James Tibolla had an ultimate athletic experience at the University of Connecticut this past spring.

The 2020 Newtown High School graduate helped UConn’s Ultimate Frisbee team to tremendous success, leading the way on and off the field as a captain.

The UConn club team captured championship runs through sectional and regional tournaments that took place at Stony Brook University in Suffolk County, N.Y. UConn’s regional championship game win against Cornell earned the squad a spot in the USA Ultimate Frisbee Tournament, a national competition that took place over Memorial Day weekend in Milwaukee. There were only 20 top teams from across all 50 states, including Division I lineups, that competed in the tournament.

“The success we had this past spring was so amazing and I am very proud of the team. Everyone put in the work and I am so glad that I was a part of it,” Tibolla said.

Tibolla was on Newtown’s varsity wrestling team as a junior and senior and also played on the Ultimate Frisbee team as a junior. There was no senior team due to the impact of the coronavirus. Despite limited experience with Ultimate Frisbee, Tibolla made impressive strides in his first two years at UConn.

Matt Kearney, a Newtown native, coaches the team and notes that Tibolla has been a key team member.

“Last year, James’ freshman year, we did not have a season due to COVID, but James was one of the people that tried to stay involved with the club with what little we were doing. Things like small scrimmages or just throwing after class, James was involved. This year was his first official season with us and he started with a very strong showing at tryouts. For our first few fall tournaments, we were moving him around in different roles and eventually settled using him as a defensive specialist due to his athleticism, but we knew he could also be relied on as a handler in a pinch,” said Kearney, explaining that a “handler is kind of like a quarterback, but usually there are two or three on the field at a time, mainly occupying the backfield.”

“He showed strong leadership qualities right from the start and was elected as a captain in his first year with the team, after just two tournaments and a handful of practices. This is highly unusual, but this year the senior class collectively decided to decline their captain nominations, as we were looking at this year as a rebuild initially and they wanted to give the younger classes a head start in team leadership roles. James was a near-unanimous selection because of his dedication to the team, his work ethic, his positive attitude, and his ability to connect all the students at UConn who love our sport. In the spring James led the UConn Men’s Ultimate HuskyTHON team, which was a dance-a-thon fundraiser for Connecticut Children’s Hospital,” Kearney said.

Tibolla took on more responsibility with the team in tournament time. Tibolla played nearly every point on offense and defense in the national competition and tied for the top goal-scorer on the team.

“By the time the postseason rolled around, I had a few more opportunities to work with James and try him in different positions, and it was clear he was ready to step into a bigger role on the field as well. Through our sectionals and regionals runs, he started to cross over from defense to offense more often and was extremely reliable as a thrower, receiver, and defender. We used him in some of the most difficult positions on the field that require the most endurance, especially in defense of other teams’ handlers, and he was up to the task,” Kearney said.

Overcoming Obstacles And Tourney Success

Just like in other athletics activities, there are challenges for Ultimate Frisbee players to overcome.

“The mental aspect of the game is the toughest part for me. I can be very hard on myself, and trying to keep my head in the game can be very difficult sometimes,” Tibolla said.

Tibolla’s UConn team had plenty of obstacles in the way during this recent postseason run.

The Huskies entered the postseason with high hopes but realistic expectations, said Kearney, adding that the team was set to compete in the second weekend of April at Yale for the Hudson Valley Conference championship tournament. “But a miscommunication between university administrations prevented our team from playing that weekend,” Kearney said.

“Instead of having our season end on the spot, and in light of the circumstances, we were permitted by USA Ultimate (USAU) to play in our neighboring conference (Metro N.Y.) championship the following weekend. These were hosted by SUNY Stony Brook on Easter weekend, and many of our players were unable to attend due to family obligations. While we were lucky to be able to compete at all, the outlook was bleak,” Kearney explained.

UConn went from playing a tournament one hour away with a full roster of 23, to playing at a tournament on Easter against significantly better teams with a roster of just 12, the coach noted.

“Luckily, this 12 included our dominant handler trio of Jeremy Bernier, Danny Manger, and Seth Fortin, who used their experience and chemistry to expertly navigate the windy conditions. During pool play on [the first day], UConn collected wins over Rowan, NYU, and SUNY Stony Brook, only dropping a game to Columbia. On Easter Sunday, UConn defeated Princeton in the semifinal and took revenge on Columbia in the finals, winning the 14-13 nail-biter for the conference championship,” Kearney said.

A first place finish at conferences was not enough to give the Huskies the top seed at the regional championship two weeks later, and the team finished ranked fourth behind No. 1 Cornell, No. 2 Yale, and No. 3 Columbia. Regionals was hosted at Stony Brook again, but this time with near perfect weather and a full-strength UConn team with momentum, Kearney said.

If the team won their first two games in their pool, they would be granted a bye into the bracket; however, following a win over SUNY Buffalo UConn suffered a one-point loss to Princeton. The loss forced UConn to play a crossover game, where the team took down SUNY Albany handily to earn a spot in the next day’s bracket stage.

“If there was a single theme for these 2022 UConn Huskies, it would be ‘save your best for Sunday.’ A loss in any of these games meant the end of our season. The quarterfinal matchup was UConn versus RIT, who surprised the field by winning their pool as the No. 10 seed, beating Columbia in the process. The RIT defense proved difficult to navigate, as they frequently used a zone defense which relied on two of their biggest playmakers in the middle of the field to generate turnovers. They went up 4-1 early but UConn was able to collect a couple breaks back,” said Kearney, whose team trailed by just one at the break.

The second half was close throughout, but some great adjustments from UConn had them navigating RIT’s zone defense with ease, Kearney said. “Carson Fitzner was the favorite target of Bernier, who was able to break through the zone with several deep hammer passes to Fitzner. The game was tied at 12-12 when the time cap went off, forcing a next point wins situation, called universe point in ultimate terminology,” Kearney said.

The final point saw both teams turn the disc over multiple times, and it was anyone’s game until again Bernier managed to find a streaking Fitzner in the end zone for the win.

UConn’s next challenge started less than 15 minutes later — a semifinal matchup vs Rutgers, which despite being a No. 8 seed was one of the favorite dark horse predictions to win the tournament, Kearney said. The Rutgers team featured a lot of young talent, including one of the favorites for All-Region freshman of the year — Chris Iglesias. UConn also had no shortage of young talent, with 15 rookies among 23 players.

“UConn’s rookies really shined in this game, with huge contributions on both offense and defense from sophomores James Tibolla (1 Assist, 2 Blocks) and Austin Rey (5 Goals). UConn once again dug themselves into an early deficit, but managed to claw back into the game and take half 8-7, and once again the opposition had no answer for Bernier (4 Assists, 1 Goal, 1 Block) and Fitzner (2 Assists, 4 Blocks) who led the team in the second half to a 14-13 victory,” Kearney said.

The Metro East Regional Finals saw UConn take on the defending champions and No. 1 seed, Cornell. Again, this game took place less than 15 minutes after the previous one ended, and after back-to-back one-point games without rest, the team was exhausted. “The first half looked similar to the RIT quarterfinal, with UConn going down 4-1 in the first five points. After taking a time-out to calm the nerves and refuel, the Huskies were able to rattle off a couple breaks of their own to make the game close. As this was the last remaining game, the sidelines were packed with spectators and teams that had already been eliminated, who all seemed to be cheering for the underdog Huskies. Like RIT, Cornell tried their best to shut down the potent UConn offense with a zone defense, and just like the RIT game Bernier carved it up with beautiful deep hammer throws to Fitzner,” Kearney said.

With UConn leading 13-12 and time cap on, UConn’s Tibolla took possession back on a defensive block, and the Huskies punched it in for the regional championship by a final score of 14-12. The win earned UConn the sole bid from the Metro East to the USAU National Championship in Milwaukee on Memorial Day Weekend. This was the fourth time UConn has qualified for the tournament since USAU began organizing it in 1987, and UConn’s first time since 2018. On the back of Bernier’s extraordinary Regional Championship performance, the team nominated him for the 2022 Callahan Award, the college MVP award similar to the Heisman or Naismith, Kearney said.

Seeded No. 20 in the national tourney, UConn’s pool included No. 4 Pittsburgh, No. 5 Georgia, No. 9 Michigan, and No. 16 Auburn. UConn fell to each of the top three seeds in the pool to miss out on the bracket, but had the opportunity to play spoiler in the final game of pool play to try to keep Auburn from making the bracket with a win. The Huskies started strong and held an 8-7 lead after one half, but could not hold on for the victory. In consolation, the Huskies fell to No. 17 William and Mary in a close consolation match, ending the season.

“While the season’s final tournament did not go the way the Huskies had hoped, there are still plenty of silver linings. It was unprecedented for a team with 15 rookies to qualify for the national championship, and almost all will be returning to the team next year having gained that invaluable experience. In particular, Tibolla and Rey shared the team lead in goals at nationals with seven apiece, and both will be returning as captains for the 2023 season. Jeremy Bernier was selected for Ultiworld’s All-Region First Team, while Danny Manger earned an honorable mention,” Kearney said.

It has been an enjoyable road to Ultimate Frisbee success and camaraderie for Tibolla.

“I started playing Ultimate Frisbee my junior year of high school, and I might not have ever played if it wasn’t for a friend who asked me to join the team,” he said. “To me, the best part is the community. It’s such a fun environment and I’ve made many friendships through it.”

Tibolla plays year-round. He stays sharp in the off-season with summer league play in Connecticut. The Ultimate Frisbee season gets going again in the fall with the goal of having tournament success each spring.

“I look forward to seeing him continue to improve and lead UConn back to Nationals in 2023,” Kearney said.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.