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Carleton College-B
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Don’t be fooled by their official name—Carleton Eclipse is no "B" team. Seeded first at DIII Nationals this year, Eclipse has proved itself worthy of winning a championship title apart from nationally-ranked Syzygy: Eclipse has had big wins against teams like Wisconsin-Eau Claire (10-4) early in the season and came in second at conferences, easily winning out against other title contenders such as Macalester (8-4), St. Olaf (7-6, 10-7), and Grinnell (10-5). Despite lacking experienced players, their overall athleticism, intimidating deep looks, and scrappy defense has propelled them to success. Watch out for Eli Walker’s powerful, well-placed hucks, Claire Leichter’s and Niki Tomita’s relentless in-cuts, and acrobatic catches from Kate Trenerry. It will take a lot of work to shut down Eclipse; at the same time, there are certainly other, equally successful teams that are chomping at the bit to win the national title. Will Eclipse bring Carleton College yet another championship title, or will another team be able to conquer them? |
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Claremont
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The Claremont Greenshirts started the 2010-11 year with a team dominated by rookies, but those rookies learned fast. Their quick learning curve, combined with 2008 Junior Worlds power-player Erika Baken and veteran Liz Duda’s leadership, have kept Claremont competitive with both DI and DIII teams, beating Occidental, another title contender, 15-7 at conferences. Persistent injury and sickness, however, have greatly impeded their success, reducing their number of players to the bare minimum. With such a small team coming to Buffalo, will the Greenshirts have the stamina—and, on an even more essential level, the sheer number of women—to remain at the top of the competitive pool? |
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Williams
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Williams has had an impressive post-season, coming out on the top of their conference and region: the team played beat Smith 13-10 at Conferences, and solidly beat them again 15-9 at Regionals in the championship game; at College Southerns, they beat St. Olaf 9-6. Williams will be an interesting team to watch, since they haven’t played against many teams who are competing in Buffalo; whether or not they will be able to maintain their post-season success rate against a wide range of skilled, motivated teams remains to be seen. |
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Valparaiso
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Valpo’s got one message for Buffalo: they want to win. After coming in third last year, the team—which boasts a relatively new program—plans to come out hard. The journey to the top won’t be easy for them, however: much of Valpo’s season was spent rebuilding after losing six senior handlers and gaining eleven new players. Despite that, key players such as Dannie Dolan and Ariel Jamison have kept Valparaiso winning games, playing a particularly strong zone offense and shutting out every team in their conference: only three points were scored on them that entire weekend. Although Valpo wants to win, they don’t plan on sacrificing their positive mental attitude to get there: as captain Katie Harris adds, "we really do believe in spirit and love of the game and sharing that with other players." |
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Grinnell
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Grinnell is bringing a particularly dedicated group of players to Buffalo this year (and if you haven’t read their incredibly moving piecepublished on the Without Limits blog on small-school competition, you are missing out. This spring, Grinnell has made an intense commitment to strength, endurance, and acceleration training, an investment which has paid off: Grinnell was able to beat St. Olaf 10-4 at conferences, and also played a closely-contested game against Carleton-B, losing to them by just three points (5-8). Both their season and post-season record show that Grinnell is used to playing highly contested, at-level games; will their intense dedication and experience pay off in a big way this weekend? |
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Occidental
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Occidental boasts the strongest team that they have had in years. Their key players, Nicole Copti and Lissa Farrington, accompanied by 2010 Junior Worlds teammate Sally Landefeld, have led their team in cohesiveness and skill. Watch out for their across-the-board athleticism and strong cuts this weekend, as well as their positive attitude. |
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St. Olaf
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Durga is yet another team that is a part of the competitive North Central DIII Conference, which hosts many teams that are attending—and highly seeded at—DIII Nationals: St. Olaf played a very close game against number-one seed Carleton-B (7-10), lost to Grinnell (4-10), and shut out Macalester (11-1) that weekend, after already beating Grinnell twice in the regular season; both their regular and post-season records prove that they are truly a contender for the national title. Watch out for their long cuts and across-the-board quickness this weekend, as well as their tendency, as player Brittany Faust put it, to get "trigger happy." Will St. Olaf be able to keep the gun in the holster this weekend, or will their long hucks exhaust their cutters too early in the game? |
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Smith
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Smith has pulled out all the stops this spring, surprising the Ultimate community with just how well they’ve done: Luna beat nationally-ranked team Middlebury 12-9 at Keystone Classic, going on to beat DIII nationals-bound team Wellesley twice in the post-season (15-12, 16-15). Smith couldn’t quite come out on the top of their region, however: the Massachusetts team lost to third-seeded Williams both at Conferences and at Regionals (10-13, 9-15). Two-time Junior Worlds member, Amherst Regional High School graduate, and Brute Squad player Amber Sinicrope leads the way with her incredible skill and energy. Does Smith have a deep enough line to pull ahead this weekend? |
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Wellesley
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The Wellesley Whiptails have a unique advantage over many of the other teams competing in Buffalo: their experience as a cohesive team. Thirteen Whiptails are graduating seniors this year—a class number unheard of in small-school ultimate—meaning that the majority of their team has been able to grow and play together for four years. Watch out for their main handler Christina Chin’s consistent breaks and quick dump cuts, and impressive layouts from cutter Laura Stevens. |
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Mary Washington
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Hailing from Fredericksburg, VA, Mary Washington is a team that has yet to compete with many of the DIII teams that are attending DIII Nationals this upcoming weekend. Mary Washington did play close games with St. Mary’s, another Buffalo-bound team, in the post-season: after losing to them in conference pool play (6-9), the team ultimately beat them SMUT in the championship game, coming in first in their conference. |
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Haverford
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The Haverford Sneetches are an example of one of the rare teams that can remain competitive while valuing their camaraderie and kooky spirit above all else. Often known to play the ukelele on the sidelines, create elaborate post-game ballads for their competitors, and wear bizarre outfits, the Sneetches certainly value companionship and the love of the game. This doesn’t mean, however, that they don’t know how to play a good game of Ultimate: the Sneetches won the Ohio Valley DIII regional title and will undoubtedly continue winning games in Buffalo. Boasting a surprisingly athletic group of cutters (watch out for Meg Bishop, Kelsey Bilek, Larken Wright-Kennedy, and Maya Barlev’s speed) and the mobility of primary handlers Sara Taggart, Aly Lieberman, and Emily Temple, Haverford will certainly bring a great game. |
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St. Mary’s
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Based out of St. Mary’s City, Maryland, SMUT has had a mixed record this spring, losing and winning almost an equal amount of games in the post-season. They did, however, manage to make it to the finals in their conference, ultimately losing to Buffalo-bound team Mary Washington while still snagging a bid to Nationals. It is hard to predict how St. Mary’s will fare against consistently tough competition at the DIII level, since they have not gotten to play many nationally-ranked DIII teams; only time will tell how St. Mary’s will perform this weekend. |
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Princeton
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Besides wanting to perform at a level of which they can be proud, Princeton is looking to have a good rematch against Wellesley after losing to them 8-10 in a closely-contested game at College Southerns. A team that often struggles to maintain a lead in close games, Princeton is looking to use the wide-ranging versatility and speed of its players to overcome this setback in Buffalo. Watch out for the facilitation of quick disc movement from primary cutters Laura Bock, Soha Shah, and Snow Li this weekend. |
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Macalester
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Macalester’s attitude this spring has been one of relentless positivity. Often faced with less-than-ideal (read: freezing) playing conditions in Minnesota, the team is well versed in the language of optimism and spirit. Suffering some tough losses at Conferences against St. Olaf (1-11) and Carleton-B (4-8), Macalester is looking forward to some regional rematches and also seeing some new competition. |
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Oberlin
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Oberlin is another team that presents an enjoyable balance between competitive ambition and their desire to have fun and exhibit their unique sense of self. Beating Franklin and Marshall 13-8—while wearing green, sequined skirts—to come in third at Ohio Valley Regionals, Oberlin prides itself on its man defense and zone offense as well as its camaraderie. Look out for Marisa Ishimatsu’s impressive pulls, Catherine Durkin’s intense defense, and a joyous sideline reunion with its newfound soulmate-team, the Haverford Sneetches. |
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Franklin & Marshall
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Despite having a losing record this season, Franklin and Marshall’s scrappy defense and powerful hucks by captain Kelly McGeehan are sure to aid them in contesting opponents this upcoming weekend. Equally impressive is F&M’s ability to catch almost anything and their willingness to bid. Seeded last, this team from Lancaster, PA can only meet or exceed its expectations; will F&M be able to break seed, despite having such an especially small team? |