Sisterhood of the Pleiades
Michelle Ng
Posted: May 28, 2010 10:55 AM
Feature: North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Just outside the top eight at the tournament and looking to break into the championship bracket this year is the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, runner-up in the Atlantic Coast Region. Led by Callahan Award Top 10 finisher, multiple-time All-Region player, and former Junior Worlds star, Leila Tunnell, the Pleiades have established themselves as one of the most well-rounded and stable programs on the East Coast over the past five seasons. After giving up a substantial lead and losing in the Regional Finals to University of North Carolina-Wilmington, the Pleiades found themselves down to Emory University 6-10 in the backdoor game-to-go, clinging on to the hope of a bid to the College Championships. After an inspirational speech from coach Lindsey Hack, the Pleiades rattled off 6 straight points to take the game 12-10. The lesson learned, according to Tunnell? Play every game like it’s the finals of the College Championships.
The Pleiades are a special team, connected to their local Ultimate community in a way that has earned them a great deal of respect from players around the country. A large portion of the team, perhaps matched only by University of Washington Element and University of Pittsburgh Danger, coach local middle school and high school teams. The Triangle Youth Ultimate League (TYUL) is enjoying great success thanks largely to the efforts of Hack and the support of the UNC-CH women’s team. And the team is starting to reap the benefits with local stars such as Janna Coulter, Lily Steponaitis, and Lindsay Lang joining the Pleiades over the past few seasons.
This year also marks a new beginning for North Carolina women’s club Ultimate. Hack, Tunnell, and Team USA star Cate Foster are teaming up to start a new women’s team, Phoenix, that is based on seven core values centering around a love for the game and a love and respect for the people who play the sport. Phoenix A and B will feature a large number of college players from UNC-CH and other nearby programs such as North Carolina State and Duke University. Tunnell and Hack both express their excitement about Phoenix, both as a competitive club program, as well as a way to develop local college players.
The past few years have been a time of tremendous growth and development for the Pleiades, as well as for the North Carolina Section. With the rise of the North Carolina Section over the past few seasons and other teams like the University of Virginia joining perennial contenders University of Georgia, University of Florida, and Emory University, the Atlantic Coast has become one of the deepest regions in the country.
UNC-CH, led by Hack and Tunnell, have set the standard high as the model program in the Atlantic Coast Region. Tunnell, a homegrown Atlantic Coast Region player, acknowledges that the reputation of North Carolina Ultimate teams has never been the best. However, she and her teammates are striving to change that one point at a time. And it is working. The program has flourished under the leadership of Tunnell and co-captain Kaitlin Baden, as well as coach Hack, and the program now boasts a B-Team and stands as a pivotal program in the college women’s division. UNC-CH runs one of the most competitive early-season tournaments in the nation in Queen City Tune-Up, travels far and wide to tournaments like Stanford Invite and Women’s College Centex, and seeks to support new tournaments like Philly Classic. Tunnell emphasizes the importance of traveling to find the best competition in the nation, playing new teams from all over, and supporting local tournaments to continue to build regional competition. The Pleiades’ vision for the college women’s division is clear, and it has paid off in a big way for the Pleiades.
Tunnell cites relationships as what makes the college women’s division special. She says that “the opportunities to make new friends and try new things” are what sets the college Ultimate experience apart. Her and her teammates’ ability to draw people in and keep them there by creating a positive, loving, respectful environment, have gone a long way in building the UNC-CH program and make them one of the teams to keep on your radar this weekend!