It was all joy for members of the United States’ Under-24 ultimate frisbee teams in Nottingham, England earlier this month. Between the women’s, men’s, and mixed divisions, team USA finished with a combined 27-0 record and three world titles to go along with it. 

This was the fifth iteration of the U24 worlds tournament that first started back in 2013.

Team USA proved to be as dominant as ever on the world stage. They combined to outscore opponents 404-158, with each U.S. team featuring a player or coach from the Hampshire County area.

The women’s team featured Marguerite “Gigi” Downey, who was a finalist for the Donovan Award (Division 3 college player of the year) at Mount Holyoke. Downey also helped coach the Amherst Regional High School girlsx varsity and junior varsity teams this past spring. Downey has also helped coach the ultimate frisbee training camp National Ultimate Training Camp (NUTC).

Downey recalled the small aspects of the tournament when asked about their favorite moment.

“The smaller moments were super memorable, and just seeing teammates succeed on the field,” Downey said.

The women’s team defeated Japan in the final, 14-9, to clinch their world championship. 

“The Canada game was our first competition that was really scary,” Downey recalled. “As the tournament progressed, things went well with our offense.”

Downey credited the team’s success to their fast learning during the limited practice time that they had together.

Orion Cable, an Amherst native, ARHS alumni, and Boston Glory player, highlighted the men’s team. Cable has played high level frisbee at UMass and other club teams around the area such as Boston Dig.

The U.S. mixed team included assistant coach Hannah Baranes, who helped coach the ARHS girlsx varsity team from 2014 until 2021. She has also coached the UMass mixed team, as well as played on the Portland Rising, a team in the Professional Ultimate League.

“Part of our team identity was about celebrating all of the little moments of greatness,” said Baranes regarding the U.S. mixed team’s success. “Rather than celebrating wins, we would celebrate good decisions and loud sidelines.”

The U.S. took down Singapore in the mixed division final, 15-5. Baranes credited current and former Amherst coaches for teaching her skills that were then passed on to the U.S. teams.

“I have extreme gratitude toward all of the experiences and coaching mentorships,” Baranes said. “A lot of that comes back to Amherst. (I’m) regularly using things that I directly learned from those coaches in Amherst, as they taught me how to build mental resilience, equity, and inclusion.”

In the men’s final, Belgium was able to keep it close before team USA broke the game open in the second half, finishing with a score of 15-9. Once Belgium was unable to connect on deep shots, they seemed to unravel.

“A big part is being humble and always learning,” said Baranes. “I’m a firm believer in building around the players you have.”

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