The men’s ultimate frisbee team poses before their sectional success last weekend. Photo courtesy of @HCSTATE Twitter.
After a disappointing end to the ultimate frisbee spring season last year, the Hamilton Hot Saucers will advance to regionals — the next tournament play following sectionals. Playing a total of seven games over the course of two sunny days in Oneonta, New York, the Hot Saucers finished as the fourth seed within their bracket. After this weekend, the Hot Saucers are one step closer to advancing all the way to nationals, a feat the men’s team has accomplished only once in 2019.
Hamilton suffered a tough loss to SUNY Cortland in the first game of the tournament, losing, 14–12, after leading by as much as four points shortly after halftime. The Hot Saucers started out strong, led by John Carbone ’25 who threw five assists throughout the game, Captain Zander Harpel ’23, and Andrew Brennan ’25, contributed three goals apiece. However, SUNY Cortland went on a late-game rally to come back and win, giving the Hot Saucers their first loss of the tournament.
Next, they suffered another loss, this time to SUNY Geneseo, 13–8. While the first half was quite close and halftime deficit was only three, Hamilton was never able to gain momentum, overpowered by SUNY Geneseo’s defense and their consistent deep throws for long scores. The Hot Saucers found it difficult to stay behind the fast cutters of Geneseo and keep in check the handlers’ abilities to throw to open spaces.
In the third and final game of the first day, the Hot Saucers were able to bounce back with a strong win against SUNY Oneonta, dominating through defensive stops and efficient offensive scoring. Winning 11–5, Hamilton started strong by scoring three straight and led at halftime, 8–3. The win was a great team effort, with many players making important contributions. The D-lines got numerous break points early to gain momentum, and ultimately the game was put out of Oneonta’s reach by Robbie Aronson ’25, whose consecutive scores late in the game secured the win.
The second day started off with a loss to Ithaca College, who beat Hamilton, 15–6, in dominating fashion. The game was never particularly close, which could potentially have been demoralizing to the Hot Saucers. They needed to win their next game to have a chance to make regionals, and then they would need to win one of their next two games to secure their bid to advance. Hamilton took the loss in stride and proceeded to win handily against SUNY Fredonia, 13–5, with many players scoring and assisting. They were led by a strong defensive performance by the team as a whole. With the game tied at 3–3, Hamilton went on a 6–0 run to secure the victory and a chance at advancing to regionals. Carbone led the game with five assists, Harpel put in another dominant performance with four goals, and Ethan Daves ’23 scored two goals coming off an injury.
The Hamilton team sretches in a circle before their tournament last weekend. Photo courtesy of @HCSTATE Twitter.
Using the momentum from the SUNY Fredonia victory, the Hot Saucers beat Colgate University, 12–7, playing a near perfect game and finally securing a spot at regionals. Hamilton scored every time they started with the disc, allowing no breaks by Colgate. The Hot Saucer defense stepped up in dominating fashion in the second half to pull away after leading by a narrow margin at halftime. Captain Jack Ruppert ’23 scored three goals in the game, and eight different players contributed with points of their own. The D-line put the game away with a miraculous goal by Luke Hanson ’26 who made a diving catch in the endzone from an Austin Cipriano ’25 tipped throw. Colgate was unable to score again after the play. It was an intense win that every player contributed to in various ways. This Hamilton win epitomized the heart that the team put into the tournament.
In the final game, Hamilton again lost to Ithaca College, 11–7, in a game to decide seeding. Both teams, having secured their bid, rested and limited players in an attempt to negate any possibility of injury. After a long tournament, a few players picked up injuries, which goes to show the dedication and effort put in by the Hot Saucers throughout play. As they recover, Hamilton will begin to prepare for regionals in two weeks.