Lucky Dog takes its Ultimate Frisbee act to Illinois for playoffs
Once-ridiculed club team now vying for an invitation to next month's national tournament
By Jason Douglas/Contributing Writer
When Nate Maddux formed the Ultimate Frisbee Club five years ago, his intentions were to have fun with it. He had many naysayers about the club, saying that it wouldn't last, that it was a waste of his time.
Five years later, the SCSU Lucky Dog Ultimate Frisbee Club is one of the top teams in the nation and has a great shot of qualifying for nationals. Where are those people now?
The Lucky Dog Ultimate Frisbee Club was invited to the Big 10 Championship's in Champaign, Ill., April 6-7 over the University of Minnesota.
"I believe that we made it over Minnesota because of our depth," Todd Owens, member of the Lucky Dog team said. "Even though they had their bid in before us, and we're not even a Big 10 team, the invite came our way, and we were happy to play."
"Student Government helped us out a lot with the trip," Owens said. "They gave us money to help pay for the trip. Without them, we wouldn't have gone to Champaign."
In tournament pool play, they went 3-2 beating Michigan 13-5, Northwestern 13-5, and Purdue 13-8, followed by losses to Ohio State, and a close loss to Illinois 12-8.
"We were pumped after the three wins," Owens said. "It's a good feeling knowing you can compete at a high level against teams like that."
With the 3-2 record in pool play, they qualified for the next round, and defeated Western Michigan 15-9. They followed that with a victory in the quarterfinals against Michigan State 15-10. Unfortunately, they lost again to Illinois 15-8.
"We were just beat," Owens said. "Playing all those games in a row was what wore us out."
"Our team has been lucky to have two star players lead our team to this point," said Dave Kuettner, member of the team. The players he speaks of are Todd Owens and Jared Raeker. They've been nominated for the Callahan Award, which goes to the top college Ultimate Frisbee player in the nation.
Now the team looks forward to the College Sectionals this weekend on the campus of St. Olaf. The top six teams will qualify for the College Semifinals at Carleton on April 27-28. With a top 3 finish, they will qualify for the College Nationals in Spokane, Wash., on May 24-26.
With season highlights such as being ranked as high as 3rd, a 24-3 record, and a great showing at the Big 10 Tournament, College Nationals is something that they can almost taste.
"Making Nationals is very achievable," Kuettner said. "We have the talent, and the confidence to play against anyone. We look forward to the challenge."
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