Women’s ultimate frisbee is on the rise—growing in visibility, athleticism, and impact. The sport’s mix of speed, skill, and spirit sets it apart: it’s fast-paced, self-officiated, and rooted in respect. 

At the highest level, the USA Ultimate Club Division, hundreds of athletes compete for a shot at the national title. At the 2025 Club Nationals in San Diego from Oct. 23–26, the top 16 teams from a 113-team qualifying field battled for the championship.

Boston Brute Squad emerged with the national championship, beating San Francisco Fury in the final with a score of 15-12. The semi-finals also featured DC Scandal and Denver Molly Brown—four historic teams that contend for the title each year.

As women’s ultimate gains momentum, a group of standout athletes are setting new standards for excellence—both on and off the field. These players are redefining what leadership, fitness, and community look like at the sport’s highest level.

Levke Walczak

Team: Boston Brute Squad 

Levke Walczak is originally from Kiel, Germany, but has played for teams all over the world and won multiple championships in Europe. At Nationals, she led Brute Squad in both goals (16) and assists (21) and was responsible for two-thirds of the team’s scores in the final. 

Walczak is known for her motor—she runs hard and never seems to stop moving. Her commitment to both her physical and mental well-being reflects the same balance and discipline she brings to her game. She approaches training and competition with a long-term mindset, recognizing that being an elite athlete extends beyond any single season.

“Your career is all the seasons that you play and even after you play. You want to stay in shape, you want to prevent your body from getting injured, you want to do everything to be a good athlete while you still can but also still be healthy and happy even after you’ve given up your sport,” Walczak said ahead of the World Games in 2021. 

Off the field, Walczak is a medical student and hospital intern. She also has competed in the Roundnet (Spikeball) World Championships. 

Liv Player 

Team: Boston Brute Squad

Liv Player discovered ultimate at a Duke University summer camp and went on to play at Harvard, where she earned both her English degree and M.Ed from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Known for her aggressive defense and ability to bait throws, Player added 11 assists and 7 goals at Nationals—key to Brute Squad’s title run. Off the field, she’s a project manager at Doc Wayne, a mental health nonprofit that uses sport-based, clinician-led programs to expand access to care for youth worldwide.

Player’s fierce competitiveness and unwavering confidence mirror the intensity she brings to every point on the field. She approaches the game with the same belief that has driven her since she first picked up a disc: that she can rise to any challenge.

“I had played all kinds of sports growing up, but not frisbee competitively, and I was looking to fill that void,” Player said in a World Games interview in 2025. “I’ve always had a belief in myself—a competitive belief that I can compete with anyone, anywhere, at any time.”

Anna Thompson 

Team: San Francisco Fury

Anna Thompson first played ultimate in middle school in Seattle, but her athletic foundation came from rowing in high school. She picked up the disc again as a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, where that strength and explosiveness became her hallmark. But, for Thompson, ultimate is more than just a sport she excels at. 

“I don't think I ever anticipated it becoming this big of a portion of my life. It really is something that I love. It's not only a sport to me, it's also getting to be with my people, getting to spend time with them, and pursuing excellence in something,” Thompson told 34th Street Magazine. “Athletics have been such an integral part of my personality and my character.”

At Nationals, Thompson led Fury with 14 assists and added 6 goals, alongside clutch defensive plays. A three-time world champion and five-time national champion, Thompson balances her playing career with her work as a product manager at Cash App.

“It's not only a sport to me, it's also getting to be with my people, getting to spend time with them, and pursuing excellence in something”

Anna Thompson

Claire Trop 

Team: DC Scandal 

Claire Trop grew up playing ultimate in Seattle and later committed to Dartmouth for Division I soccer. She only played one year of college soccer before winning the USA Ultimate College Championships with Dartmouth in 2018.  Her pivot to ultimate came down to what she wanted her future in sport to look like. 

“I had what I think of in my own estimation as a successful freshman season, and I had this moment of realization that I wasn’t going anywhere in soccer,” Trop told local Virginia TV in 2023. “Even if I played through my senior year and continued having success, it was just going to be over. And I really saw a future—in terms of community and in terms of playing—in ultimate. And that caused me to make the switch.”

Trop owns one club nationals title and three world championship titles, along with many youth and junior titles. She was voted the best club player in 2025 by Ultiworld (an ultimate frisbee media outlet) and is the two-time defending Player of the Year. At nationals, she led her team with 16 assists and also brought in 10 goals. Off the field, Trop is a Physicist at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

“Ultimate is a very team-oriented sport, and personally, I like to see it this way: everything I do individually contributes to what we achieve as a team,”

Manuela Cárdenas

Manuela Cárdenas

Team: Denver Molly Brown

A global force in the sport, Manuela Cárdenas has been redefining ultimate since she started playing at age nine in Colombia. At 13, she joined Colombia’s U19 national team and helped them win gold. This season, she led Molly Brown with 20 assists at Nationals, while her twin sister Valeria added 16. For Cárdenas, ultimate is about the team around her. 

“Ultimate is a very team-oriented sport, and personally, I like to see it this way: everything I do individually contributes to what we achieve as a team,” Cárdenas said at the World Games this year. “It’s a very tactical sport, and as you mature in it, you start to understand and optimize your game tactically.

She’s known for her gravity-defying catches, diving defensive plays, and chemistry with her twin sister. Together, the Cárdenas twins founded Macana, a Colombian women’s club team already with two national titles. Off the field, Manuela holds a marketing degree from Eafit University and co-runs the clothing brand By Cárdenas with her sister.

Women’s ultimate frisbee is reaching new heights—on the field, in the community, and around the world. As the sport’s visibility grows, these women are more than champions—they’re role models, innovators, and proof that the future of ultimate is bright, bold, and entirely in good hands.