Crusaders Head to Tulsa!
This upcoming weekend the University of Dallas Ultimate Frisbee team or “UDU” will be heading to Tulsa for their first tournament of the season! Coming off an exciting end to last season, beating Trinity College 12-11 in the sectional tournament, UDU is ready to run it back with their first appearance of the season!
The Crusaders bring back a veteran roster including seniors John Dougherty and Thomas Waterman. This team is led by their junior president Andrew Arlinghaus. Arlinghaus has made some major changes to the team as president this year. One of them includes changing their practice times to 6:30 a.m.! UDU traditionally has hosted their practices in the evenings, but Arlinghaus feels that the team needs to better prepare for morning games, hence the change to morning practices. Although this was controversial at first, the team has rallied behind Arlinghaus and his exceptional leadership and has seen significant improvement throughout the fall semester and the early parts of this spring semester.
The Crusaders began their spring semester with their semi-annual alumni game. Every fall semester during Family & Alumni Weekend, and during Groundhog Weekend in the Spring, the Crusaders invite their alumni players back to campus to play in a friendly scrimmage. The alumni took this year’s game, winning 15-11 in exciting fashion. The Crusaders held their heads high knowing the potential their team has going against other universities.
The Crusaders travel this weekend to Tulsa, Oklahoma where they will play against various teams and attempt to make an early statement for future tournaments. When interviewing sophomore vice president PJ Connolly, he was asked about the message UDU wants to send early on in Tulsa. Connolly said, “We are trying to establish ourselves as a top competitor in our division.” When asked about the range of experience on this UDU roster, Connolly said, “We have a good mix of veteran leadership, as well as upcoming talent, the freshman provide a passionate inexperienced energy to the team that is tempered by the wisdom of the veterans.” We asked Connolly about Arlinghaus and his first year as president of UDU. He said, “I was in Rome for the fall, and can’t speak on his accomplishments in the fall, but from the small amount that I have experienced this spring, UDU is on an upward trajectory.” Connolly was asked about the overall trajectory of the team from the recent showing just before the upcoming tournament and said, “It has been a very promising start to the season, our players have built a true chemistry both on and off the field that will be beneficial to us in upcoming matchups.”
UDU has been a pillar of the University of Dallas since 2009 and has been trending upwards ever since. In recent years UDU has appeared in more tournaments across Texas and has begun competing for national competition. UDU has seen change since 2023 where we went to the sectional tournament for the first time in over three years. The Crusaders will also participate in tournaments at Waco hosted by Baylor University, then depending on their performance, they will compete against two teams in the sectional tournament.
The Crusaders will have a long season ahead of them, filled with various levels of competition and challenges that will make or break their season. The upcoming tournament in Tulsa will give fans a true understanding of where this team stands with the remainder of the season on the horizon. So far, the Crusaders are looking polished as they head into the season with their sights on a successful season!