Ethan Parrish
Ultimate Frisbee

“I started playing ultimate in high school. I absolutely loved it. I was actually recruited to play baseball at Whitman, and I played on the team freshman year before I hurt my elbow and needed Tommy John’s surgery. Two weeks after baseball season ended, I went to regionals for Ultimate and that year we made it to Division I nationals. That was my introduction to college ultimate frisbee, which was awesome … One of the coolest things about ultimate, especially at Whitman is that it is completely our own prerogative. Everything that we do, all the success that we have or all the hours we put in is by choice. I think that the love of the sport, the intrinsic pleasure of the sport drives us to these ends. That speaks to how special ultimate frisbee is in my life … I like to tell myself that I don’t want to let ultimate frisbee dictate where I end up after college. I’ve had friends in Portland offer to help me get housing or jobs so I can play for the Portland Ultimate team, Portland Rhinos. So there’s a potential I will play after college. At this point, I am not making it a central focus in my post-grad plans.”

Rachel Geiter

Cycling

“I saw the picture of the cycling team on the admissions catalog when I was going to [come to] Whitman … At the very beginning of freshman year I went on a bike ride with all guys and it was really hard.  One of the guys, Ben, who is a professional now, was really encouraging and told me I had a lot of potential to do really well in cycling. That was really encouraging for me to have someone say that … Things that are painful or are uncomfortable may not be bad for you. Things that are hard may be really good for you and maybe really worthwhile. Often, things that are the most painful are the most worthwhile. For me, I am most happy when I do my best in a race and I push myself harder than I think I can go … I will be working at Allegro Cycling this summer. Hopefully, I would like to get more into mountain bike racing. I am going to France this next year to teach high school English and I am hoping to do some cyclo-cross there, which is mountain biking and road biking combined.”

Elaine Whaley

Varsity Golf

“I really got interested in golf because of my dad. My dad was in a men’s group when I was six years old, so he would always take me to the golf course and I would walk the course while he and his friends played. I would always be so amazed at how far he would hit the ball. Now, of course, I always beat him … Senior year has made me realize that my relationship with golf will shift a little bit. I know I am going to play golf for the rest of my life, but so much of my Whitman life has been about golf and about the girls on the team. It is something that I will always cherish and look back on with such joy … I am starting law school at Seattle University in the summer. I am also looking into playing in this tour called the Golf Channel Amateur tour … It is not that hard to get in and you get to play in awesome courses. It allows you the ability to compete. The opportunity I have to compete is something that I never want to give up.“