- Photo: Andrew Moss
York’s Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team put on a stunning performance at last weekend’s Women’s Outdoor Nationals in Manchester, as they fought hard to place third in a competition of 26 teams from across the UK.
Originally seeded 5th in the competition, despite coming last at last year’s nationals, the team were not confident that their outdoor game would withstand the competition. However a string of wins on Saturday against King’s College London’s Thrown (13-3), UEA’s Aye Aye, (9-2) and Birmingham University’s UBU, (13-1) saw York Ultimate guaranteed a top 8 finish by the end of the first day.
York would not see so comfortable a scoreline again, as the 5-4 Sunday morning crossover against Newcastle’s Too Many Pies saw a bitterly fought match. York began with some long, hard fought points, with Pies trailing 4-1. Pies found their drive however, and soon the teams were trading points on an equal footing. As it started to rain, the game reached the cap with the scoreline 6-6, meaning sudden death. However spectacular cutting in the end-zone from Annie Hughes, and an assist from former-captain Rachel McCulloch saw the team take 4th place in the competition, and a guaranteed top-four finish.
The 4-1 crossover, against Sussex Squaws for a guaranteed spot in the final, saw difficult conditions, which the team rose to in a game that was full of layouts, particularly from both Rachel McCulloch and Fiona Kwan (who flew back from her year abroad in Spain to play for the weekend). Squaws, who went on to win the tournament proved a superior offensive strategy, however, and the game ended with York’s only loss of the weekend at 9-5.
So, York faced the battle for third place against Nottingham Fling. Fling stayed ahead for the most of the game, with York pulling ahead at half time only to see a competitive trading of points that Fling always managed to stay ahead for. The cap (50 minutes into the game) was reached with the score 7-6 to Fling, meaning a game to 8, but York put forward a fantastic offensive, with two scores in quick succession from Jess Bonham and Kwan, with assists from McCulloch, to win once more in sudden death, and secure a third place position in the UK.
Third year captain Lola Denham said: “To finish this high in a nationwide competition is down to the fact that everyone on the team played their hardest all weekend and gave every game their all. I’m really proud of how everybody on the team pulled together and kept trying, especially in the hardest fought games and all our hard work at training over the year has paid off. To improve from last place last year to take 3rd is just an amazing achievement”
Team for the weekend: Lola Denham (Captain), Sarah Donaldson (Vice Captain), Rachel McCulloch (voted most Valuable Player) Fiona Kwan, Jess Bonham, Annie Hughes, Katie Brown, Rachael Venables, Becca Moremont, Laura Coull and Charlotte Rolfe.