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.
Hi all! I’m Opal from the Haverford/Bryn Mawr Sneetches.
First I wanna shoutout some players from my team who I think have earned all region recognition:
Bess Cohen is our primary handler. She works tirelessly on fields to keep the disc moving. She has beautiful throws and quick handler cuts. Something that I find particularly impressive about Bess is her consistency, she touches the disc more than anyone else on the field, but has very few turn overs. She also had some sick layouts and hand blocks at regionals.
Christine Siebels-Lindquist is an incredible flex player for us! She can do it all! She is our deep deep in the zone and gets block after block. She can cut and she can handle–throwing beautiful hucks and scoring lots of points. She knows how to use her height to her advantage which is a huge asset for our team. She is only a sophomore so watch out for her in future years!
From Oberlin:
Everyone on Oberlin’s roster is super talented. I really appreciate every opportunity we get to play them because they play beautiful ultimate and I always learn a lot from my match-ups. They are so spirited and competitive–good luck at nationals!!!
Zoe Hecht so incredibly fast! She was such a challenge to mark at regionals because of her intentional speedy cuts. An overall powerhouse who can do it all on the field.
Abagael Cheng Another player who was is so impressive to watch and learn from. Strong and fast with beautiful throws and intense defensive energy.
Helen Samuel I remember playing Helen my first year and thinking oh boy, this person is sooo good and then learning that Helen was a first year and being so impressed. Hella quick give and gos and super tight defense!
Swarthmore:
We love playing our tri-co pals! Congrats on a great season and regionals finish!
Chelsea Semper I got to mark her for all of the four games we played against swat this season. She is such an incredible player and a fun and challenging match up. She is incredibly athletic–beautiful strike cuts and general handler movement, big hucks, break throws, Ds, and great intentional layouts. Chelsea has it all so if you take one thing away, she simply does another.
Iris Wang Super fast handler movement, beautiful grabs, sick layouts, and an impressive number of different throws.
Sumi Onoe Super fast and tall! Great in the air! An aggressive cutter and defender.
Gilly (Marie Tillson?) Another one of Swat’s biggest receivers. Fast, tall, and competitive
Becky (Rebecca Norling-Ruggles?) She was injured for most of the season, but I want to shout her out for her tireless leadership that clearly helped Swarthmore do so well this season. Also, when I did get to play Becky during winter league her break throws were beautiful!
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Hi! Becky from Swarthmore here.
Just wanted to give a couple quick last-minute shout-outs to some standout players from our region.
First, from the Sneetches (Haverford/Bryn Mawr):
Opal Bednarik is a huge presence for the Sneetches. Her leadership and intensity on the field is undeniable, and can get open reliably no matter her defensive match-up. She will definitely be missed in future years!!
Christine Siebels-Lindquist was also very important for the Sneetches this year–great field sense and amazing in the air.
Bess Cohen has crafty throws and reliable handler cuts. And beautiful layouts.
Mariah Newfont was unfortunately out with an injury for conferences and regionals, but was an important part of the Haverford/Bryn Mawr cutting line earlier in the season. Super fast and great acceleration.
Oberlin:
I’ll second Opal’s mentions here–Zoe Hecht, Abby Cheng, and Helen Samuel were incredible at regionals, and pushed our team to play some of the best ultimate we played all season. Zoe especially has beautiful breaks and creates very fluid handler movement for Oberlin when she isn’t busting deep from the handler space, getting reliably wide open.
Lehigh:
Playing with Mariel “Wabs” Weigel is a lot of fun–beautiful, powerful throws and really intense defense. Missed her at regionals!
From my own team, I’d like to mention the sophomore trio of Chelsea Semper, Iris Wang, and Sumi Onoe, as well as Bethany Bronkema for all-freshman. Chelsea stepped up and took the toughest match-ups every single game of every tournament this season, and could slow down or stop every single one. On offense, her intensity is unmatched. Iris’s gorgeous breaks, quick handler cuts, and genius field vision allow her to have a huge impact in every game. Sumi is a major threat downfield with speedy cuts that usually leave her with miles of separation from her defenders. Bethany just started playing this year and already has beautiful throws, as well as bringing incredible athleticism our cutting core. Watch out for her in future years!
Lastly, our team would not be the same this year if not for our amazing new coach Sarah Coyne! Her positive presence and vast expertise made an immense difference for the team.