The Notre Dame Women's Ultimate Club traveled to North Carolina this weekend to compete in the Asheville Invite, playing against teams from many different regions. Both A and B teams played in the tournament, enjoying a weekend of warm weather while seeing some new competition.
Notre Dame A started off the weekend very well, coming out with a 13-1 win over UNC - Greensboro in their first game on Saturday. In their second game of the day, the team faced George Washington University, seeing some tougher competition. They were trailing 4-7 at halftime, but came out of half to score 9 unanswered points, taking the game with a score of 13-7. In game 3, Notre Dame A faced tournament hosts UNC - Asheville in the showcase game, taking the lead from the beginning and winning 13-3.
Day 2 saw Notre Dame A with a first round bye and a semi-finals game against Elon University to start. The teams traded points for a while, with Notre Dame trailing 6-8 at half. Elon gained momentum and took a 10-7 lead, but Notre Dame fought back with fire to tie the game at 10's. Freshman Julia Butterfield caught the game winning point from sophomore Heather Fredrickson, and Notre Dame A was officially in the finals. They faced long-time competitors Indiana University, and both teams were giving it all they had to bring home a victory. Once again, the teams traded points and Notre Dame A were two down at half with a 6-8 score. The team came back, and freshman Mary Hermann caught a hammer from Kelsey Fink to bring the game to an 11-11 tie. In the last few minutes of the game, IU managed to take the lead, and Notre Dame suffered a heavy loss in the championship with a final score of 11-13.
The weekend acted as a debut tournament for freshmen Julia Butterfield, Mary Hermann, and Mary Kate Andersen, all playing very well all weekend. Returning handlers senior captain Kelsey Fink, fifth year Kelly Gilmour, and sophomore Heather Fredrickson led the team with great throws and assists, while returning cutters senior captain Molly Carmona and sophomore Mara Jurkovic controlled the open space. Although the outcome of the championship game was not what the team had hoped for, Notre Dame A was extremely happy with the performance of all of their players and is very excited to travel to more tournaments and continue to prove themselves throughout the season.
Notre Dame B had a rough start, falling 13-0 to Elon in the first game on Saturday. They worked to gain team chemistry in the second game, falling to Milwaukee-Wisconsin with a score of 13-0. In their third game of the day, captain Erin Cobb scored the team's first point of the season. On Sunday, Notre Dame B came out strong against UNC-Greensboro, putting up 8 points for their highest scoring game of the weekend, eventually falling 8-13. The team fell 1-13 to Milwaukee-Wisconsin in their last game. Senior captains Erin Cobb and Katie Kraemer did a great job leading the team, and freshman Marissa Ray and sophomore Molly DeTrempe both had wonderful cuts and defensive plays all weekend. Notre Dame B was very proud of their players and looks forward to building team chemistry over the next few months.
Next stop for Notre Dame Women - Tally Classic in Florida!