Recognizing the top seven performers of the 2024 season.
June 10, 2024 by Anna Browne, Zack Davis and Theresa Diffendal in Awards with 0 comments
Each year, Ultiworld presents our annual College Awards. Our staff evaluates the individual performances of players from throughout the season, talking to folks around college ultimate, watching film, and look at statistics, voting upon the awards to decide those to be honored. The regular season and the college Series are both considered, with extra emphasis for performances in the competitive and high-stakes environment at Nationals.
Our All-American teams recognize the top performers across the division. While in the past Player of the Year has been awarded first, this year we open our Awards with our First Team All-Americans, displaying the top seven players who had the best seasons. Listed in alphabetical order, the First Team now serves as a finalist list for the Player of the Year Award, which will be announced live tomorrow on Deep Look.
- All-American First Team
- Player of the Year
- All-American Second Team
- Offensive Player of the Year Award
- Defensive Player of the Year Award
- Breakout Player of the Year Award
- Rookie of the Year Award
- Coaches of the Year Award
D-III Women’s All-American First Team
Surehanded and patient handlers typically find themselves at the top of the individual player awards. This season had other plans. With the exception of Keziah Wilde, the first team was composed entirely of cutting-first hybrid players. While almost all of these players found themselves in the backfield during several points each game, they got there through creating separation in the stack. The biggest standout skill for all of these players? Decisive, athletic cuts paired with a strong throwing ability, and they were no slouches on defense either.
Zoe Costanza (Haverford/Bryn Mawr)
A known star, Costanza just continues to beat expectations and outperform year after year. Finishing with a triple double for the second year in a row – this time 23G/19A/15D – Costanza found the end zone more than anyone else at Nationals while also leading her team in assists. Sometimes it’s hard for a player to stand out on a consistently talented and deeper team like Haverford/Bryn Mawr, but Costanza truly shines with huge backhand hucks, great field vision, and impeccable timing.
Rowan Dong (Carleton)
We all knew Dong was a threat in the deep and aerial space. At Nationals, Dong proved their biggest strength on Eclipse was as a thrower. With perfectly dialed hucks, both flick and backhand, Dong’s ability to throw a receiver open was on full display throughout the tournament. Starting in the cutting space, Dong was inevitable in getting open to receive the disc from the handlers. And Dong proved that they still have defensive prowess, racking up 20 blocks on the weekend.
Julianna Galian (Portland)
While Portland flexed its superior depth throughout Nationals, they also knew that giving the disc to Galian was a winning formula. With an eye popping 43 assists1, Galian was either on the throwing end or receiving end of two-thirds of UPRoar’s scores. Galian became one of the most dangerous players on the field through her throwing prowess, allowing her to churn up defenses with the disc in her hand somehow more effectively than without it.
Claire Lee (Macalester)
The Pursesnatchers were one of the great stories of the 2024 D-III season, and they were headlined by the field-altering throwing prowess of Claire Lee. Even as the wind started to pick up deeper into pool play, Lee’s power and precision on both forehand and backhand hucks allowed her to send the disc the full length of the field into her receiver’s bread box time and again. Perhaps even more impressive was her poise as a leader on the field, directing traffic while maintaining a hunger for the disc that saw her swat her way to an nigh-unfathomable 43 blocks.
Gemma Munck (Whitman)
While we sadly weren’t able to see Munck or the Sweets at Nationals due to an injury that took her out of the game to go at Northwest Regionals, Munck proved her value to Whitman in the regular season, making a statement early and winning D-III Grand Prix. Leading Whitman to a 3-1 record over National Champions Portland on a +6 goal differential highlighted Munck’s ability. Munck’s impact on paper is clear, but her contribution on the field is even more impressive, being an unrecoverable threat downfield and outworking every matchup.
Frankie Saraniti (Carleton)
Posting a triple double on the weekend and being an absolute rock in the middle of the field for Carleton’s run at the final, Saraniti was the perfect facilitator for Eclipse. Dong was able to make the big plays for Carleton, but often because of the space created for them by Saraniti. As great a facilitator as she was, she wasn’t afraid to take a deep shot or use her own legs to make things happen. Saraniti was scalpel, sharp all weekend.
Keziah Wilde (Middlebury)
The centerpiece of Middlebury Prankster’s success this year has handled her way into the top seven for two years in a row. An absolute gift to the D-III women’s division, Wilde makes difficult throws with the type of ease that convinces other casual viewers anyone can do it. Don’t be fooled though – what Wilde can do in the back field is electrifying and why she once again graces our first team.
15 more than the second player this year, Claire Lee. ↩
