Oklahoma Christian University ultimate kicked off their 2024 season by competing in the Santa Barbara invite, an elite college tournament considered to be one of the biggest on the west coast. Junior captain Emmanuel Kameri spoke on some of the goals the team had for the tournament.
“The biggest expectation was to get chemistry this tournament,” Kameri said. “We wanted to build chemistry, try to break seed and stick with the big teams.”
The Eagles entered the tournament seeded 10th and began the preliminary rounds with a game against Cal Poly Slo, the number four ranked team in the nation. Despite going into the game 2-0, the Eagles would not be able to keep their lead and eventually fell 15-7 to Slocore. However, the following two matchups against Chicago and Grand Canyon University fared much better for the Eagles, winning 11-7 and 11-8 respectively.
By the last round of the preliminaries, the Eagles had already qualified for the championship bracket. But now they had a new goal: upset the University of British Columbia and have an easier opponent in the pre-quarter match-up on Sunday.
This game, and the three before, were filled with highlight plays from sophomore receiver Logan Hammersmith. Kameri commented on the efforts made by his fellow teammate.
“Logan stepped up for the whole team at the time we needed him most,” Kameri said. “His attitude was good during the games, and he was really fired up to come to California and play. I feel he exceeded his own expectations.”
While Hammersmith’s heroics kept the Eagles in games, it was not enough against UBC. The Eagles lost 13-12 to British Columbia, forcing them to play against the University of Utah in the pre-quarter round. Sophomore captain Ryan Loui-Ying spoke about getting to play against old friends.
“It was really fun,” Loui-Ying said. “It was really nice to see some old friends, and it’s always good competition when you play against old teammates. We stuck with them until the end. Even if we couldn’t pull off the victory, it was a good start to the season.”
Despite a three goal lead during the pre-quarters, the Eagles gave up a comeback to the Utah Zion Curtain, sending them to the ninth place bracket. In the first game, they faced the University of California-San Diego Flying Squids. After a rough start, the Eagles bounced back, winning with graduate student Josh Gill after finding Hammersmith wide open in the end zone. Afterwards, they faced the 2023 D1 nationals team, the University of California-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. This was where injuries and a smaller roster began to hold the Eagles back, Kameri reported.
“It was a very hard decision to make, trying to figure out who to move where,” Kameri said. “We have a group of players who can play both offense and defense well, but it was hard to try and decide who you move where.”
Regardless of when the injuries occurred, the Eagles ran out of steam and lost to the Banana Slugs 11-7. After the tournament, head coach Garrett Taylor spoke to the team about items to work on.
“We’re going to keep running and watch film,” Taylor said. “There’s a lot of good games to watch this upcoming weekend.”
Captains Kameri and Loui-Ying both had major takeaways from the tournament.
“I’m looking forward to having a healthy squad. We don’t have everyone right now due to injuries,” Kameri said. “We are going to make sure we practice the right way, taking care of our bodies.”
“I think overall, our performance is pretty promising,” Loui-Ying said. “We have a lot of potential and have accomplished a lot with a small roster. I’m really excited for everyone to see the work we have put in so we can finally get that respect.”
The Eagles’ next tournament is the premier Oklahoma college tournament, the Dust Bowl, which will be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from Feb. 17-18.
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