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SALT LAKE CITY — "Huge underdogs."
That's how head coach Josh Letsinger characterized the chances of the University of Utah's ultimate frisbee team, more commonly known as "Zion Curtain Ultimate," or ZCU for short, making it to Nationals.
After all, going into the Northwest Regionals tournament, they were seeded ninth out of 10 teams. Nationally, ZCU was ranked No. 48, and only 20 teams make it to the Division 1 Collegiate Championships.
But ZCU kept winning, somehow. In pool play, ZCU finished 3-1 to finish in second place. Their 3 wins came by a total of 4 points against quality competition.
Those close victories meant they would face the University of British Columbia in the semi-final game. A win there would ensure that the Utes would qualify. But it would be their toughest test yet. UBC was ranked No. 15, the second-toughest opponent (behind Oregon) that ZCU had faced all year.
Their strategy, though, was simple:
"UBC is really quick, they have great throwers, but they're all very short. We've got a pretty darn tall, really athletic team, and we used that to our advantage," said Letsinger.
ZCU includes Josh Zdrodowski, who is 6-foot-7, and Brady Ohlsen, who is 6-foot-5. Letsinger told his team before the game, "If you get a chance to (throw it deep), fire it. If it's a 50/50 ball, we're going to come down with it."
In other words, it was a twist on the traditional David-and-Goliath story: this time, David's key advantage was size. And the lanky ZCU squad defeated UBC qualifying for the finals on the game's "ultimate" (read: final) point.
It's a culmination for the Utah program. The team was started only 10 years ago, and didn't seek to be a competitive player in the area right away.
"It kind of evolved from a bunch of friends who wanted to do something together. Now it's a bunch of people who wanted to do something together and became friends," explained Michael Affleck, a senior on the team.
How quickly ZCU's success came surprised everyone, including the team's budgeters. The total cost to send the team to Raleigh, North Carolina, where the tournament will take place is roughly $18,000. The U. has contributed about $5,000. The team's players, coaches, and fans have begun a fundraising effort to make up the rest. A fundraising event called "An Ultimate Affair" raised about $5,500 more, leaving the team short of its goal.
Team members say they will donate the difference after the fundraising efforts are complete. They say that as members of the first college team from Utah to make it to Nationals, they are just happy to be there.
"We've got nothing to lose as a team. We're last ranked, no one expects anything from us," said Affleck.
ZCU is excited to show what it has at the D-1 Ultimate Championships, which take place Thursday through Sunday, May 27-30. Selected games will air on UltiWorld.com and on ESPN3.
