Sports > May 1, 2008

By Susie Manship | Staff writer

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.

click to enlarge

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.

Freshmen Kennedy Wolf, who is nominated for Atlantic Coast All-Region Freshman of the Year, has also contributed significantly to the squad.

Both members have helped lead the team through tournament games and practices all year.

“Most people think of Ultimate Frisbee as a laid back sport. Our practices are intense and our coach (Tammy Moose) pushes us to be in great physical shape in order to win,” freshman Lauren Dayton said.

The team’s attitude has changed drastically this year.

“This year we stepped it up and decided to show people that we actually deserve a lot of recognition,” Derks said. “A lot also has to do with Tammy, our coach. She’s helped us a lot. Sometimes it takes a while for things to get together, and it finally did this year. Our team has gelled really well.”

Nationals will be held May 16-18 in Boulder, Co. Wake will be joined by 15 teams in the women’s division of the UPA Nationals. There are eight regions, all sending the top two finishers from their tournaments, except the Northwest, which is sending three teams and the South, which is only being represented by one team.

Last year’s champions, the Stanford Cardinals, did not even advance to the College Championships this year.

The Deacons will be joined at Nationals with 13 of the top 15 women’s teams in the country.

While specific team schedules have not yet been released, the team is guaranteed to play May 16 in pool play. May 17 begins the women’s division semi-finals, followed by the women’s division finals May 18.

“It would be incredible. For us to go from never having made it to Nationals to (making it) to the game to win it all, it would probably make my life,” Derks said.

To raise money for their trip to Boulder, the team held a fund raiser at Rose’s Deli on University Parkway. The team received a percentage of the profits from 5:30-7:30 p.m.