Who are the best players in the Southeast 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 Emory Luna:
Soju Hokari for all-region! She makes the deep space a no-fly zone for every team we play. Soju anchors our offense with incredibly reliable and powerful throws, amazing field awareness, and essentially uncontested receiving ability.
Pauline Golder for all-freshman! Pauline is an absolute weapon on defense, generating numerous run-through blocks per game on some of the best cutters in the region. She could get open on offense with sheer speed and agility alone, but her field intelligence and sharp cuts make her nearly unguardable.
Coaching accolades for Amelia “Forty” Cuarenta! Over the past two years she has transformed Luna from a young, rookie-heavy program to a reinvigorated competitive force in the Southeast. Forty has transformed our program with her strategic excellence, emphasis on mental toughness, and dedication to Luna’s development. With her guidance, we have vastly exceeded statistical expectations for Luna, going 4-0 on day 1 of Needle in a Ho-Stack and winning multiple games on universe point throughout the season.
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From Tennessee:
Kate Blankenship for all region. Kate is a true two way player that can lock down a player on defense as easily as taking over the game on offense. A leader on and off the field, her growth over the past year has been easy to see as she dominated opponents during the club season on CLX’s O-line and earned a spot on Nightshade’s roster this season. Kate’s layouts get almost as big responses of from opponents as they do from her own teammates. She terrifies opponents in small spaces because they know they cannot give her the deep space because she will get the disc.
From Florida:
Kaylen “Kay” Chiang for all region! Kay is a menace to play against as either a cutter or a handler. Her on-field vision and off disc movement make it difficult to guard her and prevent her from getting the disc. She has a real knack for finding the end zone and also for running down the pull and getting a D on the first throw.
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This is Kate Blankenship from Tennessee! Here are some post regionals thoughts to end the season.
To start by shouting out a few of my teammates:
Emma Patterson has gotten a lot of well-deserved shoutouts through the years, but I just want to reiterate what an incredible handler she is! Can break any mark, has some awesome cheeky high release throws on her, and is just an all around awesome handler.
Addison Frost has been a core piece of Tennessee our last two seasons, she takes the hardest handler match-ups in the region and plays shutdown defense time and time again. Her pulls are consistently top-notch and often deep into the other team’s endzone! Addison has a deep throwing bag and consistently shred zones with it.
Emory:
Soju Hokari! Such a great thrower and incredible defender. Really beautiful hucks and nasty layout D’s!!!
Georgia:
Many people will say Quincy Booth for all-region, and they’re right. She’s just so good!
Georgia Tech:
Not enough people are mentioning Gloria Wu. She is so wickedly fast and really controls the tempo for Georgia Tech on O. Really sticky hands and great quick breakside movement when she has the disc!
Florida:
Hannah Amaya seems like she is always in the right place at the right time. Her offensive play is super smart especially working against our team’s zone and she was just so speedy!
Jia Johnson is a great give-and-go handler with the most buttery throws. Her field vision is so wide and she’s always willing to get the field moving with quick resets!
Kaylen Chiang is deadly in any role on the field. She’s such a fast player and can easily takes over in the handler space. Her throws make so many spots on the field viable options for her teammates to cut to, and her defense is also top-tier.
UCF:
Ainsley Dalton and Maia Mikulcik were a do-it-all handler duo for UCF. They played pretty much every single point and drove their team’s offense all game long.
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I’ve got a few nominations!
First, from EMORY LUNA:
Lily Kim Besaw for all-freshman! Lily has been a core part of Luna’s handling set. They are steady, calm, and collected, and are one of the most consistent throwers in the Southeast. Their 60-yard pulls set our D-line up for success when we need it most, and their zone offense is a joy to witness. Lily deserves all the accolades, and I’m so excited to see the impact they make over the next three years.
Tanvi Kulkarni and Rashmi Raveendran for all-region! Tanvi and Rashmi have been core to Luna’s offense this year, being the ones who distribute the disc and make the hard throws through our opponents’ poaches and cups. More than that, however, they are the reason that Luna has been competitive this year. Their leadership both on and off the field has been crucial to Luna’s success, and has created the conditions under which we could go to universe against Florida and stay close against Georgia. I love Tanvi and Rashmi and I’m so glad for their contributions to the team.
Amelia Cuarenta (Forty) for whatever coaching accolades exist! Forty has been such a joy to have as a coach, and not only an amazing strategist and teacher, but also an incredible leader who understands how to make a team and its vibes click. With Forty as head coach, Luna has been able to become a competitive team in the Southeast. (Also, she’s been coaching the U-20 national team for years now!!!)
From GEORGIA TECH:
I’ve been playing with Katie Sanders for years now, and can confirm that she is one of the best players in the Southeast. Her ability to move the disc around the field and be the core of that handling set is amazing, and even more impressive when you consider that she is a freshman.
From UGA:
We all know that Quincy Booth is amazing. Her throws open up the entire field for UGA, and create the open spaces that are the foundation of UGA’s offense.
Anyways, these are the ones I’m thinking about right now, but I will probably add more later!
David Petmecky, one of UGA’s Coaches.
We didn’t get to see any in-region teams until the series, so I don’t have as much information as others might.
Emory:
First, Soju Hokari is a lock for all region team. Her throws are incredible, but what impresses me is how she changes the field when she is on defense. You can’t throw it to her matchup because she will get a layout D. You can’t not throw it to her matchup because she will poach and throw a wrench in your offense. Where she is on the field shapes how you have to play offense.
I don’t know many players down the list for Emory, but with many teams where you see a top player or two, you lose the other big contributors. Emory is deeper than most will see from the outside, one piece of evidence being how often the disc is not in Soju’s hand on offense.
Georgia Tech:
Another lock, Katie Sanders is rookie of the year. No other freshman was as high of a contributor on as high level team. Our game plan included putting Quincy on Katie, trying to limit her as much as possible.
Biased take from Athens Summer League, but Makenna Bongcaron is going to be someone the region needs to be prepared to defend for years to come. She is a great cutter and as she continues to improve her down the field throwing ability she is going to be a game changer for Tech.
Outside of those two, I want to shout out the depth and offensive flow of GT. I don’t know if there is another team in the region who is so good at continue flow and getting off to the races than Tech. When their offense is flowing, it is unstoppable. One example, UGA didn’t run down hard enough on the pull on a point in the final, and Tech was able to get the first under uncontested. From there, they had 4-5 well timed and impossible to defend under or upline cuts to flow into a hold. All it took was one pass. When this team gets flowing, they are really hard to stop.
Florida
I don’t see numbers on everyone on the Florida roster, so I can’t call out people specifically, but assuming the numbers that are in are right, Kaylen Chiang was a problem for UGA to defend. Despite knowing how she attacked the field and to be wary of her give and go’s and handler motion, she still caused problems. She got us with the flick fake into backhand huck 3-4 times in our semifinal.
Number 1 for Florida was also a difficult matchup. One defense, you have to be ready for her throws and fast break opportunities.
Other players on Florida were impressive with their ability to make up space. Multiple times we threw to a mostly unmarked player in what we thought were a hole in their bracket defense, only for the deep player to make up ground and punish the slightly off throw.
Finally, Florida impressed me with their resilience. I watched the first half of their Saturday match against Tennessee, and they went down multiple breaks but got 1-2 back to only be down 8-5 or 8-6 at half. I left at that point but was surprised to see they came back. Again, in QF against Emory, they were down 12-10 and Emory had the disc. Florida charges back to win 13-12. I spoke with Coach Billy and he mentioned that they had some mental failings during the season, but those two comebacks at regionals shows a high level of mental strength from the team.
Tennessee:
Speaking of Tennessee, Emma Patterson is another player you have to gameplan for, and by game plan I mean stay 3 steps behind your defender when she has the disc. She has a really quick and smooth release and you always have to be ready for the deep throws.
Tennessee is another team I didn’t do a good job of learning their names, but they are great at using all players on their roster. Everyone is liable to be a threat cutting, and their handlers will either put the disc in the endzone on a huck or carve you up in small spaces. In our sectionals matchup, they had a dumpset they just kept running on us over and over, doing a great job of getting uncontested resets that ran into a redzone/give and go type system.
Jacksonville State:
Number 4, Celeste Owens ? is a gamechanger with the disc. I was very thankful when our game ended so I didn’t have to keep thinking about how she carved up our zone with her throws.
I didn’t get names or numbers for the rest of the roster, but I was impressed with the athleticism and willingness to bid. Multiple times in our QF matchup I thought we had earned a turn only for one of the JSU players to catch up and bid to save possession. I am very interest to se how this program continues to grow into who have to be the favorite in the Gulf Coast going forward.
Miami
We didn’t play Miami today so I don’t have anything specific, but shout out to the team for having a program in a remote area that makes travel difficult. Miami hosted? a round robin and traveled to 3 other tournaments, including one in DC and one in NY.
UGA Athena
I try to be unbiased, but I have a lot more information on Athena players than others since I see them everyday.
Quincy Booth takes over games more than anyone in the region, and potentially in the country. Her ability to put the disc in different places on the field, on both forehand and backhand sides, transforms our offense. Special shout out to her defense, despite everyone knowing who and where she is, she still manages to get run through D’s on unders.
Addy Hale is one of if not the best cutter in the region. She is just always open. She caught norovirus on Monday before regionals, couldn’t keep solid food down until Thursday, and then caught 5 goals in the finals against Tech. There were also multiple times in the finals where she would be on an island in the open side dump space for 3-4 seconds and forced a stall 9 punt because she locked down the dump. She is also our best player in the Cup. Rumor has it she is looking at PT school, so if you have one start recruiting now.
Shout out to Jemia Johnson for the improvements she made this year. She has always been the fastest straight line player on the field, but she didn’t get a ton of playing time at QCTU because we weren’t sure if we could trust her to run system defenses or know how to not clog on offense. She took that personally and made incredible frisbee IQ improvements and is now one of our top cutters and defenders.
Thank you to Georgia Southern and Midtown High School for Annie Pickren. She is the next take over a game player, on both O and D. She will stay in your pocket on defense, the take you deep on the turn. Don’t let her come under and be able to throw though. If you do ever get space on her and think you’re open, you better run through. She had a layout D against Tech on the endzone line where she was at least 5 yards behind when the throw went up. To letyou how much we value her play, she was one of the 4 players we planned on using Time-Outs to let rest and play additional points in the finals, with Quincy, Addy, and Mia being the other 3.
Mia Bongcaron has a fire few can match. If you ever need to get hype, get into a Game Time cheer with her.
Special shoutout to Alyssa Fallon. If I wasn’t biased before, I am now since Alyssa started on Medusa with me and I have gotten to see her grow into a great player. Her offensive cutting is good, but where she really made an impact this weekend was on the mark. She got at least 3 handblocks on Sunday, including bookends to punch in our first hold against Tech.
I don’t know who other freshman are around the region, and I still think Katie Sanders is ROTY, but Kaiden Burkes and Aeryn Craig have a strong case to round out the rest of the ROTY Podium. Kaiden is a disc golfer and basketball player who you might know from her flick pulls this weekend. She also had a couple huge layouts in the finals against Tech. Aeryn is a Decatur High prospect who plays incredible Dump Defense and is probably the best player on Athena in a true 50-50 sky ball scenario where you have you have to come down with the disc.
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Just realized I didn’t mention any UCF. We didn’t see them in the spring, but they gave us a battle at CCC. That’s a program you always know will give you a battle. Your top players need to be ready to have to try to pick apart a zone, then sprint deep on a turn. They are generally small but mighty, and will never be a free win.
Hey y’all, this is Hannah Amaya, #3 of Florida FUEL. It has been such a pleasure to play alongside and against all of these wonderful individuals I’m about to mention. They truly are the best of our region!
From Florida:
Kaylen Chiang, #11 is an incredibly fast, analytical handler who is always one step ahead of her defender and willing to put her body on the line for the disc. Because of her extensive involvement in the ultimate community and playing club with Tabby Rosa, Kay is known and beloved by her team and other top FMPs in the region.
Jia Johnson, #1 is a handler with a laser focus – her throws are precise and consistent. On defense, her layout Ds are spectacular (particulary the one in our game against Emory). She inspires confidence and strength in our team – exactly what you’d expect from a U-24 tryout invitee.
I think UGA’s coach was thinking about Hannah Palka, #17 who is our fierce deep defender and overall deep threat. Hannah came back from a serious injury at QCTU and continuously demolished any hucks thrown at her. Quinn Kahle, #25 also did some serious damage in the deep space this year and pulled out all the stops after coming back from a season-ending injury lasy year. Our red-head defensive duo will spell trouble for the region for years to come!
Sherry Kang, #0 is a freshman on our squad this year who has immediately made a name for herself as a D-Line handler. Her hucks are so impressive and her handler movement is flawless. She has so much potential to be one of the best players in the Southeast and should be watched closely for the next three years. 100% should be recognized on all-freshman!
UCF:
I’ve been playing against Ainsley Dalton and Maia Mikulcik for all of my years and I really got to see them step into their roles as dominant handlers for UCF this year! Ainsley is aggressive and decisive while Maia can thrive as both a handler and a lethal down-field threat.
Tennessee:
The last time we played Tennessee was in the weirdest weather at CCC in the fall, so it was cool to get a rematch. Handler duo Emma Patterson and Addison Frost are formidable opponents both on offense and defense. I remember Addy playing a few D-points during our game and absolutely dominating the field. Kate Blankenship is a beast – her layouts were so impressive and she definitely got me with her strategic movements to get open.
Georgia:
I think we’re all in agreement that Quincy Booth is super good. Other standouts from UGA are handler #10 (I’m sorry I couldn’t find your name) and cutters Jemia Johnson and Abigail Clark!
Georgia Tech:
We only played Tech at FWC this year, but Katie Sanders is incredibly talented and I was so shocked to hear she was a freshman! Gloria Wu is also fantastic and has been a pleasure to play against for these past few years.
UMiami:
I would be remiss not to mention Cadence Kelly, #14 – such an exceptional handler who has significantly contributed to elevating Miami’s game. Their coach Lian is working wonders for their program and I can’t wait to watch Miami take over the ultimate scene #GoCanes.
Emory:
We missed Soju Hokari last year at Regionals and it showed in our contentious quarterfinal game. Soju is an immediate game changer and takes command of the field in all positions. I had to adapt very quickly to her game while defending her and she would shut me down almost completely on a turn. Truly a do-it-all player.
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#0 is a Freshman? Terrible news. 
I don’t know who would get kicked off the podium but she probably has a spot on it, at least top 7 in the region.
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Last comment here. I don’t see practices so it is hard to judge Coaching acumen. We can compare last year and this year’s regionals results though, as well as seeding.
Shout out to Emory coaches who had the biggest jump from last year to this year in regionals, up 4 spots. (of the teams who made regionals last year)
Shout out to Georgia Tech, Jacksonville State, LSU, and Vandy who all jumped up 3 spots.
Shout out to Miami, Georgia Southern, Auburn, and Florida B who all made regionals this year after not making it last year. Miami and Georgia Southern both made the bracket, and Miami won their cross over to reach up to 7th in the region!
If I had to choose COTY, I would give it to Miami coaching staff for the effort they made to travel and earn a bid to regionals, and the way they cashed in on that bid to earn 7th in the region. It’s hard to have a program when you are that far away from everyone, so they deserve recognition for their efforts.
Jacksonville State coaching staff would be another great choice, they appear to have established themselves as top dog in the Gulf Coast.
A vote for Georgia Southern wouldn’t be wrong, they made regionals for the first time since at least 2013, potentially for the first time ever.
Hi, I’m Sarah #8 from the Central Florida Sirens! I apologize for replying so late!
I would like to nominate Maia Mikulcik #23 from the Sirens for all-region! Maia already made a name for herself during her freshman year and had opposing teams shouting “orange/green cleats!” on the field and sidelines. She was our greediest cutter and didn’t waste a second to attack the deep space. This year, Maia stepped up as a dominating handler! Maia controlled the field and set the tone for what she wanted. She was reliable and made the right decisions, always putting the team in the position to succeed. Not to mention her crazy O/I flicks to the break side, crushing any man, bracket, or zone defense. Maia was quick but careful, she always kept the disc moving. On defense, she was our biggest threat as our deep deep in our zone. Maia is fast with an excellent ability to read the disc. Our opponents often underestimated her and it fueled her aggression to challenge those hucks. If the disc was up, so was Maia. Overall, Maia carried the team both on offense and defense. Not only was she a skilled, knowledgeable, and dedicated player, she was a leader both on and off the field!
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