USA Ultimate

U.S. U-23 National Teams set their sights on London

Boulder, Colo. (Dec. 15, 2014) – USA Ultimate, the national governing body for the sport of ultimate in the United States, is excited to announce the athletes selected to represent the U.S. at the World Flying Disc Federation’s World Under 23 Ultimate Championships, set to take place in July 2015 in London.

More than 500 athletes from across the country applied to be considered for the 2015 National Teams. Of the applicants, 100 men and 104 women were selected to attend one of two tryout camps which took place in Dublin, Calif., and Orlando, Fla., in November. The tryout camps provided an opportunity for the athletes to showcase their abilities and offered the coaching staffs the chance to evaluate the tryouts and select their final rosters.

In all, 71 athletes, 35 women and 36 men, were invited to join the three national teams: mixed, open and women’s. Six alternates were also named.

"I was excited to see the level of intensity, effort and skill at tryouts," said mixed team head coach Martin Aguilera. "The quality of these three teams is a direct result of all of the work that has been put into the college division from USA Ultimate and in particular from the individual programs. The next few months will be exciting as we start to develop as a team and eventually find success in London next summer."

"The overall talent level at tryouts was very high," added women’s team head coach Mike Whitaker. "There were more players in attendance who could make positive contributions at a world championship level than there were available spots which made the final decisions very difficult. However, we believe that the team we assembled has all of the pieces we need to compete with the best in the world in London."

The World Under 23 Ultimate Championships are hosted by the World Flying Disc Federation. The first event was held in 2010. The United States first competed at the 2013 event held in Toronto, Ontario, and took home gold medals in every division – mixed, open and women’s – as well as the spirit award in the mixed division.
 

Mixed U-23 Team Twitter: @USAUltimateU23X Open U-23 Team Twitter: @USAUltimateU23O Women's U-23 Team Twitter: @USAUltimateU23W

 

National Team Staff

• Team Manager: Ty Krajec – Denver, Colo.

Mixed U-23 National Team

• Head Coach: Martin Aguilera (Atlanta, GA)
• Assistant Coaches: Alex Snyder (San Francisco, CA) & Nancy Sun (San Francisco, CA)
   

Nils Clauson UCLA		Sarah Edwards Washington		Khalif El-Salaam Washington		Elliott Erickson Georgia
Leah Farris Cuesta College		Clare Frantz Kansas		Samuel Greenwood Michigan		Simon Higgins Las Positas
Anna Hrovat-Staedter Wisconsin		Elijah Kerns California-Davis		Emmy Kolanz California-Santa Cruz		Sharon Lin California
Tracey Lo Michigan		Sarah Meckstroth Minnesota		Jibran Mieser Rutgers		Eli Motycka Brown
Jonathan Nethercutt North Carolina		Michael Ogren Central Florida		Lisa Pitcaithley California-Santa Barbara		Kristen Pojunis UCLA
Claire Revere Whitman		Qxhna Titcomb Tufts		Nathan White Georgia Tech		James Zuraw North Carolina

Alternates:

Timothy Fergus Truman State		Arianne Lozano Whitman		Henry Phan Franklin HS		Lane Siedor Georgia

 

Open U-23 National Team

• Head Coach: Bob Krier (Denver, CO)
• Assistant Coaches: Jody Avirgan (Brooklyn, NY) & Joe Durst (London, UK)
   

Kevin Brown Wisconsin-Milwaukee		Chuck Cao California		Travis Carpenter Indiana Wesleyan		Abe Coffin Arkansas
Hunter Corbett California-Santa Barbara		Chase Cunningham Texas		Trent Dillon Pittsburgh		Christian Johnson California-Santa Cruz
Chris Kocher George Washington		Tyler Kunsa Pittsburgh		Jeremy Langdon Central Florida		Chris LaRocque Florida State
Bobby Ley Florida		Christian Olsen Emory		Stanley Peterson Colorado		Logan Pruess Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Marcus Ranii-Dropcho Pittsburgh		Zane Rankin Washington		Dalton Smith Texas A&M		Ben Snell North Carolina
Hunter Taylor Virginia Tech		Max Thorne Pittsburgh		Jack Williams North Carolina-Wilmington

 

Alternates:

Josue Alorro Rutgers		Tim McAllister North Carolina

 

Women's U-23 National Team

• Head Coach: Mike Whitaker (Boulder, CO)
• Assitant Coaches: Jit Bhattacharya (San Francisco, CA) & Carolyn Matthews (Boulder, CO)
   

Nicola Bruce Seattle		Meeri Chang Michigan		Lisa Couper North Carolina		Megan Cousins Colorado
Caitlin Harley Ohio State		Hannah Henkin Michigan		Alika Johnston Virginia		Bethany Kaylor Oregon
Margaret Kennedy Wisconsin		Nora Landri Washington		Stephanie Lim Stanford		Lisi Lohre Colorado College
Michela Meister Stanford		Stephanie Miller Ohio State		Carolyn Normile Pittsburgh		Alex Ode Oregon
Lyra Olson Princeton		Marisa Rafter California		Chloe Rowse Colorado College		Erynn Schroeder St Benedict
Jesse Shofner Oregon		Julia Snyder Carleton College		Shira Stern Washington		Jaclyn Verzuh Lakeside High School

Photos: Player submitted, CBMT creative and Ultiphotos

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