The football and basketball teams failed to win titles, but there is still hope for Maryland sports fans looking for another national championship.

With a second-place finish in the Metro East Women's Regionals on Sunday, the women's club ultimate frisbee team secured a place in the 16-team national tournament to be held May 16-18 in Boulder, Colo., for the first time in team history. During the past six years, the team has gone from struggling to recruit members to achieving the No. 13 ranking in the nation from the Ultimate Players Association, the sport's governing body.

After cruising through the opening rounds with blowout wins over Haverford and Penn State, the Terrapins persevered 15-9 over Pittsburgh before losing to tournament champion Ottawa.

The loss set up a rematch against Pittsburgh for second place and the tournament berth. After a back-and-forth match that progressed much like their previous meeting, the Terps pulled away by virtue of better conditioning.

"We just had more stamina, and we ran them into the ground," club president and sophomore government and politics major Molly Rose said. "We won using our legs and our heads."

The highlight of the match came when co-captain and senior civil engineering major Heather Smith performed a rare "Callahan," in which a player scores on defense by intercepting the frisbee in her opponent's endzone.

The trip to the national tournament will cap a breakout season for the team, which finished with a 26-3 record during the season and won its sectional tournament for the first time.

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