Susie Manship
http://www.oldgoldandblack.com/
Usually when Frisbees are seen on campus students are playing Frisbee golf or leisurely tossing a disc on the Quad, but not these girls. The women’s Ultimate Frisbee club team can be found on Poteat field three days a week practising intensely.
RUCKUS, the women’s ultimate Frisbee team, poses after the win at Easterns. The team travels to nationals in Colorado May 16-18. (Photo courtesy of Lauren Dayton)
But these women are no longer practising for any normal tournament. They have achieved a milestone in the program’s history – qualifying for Nationals.
The women’s team consists of 26 ladies that participate in 4-5 tournaments each semester, with 8-16 teams in each tournament.
Coming off of a 23-16 season last year, the team has made enormous strides this season.
They are currently ranked No.5 in the nation out of 222 women’s teams and improved their record this season to 33-6.
They have won four out of five tournaments they have competed in this semester including Queen City Tune-up, Easterns, Sectionals and Regionals. The Deacs, in fact, haven’t lost a game since the Centex Tournament in Austin, Texas. Centex is an ultra-competitive tournaments and teams can only participate if they are invited.
At the Centex, RUCKUS went 3-3 against some of the most competitive teams in the country.
At Regionals, the Demon Deacons won their pool by beating Emory, N.C. State and Charleston with scores in the double digits while holding their opponents to single digits.
In the championship bracket, the women were victorious against Georgia 15-11 before beating UNC-Chapel Hill in the finals, 17-7.
From Regionals, both Wake and the Tar Heels automatically advanced to the 2008 Ultimate Players Association (UPA) College Ultimate Championships.
With a relatively large roster, the team has good depth with competitive talent in each grade level. They will rely on this for Nationals.
The team is led by co-captains senior Lucia Derks, who is competing for Atlantic Coast All-Region Player of the Year and junior Laura Caccavale.