With the announcement of the 2016 All-Star Ultimate Tour, but no roster, we are left to guess who will tour the country together playing the nation’s best club teams.
So, let’s do exactly that: guess!
Let’s pick, debate, and discuss who we would take on our All-Star teams. Let’s say the team can/will have 16 players.
Go!
Here’s my quick, initial selections:
Someone who knows more than just west coast players should help me out a little bit.
I love this game. Maybe Ellen Kalenscher as one of the D-III players? I need help beyond the West Coast players too. . .
Hi friends! I’d consider Mei Bruist, Alex Ode, Sarah Edwards, Anna Hrovat-Staedter, and Angela Zhu as well.
Hrovat-Staedter would be a great pick on her talent alone, and the regional representation would be lovely as well.
I wonder if they will get any international players. Let’s take some of the alums:
I’m gonna guess 1-2 alums don’t return, and I’ll take Canadian grad student Kate Scarth, who is probably busy and/or has a job and Stevie Miller, random guess.
Tried to get pretty spread out Regional representation, consider who knows who from Club and Team USA, and applied some other nonscientific methods. Would be great to get Courtney Gegg on here, but I’ve always had this theory she’s insanely busy.
Manuela Cardenas and Cat Phillips would be amazing as the international contingent
Amel Awadelkarem or Malti McKinnon are great sleeper picks.
Jenny Wei From UNC. She has killer closing speed and is great in the air.
If the All Star tour wants to get truly international with some of its players Christine Court currently dominates the women’s/mixed scene in South Africa and is only 19.
Her first year at Uni and the team went to Nationals finals for the first time and she’s won Rocktober (South Africa’s only international tournament) with her club team last year.
Sophia Knowles of the CWRU Fighting Gobies could be a great candidate for the tour. She is an incredibly dominant player, both with her supreme athleticism and her pinpoint hucks and break throws.
Just check out our fall highlight video, where Sophie was directly involved in 14 of the 28 women’s clips in the video - and that’s despite me doing my best to not just make it a “Sophia Knowles Highlight Video”.
Anybody who has played with her or against her can attest to how much she changes the course of any game, point, or play she is involved in.
My picks!
First off, I’m just gonna assume all the returners will be back (though they probably won’t all be):
Jesse Shofner- Oregon
Haley Wahlroos- Oregon
Jaclyn Verzuh- Dartmouth (concussion dependent, I assume)
Stevie Miller- Ohio State
Caitlin Fitzgerald- Kansas
Kate Scarth- UBC
Carolyn Normile- Pittsburgh
Since there were 17 players on the team last year, that leaves room for 10 more.
Beth Kaylor- Oregon
Anna Hrovat-Snyder- Wisconsin
Marisa Rafter- California
Mira Donaldson- UBC
Kirstin Johnson- Colorado
Norah Landri- Washington
Hannah Henkin- Michigan
Kristin Pojunis- UCLA
Claire Revere- Whitman
Monisha White- Stanford
Could also see Han Chen (UCLA), Alex Ode (Oregon), Jojo Emerson (Tufts), Lyra Olsen (Princeton), or Chloe Rowse (Colorado College) sneaking in. DIII pick would be Ana Leon from Bowdoin.
Ooo I like the call with J-Wei. And Henkin. This roster would be so fun
Anna Hrovat-Staedter has a gig in Alaska all summer, and probably wouldn’t be available. I would still really like to see North Central college women’s representation on the team this year. A similar player would be Liz Gronert from Iowa - in throwing skill, throwing power, and speed. Had a big year on Heist last year (a primary handler) and in the women’s club scene.
Great call on Josie. Killed it at Nationals last weekend (30 assists in ONE DAY).
So funny that your two guesses for the non-returners are to two who are announced first. 