Frisbees Fly High at Bellomy

Altered Beast hosts annual Carmen Classic tournament Tyler J. ScottTHE SANTA CLARAOctober 31, 2013In the only home competition for the men’s ultimate frisbee team this season, two Santa Clara squads finished with records of 4-3.This past weekend, teams from all around the Bay Area and beyond travelled to the Santa Clara campus and gathered at Bellomy Field to participate in Santa Clara’s seventh consecutive Carmen Classic tournament. The Santa Clara team, Altered Beast, decided to split its team into two evenly-matched squads. They wanted to give their developing players a chance to compete alongside some of the team’s veterans.Senior Shane Earley and junior Stan Whitcomb, two of the captains, each led a mixed squad into the tournament.“The team is looking impressive this year,” said Earley. “We have one of the best classes of freshmen we’ve ever had, with more people who played competitively in high school coming out to play.”With young talent, there is also a great need for experienced players to mentor the newcomers.“We also have a solid core of veteran juniors and seniors who we think will be able to lead our intermediate level players to some wins,” said Earley.Team President Michael George undertook the brunt of the organization for the event, according to Earley.In addition to George’s contributions, the San Jose Spiders, a local professional team who play in the American Ultimate Disc League, sponsored the tournament. “(The Spiders) played a crucial role in organizing the tournament, especially their owner Andrew Zill,” said Earley, “Those guys were a treat to have, and some of their players participated in an ‘All-Star Showcase Game’ at the end of the day on Saturday with four or five of the best from each team representing their pools.”Santa Clara Altered Beast will face most of the teams they played against again throughout the season. California State University, Chico, Sonoma State  University and San Jose State University were regarded as the most challenging opponents for the Santa Clara team. “Our main focus for improvement is understanding the flow of our offense,” said Earley. “We have a lot of new players on our team who have yet to totally grasp the way our offense is meant to work, so sometimes there’s no method to the madness and it cripples our offense in the long run.”Besides Whitcomb and Earley, Santa Clara also has another captain in junior Anthony Davis, who is currently studying abroad in Ireland for the quarter.“I wish I could be out there with the guys this quarter, but I know that they’re in good hands without me,” said Davis in an email.The captains are serious about fulfilling their responsibilities and producing a team that competes at a high level. “Being a captain is a rewarding experience,” said Earley. “Having control over the way we conduct practices and how we set our goals gives us a way to express our personal vision for the team in a way where we can see our results develop in front of our eyes.”Although he is one of the team captains, Earley had only ever played the sport in a casual setting before coming to Santa Clara.“I decided to come out to the first practice after going to the club fair freshman year, and after playing with the guys, I knew I’d be sticking with it,” he said.Sophomore Keegan Campbell also cited that the club fair was what piqued his interest in the sport.Despite never playing the sport in high school, he decided to give it a try at Santa Clara. Since then, he has enjoyed his time with the team. “What I appreciate most about the frisbee team is the brotherhood,” he said. “We’re a pretty tight-knit group both on and off the field, and the best part of being a part of the squad is the connections you make and the people you meet. It’s something that’s more important than any game result to me.”Next up for Santa Clara Altered Beast is the Sonoma State Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 2 and Sunday, Nov. 3. at Sonoma State University.   Contact Tyler J. Scott at tscott@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.