Who are the best players in the North Central region? This is an open thread to discuss All-Region nominations, All-Freshman nominations, coaching awards, and more. Stay positive and keep it civil.
I didn’t get to see as much of this division as I’d like, but here are some standouts:
Macalester Pursesnatchers
Claire Lee is a clear POTY frontrunner. She’s an incredible athlete and was the only one in the entire division with upwind hucks at Midwest Throwdown. Claire Knopf, Elise Gautier, and Nora de Rege all contributed to the team’s depth and could reliably facilitate the disc even in super windy games. Zayna Hopkins is a potential ROTY. She got open whenever she liked and seemed to be a go-to person to shut down the other team’s top cutters. This team also had an incredible coaching staff. They look super polished, and the rise from this year to last year (or from unranked to #7) is a testament to what Emmy Curtiss, Katie Sherer, and Mito Imagawa have done.
Carleton Eclipse
Rowan Dong, Anna Eifert, and Frankie Saraniti were typically the fastest players on the field. Frankie in particular. I don’t know if people were just distracted by their hat, but they were getting tons of yards whether with deep cuts or huge unders. Molly Horstman Olson is a do-everything first-year. I watched her be super effective in the backfield, while being fast enough to take on big cutting roles when needed.
St. Olaf Vortex
St. Olaf is a clean, system-led team, and Emily Mulhern seems to be the grease keeping that machine running smoothly. I rarely saw them not able to get open and get the disc back when needed. Rachel Katzovitz and Lexi Swiglo need to be considered for all-freshman. Their throws don’t look like first-year throws, and Rachel in particular always seemed to be in the right space at the right time.
St. Thomas Lavender Haze
I don’t know their name, but the tall player with the yellow baseball cap is an incredible player. Players on newer teams don’t get much notice, but they should certainly be considered for all-region.
Bethel Ultimate Club
Another unfortunate overlook is schools that don’t have teams in the women’s division, requiring their FMPs to play open. Abby Rau has monster throws, but it’s a bummer that they don’t get to throw to FMPs very often.