Thursday, May 26, 2011

Imagine mixing the speed, agility and grace of Frisbee with the strategy of football. The end result is bound to be a delicious concoction of teamwork, excitement and dedication. The recipe, Ultimate Frisbee, is a winning combination for the University of North Carolina Wilmington's women's club team, the Seaweed.

After beating arch rival UNC Chapel Hill to win the Atlantic Coast Regional Championships for the third consecutive year in April, Seaweed Ultimate is competing in the USA Ultimate College National Championships in Boulder, Colo., May 27-29. Twenty of the top-ranked college teams in the U.S. will vie for the national title, including the number one seed, University of California Santa Barbara, which has already been defeated by UNCW once this year.
"This is our year," said Michelle Guadagno, team president. "We have been practicing hard and waiting for our opportunity to shine, and this year is the year!"

The Seaweed Ultimate team conducts two-hour practices three times a week during the school year. When exams finished for the spring semester, they increased their practices to six days a week to prepare for nationals. Several members of the team also play in a local Ultimate Frisbee league.

The nationally ranked team was started by a small group of Ultimate enthusiast UNCW students in 1988. The team quickly began competing at the national level and, in 1992, won the Ultimate Players Association (UPA) National Championship. The team has continued to soar in the UPA with a second national championship in 1996, three Final Four appearances, qualifying for nationals five times and making it to the finals two times.

Ultimate Frisbee is a non- contact sport played with seven people on each team. The game starts with each team lined up on their respective end zone. The defending team "pulls" (throws) the Frisbee to the offensive team, similar to a kick-off in football. The point of the game is for the offensive team to throw the disc down the field to be caught by one of their players in the end zone. One point is awarded each time this is achieved.

Interviews are available with players and coaches.

Media Contact: Emily Jones, Media Relations, 910.962.3171 or jonesel@uncw.edu