Urbana Frisbee club wins ‘Ultimate’ championship

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Urbana Frisbee club wins ‘Ultimate’ championship

by Chris Brown | News and Notes

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Urbana High School’s Ultimate Frisbee team recently won the Maryland state championships in Catonsville, and went on to regional championships, held in Pittsburgh, Pa., this past weekend.

For those unacquainted with the sport, the Ultimate Players Association Web site defines Ultimate Frisbee as a fast-paced Frisbee game played on a field similar to a football field. It combines the nearly non-stop movement of soccer with the passing skills of football, and the object is to catch a pass in the opponent’s end zone. Players often have to switch between offense and defense because of frequent turnovers, and must stop running when they are in possession of the Frisbee.

Urbana’s team began two years ago as Tommy Carroll’s senior project. Nearly 300 students signed up for a Frisbee club, according to John Carroll, a coach and Tommy’s father.

John Carroll said that with few returning seniors, this year’s team started at a disadvantage. The team was also smaller than most open teams in the Washington Area Frisbee League. However, he said with the help of several alumni who returned to scrimmage with the team, Carroll said the new players were able to broaden their skills and win against larger, more experienced teams.

The team is largely made up of boys, but has three young women as members, who Carroll said are easily ‘‘able to hold their own against boys” on other teams.

The team started practicing for two days a week in February, and they practice every day in the spring.

Urbana graduate enters rowing competition

Joanna Rodriguez, a Duquesne University student formerly of Urbana, participated in the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, a ‘‘marquee event” in rowing, this past weekend.

According to a press release for the event, more than 3,000 rowers from around the United States and Canada participated in the regatta, which has been held on the Schuylkill River 70 times since 1934. Medals were awarded on Friday and Saturday, and the two-day competition represented the end of spring championships for most rowing programs. Some rowers will go on to the IRA and the Henley Royal Regatta in London.

Eaglehead resident studies in Australia

Eaglehead at Lake Linganore resident Heather Blair is studying abroad at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia this semester.

Blair is a sophomore at Salisbury University and is studying the environment and traveling throughout the east coast of Australia this spring. She has also found time to go on several personal adventures, including skydiving over New Zealand’s glacial mountains, swimming in the Great Barrier Reef, visiting the rainforest and taking trips to remote Australian islands.

Blair graduated from Linganore High School in 2006.

Urbana grad named to deans’ lists

Amanda K. Leatherman was named to the dean’s list at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa., for the fall 2007 semester, according to the college.

Leatherman, a double major in neuroscience and media and communications, is also pursuing a pre-law program.

The president of the Class of 2009 at Ursinus, Leatherman has been named to Theta Chi, a national honor society in communications; Nu Rho Psi, a national honor society in neuroscience; and the Whitians, women’s honor society at Ursinus. A member of the women’s track and field team, she was named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll in 2007.

A 2005 graduate of Urbana High School, she is the daughter of Gary and Kathleen Leatherman of Monrovia.

Contact reporter Chris Brown at 301-846-2132 or chbrown@ gazette.net; fax to 301-846-2124.