Sara Nitz was one of the most versatile athletes in the history of the Holland region.
In Zeeland East she became national champion in high jump and basketball and volleyball player in all regions and conferences.
She became Big Ten champion in Michigan.
Sport has always played a big role in her life and that is still the case almost a decade later.
And it still competes at a high level.
Nitz, 33, was recently part of a team – Ann Arbor Hybrid – that won the nationally televised U.S. Open Ultimate Frisbee Championship in Aurora, Colorado.
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“Right out of college, I was a little worried when the competition ended. I wanted to fill that void. My uncle had a team and brought me on. It was a lot of fun and I liked the people. It’s just a great community,” Nitz said. “We were second in a lot of tournaments and it’s a great feeling to see us win a title.”
Nitz lives in Midland, where she works as a materials engineer. This is her fourth season with Ann Arbor Hybrid, and she has also been part of several elite women’s teams during her nine-year career.
“I started with spontaneous games and then joined a club team,” she says.
So what is the ultimate?
“It’s a mix of soccer, basketball and football. You score like in football. One point for every point in the end zone. You have handlers and cutters and an offensive and defensive line – and you have to run down the field. You have to run a lot,” she said. “I’m a cutter and on the defensive line. It helps to be big and fast.”
Nitz is also left-handed, which gives her a slight advantage.
“On defense, you have to push the opponent in a certain direction, and being tall and left-footed really helps,” she said.
Now Nitz and her teammates are aiming for a place at the national championships, for which 16 teams qualify.
“Now it’s just about preparing for nationals in October,” she said. “That’s really important for us as a program. We made it to nationals for the first time in 2021. The Midwest has been struggling on the ultimate front for a while. Up until then, we had never played some of the big teams and finished in second place.
“This confirmed that we can play at this level.”
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’[email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSportp.
