All year long, Brown’s ultimate frisbee team, Brownian Motion, has been nothing short of phenomenal. After winning tournaments across the country and cementing themselves as one of the nation’s premier programs, the squad ended their season with an emphatic 15-11 victory over California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo to win their fourth D-1 USA Ultimate National Championship and first since 2019.
Perhaps no one has been more imperative for the team’s success than Jacques Nissen ’24, whom Ultiworld named the D-I Men’s 2024 Player of the Year on Tuesday.
Nissen, a D.C. native, began playing frisbee in sixth-grade recess and eventually joined an organized team in middle school. These early experiences “made the transition to the high school team really easy and seamless,” Nissen wrote in an email to The Herald, “and I ended up quitting baseball (my other main sport) after freshman year to focus exclusively on frisbee.” After graduating high school, Nissen made the roster of a semi-professional ultimate frisbee team, the Ultimate Frisbee Association’s D.C. Breeze.
Leveraging his rich experience with the sport, Nissen had a profound impact on Brownian Motion — known colloquially as “BMo” — as soon as he arrived at College Hill. Nissen attributes his success to routinely watching film from both practices and tournaments, getting throwing reps outside of practice, and playing year round — he has never gone more than two months without playing in a major tournament. His ability to thrive in big moments, he said, is a product of the mentorship he received from veteran players.
“I had plenty of older teammates who taught and showed me how to get stronger, faster, and be a better leader,” Nissen wrote. “These past couple of years, when it was my turn to be a leader of the team, I felt ready to step into those shoes.”
The season was not without obstacles for BMo. With injuries mounting all year, struggles with team chemistry, and an occasional dearth of energy and passion, BMo had to be resilient, Nissen said.
“The downside to practicing for eight months of the year is that it is hard to maintain a good level of energy throughout that time,” Nissen wrote. To combat those challenges, the team held several meetings to address their “why’s” — why they play, and why they devote so much time to this team. “Reconnecting with these “why’s” was crucial for us to lock back in and stay engaged throughout a long season,” Nissen wrote.
Nissen credits the players and coaches for their consistent willingness to refine and improve their skills. “We committed to working out over winter and spring break, and many members of the team decided to do extra workouts on top of our nearly full slate of practices,” Nissen wrote. “Also, I thought our coaches and captains (me included) did a good job of empowering every member of the team to make their voice heard, and take ownership over the well-being of the team.”
One memorable moment in particular for Nissen was the team’s regional performance. At regionals, BMo put together their best offensive performance of the season to defeat Northeastern and secure a trip to nationals. Shortly after, the squad played in the regional final against UMass, who BMo had lost to the day before.
“Despite both of us already qualifying for Nationals, this game meant a lot in terms of seeding for Nationals and our mindset going into Nationals,” Nissen said. “We ended up putting together our most complete performance of the year, and we won the region for the sixth straight year. We played our best defense of the season in that game, and had a wide variety of people step up and contribute against one of the best teams in the country.”
Cooper Herman is a senior staff writer covering sports and arts & culture. He is a sophomore from Alexandria, Virginia studying Economics and International and Public Affairs.
