McMaster ultimate frisbee captures third consecutive national title

After a year of rebuilding their team, Marauders women's ultimate frisbee ended their successful season with a national title

The McMaster University women's ultimate frisbee team has just concluded another great season for themselves. For the third season in a row, the team was able to capture the national title, crowning them the number one team in this year's Canadian university tournament.

The Marauders went into this season full of confidence, as they won themselves the national title in the year prior. However, the team had experienced a high level of turnover for the roster with several key players graduating, including captains Jessica Gao and Safeena Shanjani, both of whom had helped lead the team to last year's national title.

The team's offseason rebuild seemed to be productive, with the Marauders welcoming seven rookie players, including new captains, Katie McMullen and Allison Couwenberg.

McMaster was able to secure their bid to the national championship tournament in this year's Eastern tournament on Oct. 2. The team was able to clinch a third-place finish at the tournament, as they beat University of Guelph, Carleton University, University of Waterloo and McGill University.

This year's national championship began on Oct. 14 in Brampton. The Marauders started their national campaign facing off against McGill University. They clinched a close win with a score of ten to eight.

The final game of the tournament was played on Oct. 15, with the Marauders taking the national championship home, per fourth year player Mackinley Szumlanski, the team won 9-8 against Laval University. The Marauders were also able to bring home a major individual accolade with Katie McMullen being named the tournament's most valuable player, ending a great year and captaincy.

With a strong roster and three years of national experience, the team will likely believe in themselves to grab a fourth title.