Gold medal matchup!
February 28, 2022 by in Awards, Opinion with 0 comments
Ultiworld’s 2021 Catch of the Year bracket is presented by Friction Gloves; all opinions are those of the author. Want to make highlights of your own? Try Friction Gloves!
One of our most popular series to begin each year, it’s time to look back at last year and let our readers decide some of the top plays of the year from 2021.
We begin by deciding the champion of our Catch of the Year bracket. We watched many hours of game footage and highlight reels to hunt down the catches, completions, grabs, snags, and everything else; believe us, there were more than enough options to fill up this bracket, so even some worthy nominees were left on the cutting room floor. Over the next week, we’re inviting you, the Ultiworld readers, to vote for your favorite of the finalists selected.
Check out all of the nominees and vote below, then check back to see which clips advance for another opportunity to participate. Voting for the champion starts now and closes on Tuesday, March 1 at 4 PM Eastern.
Hecko vs. Rhyne
Abby Hecko – Washington Element (USAU College)
Another very narrow win for the charismatic young Abby Hecko, who snuck past Sandy Jorgensen 52-48 on the voting percentage scoreboard. Can she take the title to cap off a brilliant 2021 where she won awards in both Club and College, while reaching Club semifinals and the D-I final?
Jordan Rhyne – Philadelphia AMP (USAU Club)
Rhyne is riding high into the final with a dominant showing against Lippincott in the semifinal. His catch is quite different from Hecko’s, as is the context, so there will be a lot of factors to weigh to see if the Philly playmaker can bring PA a fourth Catch of the Year.1
Catch of the Year 2022 (Round 3, Matchup 1) (Results)
- Abby Hecko
- Jordan Rhyne
Himalaya Mehta in 2016, Charlotte Koerner in 2019 plus Jessie Sun’s 2020 Play of the Year, which was also from the Catch category. ↩