In an era of corporation-driven sport, it is rare to find purity along the contours of major collegiate competition.

But on the bank of the Olentangy River, and with the assistance of a shiny disk, the cynical lines drawn against the virtue of sport are being erased.

The Ohio State women’s ultimate frisbee club team is composed of students who simply play for the love of the game.

“I like the ability to play to your utmost ability and then to turn around and say to the team, ‘You played really well, and I enjoyed competing against you,'” graduate student Terri Brandt said.

It may seem like a novelty to most, but not for these women. Without the ideals of people like Brandt, there would not be a club team at OSU.

The first attempt at a women’s team failed within its first year of inception. Junior Suzanne Inamura is the only member of the current squad who was associated with the original team.

Inamura cited a lack of organization in the first go-around as its ultimate demise. She also said the major difference between the failed attempt and this one is the presence of temporary coach Nathan Salwen.

“(The first time) it was really hard to keep the girls coming through the winter,” Inamura said. “The difference between two years ago and this year is the fact that we have a coach – he is very helpful.”

For Salwen, the timing of the situation could not have been better. Recovering from an injury and unable to play on his own team until fully healed, Salwen saw it as a perfect opportunity to stay in shape and teach the sport that he has played his entire life.

“I was hurt so I couldn’t play full speed,” he said. “Practicing with them was a good way for me to stay in the game.”

Salwen said his biggest impact on the team has been his consistent participation in the athletic lives of the women.

“The fact that I was at all of the practices provided some stability,” he said. “If girls came to practice on a day that the conditions weren’t good, they knew I would be here to work with them on their skills – it wouldn’t be a wasted trip to come out to the field.”

Even with the passion of the women and the tutelage of Salwen, the team struggled through their first year. At regionals last weekend, the club fought for a 1-4 overall record. Originally drawn as the 10th team in a field of 14, the women were poised while facing a couple of lower-seeded squads. The clubs from West Virginia were unable to attend, and OSU was forced into playing a much harder schedule than originally planned.

“The original pool had us playing some teams that were above us and some teams that were below, but one of the teams dropped out,” Brandt said. “(As a result), we had a lot of really hard games on Saturday.”

Factoring in the circumstances of the tournament, Brandt was impressed by the clubs ability to adapt on the run.

“We learned two more offenses and a couple more defenses on the fly, in between games,” she said. “On Sunday we said, ‘All right, we learned how to play this offense by playing against it, let’s try it,’ and we got several points on that – the learning curve is incredible.”

Another key to the long weekend was the absence of a few of the OSU players. Because it was the team’s first year, depth was a concern, and that worry became evident on Sunday. Salwen said Brandt, Inamura and graduate student Caryn Klaff – the undisputed leaders of the team – simply wore down.

“They have carried a lot of the load all year,” he said. “Because of it, they hit the wall simultaneously.”

Despite a loss to Otterbein, the women of the liberal arts college were impressed with the play of OSU’s rookie club.

“(Otterbein said) we’re scared to see you guys in two years,” Klaff said.

As for the rest of the season, the women are focusing their collective efforts on recruiting. It will be crucial for the team to delve into the deep talent pool awarded at a school the size of Ohio State.

“We think there is potential here to have a really good program,” Salwen said. “We hope this is just the beginning.”