St Andrews Ultimate Frisbee Finish Fourth

The University of St Andrews Mixed Ultimate Frisbee team finished fourth out of Scottish Universities in the Scottish Student Sport Mixed Championships this past weekend in Dundee. Following up on a stellar fifth place finish by the men’s squad two weeks earlier in Aberdeen, the mixed men and women’s team stormed into Dundee and were rewarded with a qualification to the UK National Championships.

The St Andrews Ultimate team, affectionately known by their moniker ‘Flatball’ started strong on the Saturday of the two day tournament, comfortably topping their pool and holding off a highly talented Dundee second team. Sunday however, brought a heartbreaking loss to the University of Edinburgh in the semi-finals, ending St Andrews’ hopes of winning the Scottish Championship. “We were obviously gutted we didn’t make it to the final,” said Harry Glasspool, the men’s captain. “But I was incredibly proud of both our unbeaten Saturday and delighted with how well everyone on the team played, especially the newer and less experienced players.” The team included two first years among its ranks, as well as two American exchange students playing in their first tournament.

Another bright spot from the weekend was the play of the second team, which finished tenth overall, losing to the University of Sterling first team in the plate final. Playing with several first time players, the squad picked up momentum following a hard fought semi-final win over the University of Strathclyde first team, but were ultimately undone by an experienced Sterling team that had finished third in Scotland two weeks previously at the SSS Open Championships. “Narrowly losing to a strong team like Sterling shows the great potential the club has for the future. If our seconds can play at that kind of level now we’re in a very good place for the next few years.” Glasspool added.

Currently however, the teams focus is on the next stage of the season, with the SSS Women’s Championships next weekend St Andrews is expecting to have three teams representing the University at their respective National Tournaments. It’s a fantastic early result, but the club knows that the toughest competitions are still to come.