Help decide the best recorded catch of 2022.
January 9, 2023 by Ultiworld in Awards, Opinion with 0 comments
Ultiworld’s 2022 Catch of the Year bracket is presented by Spin Ultimate; all opinions are those of the author(s). Find out how Spin can get you, and your team, looking your best this season.
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 2022.
We watched many hours of game footage and asked for help from the community to hunt down the catches, completions, grabs, snags, and everything else. This was a big year for ultimate with more than enough options to fill up this bracket, so even some worthy candidates were left behind.
We have a new system to select the victor for 2022: a voting triumvirate of the community at large, our staff, and our subscribers. Over the next week, we’re inviting you, the Ultiworld readers, to vote for your favorite of the finalists selected. It’ll be best of three in those categories to decide the winner.
Check out all of the nominees and vote below, then check back to see which clips advance for another opportunity to participate. The second round of voting starts now and closes on Tuesday, January 10 at 11:59 PM Eastern.
Matchup 1: Culton vs. Schroeder
Culton swept her matchup against Audrey Brown, who did put an admirable fight with both the community and subscriber votes. Meanwhile, Schroeder ever-so-narrowly topped Lippincott, with just a few percentage points separating her PUL catch from Lippincott’s WUL highlight in the community poll and a similarly close result — although in Lippincott’s favor — in the subscriber voting. Ultiworld staff comfortably advanced Schroeder.
Dawn Culton – UNC Pleiades (USAU College)
Erynn Schroeder – Milwaukee Monarchs (PUL)
2022 Catch of the Year: Round 2, Matchup 1 (Results)
- Dawn Culton
- Erynn Schroeder
Matchup 2: Shilts vs. Wilber
The collegiate catches advanced with 3-0 tallies, with 2-to-1 ratios or better in every poll. That’s an impressive opening for the two airborne academics, who now bring their university ups against one another for a college clash.
Abbi Shilts – UC San Diego (USAU College)
Martha Wilber – Georgia Athena (USAU College)
2022 Catch of the Year: Round 2, Matchup 2 (Results)
- Abbi Shilts
- Martha Wilber
Matchup 3: Jonkers vs. Tatum
The first round was Colorado vs. the world: Bravo teammates Alex Tatum and Calvin Stoughton taking on players from Japan and Belgium. Tatum will have a chance at avenging Stoughton’s loss now. Jonkers’ community win over Stoughton came down to a handful of votes, while the staff and subs were a bit more decided. Tatum scooted by in the subscriber poll, but cruised with the community and staff.
Reph Jonkers – Mooncatchers (International Club)
Alex Tatum – Denver Johnny Bravo (USAU Club)
2022 Catch of the Year: Round 2, Matchup 3 (Results)
- Reph Jonkers
- Alex Tatum
Matchup 4: Billaut vs. Kelly
Both Billaut and Kelly handed members of Rhino’s dynamic duo first round Ls to get here. Both battles were very close with the community, and neither swept: the staff went against Kelly and the subscribers decidedly preferred the alternative to Billaut. The community proved to be on the winning side on both cases.
Loic Billaut – USA (WJUC)
Jack Kelly – Madison NOISE (USAU Club)
2022 Catch of the Year: Round 2, Matchup 4 (Results)
- Loic Billaut
- Jack Kelly
