We’re back with another tournament recap for UCSD’s own Dragon Coalition! Your favorite DCO’s took on the Stanford Invitational all the way in Stevinson this last weekend, and quite the challenge it was. With a whopping 8 games played over the two days, the DCO’s worked hard nonstop. We came in with a bang against Colorado’s Quandry, a team with sibling matchups! The game was a challenge, but we came out with some great experience playing against a worthy competitor. Next, we played Oregon and Santa Clara, two more games full of great frisbee. Our team made sure to work hard on defensive positioning, and it paid off against Santa Clara with our first win of the day! Rookie Liana “Rango” Kitchel had some awesome catches on offense, and rookie Aubrey “BATS” Schneider picked up an absurd amount of trash on the windy field (i.e. she saved our line from turning the disc over many times. Thanks BATS!) We faced Tufts in pre-quarters, and after some head-to-head play, were knocked into the consolation bracket. Nonetheless, our DCO’s kept their heads high and prepared for the next day of games. 

The weather for this tournament, historically rainy and freezing, pleasantly surprised us this weekend, with high 50’s and 60’s and only light sprinklings to rinse the sweat and dirt off of our hard-working players. After our games on Saturday, the DCO’s regrouped with Thai food and FFF: Frisbee, Feminism, and Food. The team bonded like no team has ever bonded before, and we were soon ready to head into the second day of games!

On day two, bright and early with daylight savings freshly in effect, we headed out to the fields. With some of our rivals up first, we got our heads in the game quickly. Santa Barbara’s Burning Skirts always provide a challenge, and the DCO’s held their own. We broke early on in the game, and even took half with an insane layout catch in the endzone by sophomore Jessie “Saber” Finkelor! Adrenaline and spirits were high as we went into the second half of the game, and the battle ended on Universe, where unfortunately Santa Barbara scored and took the game. Amazing fight, DCO’s, we’ll get ‘em next time! We wrapped up the day with a win against Santa Clara, where rookie Sophia “Aera Aera” Fitch caught the disc and didn’t even know she had scored! Finally we ended the tournament with a half-game against some of our favorite opponents, UC Davis’ Rogue. It was great to see familiar faces and tough competitors on the field again, and we’ll definitely be seeing you guys again soon!

All in all, a great tournament. Heaps of experience, learning moments for everyone on the field, and the cherry on top, to quote our coach Starsky: “my underwear aren’t even soaked!” (in reference to our luck with the rain… hehe). Can’t wait to see what our DCO’s bring to Sectionals moving forward in the season. DCO, you know!