Virginia is for Layouts:: Birds, Vests, and Museum Exhibits

How many of your friendships start with a dead bird's head being handed to you in a napkin?


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Yes, you read that correctly. At Midwest Throwdown a few years ago, two Wisconsin players (who will remain unnamed) walked up to me and handed me a dead bird's head in a napkin. I screamed, threw the napkin aside, and proceeded to freak out, much to the delight of the crowd of Wisconsin players nearby. My relationship with Bella Donna hasn't been the same since. In the years following that incident, they've been my teammates and housemates, and a few of them even attended my best friend's wedding in May. I've also been gifted two more dead birds by other players (one of whom is now my club teammate), and I live my life in perpetual fear of winged creatures. But that's another story.


One of the best things to come out of that bird incident was a friendship with then-Wisconsin star, and current Brute Squad and Smith College player, Amber Sinicrope. Our friendship mostly involved random Gchat conversations, bonding over our shared jersey number, and me making fun of Amber's love for vests. Over the years, Amber has become one of my dearest friends. She has been a big supporter of my work, and is probably one of the few people who has any insight into non-frisbee Michelle.


Last year, Amber transferred to Smith and helped lead the team to a Quarterfinals finish at the USA Ultimate D-III College Championships. I was fortunate enough to watch the team's breakthrough win against Middlebury at Keystone Classic, and then see their impressive run at the D-III Championships. While the season ended on a high note for them, I also saw some of their struggles. Rag-tag uniforms, rejection from nearby middle-tier tournaments, the growing pains of getting the buy-in it takes to compete at the next level. Those things were all very real challenges (and opportunities) for Smith this past season, so when given the chance, I jumped at the opportunity to do more for them.


This fall, LunaDisc is partnering with my club team, Molly Brown, to run Virginia Fusion. The goal was to help Smith make some money to create more opportunities for next season, but things quickly snowballed into something bigger. The Smith girls, who are a truly fantastic bunch, have decided to run a tournament focused on D-III and on-the-cusp teams next spring. The tournament, Virginia is for Layouts, has been specifically planned to reach that "next" tier of teams, the ones looking for opportunities to improve, and who often get overlooked by the big name, "elite" tournaments.


But that's not enough. We will also be offering the next iteration of the Roundup Division at this tournament. We want to bring in club players to mentor and guest coach young teams, and to help take them to the next level. We're in preliminary talks with a nearby women's club team, as well as some other players from around the country, and we're hopeful that we can raise the money and support that it will take to make this happen. It's a daunting task to get a new tournament off the ground, not to mention creating a development opportunity like the Roundup Division.


If you want to help, there's more information here:
http://virginiaisforlayouts.wordpress.com/roundup


So, why today for this post? Well, not only is Amber an accomplished frisbee player, she's also quite talented in her life off the field. Her exhibit, Surface Tension: Reconsidering Water as Subject, opens today. Check it out if you're in the Northampton area, or click here to read more. Kudos, Amber! :)

Grinnell College:: Turning Opportunities Into Success

Paige Hill is one of the co-captains of the Grinnell College Sticky Tongue Frogs, and we asked her to share about her experiences attending our tournaments. Paige wrote an extremely compelling post for us in May, shared her thoughts in our D-III podcast, and continues to be an advocate for D-III teams and for college women's ultimate in general. It has been our privilege to get to know Paige and her team over the past few seasons. Grinnell is, quite simply, one of those teams that makes us say, "THIS is why we do what we do." The Sticky Tongue Frogs have developed from a small, nearly unheard of team in the Midwest to a Quarterfinalist at the 2011 D-III College Championships in just a few short years. Their love for our sport, and their commitment to its development, are inspiring, and we encourage you to follow them in the coming years if you want to watch a team that's going to make a difference.

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In the weeks leading up to the Roundup Division of Midwest Throwdown in 2010, the Grinnell women's team was buzzing with excitement and planning. We were researching and debating who we wanted our guest coach to be, we were talking over which skills clinics would be best for each player and promising to remember everything to tell our teammates later, and we were pouring over the schedule and Score Reporter trying to decide which inter-region team would be our toughest matchup. The Sticky Tongue Frogs talk ultimate a lot, but in those weeks, we talked about it more than ever. The most exciting part was that it wasn't just the veterans gossiping about who was going to win an elite tournament, or if a well-known senior was going to take a fifth year in a last-dish effort to win nationals. Every single player was talking because instead of watching elite teams play in elite tournaments, we were thrust center stage of what promised to be a well-run, well-coached, interregional tournament where we got to be part of the action.

Once we got there, we were not disappointed. Every tangible element of an elite tournament was there: good fields, sweet swag, dedicated trainers, and great score reporting. The most important things at that tournament, and the things that keep us coming back to Without Limits tournaments, however, were the intangibles.

That weekend I was coached by multiple Callahan nominees and world champions. Cara Crouch coached all of our games and ran drills with us in between them. We still use the warmup routine she taught us, every single drill she ran, and hope that teams throw zone-D against us because of the zone-O she helped us create. Chelsea Putnam taught me a defensive drill I still use in the practices I plan. And Gwen Ambler taught me how to get vertical, a skill that my teammates used to make fun of me for but now compliment my steady improvements. Those experiences were incredibly powerful, and their impact has stretched far beyond the scope of that weekend. From my perspective as a member and captain of a small team in the Midwest where resources for the ultimate community are underdeveloped and spread out, it was an invaluable chance to bring those resources to us, and to give us the opportunity to capitalize on them. WL understands that there are hundreds and thousands of players out there who will devour any kind of ultimate you can dish out, and stand to grow tremendously from that, and it is just a matter of providing the opportunity for us to do so.

The idea of a tournament focused on DIII and on-the-cusp teams is inspiring, and in my opinion stands to be even better than the (already amazing) WL tournaments Grinnell has attended. The notion that up-and-coming programs will be playing in the championship bracket of the only division at a tournament is a huge step for the development of DIII ultimate and means that these teams will get exposure to high level, high stakes games during the regular season, something that I think is invaluable for DIII teams looking to perform in the post season. It also means that I will be surrounded by hundreds of players that are just like me and my teammates-- invested, passionate, and committed despite having the odds stacked against us. During whatever development opportunity that will be provided on Saturday night, I'm sure there will be a lot of individual informal conversations between players, and I bet a lot of relationships between teams will come out of this tournament. The networking and camaraderie that develops is going to go a long way in helping cultivate a community that is not only accessible to smaller programs, but focused on them. By just bringing us together and allowing us to believe in ourselves and each other, I think Virginia is for Layouts is going to have a huge impact on on all of the schools that get a chance to attend.

My co-captain and I have decided we are going to submit a bid to Virginia is for Layouts. This means a lot to me: I can tell rookies that their spring break will start with learning more about ultimate than any other tournament will teach them, and I'm excited for returning players to buzz with anticipation for skills clinics, awesome fields, and a VIP pass to a tournament that makes us feel as talented, skilled, and legitimate as we are passionate and scrappy. Mostly, I'm excited to cleat up for a tournament run by an organization that recognizes that growing programs not only have a tremendous capacity to learn and adapt, but also have a lot to offer the ultimate community in terms of competition, spirit, and love of the game... And I'm excited to prove that they are right.

Carleton College Eclipse: FIND YOUR SWAGGER

In this feature, I ask my friend BG Green to talk a little bit about Carleton's phenomenal season that culminated with a National Championship at least week's USA Ultimate D-III College Championships. Last season, I had the privilege of guest coaching Eclipse for a few games at Midwest Throwdown, and since then, I have been a huge fan and have followed them closely. BG shares the story of Eclipse's season and their path to the top.

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“The whole season rests on this: FIND YOUR SWAGGER.”

These were the prolific words of an esteemed CUT captain given to Eclipse early on in the 2010-2011 season. Our team goal of making it to DIII Nationals seemed to fit nicely within this adage and we adopted it as we embarked upon our regular season. Eclipse was going to be different this year; we were practicing harder, training for fitness, and throwing outside of practice. We focused on developing relationships within the lines and strengthening the connections between handlers and cutters. During winter term several GOP boys began coming regularly to practice, helping us workout the kinks in our offense and perfecting our defensive game. While we may not be the most experienced Frisbee team, we have speed and athleticism, assets that Eric Manley and Sam Tucker helped us capitalize on.

As we began tournament play, Leigh-Anne and I understood that we were leading a new team. We knew we had fostered a more intense environment and a greater dedication to ultimate but we had yet to test it. As it turned out every tournament proved our success and the success of Eclipse. We were undefeated against DIII teams and challenged strong DI school with our zone-defense and huge hucks. Placing 2^nd at regionals, we had to reevaluate: we could do more than just attend DIII Nationals.

We arrived at Buffalo seeded first, the first National appearance in Eclipse history and the ultimate quest for swagger. In typical Eclipse fashion we started five of our six games down at least a break. Our first big test came in the semi-finals against Valparaiso’s tight zone. After trading points we began to work our way through their zone for a close-win and a bid to the finals. Williams had played well all weekend and we were excited to start the game. To our horror we went down 0-5. It was in this moment, thirty minutes into the finals game of DIII Nationals, that we found our swagger. Not a single person gave up, every Eclipser wanted that victory and we battled our way onto the board. The strength and grit shown on the field was a testament to the hard work of the regular season. Counting on the adaptability of the team, Sam Tucker explained a new “junk” defense that focused on poaching the lane and Eclipse was able to execute it within minutes of learning it to pull ahead. I have never seen, let alone been a part of, a team who played so relentlessly. The trust we have in each other was apparent. To win in such an incredible fashion defined our season. We had challenged each other to become more competitive and we had succeeded.

D-III Podcast

In this podcast, I talk with Amber Sinicrope (Smith), Beryl Manning-Geist (Williams), and Paige Hill (Grinnell) about all things D-III. We talk about the D-III structure, challenges and opportunities specific to D-III teams, the field of teams at Nationals, and tons more.

Give it a listen here. (It takes some time to load, so be patient!)

Grinnell: Why the Small Teams Matter

The Sticky Tongue Frogs have been one of my favorite college teams since they started attending my tournaments several years ago. One of my friends, Heather "Citation" Smith (Maryland alum), has a little sister on the team, and so from the beginning, they were a team I was committed to helping. And they have made my job easy. The thing that stands out most in my mind about this team is their commitment to improving both their team and women's ultimate in the Midwest. Teams like this make me want to never stop running tournaments and clinics. They are hungry to learn and to grow- they just need the opportunities. I have so many great memories of the Stickies- them cheering Showdown to a win against a coed team at Mardi Gras, them being coached by Cara Crouch (one of my personal frisbee mentors) at Midwest Throwdown last year, their positivity in some horrid weather conditions, the note I have on my wall at the office that came with their roster... This team is something special. In this feature, captain Paige Hill shares some of her thoughts about her team and the opportunity to compete at the D-III College Championships.

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Grinnell's game to go to the Division III National Championships was one of the most meaningful and emotional experiences I have had as an athlete, and this season was one of the most exciting I have been a part of. There has been a lot of discussion about the college restructure, in particular the DIII National Championships and its viability as an event that promotes the growth of ultimate in a legitimate and competitive way. Most of this talk has focused on why teams declined bids, whether DIII ultimate is ready for this type of change, and if it ever will be. What there hasn’t been enough of, however, are the voices of the teams that said yes to their bids, who believe in this process, and who have battled great opponents, bad weather, and challenging logistics in order to get to Buffalo.

I think anyone would be hard-pressed to find an ultimate player who doesn’t cite the community as a huge reason why they love this sport. I think a lot of the value that we place on this community, and why it means so much to all of us, is that being an ultimate player is different than being any other type of athlete. Our sport is exploding, and the competitiveness and athleticism it has come to embody at every level has largely outpaced the cultural understanding and institutional support of our endeavors. Every ultimate player, whether they play for Orgeon’s Fugue or Grinnell’s Sticky Tongue Frogs, knows what it is like to sleep ten people to a hotel room, or to beg your school to fund an extra set of cones, or to explain to your uncle that you do not, in fact, play competitive disc golf. Every player on UCSB Burning Skirts and the Wellesley Whiptails knows what it is like to run stairs in a dorm, or to practice at 11pm because there is no gym space for club sports. And, most importantly, we all know what it is like to love every second of doing that, because in making these sacrifices and facing these challenges, we aren’t just making our own histories as athletes and as teams, but we are writing the history of our sport, and changing it forever.

DIII Nationals and the restructure draws upon our sport’s commitment to fairness and opportunity, and allows DIII schools that face even more constraints than their DI counterparts to write that history themselves. It is easy to forget that even beyond close games and a national championship, it is an awesome feeling to be talked about on RSD, written about in USA Ultimate’s magazine, and show up on usaultimate.org in a way that wasn’t possible with a single college division. I believe so strongly in the restructure process because I know that having a national championship to work toward creates the memories, heartbreak, and tears that ultimately define us as a community of athletes and makes us all more committed to each other and our sport.

When I came to Grinnell, a sanctioned DIII Nationals didn't exist, and our only goals were making it past sectionals and not getting bageled by giant Midwestern schools. I think that our story is similar to the story of so many DIII schools. As soon as DIII Nationals were announced, the Sticky Tongue Frogs knew that this opportunity was created for us, and that we were going to buy into it.

That year, it sometimes felt like nothing had changed. Placing last in our section, we still qualified for regionals, having only played one DIII school to get there. Our bid to Appleton had already been awarded before regionals, so even though that weekend provided some of our best DIII competition all season, those games were effectively invisible and meaningless. And even though just the creation of a sanctioned DIII national tournament was a huge step, in terms of what was happening at tournaments and on the ground it was relatively similar to years past, with the notable exception being our participation in the roundup division of Midwest Throwdown. What did change that year, however, was our mentality—knowing that if we trained and fought hard enough, there was something big at the end. That changed everything.

With the restructure this year, even more has changed, and I think that despite all the challenges and struggles that Grinnell and other DIII teams (in particular DIII women’s teams) have had, the season carries so much more meaning, because we are working toward the goal of a national championship every step of the way. Every game, every tournament, even every practice matters so much more. We’ve run more sprints, practiced harder, and lifted more weights. We’ve had tougher talks about subbing, team goals, and tactics. And this all culminated in a game to go, where for the first time, the Sticky Tongue Frogs knew what it was like to have to step up and play for keeps. Receiving a bid to Buffalo meant a lot more to all the Sticky Tongue Frogs than our trip to Appleton last year because we received it in the way all DI teams receive their bids—playing the best competition around, and having to prove ourselves with upwind breaks, crafty zones, and universe lines. The notion that we would eventually be playing in a game to go is what inspired all of us through ab-workouts and sprints and cold practices.

Grinnell’s story, and these connections, and our feelings can't get lost in discussions about why DIII schools might not be ready for a national championship event, or why the legitimacy of this tournament isn't there yet. There are many problems that remain in trying to cultivate a more competitive, more widely attended, and more legitimate DIII structure, and hopefully in another post I will get the chance to talk about some concrete and tangible solutions from my perspective as a member and captain of a DIII team. I wanted to make this fundamental point, however, that at the heart of these discussions is something that significantly enhances the opportunities for ultimate players and strengthens this community. The divisional restructure is giving teams like Grinnell and players like me a renewed love of the sport and love of their teams and, no matter how hard it is to pull off, is in my mind the best way to continue the growth of college ultimate.

Callahan Profile: Sophie Herscu (Colorado College)

Sophie Herscu is a player near and dear to our hearts, as we have had the opportunity to get to know her quite well over the past two seasons. She is a phenomenal player, an outstanding leader, and the kind of person you are proud to call your friend. In this Callahan profile, we ask Sophie some fun questions, and also get the lowdown from her coach Emily Anderson.


First, some questions for Sophie...

1. When did you start playing ultimate? What teams have you played for?
I played summer league for a couple of years before 7th and 8th grade before I decided I liked ultimate. Amherst, MA has a plethora of opportunity to play and learn about ultimate, so it isn't surprising that I discovered the sport early on. Following in my (younger) brothers’ footsteps in their commitment to the sport, I decided to try out for the Middle School travel team. This was a coed team with a fantastic coach, Jim Pistrang, that primarily played High Schools from the area. Since then it has been a done deal. I love ultimate! Before I came to college I played on Amherst Middle School, Amherst High School, and the New England Buda YCC team. Since I graduated high school I have played on the Disc Dragons in Israel, Colorado College Lysistrata's Tools, and the CO club teams Rare Air and Molly Brown.

2. What is your strongest asset as a player? As a leader?
My strength in ultimate comes from my energy. I can be relentlessly positive, and love to run for long periods of time. It has been my pleasure to captain LT for the past three years. As a leader I try to lead by example: if I can stay positive, energetic, and supportive, and if I can shut down my man and take care to always make the best decisions possible, my teammates will follow suit. While I have spent so many hours perfecting my throws and cuts, the most important aspect of my game and leadership ability comes from being able to see the bigger picture. I am able to create and comprehend strategy, and am able to see what needs to get done on O or D. I seem to be able to stay motivated myself and to inspire others to reach those goals. I am able to notice even the subtle ways in which the players on my team can improve, and believe that I can communicate how to improve them both positively and effectively.

3. The Herscus are a big deal in ultimate. Talk a little bit about your brothers and how they've shaped your frisbee experience.
My brothers are the best! I still remember (and fantasize about) when I could beat them in a sprint! They are both accomplished ultimate players, playing on Amherst High School, winning spots and alternate spots on the USA Junior Worlds team, and playing on the Boston club team Bodhi. They now both play integral roles on their respective college teams (Harvard and Carleton.) Last year my entire family went to Madison to support Misha at college nationals. During one of his Byes, the three of us got together and made a pact: Next year the three of us would be playing at nationals together. And here we are, one year later, and the pact has held true. From family workouts on the track in the summer to training together on the indoor track during winter break here we are: Three siblings playing at nationals together! Jonah teaches me to be calm, to make the best decisions possible, and to not feel pressure. Misha teaches me to box out, and be hungry for the disc at all times. Without my brothers, I certainly wouldn't be playing ultimate today. If you're reading this make sure to watch them both play at nationals this year! They are both sincerely a treat to watch! Watch #21 on Harvard and #12 on Carleton for pristine hucks, sick bids, and hand blocks all over the place.

4. O or D?
How could you pick one? I love to dictate what my opponent can and cannot do on defense. I love a man to man match-up because it gives me the opportunity to see all of my hard work pay off. It comes down to athlete vs. athlete and what could be more exciting than that? On the flip side, offense. When you get it right, it can make you feel like you can fly. There is nothing better than identifying what your opponent is trying to defend, and outthinking them anyway. My strength in ultimate is my love of both sides of the game. I would get bored doing just one again and again.

5. Give us 5 words to describe your game.
I would say: aware, quick, precise, positive, aggressive.

6. You are also extremely talented off the field. Talk about some of the cool things you do.
HA! Not sure where you got that info. But yes, I do love a lot of other things besides Ultimate. I am a Drama/Dance and Sociology double major at Colorado College. I sing, do musical theater, and dance as much as I play ultimate. Much like my work in ultimate, my interest in performance stems from a true love of teamwork and collaboration. Thus, that is the type of performance I am particularly interested in. As I like to say: I would never be able to play ultimate if I didn't perform, and I would never be able to continue performing if I did not play ultimate. They are mutually beneficial for me. Getting a break from each of my passions allow me to never burn out on either. Additionally, I have gotten extremely interested in Aerial Dance in the past year (trapeze, fabric, bungee dance, and corde lisse etc.) I've found it incredibly useful for my ultimate training, as it is by nature a weight training activity. I was fortunate enough to have been recently awarded a Watson Fellowship for the next year, to study aerial dance and circus technique and its social impact on disenfranchised women and underpriviledged youth in Canada, Australia, and Brazil. But I know I’ll always connect with Ultimate people along the way!


And now some questions for Emily...

1. What makes Sophie stand out from other players you've coached?
Her knowledge of the game is quite extensive for a college ultimate player. Her work ethic is unmatched, both at practice and in workouts. Her dedication to the team is beyond compare. She has been captain of Colorado College for 3 years, and not just captain, but the “head” captain (I know there is not an official head captain, but there is always the one who is the most experienced and takes the lead, that has always been Sophia).

2. Describe a memory from this season that defines Sophie in your mind.
Sophia by nature is a conservative player. When I first played with her on Rare Air she never turned over the disc. She would often be at 100% for a tournament. However when she started playing with Lysistrata she was forced to be aggressive, take lots of risks because the team was so inexperienced that our best chance to score was to huck and play D. This year Sophia has a whole cast of players around her to make big plays. So my memory of this season that defines Sophia in my mind is after Midwest Throwdown, when Sophia was really proud that as a handler who plays almost every point she barely had any turnovers for the entire weekend. While that is a great accomplishment, I had to sit her down and tell her that I wanted more turnovers from her. She is the person on the team that I want making the big throws, and with big throws come higher turnover rates. At Regionals she had way more turnovers and I am super happy with how she played! (:

3. Talk about Sophie's interactions with her teammates. With her opponents.
With her teammates Sophia is both a mentor and a close friend. She is that great leader who is able to give constructive criticism in positive ways so that the team improves and friendships grow both at the same time. Sophia’s interactions with opponents have never been anything but positive. She has never lost her temper on the field, yelled at either her own teammates or her opponent, stretched the rules, or played with anything but the utmost spirit of the game.

4. How has Sophie been key to CC's success this year?
Sophia is instrumental to the team’s offense. As a coach I have 100% confidence putting her into the game at any time. But even more importantly than her stellar play is the work she has put in over the last 4 years as a leader to this team. She has been as responsible as I have, if not more for teaching the team all the skills and strategy involved in ultimate and making them into a Nationals caliber team.

5. How has Sophie had a positive impact on women's ultimate?
All sports need role models and Sophia is an ideal role model for any female ultimate player. She is one of the best players in the game and at the same time a 100% positive, spirited person.

6. How has Sophie grown as a player from the day you met her until now?
When I first met Sophia she was a cutter, who handled because, as a freshman, she was the most experienced player on the team. Playing with her the first season of Rare she never really looked up field but would always hit a handler. Now she is one of the best handlers in college ultimate (and certainly not shabby in club ultimate either). Her hucks are money, she gets open at will on dumps, and she sees everything that is happening on the field with ease.

And what do others have to say?

I have played with Sophie since she came to Colorado (first on Rare then on Molly Brown 2010). I have a huge amount of respect for Sophie. I have always been impressed with her maturity and ability to adapt her game to fit on the team she is playing with. I love playing with her on the field because I know she will do what it takes to get open. She is a workhorse. She never gives up and strives to be a better player every time she steps on the practice field. She is a shut down defender, especially when guarding handlers. Sophie is a competitor and team player at the same time. She makes those around her better players, yet is never afraid to get the disc and be the one to make a play.
- Jana Krutsinger, Molly Brown #33

Smith College LunaDisc: Small School, Big Heart

As we look forward to the D-III College Championships this weekend, we take a look at Smith College LunaDisc. Smith took the second spot out of New England to qualify convincingly for the Championships. The last time they even made it as far as Regionals was 2006. So what has changed this year? And who is this team from Northampton, Massachusetts?

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Current co-captain Clarissa “Liger” Lyons credits last year’s captains Kiersten Mailler and Jessie Magyar with helping to shape the identity of this year’s team. Under their leadership, the team became serious about practices and practice attendance, and set personal as well as team goals. Lyons also credits their coach, saying, “Our coach Dale (Casey Krone) has been with the team for six years, and has continued to grow and develop with the team. He has been supportive and successful in building new players through focusing on individual development early in the season. He supports us and gives us strategy, but encourages input from everyone and is always looking for feedback.”

This year’s team is incredibly young, and strong leadership and coaching have helped to shape this group of talented players. There are only two seniors- co-captain Annie Baierl, a standout handler and defender, and third-year player Alexis Roehrich, who is a competitive diver in the fall and winter. Lyons is only a sophomore and her leadership and offensive skillset have helped Luna navigate its way back to the top. Another key player, junior Amber Sinicrope, has been a key addition to the team, bringing extensive experience from the highest levels of the juniors, college, and club divisions. Her skills on both sides of the disc have brought another dimension to Smith’s game. The team also boasts ten freshmen on their roster, only one of whom has had any previous ultimate experience. And if all of that isn’t impressive enough, five third-year Luna players are studying abroad this spring, so Smith will be a force to reckon with in years to come.

While watching Smith play, you will note what a close team they are. Lyons said, “In the fall we established the mullet philosophy for LunaDisc: business in the front, party in the back. We want to stay positive in all scenarios, play with focus and intensity on the field, and at the same time always know that we play this sport because it’s fun--because we love being on and off the field with this group of people.” You don’t have to watch Smith play for more than a point or two to agree wholeheartedly that they live out their team philosophy to the fullest.

Luna has taken their development seriously and has worked hard on their zone defense this spring, even bringing local elite women’s team Brute Squad in to lead a clinic. They have also taken the time to develop a potent horizontal stack offense, and the work they have put into their offensive and defensive sets has paid off for them with some key wins this season. Lyons keeps a great perspective on all of it, saying, “As a young team, we focus on taking one point at a time, no matter who we are playing. We are still learning what to expect from ourselves: from tremendous sideline support to digging deep running long points in the cup.”

The leaders of this team seem to have set expectations high in the right areas. While it isn’t realistic to expect a team comprised half of first-year players to execute perfectly on offense, Smith does everything that is within their control right. They run hard on defense, they chase everything down on offense, and their sidelines are deafening. Their veteran players do an exceptional job of taking control on the field, while helping their younger teammates to succeed. The way they do this exemplifies the concept of team- every player doing what they do best to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Lyons points to High Tide in Georgia as a pivotal tournament for the team. They had a universe point loss in the A-bracket quarterfinals, their highest finish ever at the tournament, and bonded over making team dinners and group jam sessions. Paired with great chemistry on the field and a break from the cold New England weather, the team couldn’t have asked for much more. They built upon that performance at Keystone Classic a couple of weeks later, winning the first three games of pool play easily, before coming from behind to beat Towson on universe point and earning a spot in the championship bracket on Sunday. The next morning, Smith took down 2010 D-I College Championships Qualifier Middlebury in a game that showcased their heart, scrappiness, and desire to win. According to Sinicrope, that game helped the team realize that they had a serious chance at qualifying for D-III Nationals.

Luna has shown that they can play with the top teams. Lyons provided this recap of their Series experience thus far.

We had many highly competitive and well-spirited games throughout the weekend. Despite the frustrating loss against Williams in the finals (up 8-3 at half), the game was a valuable learning experience as we gained “big game” playing time. The comeback win against Wellesley in the second place game was our highlight of the weekend. We faced the situation of playing a team we had beaten the previous day after losing in an exhausting and close game in the finals. A week earlier at conferences we had lost handily to Amherst College in a duplicate scenario. After going down 12-8 we stormed back to a 16-15 universe point win. Proving that we could fight back and rebound from a tough loss was an extremely important lesson that we will take with us as we head to Buffalo for Nationals next weekend.

The team brings high hopes and full hearts to Buffalo this weekend. If you want to watch a team that reminds you of all of the reasons why you love this game, pull up a chair and camp out on their sidelines. You’ll be in for a treat.

What It's Like to Play Ultimate for Princeton University

Kelly Weeks bring us her take on the Princeton University women's team. She is a junior at Princeton University, studying Computer Science #nerdalert. She is a Chapel Hill native, who went to high school with UNC-Chapel Hill captain Lindsay Lang, who will be another one of our contributors. We love Kelly's perspective on her team #useofhashtags #loveforasians and we look forward to watching her and her team compete for a National Championship!

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What It's Like to Play Ultimate for Princeton University

First of all, you have to be unbelievably fratty. We have, in fact, partied with a frat, and were told that we might be too fratty for them. The second most important thing is to be Asian, and if you're not Asian, get comfortable with eating massive amounts of rice and being the only [insert your race here] at practice. Thirdly, you must be boss at Ultimate. Don't let Ultimate's bronze medal in our priority list fool you, this sport takes on a huge role in our lives. In what is probably the best representation of 1) taking one for the team and 2) being committed to Ultimate, one of our captains brought her very unfinished senior thesis, the crux of a student's academic career at Princeton, to Conference Championships, which was conveniently scheduled 2 days before it was due. For those of you unfamiliar with the Asian race, or the average Princeton student, sacrificing a grade for anything but another grade is nothing short of blasphemy. But like any good team, our biggest strength is not necessarily our talent. I can't speak for anyone else, but 98% of the reason why I come to practices on days when I'm not quite feeling it - whether it's too much homework, not feeling well, or just not in the mood - is to not let down the team (the other 2% is the fact that practice is an easy three hours of procrastination). Despite cold winters, poor/no fields, and sometimes less-than-stellar practice agendas, we still have strong attendance at practices (percentage wise, not numbers wise #smallschoolproblems). Fellow DIII contenders might not start shaking in their boots upon reading that our biggest selling point is "team camaraderie." But team camaraderie = playing hard. It's been mathematically proven (trust me, I'm Asian), and rest assured that you'll feel the fear when our 8000 ex-track runners run through you on D and then burn you on O. Get excited for it.

D-III: An Alum's Perspective

This weekend, 16 women's teams will descend upon Buffalo, NY for the USA Ultimate D-III College Championships. This is a huge milestone for college women's ultimate as two years ago, the D-III College Championships had only five women's teams in attendance.

Without Limits is working hard to expand our work to reach more of these teams. Half of the field this year attended one of our tournaments (as opposed to 100% of the teams at the D-I College Championships). We hope to serve these teams better moving forward and in the spirit of attempting to do so, we want to get these teams and athletes some of the recognition they deserve for all of the hard work they've put in this season.

We have a few D-III pieces planned for you this week, and to get things started, I asked my friend Hanna Liebl, an alum and former captain of the Grinnell College Sticky Tongue Frogs to write some thoughts about the changes to the college structure and their effect on her old team. Hanna has been a champion of college women's ultimate in the Midwest and an advocate for players at small schools. Check out what she has to say.

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I graduated from college almost exactly a year ago on a Monday morning in Grinnell, Iowa. Just a day before, I was in Appleton, Wisconsin playing in the semifinals of the first-ever USA Ultimate-run Division III Nationals. That tournament was the highlight of my college ultimate career, and I still think it was a more fitting end to my time at Grinnell than walking across the stage to get my diploma. I’ve successfully gone through the stages of college ultimate withdrawal since then, and through it all, I’ve tried to keep up with the continued development of the division III college series.

I must admit, though, as an alumna living far away from Iowa and college ultimate in general, the changes were sometimes confusing. When I heard about how things would run in the north central region this year, these were my thoughts, “Wait…no more sectionals? A single tournament to determine who goes to nationals? Awesome!” I didn’t fully realize how much these changes had affected Grinnell until I went back for a visit after they had qualified for DIII nationals again.

A lot of things were still the same— the practice field, the jerseys, the cheers, and many of the good friends I’d left behind a year ago, but when I cleated up and began running though the drills with my former teammates, I began to notice some changes. There were fewer turnovers than I remembered. Everyone had better throws. And when people did misthrow or dropped a disc, they ran sprints. During scrimmages, people would call out “OPP!” for one-possession point, and often they would accomplish that. I had to step up my game, and I was more self-conscious of the mistakes I made. Everyone was more serious and more focused. I saw the team lifting in the gym alongside the varsity football and track teams. They convinced me in the week I visited that they were definitely the best Grinnell team I had ever seen and played with.

I don’t want to give full credit for the improvements I saw to the new college structure, because that somehow takes away from the determination, planning, and sheer amount of hard work that goes into making a whole team better. I do think the new division III series does give additional motivation to teams like Grinnell, though, and that helps to explain their improvements. From what I heard and witnessed, playing in tournaments all spring and knowing certain opponents would be at conference gave tremendous incentive to train harder. Having one do-or-die conference weekend focused training efforts for the entire winter and spring. The whole season took on more structure than it had last year, when the ranking system and bids to division III nationals were handed out after a series aimed mostly at division I teams. The ranking algorithm alone, as useful as it was then and still is now for calculating bids in both DI and DIII, just doesn’t give the same sense of urgency or excitement that a finals or backdoor game-to-go does.

From my perspective, after the changes I’ve seen at Grinnell in only one year, this sense of urgency and excitement is just what division III teams need. It’s been fun (and, as any recent graduate will tell you, a little bittersweet) to get phone calls from old teammates describing the emotions of their first conference weekend, their first tournament where the bids to nationals are in reach for them, and winning one more game means extending their season by another couple of weeks. In the years to come, as the kinks with the new system get worked out, I can only imagine the divisional structure will mean more exciting weekends for lots of division III teams, and motivation and improvements that will last far beyond those two days.