Eight freshmen joined the ultimate frisbee team this year. That's more than a lot of men's varsity sports can boast. Like all of their older teammates, those eight freshmen dragged themselves out of bed for early-morning workouts throughout the long Cambridge winter.

Every Tuesday and Thursday mornings, while most of their classmates tried to catch a few hours of rest from the ever-present demands of school, the members of the team trekked across campus to practice on the top floor of the Malkin Athletic Center.

"I remember the janitors would let us in, because no one else was around [at that hour]," sophomore Corny Howland says.

And so, with the rest of the MAC dark and empty, the squad went to work on the top floor. Practicing throws, running drills and scrimmaging five-on-five (because the gym floor wasn't big enough to accommodate a full game) the team prepared for its spring season.

So Far...

Unfortunately, preparation hasn't meant success for the young, rebuilding Harvard squad.

Over Spring Break, Harvard traveled down to UNC-Wilmington for the National College Eastern Championships, then up to the University of Virginia for a scrimmage, and finally to Washington, D.C., for another tournament.

Harvard--which hadn't even played outside much--withered a bit against the top-level competition. As Kasimir delicately put it, "the team hadn't quite gelled yet."

The very next weekend, the team went to Princeton for an Ivy League tournament but shockingly, only six players showed up. Seven are needed for a game, and Harvard was essentially forced to play shorthanded for most of the weekend. An angry Norcott and Kasimir called a team meeting in the middle of last week to voice their frustrations and call for renewed commitment.

"They laid it out on the table and pretty much asked how seriously we were going take (the activity)," Howland said. "They made it clear that wanted us to be more dedicated."

Last weekend, 16 newly energized players (almost too many to establish a consistent rotation) showed up for the team's tournament at Yale.

The Crimson still couldn't get over the hump, however, as it finished third in its four-team pool. Only the top two teams advanced to the second day of play.

A disappointment, without a doubt.

"The team came together a little more, but we had a tough loss to Tufts in the first round, and after that I knew that we weren't going to advance," Kasimir says.

Characteristically, though, after coming back early last Saturday night, the players decided to meet on Sunday afternoon for an extra practice.