Ultimate frisbee adds a new co-ed team

Making State each of the past three years, the ultimate Frisbee team has become another successful club sport, and has now added a new dynamic with a co-ed team.

Co-captain Grant Devlin, senior, said the team, now open to both males and females, adds a whole new perspective to the game as a whole.

“At Marquette, the ultimate dream is to have an all-girls team,” Devlin said. “I think Marquette X will help with that.”

One of the new female players, Evie Rohrbach, sophomore, said she joined because of her new found interest in ultimate.

“I recently stopped dancing, and ultimate sounds like a fun sport to play that isn’t too hard for me to pick up,” Rohrbach said. “I’m excited to play and have fun with a great team.”

Also, Natalie Lugo, junior, said she joined to make a new group of friends by playing a fun sport.

“I’m very excited to become a part of the team and meet new people,” Lugo said. “The sport is only getting more popular, so I think there will be an all-girls team in a few years.”

Last spring, the club team lost in the State Final Four.

“We really had a squad that was tough and athletic,” head coach Jose Artiaga said. “We fought every point hard, and we are one of the best defensive teams in the league.”

However, Artiaga said the team still has a lot to improve on.

“We need to improve on offense, and a big part of that comes with veteran experience, which we will have a lot of this year,” Artiaga said.

Artiaga also said he expects Marquette to be proud of their new squad.

“Goal number one is to show Marquette who we are,” Artiaga said. “We are a state bound team that they can be proud of.”

Devlin also said he has high expectations, and the team can be as successful as any team out on the field.

“We have a lot of potential looking at our whole field right now,” Devlin said. “A lot of the guys haven’t played the sport before so we have to teach it to them, but it was the same way last year and we finished third in State.”

Devlin added that behind veterans like himself, the team can be the most successful team in Marquette History.

“Some key players would be all the returning seniors that will play the role of leaders by example to the younger guys,” Devlin said. “I want to leave Marquette after winning state. That’s the ultimate dream”