Who are the best players in the Atlantic Coast region? This is an open thread to discuss All-Region nominations, All-Freshman nominations, coaching awards, and more. Stay positive and keep it civil.
From UVA Hydra, all freshman has to be Gabby Everett!! Holy smokes she’s so amazing, super strong and reliable handler plus such a positive presence on+off the field
All-Freshman: Gabby Everett FOR SURE. After casually winning a gold medal for Team USA Mixed last summer, she seamlessly slotted into Hydra systems. 36 assists across 18 games this spring represents her dominance in the handler space.
All-Region: Grad transfer Emma Cole has been an instant impact two-way player, leading Hydra in BOTH assists (54) and D’s (48) across our 18 games this season.
From other teams, we noticed great play from Maggie Fan (Georgetown) and Avery DeOcampo (Maryland).
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I’ve gotta echo the sentiments already said here. Everett is beyond an excellent and reliable freshman. Her super skilled throws and quick movement shows an incredible field sense that can only be built up through years of experience. From what I’ve seen this season, she and the rest of Hydra have many strong, all-star years ahead.
Full Disclosure, I’m the Georgetown Head Coach but three players from our team that should be considered:
Maggie Fan
Juliette (Jules) Warga
Bridget Wyman
All Freshman Team (if that exists):
Julia Maurer
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Duke coach here – For all region, I believe Duke’s seniors Sydney Neal and Piper Epstein should be in the discussion. Sydney is an all-star, the hybrid engine under Duke’s offense and unmatched in the air on both O and D. Piper Epstein is the heart of Duke’s D line – she disappears top cutters on opposing teams and is our top break scorer. With one more year left in the region, junior Ashley Talwar was our regular season top D generator and assist leader. A shoulder separation at ECI kept her out of sectionals, but she was back with her 65+ yard pulls at regionals - pumped we get another year with this kid.
For all-freshman, shout out to Maya Hunter. She’s a monster cutter with impeccable timing and decision making. Second in goals only to Sydney and makes everyone around her play better.
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Jordan Tippitt (Georgetown women’s head coach) deserves Coach of the Year by an astronomical margin. Over his four years coaching Georgetown’s Huckin Foyas, he has transformed the team from a small, stagnant program coming out of Covid into a powerhouse, winning two Conference Championships under his leadership. This year, he led Georgetown to a 3rd-place finish at Regionals—the highest in program history. His deep strategic understanding of the game, combined with his ability to mentor players and design offensive and defensive schemes around their strengths, makes him the team’s greatest asset. His endless patience and dedication to Foyas cannot be overstated. He genuinely cares for his players, instilling in them a love for the game and embodies what it means to be a coach. Jordan Tippitt is by all measures deserving of this award.
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I was bouncing between fields on Sunday and caught a good portion of the Duke Swerve and UNC Pleiades matchup. Duke’s #11 Sydney Neal stood out with sharp throws and impressive plays that kept Swerve within one upwind break of forcing double game point. #14 Piper Epstein was a notably menacing defender. On the other side, UNC’s #23 Bella Russell stayed composed, consistently finding the breakside to steer Pleiades to the win, complemented by the notable talent of Emily Przykucki. Great to watch the NC programs battle in windy conditions. Other regional standouts include W&M’s Abby Freund and Georgetown’s Maggie Fan.
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All-Freshman (Elliott Haney #20): If you know me, you know I’m pretty sheepish when it comes to talking about my own play but I do think what I did this season was special for a freshman. On a team with only one other player with organized play outside of college and no coach, JMU broke seed at regionals and kept close with higher ranked teams all season. With 61 assists and 5 goals just this spring season, I believe I was a major part of our success.
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Top 10 not in order-
Emma Cole (UVA)
Gabby Everett (UVA)
Sydney Mannion (UVA)
Bell Russell (UNC)
Kailyn Lowder (UNC)
Emily Pryzkucki (UNC)
Maggie Fan (Georgetown)
Abby Freund (W&M)
Sydney Neal (Duke)
Lily Johnson (American)
Posting again with final stats for the players for the entire season:
Maggie (Mac) Fan #9 - Center handler for her line
Stats: 1138 Offensive Touches, 40 Goals, 91 Assists, 34 Secondary Assists, 40 Blocks, plus/minus +32
Jules Warga #11 - Hybrid player and defensive monster
Stats: 315 Offensive Touches, 37 Goals, 7 Assists, 15 Secondary Assists, 60 Blocks, Plus/Minus +76.5
Bridget Wyman #20 - Another Hybrid Player and Defensive monster
Stats: 367 Offensive Touches, 37 Goals, 19 Assists, 17 Secondary Assists, 37 Defensive Blocks, Plus/Minus + 57.5
I’m the head coach of Maryland Helpful Corn. Just want to shout out our graduating players, as well as a few players and coaching staffs from around the region.
Larissa Sakaria (#7): Cunning defender in our zone, and a fast-break hucking dynamo. When all else was breaking down she’d find a way to get the disc and put it in the endzone where a teammate could haul it in.
Maya Dubensky (#8): Powerful downfield cutter and defender (she got 4 blocks in a single point one game) with smooth throws – yet somehow only started playing ultimate in September.
Isa Wahl (#11): Field general on O and D. Made whatever throw we needed – pinpoint hucks, dimes over the top of a zone, breaks to every part of the field – and ground out reset cuts all game long. Automatic goal when she picked up the disc near the endzone.
Jade LeSchack (#12): Fearless defender and cutter. Layout catches everywhere on the field, took opposing handlers out of the play, unmatched drive and motor. Simply clutch: teammates call her “The Rock”.
Whitney Orloff (#19): Look out for footblocks and scoobers! Elite mark and zone defender, clutch catches under pressure, and always ready with a silky-smooth inside flick or scoober to break open a zone D.
Ellen Rauck (#22): Shut-down defender anywhere on the field. Upline menace. Unflappable handler. One of the best deep receivers in the region (there’s a reason her nickname is “Book”).
Jenna Meek (#24): Marked in our zone, guarded the other team’s best handler, played every position in our O, caught hucks, threw hucks, unstoppable 1-on-1 as the endzone iso. And some games she’d do all of that while playing almost every single point.
Christina Lee (#26): Absolute boss Wing in our zone, speedy cutter with impeccable timing and clutch catches. Quiet assassin – always ready to make a big play at a big moment.
Kianna Davis (#72): Tenacious handler defender and hand-block machine. Sadly injured for the series and also sadly with us for just 1 year, but that didn’t stop her from making some ridiculous catches in tough conditions (wind, rain, cast – you name it).
Lastly, a major shout-out to these seniors and to Helpful Corn captains present (Isa Wahl, Jenna Meek, Vanessa Fan) and past, for building this team from basically nothing to what it is today. We had 7 returning players in the Fall of 2022, after finishing dead last in the Colonial Conference the spring before. In less than 3 years these players have built Helpful Corn into a community of 2 teams with 40+ players, with our Travel Team breaking through this year into the Conference finals and the top half of the region. I’m so proud of what everyone on this team has accomplished.
Players from other teams:
Sydney Neal (Duke #11): All-around amazing player and field general, made whatever play the team needed on O or D.
Gabby Everett (Virginia #77): Already one of the best throwers in the region, and a centerpiece of the Hydra O as a handler or initiating cutter. Hard to believe she’s only a freshman, and I’m excited to see how much more she can accomplish in the coming years!
Maggie Fan (Georgetown #9): Quick, slippery handler with incredible field sense and give-go movement. Also standing out from Georgetown: #20 Bridget Wyman and #11 Juliette Warga. So many blocks in their various zone looks, and the number of crazy catches they made was both annoying and impressive.
Eva Turner (#9) and Lily Johnson (#31) are humongous stars for American in just about every aspect of the game. Also impressed with #53 Emma Harbourne and #58 Monet Kogure, two initiating cutters who made their O tick.
Abby Freund (William & Mary #43): Field general for one of the best offenses in the region. Just an all-around great player in every aspect of the game. Whatever D we threw at Cypress, Abby figured out how to beat it.
I also want to shout out the leadership of Georgetown, Duke, and JMU. Georgetown’s coaches have done an amazing job developing players and getting the entire team playing together at a fast pace. Everyone on that team can complete the throws and catches for their system every time. Duke is a huge pain to play against because their coaches create a new D on the fly with their players to make life as hard as possible for whatever system their opponent is running. JMU don’t have consistent coaches from what I can tell, but their captains have steadily built that team into a machine that can get blocks and goals on any team in the region. Congrats to the leadership of all three of those teams for their successes this season!