University Women’s Indoor Nationals 2024: Scottish Preview
This weekend, University Men’s and Women’s Indoor Nationals are taking place, with Division 1 Nationals in London, and Division 2 Nationals in Motherwell. We thought we’d give you a sneak preview of the Scottish teams competing to get you hyped up. Ladies first!
The Scottish women’s university indoor scene has changed a lot since we were last reporting on university ultimate in 2019. St. Andrews has taken Strathclyde’s place at the top, where they seem pretty comfortable, whilst Strathclyde is likely still feeling the effects of Covid and struggling to field a team at times. Glasgow has wavered a bit since, but are a strong force once more with smart and athletic players. Even with lots of younger players, Edinburgh remains a threat with not one, but two competitive teams. Aberdeen, like Strathclyde, has lost their stronger and more experienced players, however is doing well to have a competitive team with young talent.
Stirling has unfortunately gone from competing at Div 1 nationals not that long ago to struggling at regionals this year, so it looks like a few years of development is on the cards for them. Contrastingly, Heriot-Watt’s women’s team has been resurrected, finding themselves in the top half of Scottish teams, which is great to see, and Dundee also appear to be on the up. Seeing teams jumping back onto the scene and the undeniable strength of others brings hope for Scottish women’s ultimate. Although without the presence of a competitive Scottish women’s club team, it looks like there may now be more barriers to development post-university. But that’s a discussion for another time.
Looking ahead to this weekend, St. Andrews is the only Scottish team seeded in the top half at Div 1, but with a new squad this year, time will tell if they’re able to maintain the gap. There is still a very clear path to the final for Glasgow if they want to take it, but it depends on how well they do in pool play. Edinburgh clearly have a lot of depth, and it will be exciting to see if the 2’s will place higher than the 1’s, like they did at CWIQ. With lots of promise in these Scottish teams, here’s hoping they can dominate down south.
The final standings at regionals were as follows:
1. St Andrews 1 (Q1)
2. Glasgow 1 (Q1)
3. Edinburgh 1 (Q1)
4. Edinburgh 2 (Q1)
5. Dundee 1 (Q2)
6. Heriot-Watt 1 (Q2)
7. Glasgow 2 (Q2)
8. Aberdeen 1 (Q2)
9. St Andrews 2 (Q2)
10. Strathclyde 1
11. Stirling 1
12. St Andrews 3
13. Edinburgh 3
You can check out the game list here.
Before we can see how the teams fare this weekend, we caught up with the team captains to see if they would leak any juicy information!
DIVISION 1:
St Andrews 1 (2nd seed):
Captain – Mairi Nonhebel
How did you find regionals?
Regionals was a fun weekend for the squad (thanks for holding it in Dundee), with lots of great games of frisbee played. We loved having our 2s and 3s supporting us, especially in a tight final against FarFlung. Looking forward to a rematch!
Tell us a bit about your team.
With our new matching bucket hats (buy our merch @ustaultimate), we’re heading to nationals in style. Our team has fabulous chemistry, having bonded over multiple 6.30am trainings in the cold and wet Scottish weather.
What are your goals and expectations for nationals?
Our focus for nats is to play as one team. Having placed 2nd last year, we know expectations might be high. With a new squad this year however, we’re looking to play our own game and take it one match at a time. Although, that’s not to say we’re not looking to defend our title as the number one Scottish team…
How will you see these through? Do you have any secret weapons or USPs?
While our secret weapons shall remain secret, we’ve got a diverse team that can challenge squads with lots more experience. Our unique selling point is definitely our bucket hats (available @ustaultimate).
What’s your team hype song?
212 – Azealia Banks (but are we playing in a 2-1-2 formation? I guess you’ll soon find out…)
How will you spend the long journey to London?
We’ll be holding onto our bucket hats as Marta goes zooming down the motorway (are you so sure it’s a 10 hour drive when she’s at the wheel?). We’ll also be getting some much needed sleep before the long weekend.
Glasgow 1 (12th seed):
Captain – Becca Hardman-Carter
How did you find regionals?
We warmed up well throughout the day to end in a highly competitive final against Saints 1, which we feel really could have gone either way! Unfortunately, it did end in a loss… but see you at Nats, Saints.
Tell us a bit about your team.
Featuring numerous players from GUX and SCRAM, we have no shortage of talent, and an expansive range of experience. From the GB indoor star, last year’s Flung MVP and overall legend that is Rhona G, providing invaluable tactical insights and insane layout blocks, to ex-Dollar Academy fresher Siobhan Moore, who has fantastic intuition of the game and gets all the grabs. Filling in the gaps, we have our amazing handlers Hannah Millard, Ailsa Cameron and Elsa Geeraedts who will wow everyone with their pinpoint full-pitch hucks, and our endzone extraordinaires Alice Bates and Tess Hadik, dominating downfield with their speed and hops.
What are your goals and expectations for nationals?
We are hoping for at least top 8, but why not try to win the thing!
Do you have any secret weapons or USPs?
Although we have some star players, overall we hope to do well at nationals because of our fantastic chemistry! We are a tight-knit and well-drilled team, thanks to our regular training under GB-level coach Audrey Melançon-Fournier. Last year we struggled a little with our mental resilience, but I’ve seen it improve so much since. Knowing better how to support each other, we’ve proven to be capable of some big comebacks and wins after going down a point or two.
What’s your team hype song?
George Michael – Careless Whisper.
How will you spend the long journey to London & your Saturday night?
“Listening to George Michael – Careless Whisper and eating some good schnacks” (- coach Audrey Melançon-Fournier).
Edinburgh 1 (15th seed):
Captain – Marianna Hronska
How did you find regionals?
We were very excited to go to regionals with our 3 women’s teams and enjoyed a huge RoSham sideline every game. We’re very pleased with the results and happy to send two women’s teams to Div 1 nats!
Tell us a bit about your team.
We have a very diverse team with players from all over the world. The vibes are always great and what keeps us all together is the love for frisbee and hate for miserable Scottish weather.
What are your goals and expectations for nationals?
We want to play as best as possible to break seed and have as much fun as we can with each other!
Do you have any secret weapons or USPs?
We have played with each other for quite some time so we know each other’s playing style quite well. That definitely helps to keep the flow going and score some cheeky quick points.
What’s your team hype song?
Get’cha head in the game (High School Musical)
How will you spend the long journey to London & your Saturday night?
Getting a lot of sleep and eating tons of good snacks!
Edinburgh 2 (16th seed):
Captain – Else Radeloff
How did you find regionals?
So much fun! We built our chemistry throughout the tournament and ended on a high note, qualifying for division 1 and finishing right behind our first team.
Tell us a bit about your team.
We’re a tight-knit team that fights for every game no matter the score, always staying positive and supporting our teammates.
What are your goals and expectations for nationals?
We’re really excited for div 1! I think as a second team people might underestimate us, so we want to give them a surprise.
Do you have any secret weapons or USPs?
Since regionals, we’ve had more opportunities to play together and get to know each others’ playing styles, so we’ll just be flowing down the field.
What’s your team hype song?
We just hype up with our cheers!
How will you spend the long journey to London & your Saturday night?
I’ll be writing my dissertation unfortunately, but hopefully the rest of the team will have more fun!
DIVISION 2:
Dundee (7th seed):
Captain – Emma McPherson
How did you find regionals?
With a relatively inexperienced team, our aim for the Saturday was to top our pool and maintain our seed, which we managed. We knew our first match on the Sunday was a must-win to guarantee a spot at nationals. We overcame Dundee’s usual slow start and came out firing, with the team playing their best as a collective unit. Unfortunately, the team ran out of steam during the game-to-go. Despite the loss, we won’t have an 8-hour journey to go down to Div 1, so I would say we are the real winners!
Tell us a bit about your team.
Our team is very diverse, with players ranging from complete freshers to having experience competing at the World Ultimate Club Champtionships. Despite these differences, we are a tight-knit team who all get on really well. Our vibes are always great, and there are a few Scottish teams I could quote on that.
What are your goals and expectations for nationals?
Our goal is always to go out there and play our very best as a team and have the most fun. Nationals will be no different. This will be the last tournament for some of our experienced women, so our aim is to have so much fun and do the best we can so that they can go out on a high.
Do you have any secret weapons or USPs?
It will be great to have our most experienced players back for nationals, after their adventures across the globe. In terms of our secret weapons…I wouldn’t want to give them away before the weekend!
What’s your team hype song?
We have 2 songs that have been passed down through the generations and are played as we arrive at every tournament. Dundee 2017 – Heux, Robin Veela and Black Pearl (He’s a Pirate) – Rebel ft Sidney Housen.
Heriot-Watt (9th seed):
Captain – Francesca Marchetti
How did you find regionals?
As we went in with a young, less experienced team, we were expecting a tough challenge, but we definitely rose to it! We are incredibly proud that, after a long time, we’ve qualified for nationals.
Tell us a bit about your team.
We’re here to have a good time, play some quality frisbee, have fun, and improve our skills. We’re gonna try our best and bring good vibes.
What are your goals and expectations for nationals?
We’re not really worrying about the final seeding, we just want to use this as a learning experience to develop our players and work on this new team.
Do you have any secret weapons or USPs?
As a new team, we’re going to rely on our passion, determination and will to win.
What’s your team hype song?
Boom Boom Boom Boom!! And The partybus by the Vengaboys.
Glasgow 2 (10th seed):
Captain – Tara Dow
How did you find regionals?
Regionals was such a blast! With so many of our players only having a few months of experience, we went into regionals hoping to develop our fundamentals and gain on-pitch confidence. We managed to come home with 7th place and a Div 2 qualification! Throughout the day we developed a lot more chemistry which has only become stronger leading up to nationals.
Tell us a bit about your team.
Our team is a lovely mix of fabulous women! We have experienced flungers hailing from the hallowed halls of Dollar Academy, windy Irish cliffs and far away US of A. We have complete newbies Charlotte and Lynn who joined our ‘fast track to nationals’ programme; they’ve been playing ultimate for around 4 weeks and are absolutely killing it with their pace, catches and commitment. We also have our sweet September starts Faith, Paulina and Mia who cause havoc in the endzone with their speed and safe hands.
What are your goals and expectations for nationals?
We are going to try our absolute best, but really just want to enjoy playing some proper good frisbee together.
Do you have any secret weapons or USPs?
Our determination to play and spicy team chemistry!
What’s your team hype song?
Gold Dust – DJ Fresh.
Aberdeen (14th seed):
Captains – Carla Fernández and Hazel Faunce Smith
(written by Katie Henry)
How did you find regionals?
Great! It was the first time our Aberdeen Women’s team was able to play together in a competitive setting. We are really starting to gel as a team and have all caught the frisbee bug. We also loved to see Scottish women’s ultimate thriving, with loads of strong university teams.
Tell us a bit about your team.
Aberdeen is the BEST! This is a team of great human beings who strive to do the best they can, off and on the pitch. We really focus on growing our players to be both competitive and good spirited. We also have some brilliant new players, who are feisty and ready to show off their hot new skills. Included on this lineup is a firecracker who has managed to land themselves on the under 20’s GB team.
What are your goals and expectations for nationals?
Although we may be one of the younger teams in terms of experience, we hope to show that we are still a competitive team with fresh talent and hench teammates. Our aim is to go into the tournament with 100% energy and leave with absolutely none.
How will you see these through? Do you have any secret weapons or unique selling points?
Aberdeen is an open book, what you see is what you get. We will follow up with what we have done in our training sessions, score points, and do the best we can.
What’s your team hype song?
Dancing Queen by Abba.
Thank you to all the captains for sharing your thoughts with us!
Do you have any predictions for Nationals? Let us know them! You can see the full seedings and schedule for Div 1 Nationals here and Div 2 Nationals here.
Stay tuned for our UMIN Preview, coming very soon!