Ultimate frisbee is not the first thing that comes to mind when many students think of sports on Taylor’s campus. However, it is a new and growing club sport at Taylor University. Sophomore co-captains Max Newlon and Garrett Farnham have revamped the co-ed ultimate frisbee team this past season.
The team is relatively new — 2023 is its fourth year of existence — and being a starting club sport has its own set of unique challenges, but having two captains on the team has set them up for success.
“Having two captains is great,” Newlon said. “It means not everything has to fall on me. Garrett has really helped lighten the load.”
The team also went through a structure and design overhaul. Newlon redesigned the team’s logo, secured official jerseys, and set up the team’s Instagram account, making it more active than it had ever been in the previous three years.
“It was fun to redesign the logo and be able to get jerseys for the team,” Newlon said.
This past season, the Taylor ultimate frisbee team went 2-8 in three tournaments. One of the marquee wins for the team was on Oct. 28, when Taylor was trailing Indiana Wesleyan University 6-7 at halftime, but came back in overtime to beat IWU by 13-12.
While the final record may not be the prettiest at, Farnham says the numbers are not the team’s main focus.
“We did improve a lot this year from beginning to end, and that was something we love to focus on,” Farnham said.
The team started the year at 0-6 but wrapped up the rest of their schedule by going 2-2. Every week, despite their losses, Taylor kept their games close. For example, they lost to Butler by only two, and to Marian by four.
The team is one of the few club squads that is co-ed, which causes ultimate frisbee to have some unique rules.
“The rule is that there’s five guys and two girls, or six guys and one girl, on the field at a time for co-ed frisbee,” Newlon said.
Senior Tali Stichter started the season as the only girl on the team, but as the season progressed, several others joined, and there are now three women on the roster.
Stichter says she never felt different than any of the other teammates.
“The guys on the team have never made me feel like the girl on the team,” Stichter said. “I’ve just always felt like a regular member of the team. It’s been great.”
While the fall season may be over for Taylor Ultimate Frisbee, their spring season is right around the corner, and they are looking for new team members to join – anyone who is interested, regardless of skill level.
Any Taylor student can email the captains or reach out through their Instagram page. Farnham explained that they are not looking for talent, but a willingness to learn and improve.
“We aren’t necessarily looking for great athletes to join the team,” Farnham said. “We are really just looking for people who want to come out and have fun.”
