Team History

PART ONE: The Providence Ashwinders

Image: Members of the 2019-2020 Ashwinders pose with the Worcester Wargs, another local team.

Long before quadball became a Brown club sport, the main quadball outlet in Providence was the Providence Ashwinders, a community team founded in 2011 by Derik Wagner (Brown '15) and Jeff Blum (Brown '12.5). Based at India Point Park, the team comprised students from local universities, including Brown, and community members interested in the sport. Over the course of almost ten years, it steadily built local interest in the sport and fostered a great deal of talented players. The Ashwinders' successes were not insignificant: the team won the Southern New England Quidditch Conference (SNEQC) league in its first year of existence. It moved to the Massachusetts Quadball Conference (MQC) in 2019, the league in which Brown Bears Quadball now competes.

Though the team officially disbanded in 2020, Brown Bears Quadball is greatly indebted to the legacy and quidditch infrastructure it left behind, and to Derik (who stayed with the team for all nine years of its existence) and all other former Ashwinders for making Providence a viable part of the national quidditch community. 

Below is a list of alumni of the Providence Ashwinders and of Brown Bears Quadball. Brown Quadball recognizes all former Ashwinders as honorary alumni:

Jeff Blum (C)

Jack Butler (C)

Kielan Donahue (C)

​Laura Hungerberg (C)

Amos Jackson (C)

Max Rosenwasser (C)

Jae Voelker (C)

Derik Wagner (C)

Jeremy Work (C)

​Joy Y​amaguchi (C)

​Franklin Young (C)

*C denotes a former captain of the Providence Ashwinders or Brown Bears Quidditch

Nathan Allen

Moi Arriaga

Sean Briody

Krista Bacchiochi

Alex Bottomley

Chris Carchedi

Rob Chambliss

Margot Chisolm

Robert Dacey

Joey DiStefano

Matt Frey

Erin Graham

Maggie Hale

Rod Hasbun

Katie Hay

Miles Holland

Leah Jones

Dave Kelvey

Nate Kingston

Tracy Knight

​Tricia LaSalle

Amanda Lepelstat

Sarah McNeil

Nick O'Mara

Chris Ortega

Selah Ortega

Will Orton

Tyler Poole

David Reich

Andy Richards

Michael Rodriguez

Rebecca Shapiro

Brian Smith

Sophie Stark-Johnson

J.L. Sullivan

Dan Tardiff

Dee J. Williams

Douglas Wu

Harry Yu

PART TWO: Brown Club Quadball

By 2019, the majority of the Ashwinders' roster had become Brown students. The spring 2020 council, led by co-captains Jae Voelker (Brown '21) and Bradley Smith (Brown '23), decided to petition for a Brown club quadball team. They submitted their preliminary proposal in late spring and officially presented a finalized pitch to the Brown Club Sports Council in August. The team was officially approved in October 2020.

In fall 2021, Brown Club Quadball played its inaugural season in the Massachusetts Quadball Conference, competing in six meets against teams including Boston University, Brandeis, Middlebury, Tufts, Emerson, UMass Amherst, and Rutgers. In Spring 2022, Brown Bears Quadball traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, where they competed in the USQ Nationals. 

Image: The Brown Bears Quadball Team at USQ Nationals 2022

Brown Bears Quadball Nationals 2022 Roster:

Anyssa Ball '23 Will Richardson '24

Fiametta Boffey '24 Bradley Smith '23

Anna Brodsky '24 Andrew Steinberg '22

Jack Cobey '24 Eric Steinberg '24

Thomas Flathers '25         Chilsea Wang '24

Tyshon Hattori-Lindsey '24 Katherine Xiong '23

Jake Polatty '22 Jiangyong Yu (Grad)

Supporting Alumni: Derik Wagner '15, Jae Voelker '21

Image: The Brown Bears Quadball Team at USQ Nationals 2023

Brown Bears Quadball Nationals 2023 Roster:

Jenny Acosta '25         Thomas Flathers '25

Anyssa Ball '23

Deshante Hattori-Lindsey '24 

Erik Bergland (Grad)      

Tyshon Hattori-Lindsey '24

Fiametta Boffey '24   David Owoade (Grad)

Anna Brodsky '24   Will Richardson '24

Meredith Chang '26   Ryan Silverman '23

Jiangyong Yu (Grad) 


Supporting Alumni: Derik Wagner '15, Jae Voelker '21