by Elise Goitia '18

Winter Whiteout is more than just a chance for Ultimate Frisbee teams to play in the winter. The tournament reunites Knox alumni players with the current team for a little fun and a lot of competition.

"The alumni game is a very exciting for a lot of reasons," said Adam Schrag '16, whose brother Ron Schrag '13 plays on the Knox alumni team. "We get to play against people who have been our friends in the past and still are our friends, who we've looked up to and always had fun playing with."

"Two years ago we beat the alumni," added Harper Garvey '16. "Last year, we lost to the alumni on a close game. This year is kind of the grudge match, if you will."

In addition to the Knox Ultimate team and the Knox alumni, there were six other teams present at the tournament, including teams from Western Illinois University and Wesleyan University.

Lizzie Wisdom '16 has been playing ultimate for six years. This Winter Whiteout, she says, is more heated than any of the previous ones she's attended.

"I think the level of competition this year is better than it normally is," she commented. "We had to really push ourselves and come together to get through these games."

"It's just a fun environment," she added. "It's really cool getting to meet people and then getting to see them come back year after year. Just making connections with people is great."

The tournament is held in commemoration of Natalie Veneziano, a '98 Knox alumna and avid player who passed away from leukemia in 2004. Many of Veneziano's friends and family make the journey to commemorate her memory by watching and competing in the tournament.

Rob Clark '95 started the Knox Ultimate Frisbee Team in 1992. Winter Whiteout is significant to him because Ultimate "is a passion and this tournament is our homecoming."

"This program is unique in that we've got groups of alumni from this huge time period who all come back every year, play together and become friends," he said. "I haven't found a group that's similar to that. It's really neat."

"We're very proud that so many generations of students have followed what we started," he added. "That spirit of welcoming everyone to the field, it's different from other things."

The Knox Ultimate team took top honors in the tournament. The alumni are already looking forward to a rematch next year.