Quick. Name the most successful UW team from the past year. Was it men's basketball, with its second consecutive Big Ten title and solid showing in the NCAA tournament? Or perhaps men's track, which won the Big Ten Indoors in March and is shooting for a second title in May in the Big Ten Outdoors in Minneapolis. Both teams certainly have a good case, but so does a more unusual suspect, the UW men's ultimate team.
Despite being a club team, the men's ultimate squad-called the \Hodags"" by those in the know-has enjoyed a huge amount of national success this season. They are currently ranked No. 2 in the nation, and although they finished a ""disappointing"" second at regionals last weekend, the Hodags secured a spot in nationals and a chance to reach their highest goal.
""We returned 15 to 16 guys from last year [when the team finished second at nationals], and we're looking to vie for a national championship,"" team co-captain Bryan Paradise said. Paradise, a second-year law student, is in his fourth year on the team and, along with junior co-captain Ryan Carrington, leads the team both on the field and off the field as coaches.
The path leading up to nationals has mostly been a smooth one, though they did face quality competition along the way. With their regular season and preliminary playoffs consisting of eight tournaments in such disparate places as California, North Carolina and Atlanta and against such teams as Stanford, Oregon and Berkeley, the Hodags performed admirably, winning four tournaments, placing second in two and finishing in the upper echelon in the remaining two. The latest second-place finish, however, did not sit well with the team.
""People were pretty disappointed about losing to a team that we felt we were better than,"" Paradise said about the team's loss in the regional finals last weekend to Carlton College. ""We know we have more work to do.""
While they need some work before nationals, the Hodags fortunately feature several outstanding players on their roster who can help them advance, most notably fifth-year senior Tyler Spindler.
""[Spindler] is one of our dependable guys,"" Carrington said. ""We've looked to him the whole season and he's responded with a great year.""
Spindler is the team's nominee for the Callahan Award, which is the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy in ultimate.
While watching the Hodags practice, the strengths of Spindler and several other players are immediately evident. Senior Hector Valdivia Jr. is arguably the best athlete on the team, which he showed by repeatedly using his speed and leaping ability to separate himself from defenders and sky over them to snatch the disk out of the air. Senior Tyson Park's game can be erratic, but he also has a knack for the incredible jaw-dropping throw, even with a much taller player in his face. Spindler, on the other hand, is the model of consistency, with his patient directing of the defense and offense and his ability to make plays all over the field.
However, with the absence of a true coach, much of the leadership and coaching comes from the co-captains, Paradise and Carrington, and though they've largely succeeded in their roles as player-coach, neither claim that it is an easy job.
""I find it hard to deal with not only playing my game and focusing on how I can play best, but then also trying to worry about every other player on the team and how they're playing,"" Paradise said, with Carrington nodding in agreement. ""Once in a while I explode on the guys and where maybe as a coach that would be acceptable, the fact is I'm one of them.""
Despite the stress involved with simultaneously playing and coaching, Carrington and Paradise have endured and put the team in position for something special.
""I would say we have an excellent chance to at least make the quarterfinals,"" Paradise said. ""In order to do better than that, we're going to have to play well, but if we do play well, I see no reason why we won't be in the finals.\
