Nation,
On the eve of the 2009 Canadian University Ultimate Championships, we profile the captain of one of the newest teams in university women's ultimate- Université de Montréal - 'Ultimate Diva Montréal'. Despite a small roster for CEUUC 2009, the team surprised many and finished second.
Beating many established programs like city rival McGill made readers ask- Who is this team?
Isabelle Ascah-Coallier has just completed her first year of women's club play with Montreal's Mystik. Identified by coach Sonia Kraijeck as one of the key players on Diva, Isabelle was kind enough to take part in an interview with me to tell us about her team, her ultimate experiences and her hopes for the U de M program in the future.
Name: Isabelle Ascah-Coallier
Number of Years playing Club : 1 year competitive with Mystik, 6 years in total
Number of Years playing University: 1
History of the U de M women's team: It is the first year of the team. We created it because the CUUC are in Montreal, but we wish to establish a long time program of ultimate at UdeM.
How would you describe your team's style of play?
We are an athletic team. We have many fast girls that are really intense in defense. I think that this is our strength. And Sonia Krajicek, our coach, worked a lot to improve our defensive play.
Describe the team's experience of CEUC 2009 in London?
It was amazing. We went there with high expectations and we achieved our goals. We were competitive against each team and we reached the final. We couldn't have asked for more from our first tournament.
Which team does U de M most want to face at CUUC 2009?
Ottawa or McGill. Two good teams. There is lot of intensity when we play against either one. We had two friendly games against McGill and each was great. It would be fun to meet them in a tournament.
What are the team's expectations at CUUC 2009?
We want to reach the semi-finals. That said, our first goal is to finish in the top two of our pool.
Describe the state of ultimate for Montreal school teams in general. Will we see more Montreal schools at nationals soon outside of CUUC 2009?
There is strong desire in Montreal to have men and women teams at each university (Concordia, McGill, UdeM, etc). The AUM is working towards that goal this year and there will be men teams from the four Montreal universities at CUUC. With all the work done by many people at each university this year, we can just hope that long time programs will be established.
On the women's side, we have two schools with women teams: McGill and us. We hope that the girls on UdeM team enjoy their experience and that next year another womens team at UQAM will be established. I think that multiplying school teams is a good way to improve womens ultimate in Montreal. And as I said, UdeM's team was created because the nationals are in Montreal this year, but we really want to keep this team alive.
What is your favorite thing about the game of ultimate?
I like the way we can combine intensity with good team spirit on the field.
What was/is the most aggravating thing about the game?
Never-ending discussion on the field.
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