INSIDE COLLEGE ULTIMATE

UC-Berkeley Pie Queens 2005

Website:
www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~piequeen/

E-mail Contacts:
Captains Julie "Bruiser" Shortridge & Tracy Tietge
Coaches Hank Ibser & Joanne Adamkewicz

Number Player Name Year
#61 Amanda Leahy Sophomore
#20 Beth Boylan Junior
#50 Heather Tangen Senior
#40 Juilie Shortridge
(Bruiser)		 Senior
#29 Kasi Kiehlbaugh Grad
#28 Kate Goldfarb Sophomore
#13 Kath Ratcliff Grad
#17 Natalie Wu Sophomore
#22 Rebecca Rundle Freshman
#78 Sam Ehrlich Grad
# Kacey Ballard Senior
# Amy Chou Senior
# Darragh Clancy Freshman
# Christine Cusick
(aka Chinstrap)		 Junior
# Eileen Evans Sophomore
# Mindy Marshall Freshman
# Lily Mihalik
(aka Biscuit)		 Sophomore
# Michelle Ng Junior
# Lindsay Soh
(aka Key)		 Junior
# Julietta Strauss Junior
# Natalie Tsui
(aka Putt Putt)		 Sophomore
# Sarah Welch
(aka Scoops)		 Junior
# Tracy Tietge Senior
UC-Berkeley has been a quarterfinalist at the UPA College Championships for the past two years now, and has a solid program that benefits from the B-team, the Tarts, and thousands of eligible women on campus. Unfortunately, 2005 might prove to be a bit of a rebuilding year for the Pie Queens as much of the team's former leadership has graduated.

Callahan nominee Andrea "Chowdah" Jung, Rowan Sill, Heidi-Marie Clemens, Lindsay Lowe, and Karen Pezzetti will not be playing with the team this year and long-time coach Matt Tsang has retired his post. Instead, the team will be coached by Fletcher Hank Ibser and Joanne Adamkewicz, a club player from Bay Area team Heroine, and will be lead by captain Julie "Bruiser" Shortridge and Kath Ratcliff. Shortridge has been a solid receiver for the Pie Queens, and will likely step up into an even more visible role this year as one of the few veteran players. Ratcliff has the most experience on the team, as this is her 5th year of eligibility, and she has the benefit of playing for three years on Heroine. Watch for Ratcliff to handle the disc with ease and be her team's mainstay as deep-deep in any zone D. Last season, freshman Amanda Leahy proved herself as a dynamic player and this season her rookie potential will likely turn into the skills of a go-to player. Also watch for Tracy Tietge to step up and make big plays for the Pie Queens, either on the field or as the heart of the Pie Queens. Despite graduating so many experienced players, the Pie Queens added a number of players from the B-team, the Tarts, and having "rookies" to the team with previous ultimate experience will help the team's strength.

The past few seasons, Berkeley has relied on the stellar play of a few key players. With a number of people stepping into new roles this year, the rotation might be opened up further to develop younger players. Expect Berkeley to utilize key players' long throws and to play tight man defense in addition to their four-person cup.

Tournament Recaps:

  • UC-Berkeley finished in quarters of both fall tournaments C.H.U.G. and Sean Ryan
  • At the Santa Barbara Invite, the team won its pool over the eventual champions UC-Santa Cruz, and then lost in semifinals to Stanford and to UC-San Diego in the third place bracket
  • At Mardi Gras UC-Berkeley played as a combo of its A and B teams and did not make the championship bracket
  • Berkeley lost in pre-quarters to British Columbia at the Stanford Invite, and ended up finishing 10th after a close game against UCLA in the 9th place bracket
  • At Centex the team finished second in its pool (behind Texas) and lost to Oregon by one in the pre-quarters. Berkeley finished 10th

Beth Boylan and Kath Ratcliff having fun at Sean Ryan

Kasi Kiehlbaugh comes up with the catch

Kath throws past Christina Contreras (Stanford)
(Photos courtesy of Andrew Davis)

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