Alejandro Alonso Galva
Robyn Wiseman, at right, became the first woman to play for the Madison Radicals on May 13. She also scored professional ultimate frisbee's first "honey pass" when she caught a scoring pass from her husband and teammate Dave Wiseman, shown here at left.
Robyn Wiseman is now the first woman to play for the Madison Radicals of the American Ultimate Disc League.
The crowd was still pouring into Breese Stevens Field on Sunday when Robyn Wiseman took the opening toss in the Madison Radicals’ game against the Detroit Mechanix. As a starting handler on the offense, she hustled to the 30-yard line, picked up the frisbee, scanned the field and tossed it to a teammate.
It was a routine frisbee play for the three-time world champion. But this time, it broke the gender barrier for Madison’s ultimate frisbee team. Wiseman is part of a wave of women to be signed to AUDL rosters this spring. Last year, there was only one female athlete on professional rosters. Now there are nine.
“I was very, very nervous every single time I stepped on the field,” said an emotional Wiseman after the game. “It was really exciting to see, I swear, a record number of young girls [watching]; that was emotional for me.”
Also in the crowd was Wiseman’s mother, Karen Fennig, who said watching her daughter play professional ultimate for the first time on Mother’s Day was a tearful moment.
“We saw her at [collegiate] nationals when she was up for the Callahan award. I didn’t think it got much better than that, but today it has.”
When asked if she ever thought her daughter would be breaking gender barriers, Fennig said she knew early on.
“I always said she’d be the first female president. And she’s still too young to be president, so that could be coming.”
The climactic moment of the game came in the fourth quarter. That’s when Wiseman made a deep cut to the back right corner of the end zone and caught a long scoring pass from her husband, Dave Wiseman. After the point, Robyn embraced Dave in the end zone, then teammates and coaches.
Dave Wiseman said it was the type of thing you can’t make up.
“I mean it’s perfect, right? You couldn’t ask for anything else. She knows where I like to throw it and she went to the space, and afterwards, lots of feels.”
In ultimate frisbee a score made by a married couple passing the disc to each other is referred to as a “honey pass.” It is not uncommon in ultimate’s culture of co-ed play. However, the Wisemans’ score was the first honey pass in professional ultimate.
Robyn Wiseman said having her life partner throw the assist for her first professional ultimate frisbee score was special.
“If there’s someone who trusts me the most on the field, it’s him, right? I immediately started to tear up when the disc was in the air. I just had to catch it.”
Radicals head coach Tim DeByl said he found himself getting emotional after the play. After the game he reflected on how Wiseman’s journey on the team has shifted his perspective.
“When she started on the team, I think I underestimated how important it would be to her and to other people,” DeByl said. “It’s easy, as men, to feel like ‘Of course she’s good enough to play, and she’s getting an opportunity.’ And I think we feel like that’s always been there, and it probably hasn’t.”
By the time the clock read zero, Wiseman played in 14 series, racking up six completions with an 86 percent completion rate and one throwaway. She was also credited with a hockey assist, a recognition for the penultimate pass before a score.
After the game she was surrounded by fans asking for autographs — many of them young girls who stared at her intently.
To each one, Wiseman asked the same questions.
“Do you play frisbee? I’m gonna get to play with you someday, right?”
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct the last name of Robyn Wiseman's mother. Her name is Karen Fennig, not Fen. It has also been corrected to reflect more women recently added to AUDL rosters.
