This past weekend (March 25-26), Skidmore Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team attended the Spring Awakening tournament in Vineland, New Jersey with limited numbers. Small but mighty, the Frisbee team won their first tournament in history, moving their overall national ranking from nonexistent to ninth in Division III, Women’s Division.
The team overcame some serious setbacks and injuries. Isabella Bennett ’17, the president of the team, fractured her spine and was unable to make it to the tournament. Though she was saddened by this, Bennett’s positive energy fueled the team’s strong spirit and desire to win. She remarked, “I’m in awe at the power, strength and talent of this team and feel honored to be a part of such a glorious group of people.”
Bring the Huckus Tournament, New Jersey, February 25-26
Originally, the Spring Awakening tournament was to be held in Saratoga Springs, NY, making it an ideal tournament for the Skidmore team. Given the unrelenting snow, however, the tournament was moved to New Jersey with little notice. Due to the move, the Skidmore Women’s team, which is usually comprised of about twenty players, dropped to ten. Having seven players on the field at a time left only three subs for the entire weekend of games. To make matters worse, before the first game began, Georgiana Ager ’17, co-captain of the team, pulled her hamstring and was unable to play for most of the tournament.
Though playing with so few numbers and in harsh conditions may be daunting to other teams, the Skidmore Women’s team has grown accustomed to these challenges, and practically thrives on them. On Saturday, March 25, each game was 110 minutes long (or the first to fifteen points). Skidmore first beat SUNY Fredonia (15-2) and then moved on to scoring another win against SUNY Cortland (15-2). The Skidmore team was feeling the exhaustion by the last game of the day but persevered, beating Temple University 12 to 10.
Moving on to the Championship bracket on Sunday, March 26, and after a six-hour day of Frisbee, the Skidmore team felt energized to keep up their winning streak. Sunday’s games were each 90 minutes long (or the first to thirteen points). First, they played Cornell’s B team (12-4), followed by a hard-earned win against SUNY Binghamton (11-7), and ending with another game against Temple University, finishing with a 10-3 win for Skidmore.
The Skidmore team was initially in disbelief. The tournament comprised of teams with coaches, clipboards, and double the players, while Skidmore came in with ten players and a Dunkin Donuts, paper coffee cup and pen to keep the score. Four years ago, the team hardly existed as a club. Three years ago, the team did not have enough women players to attend tournaments. Over the last few years, through hard work and dedication to the sport, the Skidmore Women’s team improved drastically, becoming one of the top teams in the country, newly power ranked by UltiWorld.
On the left photo, the two co-captains, Georgiana Ager '17 (left) and Megan Macomber '17 (right) hold the first place trophy
Their recent success can be largely attributed to the two committed and invaluable team captains, Megan Macomber ’17 and Georgiana Ager ’17. Reflecting on this weekend’s hard-earned wins, Macomber ’17 commented, “I feel so proud! I totally cried when we got the trophy. I was probably super exhausted from playing too but definitely really emotional. I guess it's because when I joined the team my freshmen year we had about six girls on the team--not even enough to play--and we didn't win any games. And having worked over these past few years to build up a team with my co-captain, Gigi, it just felt so incredible to come first in the tournament. I am just so proud of every member of the team and how much work they put onto the field and how much they care.”
Ager ’17 feels similarly to her co-captain. She said, “I'm still in shock. Words cannot express how proud I am of our members' diligence, ability, and, most importantly, team spirit. We have grown so much as a team over the last few years, and this tournament really showcases how far we have come. I could not have asked for better team members or a better co-captain, whose ability and spirit never cease to amaze me.”
Skidmore Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team is looking forward to playing in Sectionals (April 15-16) and Regionals (April 28-30) with the intent of accumulating more wins (and hopefully making it to Nationals!). To keep up with the Skidmore Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team, follow them on Twitter and Instagram, or check out their scores on the USAU website.
**Disclaimer: The author of this article is a member of the Skidmore Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team.