On the weekend of November 2nd and 3rd, the Air Squids participated in the Kendra Fallon Memorial Tournament, our very own tournament hosted here at UCSD. This tournament was the very first tournament for our newly joined members, providing a valuable learning experience for them as they became aware of what the ultimate frisbee tournament atmosphere is like. We split into three teams: X, Y, and Z with an even distribution of returning players and newcomers to give each person an equal opportunity to learn and grow their skills. 

Team X started the tournament with a rough matchup, the University of Southern California, one of the favorites to win the entire tournament. Even though we lost 12-5, it wasn’t without memorable moments like Cosmo’s 40+ yard layout goal catch or Momo’s dropped end zone catch with nobody around him. This game was followed by a 10-8 loss to Arizona State University, a close game that provided valuable lessons to both newcomers and returners alike. Our next two games ended up against the same team, Cal State Long Beach which ended in wins of 12-5 and 13-5 for the Air Squids respectively. Our final game ended with a 13-12 win over one of the other UCSD teams, Team Z.

Team Y started off the tournament with a strong win over San Diego State University. This was a breakout game for a lot of new players, with many rookies scoring points and providing truly amazing assists. Our next game was a close loss against Cal Poly Pomona, which was followed up by a rough match against University of California, Los Angeles. This saw Team Y enter the 9th place bracket where the first game was a close loss to Cal State Long Beach which featured a lot of wind. Day 2 consisted of two games. The first was a rematch against San Diego State University, which was another comfortable win that saw everyone showcasing their skills and lessons learned throughout the tournament. The final game was against the University of California, Los Angeles’s B team; while down by a large margin in the first half, Team Y clawed back to a one-point deficit by the time the hard cap went off. Given the momentum, Team Y would’ve likely done very well against them. This final game was a major learning point for the newcomers in the importance of momentum within the sport.

Team Z was ready to start this tournament off, with everyone showing up bright and early, eager to take on their first opponents of the year, for most. We started off playing the Claremont Braineaters, where we had a slow start but eventually came back in the second half to bring the score back to even. When the hard cap went off, Claremont unfortunately scored, giving them the win, and our first loss. Immediately following this match, we went up against Point Loma Loman Empire. Faced against their unique 5-man cup in their zone defense, we had to develop a new way to run our offense, and it worked. We blew past them, achieving the first win of the year. Our final game of the day was against U of A Sunburn. It had a rocky start where they scored 3 times in a row at the beginning.  Team Z almost came back, with a break train in the second half, but the hard cap prevented the comeback. On the second day of the tournament, we were ready to improve on what we did yesterday. We played our first game against UCLA B Smoke, where we won by a large margin, giving our first-years and returners a chance to get back to their best form. Following that, we played against Point Loma once again and did a repeat of what we did the day before. Our final game was against our own Team X for ninth place. We lost in a close match-up, but overall the weekend was a success, giving first-years a chance to experience competitive ultimate outside of practice and getting returners back into the ultimate mood.