The top five candidates in each division!
May 13, 2025 by Charlie Eisenhood in Awards
Ultiworld is excited to present the finalists for the ninth annual Donovan Award. The Donovan Award is a peer-voted award for the Division III player that best demonstrates an exceptional level of skill and athleticism on the field; upholds the principles of Spirit of the Game, equity, and fairness in their own actions, as well as holding teammates accountable to do the same; and is a leader off the field, both on their team and in the greater ultimate community.
Here are the five finalists in each division, listed alphabetically, with their bios from their nominations attached (edited for length and clarity).
The 2025 Donovan Award winners will be announced at the Division III College Championships.
Men’s Division
Calvin Ciorba (University of Richmond)
Calvin Ciorba has been a force within the ultimate frisbee community for nearly a decade. He started playing ultimate in 2017 at Ladue Horton Watkins High School and played for the St Louis U20 YCC team, the Storm. In college, Calvin’s deep understanding of the game and his fierce physical presence helped drive the Spidermonkeys to new levels of success. His game-changing plays on both offense and defense helped the team reach additional semi-final appearances in 2021, 2023, and 2024. In his junior year, Calvin earned recognition as a Second Team All-American and First Team All-Atlantic Coast Region. In the summer of 2024, Calvin joined Richmond’s mixed club team, Revival, and was also honored with a tryout invitation for the USA U24 national team.
During his Senior season, Calvin has continued his reliable and inspirational play. Elected team captain, he anchors the defense and inspired multiple come-from-behind wins with his relentless energy, clutch layouts, and sharp throws. He frequently crosses over to the offensive, where his creativity and handling skills proved invaluable. Under his leadership, the team secured a second bid for the Atlantic Coast region and clinched a spot at the 2025 D-III Nationals, making him the first 4x qualifier in Spidermonkey history. Off the field, Calvin has made an equally significant impact. He created Discmemes, a popular ultimate frisbee-themed social media account with over 34,000 followers, and contributes as a writer for Ultiworld, further supporting the sport’s growth and visibility. Throughout his ultimate career, Calvin has consistently exemplified dedication, leadership, and passion. His strategic mind and competitive fire elevate those around him, whether in practice or on the national stage. The Richmond Spidermonkeys proudly believe Calvin Ciorba represents the spirit of the Donovan Award in every way.
Kai Kirsch (Whitman College)
Mild-mannered Kai Kirsch has been playing frisbee since middle school, and his bag of tricks, throws, and cuts is about as deep as it gets. Fast forward to his college career and it only gets nuttier. On and off the field Kai is an inspiration to his peers, teammates, and fellow captains, and so too, deep in our hearts, we knew he was our Donovan hopeful. From when he got invited to WJUC tryouts our freshman year to 4 years of dominating the Northwest division, it is my pride and honor to nominate my best friend, Kai Kirsch, who is the complete package, if you will. From the frisbee field, to the rave, to the chemistry lab, you will find Kai as the charismatic centerpiece—uplifting, inspiring, and demanding greatness from those around him. In short, he’s a dawg like no other with crazy bids, electric hops, and a mean mug.
Max Rogers (Middlebury College)
Max Rogers was born in Seattle, Washington. In his youth, he played for Lakeside High School and Seven Hills. As a Middlebury Prankster, he has played in five competitive seasons: 2021-2025. In club, he has played for Switchback in Seattle. As a player, Cash embodies Prankster culture through his spirit, his competition, and his love for his teammates. As Middlebury Ultimate, we want to nominate Max to highlight a member of our community who not only has been the cornerstone of our D-line for multiple years but truly shows what it means to play ultimate the right way, with happiness and drive with every point he plays in.
Daniel Snider (Bates College)
Daniel has been playing frisbee since he was 11 years old. This game truly means the world to him, and he does everything he can to spread the joy that frisbee gives him. He has been a leader on the frisbee team from his first practice.
Our team has unanimously selected to nominate Daniel, as the choice is clear; he is the truth. He brings duplicity in the form of joy and intensity, making every player continuously grow into their best version.
Charlie Tantum (Williams College)
We are beyond honored to nominate Charles Entertainment Cheese Tantum for the 2025 Donovan. Chuck arrived in the beautiful mountains of the Purple Valley as a track recruit, having only ever touched a frisbee during summer camp as a counselor. Unfortunately for the track team, he decided he liked us more. From the moment he stepped on the field, he was making jaws drop – sometimes in a “how did you do that??” kind of way, and other times in a “why did you do that??” kind of way. As he honed his game sense, decision-making, and throwing capabilities, it became (almost) entirely the former. His path from 2nd Runner-Up ROTY in 2022, to 2nd Runner-Up DPOTY in 2023, to DPOTY and Runner-Up POTY in 2024 reflects his skill, passion, dedication, and indelible impact on the game.
There’s truly no better feeling than playing alongside Charlie, knowing that there’s nothing the other team can do to stop him from doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants. In the wise words of one of our cameramen, “he is inevitable.” Charlie’s signature move is skying the beans off some poor sap who thought he had a chance, and then offering them a hand to help them up. Chuck is a fierce competitor, an unparalleled leader, a living fear factor, and easily the best pong partner anyone could ask for. There’s a running joke about “playoff Charlie:” that he doesn’t really try until late in the season because if he played the whole year the way he does in the postseason, he’d end up in an ambulance by week four. This dude leaves it all on the field. Beyond that, he’s a deeply caring, intelligent, and dedicated person. He leads by example, embodying everything he asks of the rest of us and more. We will miss those traits at least as much as everything he brought on the field. No one embodies the spirit of WUFO better than Charlie Tantum, and no one deserves to win the Donovan Award more than he does.
Women’s Division
Zoe Costanza (Haverford / Bryn Mawr)
Zoe Costanza has been making noise in the ultimate community ever since she touched a frisbee. It is no coincidence that once Zoe joined the Haverford/Bryn Mawr team, they qualified four times in a row for Nationals. Whether she is juking defenders on strike cuts, whipping perfect backhand hucks, or laying out for a block, she instantly elevates the level of play on the field. While she excels with the disc in her hands, her ability to generate turns on defense is absurd; her deep help, small-field agility, and commitment to chase down any disc for a layout d ensures that the Sneetches almost always regain possession. Zoe, as a captain, always has a word of encouragement, a high-five, or insightful advice for her teammates, and she pushes and supports them to be the best players they can be. Anyone who has ever played with Zoe feels lucky to witness her greatness. She was awarded Offense Player of the Year Runner up in 2024, First Team All American, and led DIII in goals at Nationals in 2024, yet these accolades still don’t grasp her talent. Zoe is a phenom. Her passion for this sport, her teammates, and the greater ultimate community is unparalleled. As the ever-proud teammates of Zoe, we are honored to nominate Zoe Costanza for the 2025 Donovan Award.
Jamie Eldridge (Mount Holyoke College)
For the past 4 years, Jamie Eldridge has been a guiding force for Daisy Chain, both on and off the field. They make their mark with beautiful hucks, unmarkable break throws, and an uncanny ability to snatch the disc over the heads of any number of defenders. Beyond their raw talent, Jamie demonstrates exceptional field awareness, reliable decision-making skills, and a lightning-fast processing speed that consistently leaves the defense several throws behind. Halloween tournaments attest to the fact that even fuzzy bear-paw gloves can’t throw off Jamie’s disc game. If you ever catch them on the sideline, Jamie will undoubtedly be the loudest voice, shouting encouragement and advice to teammates. In huddles, they always bring the fire and the focus, leading by example with composure and respect for teammates and opponents alike. Jamie made an immediate impact as a freshman, earning first runner up for 2022 Rookie of the Year at nationals. Since stepping into the role of captain as a sophomore, they have led Daisy Chain to three more national championships. They showcase their leadership ability not just during competition, but also through consistent organizational and logistical management year-round. Outside of Daisy Chain, Jamie has competed at the club level with both Flight and Forge, as well as captaining their high school ultimate team. Jamie has an incredible drive and love for the game of frisbee, and it is our honor to nominate them for this year’s Donovan award!
Natalie Sweet (Wesleyan)
When Natalie “Nat” Sweet switched out the basketball for the disc their sophomore year of high school, nobody could’ve predicted the beast of a player “sweet hands” would quickly become. Stepping onto the collegiate field as a freshman with only a couple of years of experience under their belt, Nat quickly found their place as center O-line handler, and has remained the backbone of Vish’s offense ever since. Between their agile athleticism, explosive small-space movement, impressive reaction time (they get UP and get HO!), and impeccable communication (on and off the field), Nat is a force to be reckoned with in the handler space. What really sets Nat apart, though, is their insane HUCKS. Insides, arounds, backhands, forehands, upwind, downwind, from the high side or low side, you name it – Nat can do it all. With a combination of incredible accuracy and tremendous power behind their ever-perfectly-placed FULL-FIELD puts, Nat manages to demonstrate their dominance in the D-3 handler arena, while consistently setting their teammates up for success.
Defensively, Nat’s ability to shut down any and every matchup makes them a versatile and reliable teammate; they’ve been known to lock up the opposing teams’ strongest handler, a testament to their persistent eagerness to learn, grow, and up their own game – Nat LOVES a challenge. …And they were hit with a hefty one this fall. While competing at U-24 Worlds Tryouts in November, Nat suffered a nearly season-ending full dislocation of their (dominant side) shoulder, which required major surgery and months of rest. And yet, they never stopped showing up. Throughout their several (in-season) weeks of intensive post-op rehabilitation and physical therapy, Captain Nat remained true to themselves and their role on the team, as a steadfast leader, a committed teammate, an impassioned athlete, and an inspiration to us all. They spent nearly every day of recovery throwing with their non-dominant arm, and by the time they were cleared to throw with their right arm again, Nat had mastered every lefty throw (watch out for ambidextrous Nat!). Nat’s infectious(ly positive) energy, love of the game, and drive to constantly evolve as a player is unmatched. They are truly a one-of-a-kind human, the core of our Vish community, and an absolute BALLER, and we could not be prouder to nominate them for this year’s Donovan Award.
Sofia Taberski (Amherst College)
Sofia Taberski began playing ultimate frisbee for Lower Merion High School after playing sports her whole life, primarily volleyball and basketball. In high school, she was mostly a cutter, but once she got to Amherst College, she soon learned to handle as well, becoming the amazing hybrid player she is today. She became captain of Amherst College Sparklemotion when she was just a sophomore, beginning as a quiet role model on the field to the wise, thoughtful leader we know her to be today. Sofia is reliable on and off the field, always giving her full effort. Whenever we throw a disc to her, we know she’ll throw her body on the line to catch it, no matter how painful. She also has incredible throws, consistently hucking it deep in any conditions the greatest distances on our team. Her defense is unmatched, particularly with her ability to leap high into the air and moss both those on and off her team. Off the field, Sofia is a very calm presence to those around her. She is very good at gauging the energy of the team and picking our spirits up when we need it. Even when all her fellow upperclassmen quit the team, she stuck with us and served as the role model we all look up to. Whenever we have a question about frisbee strategy or logistics, no matter how busy she is, she will help us out. We think she perfectly emulates the values of the Donovan award in terms of her talent, commitment, and kindness.
Annika Wolberg (Wellesley College)
Annika “Sid” Wolberg made her debut as a frisbee player her freshman year at Wellesley College with no prior experience, an inability to throw a disc, and incredible athleticism. By the end of the 2021-2022 season, Annika was a standout player on the roster (one of only three freshmen that made the cut). The team placed second overall at the 2022 National Championships that year and continued to make appearances with her help at the following two Championships (2023 and 2024). In the 2023 Championship she accumulated stats of 12 goals, 2 assists and, at the 2024 Championship, 7 goals and 7 assists. But here’s what the numbers won’t tell you; Annika is one of the hardest working, driven athletes you will ever meet. The work she has put in, both in and outside of practice, are testament to the love she has for the sport.
Elected as captain for the Whiptails both in her junior and senior years, Annika’s leadership is prominent and admirable. Besides working on her own development, she provides countless— out of her own volition— opportunities for both the Whips and the Tails (developmental team) to improve their abilities with weekly tossing, lifting and strengthening workouts. She embodies the spirit of the game, never wavering in her composure and temperament. Annika also has the rule book memorized. It can be really annoying to be in her car on the way to tournaments because the likelihood that she will make you read the rule book is pretty high. She eats, breathes, and drinks frisbee. Ultiworld’s D-III All Region 2024 First Team pick, she is dynamic, reliable and an incredibly intelligent player. She bridges pure formulaic play with incredible improvisation. Annika is quick on her feet and able to read and catch any disc. As a defensive player, she dominates in her abilities to anticipate the offense and pressure every throw and catch. No one likes to mark or be marked by Sid at practice. If you don’t trust the American perspective— try Irish. In her time studying and working abroad in Dublin, she played for Jabba the Huck (placed 5th at Irish Mixed Club Nationals), Cú Callahan men’s club team, Flame women’s club team (placed 2nd at College Nationals), and Trinity College women’s/mixed team (placed 4th at mixed Irish Intervarsities Championship). It’s no luck o’ the Irish— Annika “Sid” Wolberg is really one of the strongest players in D-III college ultimate!
