Pitt-Johnstown Ultimate Frisbee team members are getting ready to open their fall season with the annual Forkmanstache tournament Oct. 5-6 at Clarion University.

Team members look to start the fall season off on a good note, as they try to build up momentum leading to the annual Pitt-Johnstown tournament, Jymmy Jam Oct. 26-27.

The tournament was named in honor of St. Vincent University Women’s Lacrosse Coach Jym Walters.

Walters donated $1,000 to the team in 2003 after finding out they had racked up over $3,000 in debt, paying for damaged baseball field tarps.

The fall season is normally used to prepare teams for the spring season, which is the more meaningful season.

“For fall tournaments, the goal is to have fun and give our new members a chance to see what competitive ultimate (Frisbee) is about,” club president Nathan Dute said.

“For the spring season, expectations are high. Our main goal for this season is to win our section.”

Winning a section title is something Flood Ultimate has never accomplished.  Dickinson College and Messiah College are two teams that stand in their way.

“Each year Dickinson (College) and Messiah (College) are our main competition and last year we placed second (in the section), only losing to Messiah (College),” Dute said.

Dute said that the team wants to improve on an unsatisfactory finish at regional competiton.

“We want to build on our fifth place finish in the Ohio Valley regionals last year and finish in the top three this season,” he said.

Eight seniors are to return this year.  Junior Andrew Barchowsky is to come back after an ankle injury suffered in sectionals last year.

“His health will have a big effect on our success this year,” Dute said.

Sophomore Evan Johnson was the team’s rookie of the year last season.  Dute said that they are expecting him to improve and have another big year.

This is to be the last season for fifth year senior Matt McDaniel.

McDaniel has been one of the most unfailingly dominant players on the team in recent years, according to Dute.

Captain Ben Wojnarowski said that practices have looked proficient so far this season.

“The team looks good.  We are right where we left off last year and the expectations are high this year,” he said.

Wojnarowski said the team has 26 active members with nine new members who joined this season, but the team lacks females.

Andrew Barchowsky leads the team along with Wojnarowski as team captains.

The Flood plays mixed tournaments in the fall, meaning the team has to play with two females.  There is only one active female on the roster.

“We just were not able to recruit girls (so far) this year,” club vice president Pat Miller said.

“We had seven or eight (females) sign up and only two ended up ever coming to any practices.”

Miller said one of the woman stopped practicing and the other hurt herself, leaving them with only one active female for the fall season.

Although it hurts the team during its fall season, it still leaves the team in good shape for the spring season because spring tournaments are male only.

The tam have three tournaments scheduled in the fall season.  The Huck it to Ghana tournament at West Chester University is for Oct. 19-20.