Following their HighTide spring break tournament the SUNY Cortland women’s frisbee team, also known as Mystery Inc. traveled to Middletown NY for a two-day tournament that unbenounced to them would hold some of the physically worst weather conditions some of the members had ever seen.
Ten players from the women’s frisbee team embarked on this tournament on Saturday March 23rd through the freezing cold rain just for the first day of games to be postponed until Sunday March 24th. Despite the postponement, the fields were still a muddy, cold mess the following day during games due to the fields being located in the center of a divot, causing all the oncoming rain to flow directly to the playing area.
“I literally thought my foot was going to fall off the first day,” said Grace Galarza, the team’s Social Media Manager. “I’m not kidding Leana. From my ankle to my toes it felt like I had stones for feet.”
Hannah Johansen, one of the juniors and cutters of the women’s frisbee team agreed the conditions were far from ideal. Some of the other upperclassmen on the team agreed these were some of the worst playing conditions they had ever experienced.
“I thought I had hypothermia, “said Hannah Johansen. “My feet and toes were purple and blue.”
Despite these obvious challenges the team placed fifth overall and showed tons of excitement for some of the rookies on the team, in which this was their first organized tournament. Mystery Inc. was also the smallest women’s frisbee team in attendance that weekend, making their team efforts much more appreciated and crucial gaining the attention of spectators from other teams. One of these spectators even walked up to social media manager Grace Galarza with quite a few praises for the team.
“For such a small team you guys have so much spirit and really look good out there on the field,” said the anonymous spectator.
This spectator was not the only one taking an interest in the team, but Galarza’s very own aunt, Tia Christina, surprised her that day by showing up to watch her play. Galarza said this was especially touching as her family had moved to Georgia this past year and they had been long overdue for a catch up.
Besides showing up for her niece, Tia Christina immediately won over the hearts of the team by bringing Dunkin Donuts, Gatorade, water and many other miscellaneous snacks for them. She also remembered her niece’s favorite coffee order to bring her along with a new pair of socks. The weather was so bad it had ruined the pair Galarza was currently wearing.
Tia Christina stayed for the duration of the entire tournament in support of her niece and went so far as to film the game. Yet she was only focusing the camera on Galarza much like many supportive parents who go to their children’s games and hilariously leave out any game footage, following their child rather than the ball or in this case the disc. When asked how having her Tia in support at this tournament made Galarza feel she described excitement over finally being reunited with her aunt after too much time apart.
“It was so cute, because I haven’t seen her in a few years due to my family recently moving to georgia so catching up with her was so nice.” said Galarza “She has always been such a sweet and caring person and being able to catch up with her after all these years was everything.”
The effect Tia Christina had on the atmosphere was astonishingly positive and definitely did not go unnoticed or without gratitude. Despite the troubling weather conditions, Mystery Inc. powered through delivering an amazing field presence. With the huge amount of support the team received from Tia Christina this tournament will be remembered as a very positive experience and an extremely heartwarming story.