Go for a walk out past the Whitman softball fields any afternoon and you will see the ultimate team working hard toward another strong season.

The Whitman Sweets started the season off strong with an impressive 4-0 finish at the Tacoma Invite on Saturday Feb. 12. At the invite, Whitman collectively outscored its opponents 60-11.

Junior Stephen Stradley was proud of his team’s performance at such an early point in the season.

“We accomplished all of our goals that we had set going in,” Stradley said. “It set a standard for high expectations.”

Senior Jeremy Norden agrees that the way the Sweets played at the Tacoma Invite set a strong precedent for the team.

“The Tacoma Invite was a great way to kick off the spring ultimate season,” Norden said. “The momentum of this tournament will set the tone for the rest of the season.”

Last year, the Sweets ended their season with a second place finish at the UPA Division III College Championships to a team from Carleton College.

This year, the team aims to have another very successful season. Only losing two seniors from the last year’s team to graduation means that the Sweets will be playing with a tremendous amount of experience.

There is also a strong class of first-years to bring depth to the team. One first-year, Eddie Hill, learned of the teams prior success only after arriving on campus. While Hill was new to college and lacked experience in ultimate, the team welcomed him and fostered his interest in Frisbee.

“Knowing how close-knit the team already was intimidated me when I first started coming to practice. But the team was very welcoming,” Hill said. “They understood that I was new to the game and were more than willing to answer my questions and better my understanding of the strategy of ultimate.”

At the recent Tacoma Invite, the Sweets were told by another team that they should set their goals even higher.

“PLU said that we should shoot for Division I nationals,” Stradley said.

To do so the Sweets would have to be one of the top 16 college teams in the nation.

Stradley feels that this goal is within reach, but it will require a team that is more durable.

“It is achievable, but we have a lot of work,” Stradley said. “We have lost a lot of players to fairly serious knee injuries.”

Norden is optimistic towards the rest of the season as a whole despite these obstacles.

“The Sweets are going to have another strong year,” Norden said. “We are going to play up to our potential and cherish every moment.”

The Sweets travel to California next to compete in the Stanford Open on Feb. 26 and 27.