By James Prendergast
April 28th
After rising over 100 rankings nationally and finishing as third in the region, Team Rockets’ spring season has now come to an end. The team competed in five tournaments, each providing unique challenges and opportunities to grow.
Much of the team’s success stemmed from intentional preparation. This was spearheaded by Captain and Vice President Michael Levy, who spoke of their preparation before the games.
“We’re primarily focused on addressing how to play different defensive schemes and offensive ways,” said Levy.
That emphasis on development was shown early on at the Division III River City Showdown in Richmond, Virginia. Cortland played a total of three games during that weekend, finishing with a record of one win and two losses.
While the record might not immediately stand out on paper, the team’s performance was impressive given the level of competition. Facing off against more experienced teams, Cortland showed determination and resilience, proving that their hard work and training were paying off.
In their opening game, Cortland went up against Richmond and fought hard but ultimately fell short, scoring 8 points while Richmond came away with 13.
The second game was another close contest, this time against Davidson. Cortland managed to put up 8 points again, but Davidson edged them out with 10, handing the team its second loss of the weekend.
Finally, Cortland faced Dickinson in what would be their only win of the tournament, coming out on top with 11 points to Dickinson’s 7. While the team had hoped for more time on the field, the tournament was cut short due to weather, leaving them eager to continue improving in future competitions.
The next tournament, the First State Invite 2026, was held in Newark, Delaware. This two day event provided a longer schedule, giving the team multiple opportunities to fine tune their strategies and work on cohesion.
Preparation again played a key role.
“Multiple times we watched film and taught new skills or strategies to deal with defensive pressure,” said Levy. “A few examples would be learning a new way to breaking sideline zone pressure and implementing bracket defense.”
On the first day, Cortland played four games. Their opener was a nail biter against Johns Hopkins, where Cortland scored 8 points but fell just short as Johns Hopkins scored 9.
In the second game, the team found their footing and secured a solid victory over Maryland Baltimore County, finishing with 9 points to their opponent’s 5.
Later that day, Cortland faced Drexel in a hard-fought match, ultimately losing 8 to 12.
They closed out the first day on a high note with a strong win against Towson, scoring 13 points to Towson’s 8.
The second day of the First State Invite began with optimism, and Cortland carried that energy into their matchup against NYU, winning 10–6.
However, fatigue seemed to set in as the day progressed. Their next game was a rematch against Johns Hopkins, where they struggled to keep up, scoring only 3 points while Johns Hopkins dominated with 13.
The tournament concluded with a second loss to Drexel, with Cortland scoring 4 points to Drexel’s 13. Despite the setbacks, the team gained valuable experience and learned important lessons about consistency and endurance in tournament play.
After these competitive events, Cortland took the opportunity to participate in the Hightide Tournament in Myrtle Beach, a more relaxed event focused on team bonding rather than rankings. Cortland joined forces with the women’s team, Mystery Incorporated, to form Rocket Inc., creating a mixed roster that emphasized collaboration and communication.
Jake Kinnicutt, who serves as both the secretary of the Cortland Ultimate team and the supervisor for High Tide, said that the women’s team’s presence was the biggest difference at the tournament.
“Normally, our clubs aren’t mixed,” said Kinnicutt. The purpose of the event was to “bring the two clubs closer together.”
He also said that the groups “were not close with each other before this tournament,” which created some challenges in managing expectations and communication in a shared space.
On the field, Kinnicutt highlighted the opportunity to experiment, including running “experimental lines” and giving players chances to play unfamiliar roles. While he admitted that the lower intensity level could be “a little frustrating” for a competitive player, Kinnicutt said that the tournament was valuable for development and adjustment, especially as the teams improved in how they shared the disc and worked together across mixed lines.
Beyond gameplay, Kinnicutt pointed to team bonding as the most meaningful outcome. He said his favorite part was “getting to know everyone on both teams better,” noting that even small interactions led to stronger relationships within the program. Overall, he said, High Tide was an important experience for building chemistry that was carried forward into the rest of the season.
Near the end of the spring season, Cortland attended Conferences in Batavia, New York.
On the first day, Cortland played SUNY Geneseo, Oneonta, and Hamilton. The final score of the first game ended with a decisive 15–5 win.
In the second game against Oneonta, Cortland held its own and came out on top 15–9.
In the final game of the day against Hamilton, Cortland secured another win with a score of 15–11.
With this performance, Cortland entered the following day with confidence and tenacity. The next day, Cortland faced Ithaca and Hamilton once more.
In a hard-fought match, Cortland gave it their all but couldn’t compete against Ithaca’s zone defense , Cortland fell to Ithaca 5–15, a game Levy pointed to as a key challenge.
“Our biggest challenge was probably Ithaca’s zone defense, the first time we played it completely killed our offense,” said Levy.
Following this loss, Cortland rallied against Hamilton and ended the game with a dominant 15–3 victory, securing the win. These results placed Cortland as the 6th seed in the region heading into their final tournament of the season.
SUNY Cortland then put together an impressive run at the Metro East D III Men’s Regionals, showing consistency and control across all of their matchups.
As the 6th seed, Levy said that he went into the tournament with confidence in his team’s abilities
“There were no more than 3 teams better than us in the region,” said Levy.
That confidence translated onto the field. They opened strong on Saturday with a 12–9 win over Central Connecticut State, followed by a commanding 11–5 victory against Army later that day.
Carrying that momentum into Sunday, Cortland dominated Vassar 15–7 before closing out the tournament with an 11–5 win over Ithaca—an especially meaningful result given earlier struggles.
“[Ithaca’s zone] gave us some troubles, but we broke it and forced them to switch defenses,” said Levy.
Cortland capped off the weekend with a win by forfeit against Wesleyan, finishing and demonstrating both offensive firepower and defensive resilience.
Reflecting on the season, Levy emphasized the team’s growth both mentally and competitively.
“Our tournament mentality has improved…” said Levy.” Our team as a whole does a good job of being energetic whether we are winning or losing.”
Levy [PA21] also said [PA22] that the team “slightly exceeded expectations,” particularly with their strong regional performance and second place conference finish. Most notably, the team’s overall progress has been dramatic.
“We went from ranked #182 in the nation to #37… from 8th in the region …to third,” said Levy. “The culture of the team, the skill of the players, and the willingness to learn were truly remarkable and documentary worthy.”