The Coral Gables Ultimate Frisbee team, otherwise known as the Snow Leopards, traveled to Gainesville the weekend of Dec. 10 to partake in the Romp in the Swamp Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. Going into it, they were riding on a series of successive wins from the previous local tournament. This confidence, along with stellar strategy, resulted in their enlistment of 4th place in the state of Florida.

“Their practices are intense and very exciting to watch. You can really see the time and effort they put into performing their best,” junior Andrea Adesso said.

The team played a total of five games versus teams all across Florida. Their first game, played against Vero Beach, resulted in a 4-2 victory. They would advance to the next round where they would play against Sarasota and defeat them swiftly by a score of 9-5, with notable offensive plays by  junior Ivan Perez-Hernandez.

This winning streak ended, however, with a painful loss to Gainesville’s team, which triumphed 9-0. Despite the loss, it was far from an uneventful game, seeing as junior Trey Riera-Gomez made a substantial defensive effort. In spite of this loss, the team regrouped and once more began a winning streak, beating Tampa Bay and Jacksonville 9-0 and 6-5 respectively. The Jacksonville game was truly remarkable with jaw-dropping interceptions made by juniors Sutton Payne and Thomas Harley, where they both jumped over an opposing team member to catch the Frisbee.

“The tournament was incredibly fun and educational. We are definitely going to revisit some of our strategies and improve others,” junior Dylan Carol said.

Despite not being an outright win, the Romp in the Swamp Ultimate Frisbee Tournament taught the team valuable lessons. The competitive environment and the excitement of the tournament reinforced the team’s devotion to their dynamic sport. It allowed the team to analyze their performance, enabling them to compete better in subsequent tournaments.