University Women’s Indoor Nationals 2025: Scottish Preview
By Kabir ‘Kb’ Adkoli
Have I (allegedly) dedicated more time writing Release Point articles today than actually attending class? Maybe…(joke for legal purposes). But priorities have to be given to the important stuff – so welcome to my preview for division 1 and 2 of University Women’s Indoor Nationals (UWIN), being held in Nottingham and Coventry, respectively, this weekend!
Regionals back in October are a distant memory now, but it’s effects are finally coming to fruition. Thanks to adverse weather at the time, regionals was a one day tournament. Scotland received a whopping 8 bids for 10 teams, so each team participating had a decent shot at nationals qualification. The four teams clinching spots to go to the premier event were St Andrews 1, Edinburgh 1, Strathclyde and Aberdeen, with Glasgow, Edinburgh 2, Stirling and Dundee finding themselves going to division 2. An unfortunate bit of news for Scottish ultimate comes in the form of Aberdeen dropping out as they can’t field a squad. For the other 7 teams though, here’s what I think their weekends will look like based on chats I’ve had with their captains. You can find the regionals results here.
Division 1
St Andrews: Seed 4
Going into this season, St Andrews’ women’s team was expected to dominate the field, and they’ve lived up to their high billing. The team that narrowly missed out on a div 1 bronze medal last year came back with a point to prove – they were ruthless at regionals, going undefeated, including a 10-2 win in the final against a fairly strong Edinburgh. The Scottish champions find themselves in a group with Exeter, Sheffield, Southampton and Lancaster and will be looking for a deep run in the Sunday brackets.
Here’s what captain Sophie Chowgule had to say:
What are your thoughts heading into this weekend?
We’re really excited to play some competitive ultimate this weekend and hope our hard-work will shine through in all of the games!
What’s something about your team that’s changed or improved from regionals?
Unfortunately, two players from our regionals squad are unable to make it to nats, but we are so excited for our other players to step up and show what they can do over the weekend, ultimately showing the depth of Saints Ultimate.
What song’s going to be on repeat this weekend?
Every 1’s A Winner – Hot Chocolate.
Edinburgh: Seed 5
Don’t let the 10-2 loss to St Andrews take anything away from the quality of this team. It was their only loss at regionals and what St Andrews did to them, they did to all other teams they played at ScUWIR. Their confidence following a 5th place finish at div 1 nationals last year is exactly what will help them whilst in a pool with Leeds, Nottingham, UCL and Bristol – Edinburgh will go far this year as well.
Here’s what captain Adreena Su-Ying Ann and Ariel Koh had to say:
What are your thoughts heading into this weekend?
We are going into the weekend expectantly and with much excitement!! As we all know, hardcourt is a completely different game from our usual indoor turf and a little outside of our realms of expertise. Nevertheless, we hope to rise above the challenge and hold our ground. We are also going in with mostly the same strong team from regionals. We have a lot of potential this year and are hoping to repeat or even surpass the same excellent results from last year! Fingers crossed.
What’s something about your team that’s changed or improved from regionals?
We are a little bit more drilled and have built a little bit more chemistry. However, we’ve unfortunately picked up a few new injuries. Hopefully this weekend will swing in our favour! We are excited to see how this weekend plays out!
What song’s going to be on repeat this weekend?
Cotton Eye Joe – Rednex.
Strathclyde: Seed 8
The final Scottish team at division 1 is Strathclyde. The team demonstrated incredible fitness at regionals as they iron-(wo)manned, but still managed to come third. While their ability to power through a one day tournament has been proven, doubts may start creeping in on Sunday when the lights start shining brightest, despite talk of the recruitment of a couple of players. They are grouped with Imperial, Warwick, York and Bath.
Here’s what captain Martyna Bakon had to say:
What are your thoughts heading into this weekend?
Only positive thoughts for this weekend. It will be super fun to play other UK teams.
What’s something about your team that’s changed or improved from regionals?
The biggest change is that we won’t be iron-manning this time as we have subs!!! We managed to draft some players and we have improved our team’s chemistry which has resulted in us playing a lot faster and taking on riskier shots which we hope might catch some teams sleeping.
What song is going to be on repeat this weekend?
We don’t really have a favourite song to play, instead we’ll just shuffle a playlist of upbeat songs. (Editor’s note – maybe this playlist?)
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Kb’s Predictions:
Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is the year we might see Scottish national champions in multiple divisions once more (last time(?) with Strathclyde in 2019), with Saints women going the distance and taking gold. There might be a slight scare or two along the way, but I think it will be one-way traffic for the most part, with Saints women proving invincible at both tournaments! Edinburgh will be the next best Scottish team, and I can see them go undefeated in the pool stage before an unfortunate loss somewhere in bracket play. But they will still improve their position from last year by one, to end the weekend in fourth. I do fear Strathclyde may struggle as they benefitted heavily from a one day regionals, allowing their more experienced players to carry the team over the line. They might look fresh to start Saturday, but after a tough pool in which they might get one or two wins, Sunday won’t be much respite so I predict the team to finish 15th.
Division 2
Glasgow: Seed 5
FarFlung mentioned!!! Keeping all bias aside, Glasgow have exceeded expectations this season. Most may have expected a huge fall-off, following the graduation exodus of most of of their div 1 level players from last season. And yet, the team have done fairly well to finish as the best team from Scotland going to div 2 nats. They find themselves in Pool A with Oxford, UWE, Edinburgh 2, Liverpool, Cardiff and Loughborough 2.
Here’s what captain Charlotte McFadzean had to say:
What are your thoughts heading into this weekend?
As a team we are really looking forward to it. For the majority of our team, it’s their first time at nationals, so that is super exciting. Expectations wise, we just hope to keep building on our performance at UWIR, but we are the top placing Scottish team at Division 2 so who knows what might happen…
What’s something about your team that’s changed or improved from regionals?
Team chemistry and overall game understanding has gone up significantly thanks to our training sessions and the friendlies we’ve played. The team that went to UWIR hadn’t played together much previously, which lead to a messy offence and a lot of unnecessary turnovers. For a team with lots of beginners, there has been a strong focus on the basics at training which has resulted in an elevation in the general quality of the squad.
What song is going to be on repeat this weekend?
Haien Kommer (Sharkdog) – Kudos & Dr Disco.
Edinburgh 2: Seed 7
The only second team from Scotland playing this weekend is Edinburgh’s 2s. The team’s performance at regionals was comparable to Glasgow’s – they too finished third in their pool, before narrowly losing to to them in the final game before the game-to-go to Div 1. However, if their outdoor BUCS games are anything to go by, they’ve undoubtedly improved over the last few months and it will be interesting to see how they navigate being in the same pool Glasgow.
Here’s what captains, Rebecca McCartney and Navya Bhamidipati, had to say:
What are your thoughts heading into this weekend?
No injuries and make sure everyone stay hydrated.
What’s something about your team that’s changed or improved from regionals?
We have gained an awesome handler! But still only have one sub. However, since regionals we have had a chance to gel more as a team!
What song’s going to be on repeat this weekend?
Eye of the Tiger – Survivor.
Stirling: Seed 8
Stirling’s overall performance at regionals showed a team that was a bit rough when it came to technical ability, but one that more than made up for it with a fighting mentality and athleticism. Having had several months to polish their skills, Stirling could cause some surprises in Pool B where they face competition from Leicester, Cambridge, Swansea, Newcastle, LSE and Dundee.
Here’s what captains Milly Quigley and Lucía Hernández had to say:
What are your thoughts heading into this weekend?
We are very excited because we have such a competent women’s team this year, all of whom are so excited to learn and experience all that comes with nationals. We think it will be a valuable experience for everyone involved, regardless of the final standing.
What’s something about your team that’s changed or improved from regionals?
Team dynamics and co-operation have gone up considerably since regionals. Our synergy and flow have visibly improved in our recent games.
What song is going to be on repeat this weekend?
Dundee: Seed 13
Dundee’s women’s team seems to perennially find its way to nationals, as the Penguins took the final qualifying spot at regionals, following a 10th place finish at division 2 nationals last year. Here’s what captain Emma McPherson had to say:
What are your thoughts heading into this weekend?
The main goal is to have fun and enjoy the experience. This is the first trip South of the border for a few of our players, and my last (indoor) one, so we really want to make the most of our time away, both on and off the pitch.
What’s something about your team that’s changed or improved from regionals?
We are heading down to Coventry with just 7 players. What we lack in numbers, I’m hoping we can make up for in chemistry and good vibes.
What song is going to be on repeat this weekend?
It’s going to take more than 1 song on repeat to get us through the 7 hour journey…
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Kb’s Predictions:
With four Scottish teams amongst the fourteen teams competing in this division, there’s a chance we’ll see another Scottish medalist in the women’s division. I have to back FarFlung, who have made impressive strides since regionals – plus, there’s been chat a medal ahead of the weekend. I think the hard work will pay off, resulting in the team clinching bronze. Edinburgh 2, however, might fall on Sunday as the two-day tournament opposes their extremely small squad. For this reason, I have them falling to 8th overall. I didn’t get to say this on the open side, but Stirling are a team that seem to get better every time they show up to a tournament. Their squad is always under-estimated, thanks to inexperience. But under captain Will Harrison’s coaching, this team could be looking to pick up a shock upset or two during pool play, resulting in a 6th place finish over Edinburgh 2. Dundee face a number of problems as well, but not as extreme as Edinburgh’s. Based on the team’s performance at regionals and recent BUCS results, I have them finishing in 11th, beating their seed by two spots.
That is all from me regarding the women’s division. Feel free to follow div 1 here and div 2 here!
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Featured photo by Tristan Millington.
In case we missed it, we recently uploaded our UWIR 2024 review (better late than never) – check it out here!