From UNC Asheville:
Men’s Ultimate Frisbee Team Goes to Nationals
For the first time in the team’s history, UNC Asheville’s Men’s Ultimate Frisbee Club Team is heading to the D-III National Championship Tournament. Led by volunteer coach, UNC Asheville alumnus and Owen High School math teacher Kyle Silva, the Bulldogs concluded the regular season and current postseason play with a 21-12 record, including signature wins over regional powerhouses Elon University and Davidson College. They are currently ranked 5th in the nation, and will face 15 other teams from across the nation during the tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C., on May 21-22, 2016.
The team has been striving toward the goal of playing at the National Championship Tournament for years, according to team caption Chad Gerber, who first joined the team in 2012.
“The road has been long, with too many emotional ups and downs to count,” Gerber said. “But finally reaching our goals that we set out to accomplish has made this the greatest season to date for all of our team members.”
Gerber, along with team members Clint McSherry and Jacob Warshauer, earned personal accolades this season, and McSherry is considered to be a favorite in the running for the 2016 Atlantic Coast D-III Player of the Region. But it’s their accomplishment as a team that Gerber is most proud of.
“The opportunity to represent our school, city, state, friends, and family, and to make them proud of us on the greatest stage in college Ultimate is incredibly special to each and every single one of us,” Gerber said.
Regardless of the outcome at the National Championship Tournament, Gerber says he will always remember the moment the Bulldogs beat Davidson College—the game that earned them a bid at Nationals and realized the goal the team had been working towards for so long.
“The rush of pure joy that I felt in the moment was made possible because of the determination and passion that all 23 of our players and our coach share for our sport, our goals, and each other.”
For more information on the USA Ultimate D-III National Championship Tournament and final standings, visit USAUltimate.org.
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