A brief history of Scorch
The U of A Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team (Scorch) made its debut at SW College Regionals in Colorado Springs in 2002. Having never attended a college tournament before, the 8 women did not know what do expect. Despite the windy conditions, Scorch took 3rd in the region, finishing behind Colorado and San Diego, and beating Santa Barbara Burning Skirts. As a testament to the fine play of Kali and the Psychos, the 2 Southwest teams earned 2 strength bids for the region, meaning in 2003 the Southwest ladies would have 3 bids to Nationals. Fired up with their first ever college tournament experience and returning most of their players, Scorch started out the 2002-2003 year determined to recruit and make Nationals.
That year, Arizona traveled to President’s Day, So-Cal Sectionals (because we were the only team in the desert section) and Southwest Regionals in San Diego, CA. True to our goal at the beginning of the year, Scorch played with heart and determination and beat Santa Barbara in the game-to-go and made it to Nationals in our second year of existence! At nationals, the relative inexperience of the team the Texas heat, and the small roster (at only 11 players, we were the smallest team in Austin) took its toll and Scorch finished in 15/16.
In just a few short years, paralleling the growth of women’s college ultimate in the Southwest Region, Scorch has not only grown in numbers, but also in experience and competitiveness, and is now an established force to be reckoned with.
