NYU Ultimate debuted in 1998, but for several seasons there was no women’s team. Without enough players to field their own team, women had to play with the men’s team, Purple Haze. But as the pool of enthusiastic female players began to grow, a new team was needed. In the fall of ‘01, Karen Lee (Stern ’03) founded Bust, NYU’s first women’s Ultimate team. In its inaugural season, with a core of Lee, Elizabeth Lamm (CAS ‘04), Stephanie Chan (GCAS ’03), and Eva Stein (Nursing ’03), the team placed second at Metro NY Sectionals and won one game at Metro East Regionals. The squad returned to Regionals two years later under a new name, Violet Femmes. Often struggling for numbers, the early team leadership – Lee, Lamm, Georgia Pappas (Stern ’04) and Julie Sussman (CAS ’03, SCPS) – recruited talent, one player at a time, laying the foundation for a successful program.
In the fall of ‘05, despite a dearth of experience and minimal prior success at Regionals, the Femmes recognized that they had a young, athletically-gifted core of players with a burning desire to compete at the highest levels of college Ultimate. Led by tri-captains Mia Iseman (CAS ’07), Krisztina Joszef (Gallatin ’07) and Amanda Goodin (Law ’07), the determined squad committed itself to an ambitious two-year plan to qualify for Nationals in ‘07. Under the guidance of new coaches Zac Roy (CAS ’04) and Ken Chen (CAS ’05), they took their first steps on that journey in the ‘05-‘06 season. The new-look Femmes beat Vassar in the Metro NY finals to claim their first-ever Sectional championship. At Regionals not only did they win games, they placed fifth, putting the rest of the Metro East on notice that NYU’s program was on the rise.
Despite having several key players abroad for the fall ‘06 semester, the Femmes went 21-0, winning all three of its tournaments: Rutgers, Haverween and Delaware’s Piggly Fest. But the team knew that in order to prepare for the top competition at Regionals and Nationals, it would need to beef up its schedule, so they added scrimmages against elite club teams and trips to Trouble in Vegas and Southerns. Along the way, the team proved itself to be more than just a Regional power, beating many of North America’s top teams: Colorado, UC-Santa Barbara, British Columbia, Carleton, Arizona, Iowa State, Illinois, Georgia and more.
After winning its second consecutive Sectionals title, NYU beat UPenn in the backdoor finals at Regionals to claim second-place and their first-ever bid to Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. At Nationals, the Femmes were eliminated by defending (and eventual) national champions, Stanford, but then defeated Dartmouth and Tufts in consolation games, finishing ninth in the nation – the best finish by a Metro East women’s team in four years.
The ’07-’08 Femmes missed its departing players and coach Chen, but Roy and the new captains – Sarah Klein (CAS ’08), Linh Hoang (Stern ’08) and Claire Hsing (Stern ’08) – were able to step up and lead a dynamic group of newcomers and returners, winning its third consecutive Sectionals title. NYU went 3-2, finishing fourth at Regionals.
The Femmes had lost a lot of good players after the '07-'08 season, but captains Emily Frantzen (Gallatin '09), Bethany Kacich (CAS '09), and assistant captain Anne Silver (CAS '10) fought hard to continue the Femmes tradition. The season ended with the Violet Femmes taking their 4th Sectionals title in a row.
The '09-'10 season saw new changes as coach Zac Roy moved on to coach the Columbia University men's team, and the Femmes welcomed into their family coach Monica Heger, a current captain of Bent, a New York Women's Club team, and a graduate of University of Michigan's Women's Ultimate team. The fall season was marked with adjustments and a small rookie intake, but Monica, returning captain Anne Silver (CAS '10), and new captains Fiona McKibben (CAS '11) and Kelly Burke (CAS ' 11) led the team with spirit and the spring season finished strong when the Femmes won their 5th Sectionals Championship and proceeded to finish 7th in the Region.
This season the Violet Femmes, still under the amazing coaching skills of Monica Heger, and led by captains Fiona McKibben (CAS ' 11), Kelly Burke (CAS '11), and Emily Turner (CAS '11) seek to win another Sectionals title and take full advantage of a strong returning squad.
The Femmes had lost a lot of good players after the '07-'08 season, but captains Emily Frantzen (Gallatin '09), Bethany Kacich (CAS '09), and assistant captain Anne Silver (CAS '10) fought hard to continue the Femmes tradition. The season ended with the Violet Femmes taking their 4th Sectionals title in a row.
The '09-'10 season saw new changes as coach Zac Roy moved on to coach the Columbia University men's team, and the Femmes welcomed into their family coach Monica Heger, a current captain of Bent, a New York Women's Club team, and a graduate of University of Michigan's Women's Ultimate team. The fall season was marked with adjustments and a small rookie intake, but Monica, returning captain Anne Silver (CAS '10), and new captains Fiona McKibben (CAS '11) and Kelly Burke (CAS ' 11) led the team with spirit and the spring season finished strong when the Femmes won their 5th Sectionals Championship and proceeded to finish 7th in the Region.
This season the Violet Femmes, still under the amazing coaching skills of Monica Heger, and led by captains Fiona McKibben (CAS ' 11), Kelly Burke (CAS '11), and Emily Turner (CAS '11) seek to win another Sectionals title and take full advantage of a strong returning squad.
