Feature: Lady Clockwork puts together impressive season

You could have heard these chants coming from orange jerseys at West Windsor Fields last weekend as the women’s ultimate frisbee team hosted the Metro East Regional tournament, in which 32 men’s and women’s “ultimate” teams battled for a chance to compete at the Ultimate Players Association College Championships in Madison, Wisc.

Lady Clockwork, the Princeton squad, is led by tri-captains senior Katherine Thompson, senior Talia Chapman, and junior Nina Ran. With two wins and two losses on Saturday, the team placed 13th in its final competition of the season.

Ultimate involves seven players per side, and the teams try to complete passes in each other’s end zones on a field roughly equivalent in size to a football field.

When a player receives the disc, she has 10 seconds to throw. If the pass isn’t completed, the other team gains possession. The first team to 15 points wins.

If the game lasts too long, the players institute a time cap.

After a close loss to Cornell in the fall, Lady Clockwork also dropped their first game of the morning to the Wildroses, 15-4.

“We got better as a team, but obviously they got a lot better also,” Chapman explained. “They have a lot of really good handlers and really good throws, so their deep game was pretty impressive. That was the majority of their points — they just put it deep into the end zone.”

After letting Georgetown get up by a handful of points in the second game, Princeton could not manage to fight its way back into it. The squad lost 15-11, putting it in the bracket fighting for 13th place.

Next, Lady Clockwork faced St. Lawrence, a team that was forced to play “savage” — meaning they only had seven team members, each of whom had to play the entire game. Princeton, in contrast, played at least 14 women throughout the game and won 12-8.

“We got more comfortable with our deep game, which stretches the field out and makes it a lot harder to defend,” Chapman said. “Yes, they were tired, but we also started to play a little bit better.”

In its final matchup, Lady Clockwork faced Hofstra, a team that beat it in the previous tournament.

“You have to be mentally prepared to play Hofstra because it’s always going to be a physical game, and they are sometimes unfair about the rules,” Chapman said.

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This is where the unique idea of the “spirit of the game” comes into play. In ultimate, players always referee their own games and discuss each foul as it comes up. According to the UPA website, teams should treat each other as they would like to be treated and maintain high standards of sportsmanship while competing.

“It’s what governs ultimate, basically,” Chapman said. “It’s a sport, but there’s also a culture that goes along with it.”

Fairness questions aside, Princeton dominated Hofstra with an 11-3 victory, capping off one of its most successful seasons in recent history.

Lady Clockwork has been constantly evolving. Four years ago, the team did not have any upperclassmen and was led by a core group of sophomores. After growing together, Princeton reached Regionals last season and again this spring.

“We’ve gained numbers, we’ve gained depth, we’ve gained experience,” Chapman said. “Our coaches over the years have helped us bring more theory and experience to the game.”

This year, Raphael Vangelista coaches the team.

He is the husband of the former coach, English professor Meredith Martin. Despite his job’s volunteer nature, his enthusiasm does not lag.

At one point on Saturday, he smiled at the fans languishing in the heat and said in his Swiss accent, “You think you’re tired? These girls have played three games. Get loud!”

The team is largely made up of players who have never before tried the sport, but it aims to assimilate its rookies nonetheless.

“Because we rely so much on new recruits that have never played before … we have to start at the beginning at each season to teach for the first time the essentials of the game,” Chapman said. “You see a huge improvement over the course of the season with the rookies.”

Chapman explained the culture of cooperation and fairness attached with the sport. But ultimate frisbee also promotes another culture: each spring break, the team travels with the men’s side to Georgia for a week of games.

They also compete in the annual Haverween tournament held around Halloween at nearby Haverford College, in which each team dresses up in costume.

Last fall, Lady Clockwork played as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with cardboard shells on their backs — shells that did not last long in the rain.

Even in regular tournaments, it’s not unusual to see gold spandex or neon accessories.

Indeed, this club team is far from ordinary.

This is the latest in a series of articles on club sports on campus.