St. Olaf’s Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team, Vortex, has qualified for nationals! Last week, I had the honor of interviewing one of the captains, Maggie Walsh ’26. She has been playing ever since she arrived at St. Olaf and joined without any previous experience.
If you are interested in joining, here is a quick rundown of the sport. They play on a field similar to the size of a soccer field with two end zones. One team starts by pulling, meaning the disk is thrown to the other team, and the receiving team begins to pass from one person to the next. You only have 10 seconds to pass it off to another player and are not able to move the disk. In order to score, you must get the disk to the end zone.
Walsh explains how their journey to becoming qualified has been based on the team’s perseverance and focus. For the last couple of practices, they have been solely focused on their plays in the end zone. Their dedication was shown when they defeated Carleton in order to get into nationals. This has been their first win against Carleton in about seven years. They are excited to face them again because even though they are highly competitive with each other, these teams have built a great community within Northfield together.
Walsh explains that a tide-turning moment in Ultimate is when the offensive team loses the disk and the other team scores. This is called a break. The first time they broke Carleton during their conference regional game was their “we made it moment,” Walsh said.
One of the biggest challenges that they have faced is weather. One of their tournaments was played in two inches of snow and another on pure ice. Another challenge they met was facing D1 teams earlier this season. Although it was difficult to go against a team in a higher division, they used this invaluable experience to prepare for conference regionals and nationals.
A huge aspect that has contributed to their success is their support for each other. They understand that they are always there to build each other up. Having moments off the field is just as important as one’s on the field.
Walsh looks forward to meeting all the players who come from across the country and being with her amazing team at nationals. The energy, competitiveness, and growth that will be seen in these games will be unlike any other.
In order for Ultimate to get to nationals in Burlington, Washington, they need to raise $10,000, whereas as of Wednesday, April 23, the team has raised over $8,000. They will be releasing a fundraising link to pie a vortex player. If a certain player reaches a certain amount, they will get pied in the Quad. Aside from monetary aid, logging on to stream their tournament is also a great way to support Vortex. We wish Vortex the best of luck on their exciting journey!
