Ultimate Frisbee reps take gold at Eastern regionals

Sydney University’s 15 representatives battled through rain, wind and, finally, heat over the weekend in Canberra at the 2011  Eastern Ultimate Championships.

The championships, which had 17 teams playing between five and seven 65-minute matches over two days, finished with Southside Penguins taking gold in the women’s event and Colony Plunder winning the Open event gold.

Among the teams competing for the same title were the Keas (NZ Under 23s opens), Kaos (Western Australia women’s) and Black Betty (Queensland women’s).

Sydney University representatives playing for Southside Penguins include Amanda Ang, Christine McBride and Laura Manescu.

For Colony Plunder, World Ultimate Club Championships 2010 competitor Calan Spielman helped bring the team gold with his mean grabs and sky-high jumps.

The women’s finals saw Southside defeat local Sydney team Sand Dunes 11-8, ending on a high note with a three- pass goal down the 100m field.

On the open’s field, Colony Plunder faced up against their sibling Colony Pillage with a final score of 13-9.

Five of the six teams with Sydney University representatives will be heading to Brisbane from April 1-4 for the 2011 Australian Ultimate Championships.

Four of the teams will also be playing an invitational lead-up tournament  in Canberra from March 12-13.

With World Ultimate Championships 2012 selections coming up and selectors closely following performance and results at EUCs and AUCs this year, teams are stepping it up a notch coming into the nationals.

Sydney University could well be sending several representatives overseas in 2012 to compete on the world stage.