13-0. Finally, the team closed out the day with another decisive victory, beating Lehigh 12-3.
Ave Maria won their pool and was seeded 2nd out of 16 teams going into bracket elimination play for day two of the tournament.
After receiving a first round bye, the Gyrenes faced off against Ohio State University in the quarterfinals. The team nearly had a perfect game, beating their opponents 15-1.
Moving onto the semifinals, Ave Maria was pitted against Pittsburgh University. After a back and forth for the first few points, the Gyrenes made some defensive adjustments and never looked back, winning 15-5.
The team now advanced to the finals with a season rematch against 22nd ranked Franciscan University. The Franciscan zone defense greatly hampered the Gyrenes movements and opened a 4-7 lead. However, the Gyrenes hung tough, scoring five in a row to gain a 9-7 lead, but Ave Maria could not close out the game and fell to Franciscan 9-10.
Ave Maria and Franciscan now have split this season's match ups, each earning a victory against the other. This was the Gyrenes first loss of the season.
Reflecting on the team's performance, senior captain Nicholas Fitzgerald is proud of where the team is at this point of the season.
"This tournament was instrumental in proving that the team can compete nationally at a top level," said Fitzgerald. "This was a statement weekend, announcing our presence on the national frisbee stage. The tournament also showed us what we need to work on as we get ready to compete at Regionals."
Ave Maria now moves to a 14-1 record on the season. On April 22nd, in Decauter, Alabama. The Gyrenes will compete in the USA Ultimate Division III Southeast Regionals with the chance to earn a bid to compete at Nationals later in May.
