Courtesy of the SDSU Women?s Ultimate Frisbee Club Team

Before they were the San Diego State women’s ultimate Frisbee club team, they were a ragtag bunch of Frisbee flingers who’d eventually call themselves the Muchachas de la Noche (the Cha Chas) 8212; girls of the night.

Their story seems like something out of the movie “The Sandlot” and it began when nine SDSU students challenged the fundamentally refined UC San Diego women’s Frisbee team to a scrimmage.

The Cha Chas didn’t stand a football player’s chance in chemistry class against those Frisbee disc jocks from across town. Not only were the Aztecs not a legitimate team yet, but they also had people on their squad who had never played an official game before. Compare this with the years of success UCSD has accumulated and these Muchachas were going to be the toast the Tritons ate for breakfast, right?

Wrong.

Halfway through the game, SDSU was losing 7-4. But for some reason the Cha Chas began doing something peculiar 8212; they started to believe they could win.

Confidence spread throughout the team and the Aztecs were laying out for the disc left and right. First it was one. Then it was another. And then another.

With time expired and mud dripping from their clothes, the Cha Chas were victorious. Out from the darkness of night, these women from Montezuma Mesa stunned the UCSD players. “Where the hell did you guys come from?” SDSU’s co-captain Karen Brohard said a UCSD player asked. “Don’t even tell me that was your team’s first game.”

But it was. And they’ve since beaten many other teams.

At the heart of the team is co-captain Jessica Ranes. Ranes, whose throwing motion is as smooth as butter, is an impressive woman with a calm demeanor and a large appetite for Frisbee. Three years ago, Ranes signed up to play for the Aztecs’ ultimate Frisbee club team and played for the men’s B-squad because there wasn’t a women’s team. The following semester Ranes would change that by setting up a table at Aztec Center and recruiting students for SDSU’s first women’s Frisbee squad.

Ranes found nine girls that first semester 8212; barely enough to field a proper team, but plenty enough to kick butt. Since their inception, the Aztecs have played brilliantly. They were even invited to this year’s Ultimate Players Association’s Regional Tournament held in Colorado. But because of a lack of funds, and short notice, they weren’t able to go.
When asked how Ranes would describe herself if she could only use one word, her answer was fitting. “Ultimate,” she said laughing.

Ranes then turned to her teammate Brohard and said, “I don’t know. Describe me.” Brohard got serious for a moment, leaned back and slightly squinted her eyes to focus on Ranes.

“Determined,” Brohard said.

Because of Ranes’ determination, more than 30 SDSU students had women’s ultimate Frisbee practice to attend this past Wednesday night.

Because the Muchachas de la Noche were determined, more than 30 UCSD students didn’t have the breakfast they thought they’d have that defining day.