The ‘Ultimate’ victory

Rice women’s Ultimate Frisbee team wins first national championship

Frisbee is a well-loved college pastime, but the Rice women’s Ultimate Frisbee team, Torque, took things to the next level when it won first place at the 2014 USA Ultimate Division III College Championship in Westerville, Ohio, last month.

Monica Matsumoto '14 pulls down a pass during Rice’s first-round victory against Elon University during the first of six games leading to Rice's clinching of the Division-III national championship.

Torque was the No. 1 seed heading into the tournament and played through rain and hail to win their pool May 17, beating Elon University 12-5, Georgia College 12-6 and College of St. Benedict 15-6 to clinch a critical fourth-game bye and maintain their No. 1 seed entering bracket play. On May 18, Torque defeated Truman State University 15-9 in the quarterfinals before pulling out a narrow 15-3 victory against Haverford College in the semifinals. Torque moved on to the championship game and defeated Carleton College with a final score of 15-9.

Torque ended the season with a 37-3 record after competing in tournaments throughout the region, as well as one in California.

The 2013-14 team was led by captains Monica Matsumoto ’14 and Erika Danckers ’15 and included 18 members. This year’s championship tournament included 16 women’s Division III teams from around the country that qualified based on their regular season record and postseason play. Teams are only eligible for Division III if they are from schools with enrollment of fewer than 7,500 undergraduate and graduate students.

Torque celebrates their first place finish at the 2014 USA Ultimate Division III College Championship.

Although Torque has previously competed in numerous postseason competitions, this was the team’s first trip to the national championship. Danckers said Torque’s success was a result of the team’s strong work ethic and chemistry.

“Even though it was difficult at times to balance schoolwork with Ultimate and hectic travel schedules, the team has been extremely committed,” Danckers said. “We practiced with intensity, did regular strength and conditioning and overall just kept each other accountable. And our team chemistry was also a huge asset because we not only have fun playing with each other, but we also know how to push each other to get better.”

Danckers and Matsumoto also credit coaches Bjorn Schey, a Houston community member who competes at the men’s elite club level, and Edith Teng ’12, a former team captain, for their insight, leadership and inspiration, which the captains said was critical to helping the team achieve a national championship.

“The coaches have always had very high standards for us, pushing us to see how far we can go,” Matsumoto said. “What’s even more exciting is that because we have a fairly small team, even rookies are able to make a huge impact. This year’s freshman class was an incredibly dedicated, enthusiastic and talented group and added a lot of depth.”

The students raised money for their team expenses by hosting various campuswide events, including jersey sales to alumni and other community supporters, as well as hosting a tournament for college teams in February. The team also receives a yearly budget allocation from Rice’s Club Sports and received an additional private donation this year.

The team was founded in 1996 under the name Catch Her on the Fly — a play on the book title “The Catcher in the Rye.” A few years later, the team name was changed to Miss Red, a play on “misread,” “since many people thought the team was just a bunch of nerds who couldn’t play Ultimate,” said Judy Le ’00, the team’s faculty sponsor and former player. Following the 2010-11 season, the players voted to rename the team Torque, a play on the formula: torque = r x F (with “r” for Rice and “F” for Frisbee).

“When the women’s team first started, we barely had enough players to have a decent practice,” Le said. “But the social aspect was fantastic, and it was a great competitive outlet for many of us who played varsity sports in high school. We competed in the national championships for the first time in 1998, but I think we might have scored only one point the entire tournament. After that inaugural team graduated, many of us continued to play, and we often competed against each other at tournaments. One of our founding members, Jenny Miller, went on to captain a winning national championship team in the Bay Area.”

Le said that the sport of Ultimate Frisbee has grown “in leaps and bounds” since the Rice team was founded. She noted that there is now a professional league, and the national association that governs competitive play is close to getting Ultimate Frisbee included in the Olympics.

“Many people aren’t aware of how global and competitive the sport has become,” she said. “Over the years, many of the Rice women’s players have gone on to compete at the elite levels of Frisbee, including Teng, who has competed at the national championships and internationally as well.

Le said that the Ultimate community is very close-knit, and everyone was thrilled to hear about the success of this year’s Rice women’s team.

“We’re all so proud of them,” she said.

For more information on Torque, follow the team on Twitter at @TorqueUltimate.