The John Brown University women’s Ultimate Frisbee team, the Savage Skies, stormed into its first tournament of the season. After a challenging COVID-19 season, which included only one tournament, junior captains Emma Erickson, Kassy Shelby and Lindsay Scott were eager to lead their teammates into an exciting season.
Despite the difficulties of the COVID-19 season and their current lack of freshman recruits, the Savage Skies with its numerous second-year players were prepared for the Tulsa Ultimate Federation “Rookie Ride 2021” tournament. On Sept. 18, JBU Women’s Ultimate was victorious against all three of its competitors, winning 13-0 against the University of North Texas, 13-1 against the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa and 11-9 against the University of Missouri.
Scores remained high on the second day of the tournament, Sept. 19. The Savage Skies beat North Texas and Oklahoma-Tulsa 13-1 and 13-2, while losing to Missouri in a close game of 12-13.
“I didn’t really have any expectations coming into the weekend, so when our team won almost all the games I was elated. Of course I knew they could do it, but the fluidity and communication was amazing to watch,” said Shelby.
Savage Skies’ second-year sophomores shined brightly in the rookie spotlight. Ellie Chaves led the team’s offense with 13 goals, 11 assists and 94 overall touches. Her peers Josie Donaldson and Karis Hall tied for second in goals, each scoring nine points. Donaldson yielded the highest plus-minus of the team, 14 in both offense and defense.
Myah Ray led the Savage Skies’ defense with nine forced turnovers, 62 defensive points and seven pulls. Seniors Beth Abdo and Christi Cobb both scored eight points. Erickson had 16 assists and 63 completions, with her fair share of eight turnovers.
“Towards the end of the weekend, we had several girls who were injured, and they ended up playing with very few subs. Although this was physically demanding, our team somehow became even stronger,” Shelby said. “Another teammate and I were talking on the sideline, and she commented on the fact that it was only through Christ that they were able to play the way they did.”
In all, JBU women’s Ultimate Frisbee team is not only hopeful for future successes with a deeply-bonded and skilled group of women but also ready to move forward with “the tangible uniting quality of Christ on our team,” as Shelby put it.
The team is currently looking for new recruits in anticipation for its next tournament, Oct. 1-3. The Savage Skies meets for practice on the Quad every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 4-6 p.m. Interest may be expressed via email: womensultimate@jbu.edu
Photos courtesy of JBU Women’s Ultimate Frisbee