Hey Grim Alums! We know its been a while
since we’ve last checked in, but all the more
reason to send something now to keep you
updated. We’ve had an exciting year, and we
want to fill you in.
We started off the school year great, picking
up a bunch of new rookies. Combined with a
few crusty grad student pickups, and the fact
that we only lost one veteran between last
season and this one, we’ve got a big team this
year, and we wanted to set big goals to go
along with it.
We played in three tournaments in the fall,
giving new players lots of experience and
older players lots of time to work off the
summertime rust. We kicked things off by
hosting a small round-robin between us, BU,
Bentley, and Brandeis right here on Briggs.
We started off strong, with a solid win over
BU and a universe victory over Brandeis. Our
only loss came to defending D-III champions
Bentley, giving us the overall tournament win.
Next, Grim trekked to UMass-Dartmouth for
our first travel tournament of the fall. There
we fought through the cold, rainy Saturday,
going 3-1 in pool play with wins over Rhode
Island College, University of Rhode Island, and
UMass-Dartmouth B, earning us a spot in the
championship bracket on Sunday. The first
round we brought the fire in a thunderous
14-9 win over Keene State, advancing to the
semi-finals. There we lost to eventual
tournament champions UMass-Dartmouth
alumni, finishing the tournament in 4th place
out of 16 teams.
Our final tournament of the fall was the
annual Coffee Cup, hosted by Yale. Despite
high winds, rain, and temperatures in the mid
30s, Grim played hard all weekend. The
institution of a $1 bounty for layout Ds didn’t
hurt.
Last but not least, for the first time in recent
memory, we split into an A and B team and
are sent two squads to tournaments. With an
incredible 32 members, MIT Ultimate was
ready to do work!
Spring Tournaments
Bring the Huckus – At this snowy winter tourney, Grim’s A and B squads competed
separately for the first time! Despite some logistical troubles, both teams got to play
some good games, finishing off with an intense game to universe between
Woodmunchers and Penn B.
River City Tune Up – At our first travel tourney for spring break, Grim found a new level
of intensity and brought Liberty to universe point before losing on a heartbreaking
jumpdisc huck.
HIGH TIDE – Our first high tide was a blast! We played Frisbee, met some other teams,
and had a great time chilling at our place. Despite being skied by old dudes on day 1, we
came back to have our first day of undefeated play in as long as anyone can remember.
Conferences – After two days of intense play, Grim came away having beaten UMass
Lowell and having played competitive games against Harvard and BC.
Regionals- Holding seed with another win against UMass Lowell on Saturday, Grim
unfortunately didn’t play Sunday at regionals this year since our squad was quickly
diminishing due to injuries.
Developmental Sectionals- Meanwhile, the Woodmunchers competed at developmental
sectionals, impressively beating BU, Brandeis, and Bentley and earning a bid to regionals.
2015 MIT Grim Beaver Roster:
Name
Alex Jackson
Brandon Nadres
Brandon Tran
Gil Goldshalger
Hao Shen
Harrison Okun
JJ File
Joel Brooks
Jonathan
Abbott
Jonathan
Lambert
Michael Wu
Richard Yip
Solan Megerssa
Thomas Avila
Tony Broll
William Li
Year
Sr
Sr
Sr
So
So
So
So
G
Description
Allergic to everything green
The eternal team freshman
Has a singular obsession with Sonic
Slayer of the legendary Lord Axistron
Dreams of being a unicorn
Dreams of having Hao as a pet unicorn
Has been mistaken for two people because of his ‘fro
Regularly mistaken for a koala
G
Only person to ever ask for more running
Sr
Loves to drink Smirnoff Ice for breakfast
Sr
Fr
Fr
G
G
G
Silent, but oh so deadly
Yip Yip, hooray!
Plans to live his life riding kangaroos in Australia
Lays out on concrete
Location: nearest bar
Sleeps with his frisbee
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
We had an exciting season, and the biggest team we’ve had in 4+ years.
Unfortunately, a bigger team comes with bigger costs, and we could really use
your help to keep the program growing. We want to establish a solid program with
healthy A and B teams, and are trying our best to not let money get in the way of
that, but we’re running tight on funds. If you’re considering making a donation this
year, considering donating directly to our program. You can use our MIT giving
account:
2720180 - through https://giving.mit.edu/
Your donation will go directly to offsetting the costs of travel, tournament fees, as
well as discs, cones, and other essential equipment. We’re also going to do
another disc order soon, so if you’re interested in a custom Grim Beaver disc, let us
know at [email protected].
2015 MIT Woodmunchers Roster:
Name
Aaron Lin
Bobby Weber
Cesar Guerrero
Dylan Morgan
Garrison Snyder
Jonathan Replogle
Jonathan Uesato
Kai Xiao
Kevin Dorst
Kevin Li
Kevin Lu
Odin Achorn
Paolo Gentili
Sammy Luo
Steven Hao
Steven Homberg
Vahid Fazel-Resai
Year
Fr
Fr
Fr
Ju
Fr
G
So
Fr
G
Jr
Fr
G
So
Fr
Fr
So
Fr
Description
Still trying to figure out how to get to Missouri
Captain of MIT Alpine Skiing
Refuses to keep his hair a normal color
His sleep schedule is the perfect RNG
Currently in Missouri looking for Dorst
Probably running a gel right now
First original cheer will be ready by alumni weekend
Still recovering from half a gallon of strawberry milk
Currently MIA in Missouri
More D
More Dew
Skis like the wind
BTran’s injury-prone protégé
Balls so hard
Specializes in no-look thumbers
Munching wood
Only freshman that can sky AJacks every time
Sir Goldenshlager slays another foe
Alumni game!
We were spamming your e-mail for a while, but in
case you missed it we hosted an alumni day with
sMITe on May 9th. We were super excited to reboot
this tradition, and It’s turned out to be an awesome
day of frisbee followed by BBQing and hanging out.
We want to keep this tradition alive and strong, so
please give us an updated email address if you want
to continue getting updates about events like this one
in the future!
My experiences with MIT Grim Beaver
Brandon Tran, ‘15
I grew up playing team sports. I've played on a competitive team in nearly every major sport and
attended a high school that practiced more than 25 hours a week. I love the feeling of being part
of something bigger, when I can see the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.
But when I got to MIT, I knew that athletics were not a big deal. I never expected to ever be able
to find a community in sports again. I joined frisbee thinking it would be a relaxing and fun way
to stay in shape. But over my years on the team, I found so much more. Once again, I found
myself on a team.
The growth of MIT Ultimate has truly been inspiring. Last year, we struggled to have a full line at
some tournaments and had practices with fewer than ten players. Now, we have 30 members
showing up to optional team workouts. We have an official B team that we send to tournaments.
Once again, I've found myself on a team, a real team. We're not just a group of guys who see
each other twice a week to practice. At practices and workouts, we're talking and cheering each
other. We're high-fiving and slapping asses. Outside, we're going to bars, having dinner, watching
movies, hanging out.
I came out to an MIT Ultimate practice simply because it looked interesting. I never expected to
find the competitive fire I had in high school. I never expected to find a group for which I wanted
to work my ass off, to run until my legs gave out, scream, force myself to get up, and keep on
running. I never expected to love a group of guys as my team. But it happened. I don't know
what we have coming for us this year. But we're ready. All 32 of us are ready to stand together
and work hard for each other. We've become a team, and that means more to me than anything.
MIT trying to wade through the snow. Damn Boston weather.
Captain and Coaches Bios
Brandon “Btran” “TrannyB” Tran, Grim Beaver Captain
Hiding under a goofy grin and a lack of general knowledge before
2012 lies the sole player of MIT ultimate… on the days he isn’t
injured. Literally the equivalent of fifteen regular players, "iso tran"
actually indicates that every other player on the field should join the
sidelines while Btran single-handedly scores the game-winning goal,
layout D’ing any teammates that try to steal his glory. With the
calves of The Hulk, the eyes of a hawk, and the bladder of a 30 year
old pregnant woman, Brandon is truly a menace on the field. In the
huddle, he's been known to pull a hammy or two from the physical
exertion of Ue's sick cheers. Overall, he's got more confidence and
charisma than any captain Grim has ever seen, as well as markedly
less sobriety. Truly a foundation of MIT Ultimate, the only reason our
team even exists is to get him the disc.
Thomas “Tommy” Avila, Grim Beaver Captain
Thomas is the unofficial superman of the team, or so he thinks. No
one has yet told him that humans can’t actually fly. Regardless of
whether the ground is snow or concrete, or whether the disc is 5 or
50 feet away, Thomas’s firey hate for the ground leads him to spend
as much time horizontal as he can. The basketball courts at Brandeis
University are still crying from when Thomas’ abnormally large pecs
smashed into them over and over. On the rare occasions that he’s on
the ground, you can usually find him hucking bombs or paying people
to fly for him.
Joel “Joel-O” Brooks, Grim Beaver Captain
Joel comes from a long family line of Olympic bodybuilders. But when
it became evident that he couldn’t bench the bar, or even lift a
shotput, he decided to throw discs instead. Currently a 4th-year grad
student, Joel brings to the table a wealth of experience, a sick
Pokémon hat, quick-hitting handler movement, and the ability to
scale vertical walls. As captain and the team's oldest member, his
grandfatherly presence keeps all the damn kids in line. He is also
featured prominently in a deadly and feared O-line scheme, known
simply as the “Joel-O” (jo-EL-o).
Gil “Sir Gilgamesh von Goldenshlager” Goldshlager, Grim Beaver
Assistant Captain
Sir GIlgamesh von Goldenshlager, first of his name, slayer of the
mighty Lord Axistron, keeper of the Blades of Fury, née Gilligan
McGillicutty III, bearer of the Hammer of Justice and claimant to the
Wheel of Fire, needs no introduction. Capable of every break throw
known to ultimate and several others, his inside breaks are as deadly
as the fiery breath of the dragons he defeats. He is also a master of
disguise, known even to conceal himself in the color of the opposing
team to sow discord in their ranks.
Jonathan “F**k Ue” Uesato, Woodmunchers Captain
Jonathan Uesato has mastered the art of stealing cheers from our
women’s team. But as a punishment for his utter inability to come up
with even a single original cheer, Ue has been demoted from the
prestigious role of cheer captain to a mere regular captain. Instilling
fear in our opponents with his enormous vocal chords and somewhat
less enormous stature, Ue can usually be found sitting in class playing
with a disc while dreaming of one day inventing a cheer all by
himself.
Garrison “Sideburns” Snyder, Woodmunchers Captain
The loudest and least intelligible freshman on the Wood Munchers,
Garrison was a natural choice for Woodmunchers captain. Though
the things that come out of his mouth may not make sense to you,
him, or anybody else, he sure does know how to hype up a team.
That and sky fools all day long. If he ever finds his way back from his
recent reconnaissance mission to Missouri, we’re confident that he
will lead his team to glorious victory.
Thomas Avila leaves his feet
to try to earn his own dollars
Axis “Lord Axistron” Sivitz, Coach
While he is known to the frisbee community as the “second fastest
man in Ultimate,” he will forever be known to us as “that guy who
throws blade-y hucks to no one in particular.” He hasn’t quite figured
out that if he uses both hands, he can actually count to seven. In his
free time, he works on his upcoming iOS release, “Brigade Button,”
the sequel to the wildly successful “Button Brigade.”
Dory “Dory“ Ziperstein, Coach
The only Grim coach who knows how to count to seven, Dory has
been a great recent addition to our team. She brings years of
experience playing on the Boston elite team, Brute Squad, where she
is known to magically turn into an amazing juggler when drunk.
Though normally extremely supportive of everyone on the team, she
inexplicably refuses to partake in our post-tourney “rituals.” It’s
rumored that she once told someone on our team that they threw a
nice backhand, but we all suspect the rumors are false.
Hao Shen, a real ladies man on the team