UNLV Ultimate storms through Vegas tourny

February 9, 2009 by Matt Maxson 

Red Army picks up wins, still looking to pick up members

As the sun broke through the sky Saturday at the Silver Bowl, the UNLV Ultimate Frisbee team broke out of their two-game slump with wins against Nevada, Reno and Brigham Young Idaho in the three-day tournament, Trouble in Vegas.

The UNLV Red Army opened the day with losses to Miami (Fla.) and Boston University, both by scores of 7-4. But Red Army rebounded to down the Wolf Pack, 9-3, and Vikings, 13-9.

Eric Loy led the Rebels with four goals for UNLV in their win against BYU Idaho. Anthony Carvalho, Brian Uran and Ken Kriwanek each scored three goals for Red Army.

The game, which had been played clean all day, turned dirty as the day’s rain turned the Silver Bowl into a mud pit making numbers, jerseys and faces indiscernible.

It was what the tournament’s name had promised - Trouble in Vegas.

Trouble in Vegas, an Ultimate tournament in its fourth year, featured 124 college teams from across the nation. It is, unofficially, the largest Frisbee tournament in the U.S.

But the game that largely began as a hippie anti-sport has transformed into a competitive game that still clings to its non-traditional roots.

“Over the last decade, you’ve seen the hippies get whittled out,” UNLV player-coach Brian Uran said. “There’s a few teams we see that are in there for the love of the sport but most of these people are in it to win these days.”

Red Army belongs in the latter category.

Though the team doesn’t know much of its history, in the past year Uran and his team have tried to reclaim it. A one-time top 30 team, Red Army has struggled with membership, practice and traveling ever since its founding.

“UNLV has never been, and probably never will be, a Frisbee school,” Uran said with a laugh. “The main thing is work and school, we really only have time to practice once, maybe twice a week.”

That puts Red Army at a severe disadvantage to schools like UC Santa Barbara, which often fields multiple teams that have regimented practices.

The 15-man roster practices once or twice a week at the Silver Bowl, home to Trouble in Vegas. As a team that receives little support from UNLV, they survive solely on their members and the ability to recruit new players. Something Uran said has been a challenge since he’s been around.

“[Recruiting] is super, super important, and also very, very difficult,” Uran said. “We take any opportunity we have to recruit. We always want to have that next level of athlete come in.”

Uran, a former Green Valley High School baseball player, is one of many high school athletes on Red Army turned Frisbee throwers.  Though he is in his third year on the team, Uran said he discovered Ultimate with friends who were just looking around on the Internet. After playing in unorganized leagues for two years, he joined Red Army, but it wasn’t easy.

“When I was in high school, I never thought I would be on the Frisbee field,” Uran said. “I didn’t even know there was Frisbee in college. I spent much of the first year just trying to find the club.”

But after discovering the organization, he knew he had found a group that he wanted to be a part of.

The sport he discovered though was unlike most. As Saturday’s games wrapped up, beer bottles and cans littered the grassy areas. It was a testament to the hippie history of the sport, but this year the Coors Light cans didn’t belong to Red Army. The UNLV Ultimate team has limited their consumption with the hopes of being a more competitive team.

“Drinking is kind of a given across the sport of Frisbee,” Uran said. “This year we’ve taken a different approach to year’s past. It’s definitely trouble in Ultimate.”

But Red Army’s biggest problem may not be booze. The team has been unable to crack the upper echelons of the sport due to limited funds and practice. Uran is quick to admit that even with the team’s finish in this tournament, Red Army still isn’t ready to break through.

“We’re not quite there yet,” Uran said. “As far as Frisbee skill and practice time we’re not just there yet.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Eric Loy is the Arts & Entertainment editor for The Rebel Yell

Red Army picks up wins, still looking to pick up members