by Matt Varrell
4/28/2014

(Lee Mogrean handles the disc)

The Holliston High School Ultimate Frisbee team travelled to the Andover Invitational Tournament on April 26th. After starting the season 1-3, Holliston was looking to gain momentum for the rest of the season and it appears they may have found it. Despite being undermanned with several varsity players missing from the lineup and in steady rain, Holliston made a strong showing at the annual tournament.
Holliston opened the morning with a game against perennial tournament rival Acton-Boxborough. AB sports a true co-ed team and played a spirited match, eventually succumbing to HHS by a score of 9-7. Holliston next took on Lincoln-Sudbury as the rain continued. LS dominated the first half by a score of 6 1, but Holliston made a strong run in the second half, outscoring LS 4-3, but eventually lost the match by a final of 9-5.

( Cory Cox skies for the disc)

After a short break for lunch, Holliston opened the afternoon session with a game against the Andover Golden Gopher JV team. Holliston jumped out to a quick lead and maintained their momentum to a 6-1 halftime lead. The lead allowed the Holliston coaches to some of the younger, first year players to enter the match and gain valuable experience. The mix of veterans and rookies kept the advantage and went on to win by a final of 11-3. Next up was the team from Barrington, RI. Holliston's dominance continued with an impressive 11-4 win.

( JonSherfey defends against the Andover Golden Gophers)

As the rain continued and the temperatures dropped, Holliston and Sharon met. This game was a classic, with the teams trading points back and forth until the match went to "hard cap." Hard cap is rule in UF that occurs during games that have a time limit, such as those at a tournament. When the hard cap horn sounds, the final point is played out and the team with the lead is the victor. In the Sharon game, the score was tied when the hard cap was called, meaning that the next point would decide the match. This is called "Universe Point" or sudden death. As the tension mounted, Holliston played tight defense and strong offense to find the end zone and win the tightest match of the day by a final of 12-11.

( Maddy Colantonio fights for the disc in traffic)

Holliston's final match of the day was against the Amherst JV girls team. Amherst has a nationally known UF program and any team with Amherst on their jersey is expected to be a tough opponent. True to form, Amherst played well and kept it close with Holliston team. The final score was Holliston 13 and Amherst 10, giving Holliston an impressive record of 5-1 in the tournament and placing them 3rd overall for the day. Despite being unable to play due to injury, senior captain Rusty Varrell was on the sidelines for the whole day and stated: "Even though some of the more experienced players were missing from the roster in this tournament, the team was still able to collaborate their strengths together and push to earn some well-fought victories."
HHS Ultimate hopes to dry out and continue their strong play with upcoming games against Natick and Concord-Carlisle this week.