After a 20-plus-hour drive, the Grinnell Ultimate Frisbee teams pulled up to an ornate, grand house in historic Savannah. The house where they were to stay dated back to 1870, with weeping willow branches blowing in the breeze and red and blue flowers blossoming in the window boxes, and they arrived only to discover the power was out. But it was business as usual for the Grinnellephants and Sticky Tongue Frogs, the flexible teams always ready for adventure, who trekked to Savannah, GA for the High Tide tournament the first week of spring break.
Both teams had winning records against several teams that they usually do not compete against, with the men's team posting a third place finish with a 6-2 record and the women's team placing second after losing in the championship round to the Amherst Women's team, Sparkle Motion, in a close 11-9 loss, making their record 6-1.
The southeastern setting was full of new teams Grinnell does not typically face in Midwestern tournaments. As the teams prepare for sectionals, it was beneficial to go up against new faces of competition.
"There are a lot of powerhouse tournaments that are held over spring break," said Nathan Levin '10. "But in Georgia we faced teams that were more at our level."
The break was packed with many Frisbee games, both competitive and fully recreational. Both teams enjoyed the change from poor Iowa weather to the climate Georgia provided. "After practicing in the cold rain, it was nice to get to play in Georgia," said Brigitte Anthony '08, "And we were right by the beach!"
The trip was not all sand, surf and frisbee, though. In addition to the surprise power outage, other issues arose with the housing situation. Because of waiting too long to book a house, the usual choices of vacation homes were fully taken. The 30-person team ended up in Savannah's historic district in a house with a maximum capacity of 16 tenants. There was also a change of pace in the traditional frisbee team antics.
"It was a Christian tournament," said Anthony, "so it was really different from most of our tournaments, since it's usually a bunch of rowdy college kids. There was no swearing, no drinking."
Back in Grinnell, both teams continue to practice during the afternoon on Mac Field. The frisbee teams will next play in the sectional tournament on Apr. 11-12 in Ames with hopes of advancing to the regional level competitions.
