Stephen F. Austin State University

Stephen F. Austin State University has had a men's Ultimate Frisbee team for at least a decade. Now women play too, as they have realized the fun and the benefits of the sport.

April Grady, a member of the Nacogdoches Club Ultimate Frisbee, serves as a mentor for the SFA Ultimate Club, and she said she is impressed by the perseverance of the women who are participating.

"They played in their first tournament April 14," she said. "Seven players are on the field at one time, and we had nine people on the team. Most teams have 15 to 20 members."

Having a small team makes the sport more taxing on the players, Grady said.

Sean Bibby, another member of the Nacogdoches Club, said Ultimate Frisbee requires as much running as soccer. As someone who has been involved in the sport for 10 years, Bibby said he was truly proud to see SFA take a women's team to competition.

"Watching them play really shook me," he said. "In the past 10 years we might have had two co-ed teams from SFA. Having a full women's team was really something. Whether they won or lost was inconsequential. They played well, and they represented SFA well."

Grady said it's been challenging to get women interested in playing, so she was thrilled when this group of women decided to "make history" by competing two weeks ago in the college sectionals at Texas A&M University.

This weekend, SFA is hosting a "One Night Stand" tournament at the intramural fields which will bring about 14 teams to Nacogdoches for "the only all night tournament in the world."

When asked how they play all night, Bibby said, "With lots of pizza, coffee and chocolate-covered coffee beans ... then we sleep all day Sunday."

Clarification: "How do you play in the dark?"

Bibby smiled and said the bright lights of the intramural fields illuminate the field.

"It's one of the most fun tournaments in Texas," Bibby said. "Anyone can come and watch."

Ultimate Frisbee requires true athleticism, and those who watch it will wonder how the player threw the disc so fast and so hard, Grady said.

The women's team at SFA includes Allie Shields, Katie McKlurkin, Emily Jacobs, Eileen Jacobs, Amy Minter, Brittany Kendleheart, Samantha Simmons, Stephanie Sereno and Holley Gaskill.