Who are the best players in the Ohio Valley region? This is an open thread to discuss All-Region nominations, All-Freshman nominations, coaching awards, and more. Stay positive and keep it civil.
Hello Ohio Valley! Helen from Oberlin here.
There are so many people that I would like to recognize!!
First, from Oberlin:
-All Region:
Emma March: Tall, athletic and very versatile. Usually Emma plays as a handler controlling the entire field and leading/directing players with her throws. She can break any mark consistently, and almost prefers to play the game on the break side of the field. On defense she’s has a great mark and gets hand blocks on the regular.
Maya Gillett: When cutting for maya–no matter where I am on the field–I’ve learned to always keep my eyes aware and my body ready, because I know she can get it to me. She’s not at all afraid to get creative with her throws to open up the field. She is a senior now and has been a strong leader on the team bringing to the Manti many years of Ultimate experience and knowledge. She captained the team her Sophomore year, and since then has been an essential player and leader on the team.
Abagael Cheng: An athlete can only be as good as his/her/their mental game. Abby has the strongest mental game of any athlete I have ever played with. She catches everything, and pushes through everything through sheer force of will. Her athleticism makes her a tough matchup. She’s always a threat in the deep field but also will make a full speed in-cut to get the disc and then has the throws to put it upfield for the continue. Also last year it was with Abby’s LAYOUT CALLAHAN that Oberlin won the final game against Haverford to go to DIII Nationals. What a player.
Rosie Rudavsky: Potentially the best handler-defender on the team. She can read the disc really well, is very solid in the sky, and she is a crucial popper against a zone. Rosie has joined the team this year and quickly has become one of the strongest players on the team.
From Wooster:
Thea Kwan: Thea stood out as the strongest player on Wooster’s team. She had beautiful throws to space that made it impossible for even the best defenders to make a play on the their cutter. She played the game really calmly and with amazing spirit. It will be sad not to have Thea in the OV next year!
From OWU:
Brenda: Brenda, always a pleasure. Very quick strike cuts and long throws for the continue. She’s aggressive, competitive, intense and all the while maintains the spirit of the game. This combination is what makes ultimate frisbee so much fun, and it’s a quality that all ultimate players should aspire to have.
My apologies, I don’t know her name: Blonde hair, I believe she had a thigh tattoo, handler. Had strong deep threats. Had a lot of difficulty marking her.
From Messiah:
Number 0: I loved this match up. I’m going to reiterate spirit of the game once again. #0, a handler who moved like a cutter played with so much intensity had good consistent throws but was also a strong force on defense.
From Haverford:
Zoe Lewis- always a strong cutter. This year, she stepped up as a strong thrower as well.
Zoe from the Sneetches here
Sneetches [[Too many contributors to talk about them all, but here’s a few]]
Opal Bednarik- Sososo fast and strong. Almost always open on the unders and ready to throw the continuation upfield. Tight, aggressive downfield defender, and only a Sophmore so watch out.
Charlotte Edelstein- Speedy wing cutter with sticky hands. Saves our butts by catching any stray hucks, and always chilly with the disc.
Kendra Griesman- FOTY FOTY FOTY Kendra is HUGE. Great in the air, layout grabs, follows every play and has a nose for the endzone. Also a great heads up defender who can shut down her woman and also snag a poachy d here and there.
Larkin Johnson- Energy for days. Quick handler d. Probably our main offensive handler who really centers the team. Willing to put up big throws but will also clear through and chase deeps down herself. Really versatile player and inspiring leader.
Swat
Tessa (Kirby)- Inside and around breaks and wicked fast strikes. Led a very young team full of rookies with enthusiasm and spirit.
Emilie (Shep)- Stepped up as a strong handler alongside Kirby.
Emily (Bazinga)- Physical defender who does not shy away from contact.
Gillie- Freshman who has developed so much this year. Tall and good in the air, nice downfield target on offense and a strong defender.
Oberlin
Emma- Great breaks that forced us to tighten up our downfield defense. She’d often look off wide open force side cuts just to hit the break space for yards instead.
Messiah
Nikki- Fast downfield cutter who reads the disc well.
Olivia- Calm, talented handler who centers the team and keeps the offense moving.
Ashley- Tall down field target with big backhand puts as well.
Larkin from the Sneetches!
Zoe did a great job writing up our team but wanted to mention that she definitely deserves all-region and player of the year consideration! Definitely the backbone of our cutting line, almost always gets it off the first in-cut and often puts a beautiful huck from there (shoutout to Kendra and Char for their deep continuation cuts). Always saving wonky throws with layouts, or bidding for the d.
Also if you haven’t voted for the Donovan yet, watch her video and vote for her there as well!
Q! What was the name of the player wearing a yellow tutu, tall blonde, was writing song on the sideline at one point?
Natasha Daviduke!
Hello, Emma from Oberlin Manti
OWU Brenda Gonzalez Santillano:
-I have played against Brenda for the last three years in our Section and Region
-Excellent cutter and handler, highly versatile player
-Hard to mark because is very speedy and has an intelligent sense of field space
-Key player in each point that she plays
-Wonderful spirit of the game on and off the field
Wooster Thea Kwan:
-I have also played against Thea for three years in our Section and Region
-A pleasure to mark as a handler because she has wonderful spirit of the game and challenges her opponent in a productive way for both players.
-Very strong handler presence, impressive throwing abilities, long flick hucks, esp in windy conditions
-Also has demonstrated high levels of good ultimate spirit on and off the field
Oberlin Helen Samuel:
-Helen is one of the most athletic players on this team
-She has strong jumps and will sky people who are several inches taller than her
-She is always laying out on O and D
-Extremely flexible on the field can cut and handle and therefore brings qualities of both positions to the other (i.e. strong handler cuts) and is very fast on the field all while exercising well placed hucks or curving flicks into the end zone.
-Brings high levels of intensity to each game, but has also won spirit awards from other teams and is always making friends on the field, taking over plays and maintaining excellent spirit.
-Always stands out in games, is an all around great player
Oberlin Maya Gillett:
-High intensity but is able to remain calm
-fine tuned handler skills
-has deep understanding of the game and a wealth of knowledge
-has been an outstanding leader on our team and consistently demonstrates what it means to lead by example
-extremely reliable throws in hard weather conditions, able to throw long distance and impressive break throws, hammers, esp against zone defense
-incredibly spirited to other players on opposing teams and with our own team
Oberlin Abagael Cheng
-an outstanding player for many reasons including but not limited to her speed and agility, capacity and determination to catch anything thrown remotely near her, constant improvement in all domains because of how hard she pushes herself, impermeable mental game, understanding and devotion to the game
-very hard cutter to mark, consistently scores a huge number of our points
-strong on D