AMHERST — After 20 years away from the Division I Ultimate Championships, Zoo Disc, UMass’ ultimate club team, was pleased to make the 2014 event and finish 13th.
A year ago, its fifth-place finish was further evidence that Zoo Disc had moved into the upper echelon of programs in the sport.
This year, UMass is the event’s top seed. Anything other than winning the tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina, will be a disappointment.
“As a coach you almost always get attached to a team. I’ve been with these guys since September. I’m attached to them and the work they’ve done,” UMass coach Tiina Booth said. “I want them to have the experience of what it’s like to be No. 1. It’s the gift I want to give them. For me personally I’m not going to lie and say it wouldn’t be great to have that.”
Senior Jeff Babbitt is confident.
“We feel like we can take it all home. We have that potential,” Babbitt said. “Everything came together for us. I’d feel pretty upset if we don’t bring home the title. I think we are the best team in the nation. We’re ranked that way for good reason. We’re a really deep team and skilled team. If we come out and play our game we can win all of our games at nationals.”
Babbitt, who switched his number to 87 this year in honor of New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, is one of the reasons UMass has reached its lofty spot.
He’s a finalist for the Callahan Award as the national player of the year.
Booth said his leadership is as valuable as his play.
“He had them in the gym lifting and working out in the winter. Most teams are not that dedicated,” she said. “He brings dedication and athleticism and understanding of the game that puts him in the upper echelon of players. He’s really quite the phenomenal player.”
UMass is in Pool A with No. 8 Georgia, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 13 Washington and No. 17 Cal Poly.
Zoo Disc will open pool play vs. Georgia, at 10:30 a.m. Friday and will play Cal Poly at 4:30 p.m.
Saturday starts with an 8:30 a.m. game vs. A&M followed by a 12:30 meeting with Washington.
The top three teams in each pool advance to the championship bracket.
Booth was looking forward to playing the first game so her players could get the feel of playing with the target on their back.
“We worked really, really hard. It makes sense that we’re where we are,” she said. “We haven’t had a competitive game since regionals. If you want to be a champion, you need to act like a champion before you are a champion. They certainly know that.”
Amherst Regional graduate Angela Zhu will guide Dartmouth in the women’s tournament, which is also held in Raleigh.
Princess Layout is in Pool B with British Columbia, UCLA, Pittsburgh and Western Washington.
Dartmouth plays British Columbia (8:30 a.m.) and Pittsburgh (4:30) on Friday.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com.