By Alex Kurtz, Sports editor
On April 15 and April 16, Susquehanna’s men’s ultimate frisbee team competed in the Conference tournament, earn- ing the No.3 seed as well as a bid to the regional tournament.
It had been a long time coming for the team, who came up one game short of making the regional tournament last year. This will be the farthest the team has ever made it.
“It’s a huge accomplishment to make the regional tournament,” said senior captain and handler Justus Sturtevant. “This has been my goal since sophomore year.”
The conference tournament, which took place in Carlisle, Pa, featured four pool-play games on Saturday and a championship bracket on Sunday.
Susquehanna started strong, defeating Alleghany College and Gettysburg College to jump out to a 2-0 start.
Sturtevant spearheaded the effort, alongside junior co- captain Andrew Davis.
The third game of the day pitted Susquehanna against Shippensburg, a school that made the transition from DI to DIII Ultimate the previous year.
Shippensburg jumped out to a quick lead, forcing quick Susquehanna turnovers and playing a physical game.
Things only got worse for Susquehanna when Sturtevent took an elbow to the face, leaving him needing stitches and unable to play for the rest of the day.
Shippensburg went on to win 15-3.
Sturtevant’s absence was felt in the final game, as Susque- hanna fell to Bucknell, finishing pool play with a 2-2 record.
Needing to win all three games on Sunday to earn the final bid to regionals, the team faced an uphill battle.
In the first game of the bracket, Susquehanna found themselves in a rematch againt Alleghany, and again found a way to win. Sophomore cutter Parker Schoch contributed on both sides of the disc.
The team rode the momentum into the second game of the day, a matchup with rival-squad Dickinson.
Sophomore cutter Nick Forbes came up with four points for Susquehanna en route to a 15-9 victory.
The long schedule took it’s toll on to the team, but with one win away from their first-ever regional bid, the team fought through the pain.
Susquehanna barely edged out Gettysburg in a rematch, with Forbes finding junior Kevin Grzybeck for the final point of the day, and the tournament.
The team now prepares to face some of the best teams in the nation in Allentown, Pa, on April 29 and April 30.