Picture History of UC Irvine Ultimate

I just figured since this blog is fairly new, I'd include a brief history and pictures of our team since it's founding in 2003 to where it is today in 2008. So this is all from what I've learned from the 4 years I've been here. If any of these facts or statements are untrue, feel free to let me know and I will correct them to the best of my ability.

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The Start (2003--2005)

It all started back in 2003, when a bored grad student named Megan Sherburn decided that Irvine was a bit boring, and there had to be something better to do than to go to UTC, Spectrum, watch a movie, or go chill at Albertsons. So, she singlehandedly went to the club sports office and started the UCI Ultimate Club. It wasn't a very big club, and its focus was merely for fun, enjoyment, and playing the game of Ultimate Frisbee. The team started really small, with about 10 guys and the first couple members that joined included the likes of Steven Lowe, Jerry Yang, and Matt Khosh. The first several guys that really contributed included Gideon Alper, Bob Chan, and Chris Popeney.
They played in several tournaments, and the reason the club was so successful in the beginning was the help that several "old guys" or "masters" players in the OC area offered to the club. It was a first year club that was new to the Southern California Ultimate scene, competing against powerhouse teams such as UCSB, and the up and rising UCSD Air Squids. In this season was UCI's first SoCal sectionals at UCSD.
However, in 2004, the team was suspended because of the fact that these non-UCI affiliated players were not supposed to be practicing let alone be on the ARC fields during club practice time. The result was a suspension for the remainder of the 2004-2005 season resulting in the inability to practice on the ARC fields as well as the inability to attend tournaments in the area. This did not deter the club from playing as they moved their "practices" to the Mesa Court lawn and played there on MW until darkness chased them off the fields. This is where I personally had my first taste of UCI Ultimate, as a band of rag-tag players who just wanted to have fun, to spend time playing the game they loved, and to just play some ultimate.

Recent History (2005--Present)

The suspension continued into the 2005-2006 school year with our club being able to practice on the ARC fields, but not allowed to partake in any tournaments in the Fall quarter. However; recruiting went well with the addition of several more undergraduates including Scott Roeder and Mike Ng, as interest in the club grew. Along with that, discussion of a team name arose as there were multiple meetings discussing ideas for a team name. Several ideas that surfaced included "Bone, Quagmire, Faultline, Fluffers," and after silent voting and captains approval, UCI was officially dubbed "Bone." UCI Ultimate's first tournament together was the Santa Barbara Qualifier in which we did very well and placed 3rd with a loss to Stanford-B, 2-15. UCI then attended Socal Wetdown at UCLA, finishing 2nd with a tough loss to USD.

An 8th place finish at Sectionals in San Bernardino meant that UCI would clinch it's first trip to regionals in team history, with a huge upset win over top-80 ranked UNLV. We were ranked #238 in the nation at the time and at Regionals, built a 4-1 lead over UCSD-A in the first game before losing in the end. Our team placed 12th at regionals that year.

The 2006-2007 season began with the addition of more players and the first ever XY split squad for the Halloween Huckfest. Additionally, the team name "Bone" was scrapped and the team flew under the banner "Irvine Club Ultimate." This season saw UCI's first tournament win (SB Quals), and big wins over Arizona, Claremont, and SDSU. Of note was the increased level of play, particularly in sectionals in the upset over SDSU and taking #1 seed Claremont to 13's. Season ended with a disappointing performance at regionals, losing to Arizona, Air Force, and UCSD.

The 2007-2008 Season is still yet to be finished, so I will end this here. Stay tuned for a season wrap-up post Regionals/ Nationals.

-hammy