I grew up in Winters, a small farming town in the central valley of California. I played outside a lot, mostly basketball, but also soccer, football, rugby and baseball. My parents also made me play piano (which I hated at the time), mostly classical but also jazz and blues. My dad played ultimate when I was growing up, and I was dragged along to practices and tournaments throughout California ever since I was born. I didn’t like playing ultimate, probably because it wasn’t the “cool” thing to do. My goal instead was to play in the NBA.

Fast forward to my junior year of college at UC Davis. I hadn’t played ultimate since I was about 13 years old, and since starting college, I hadn’t played any competitive sports (so much for a career in the NBA). I missed being part of a team, I missed competition, yet ultimate still hadn’t entered back into my mind. Then one day I ran into a guy at the UC Davis gym, and he was wearing a shirt that read UC Davis Ultimate. I said, “Oh that’s cool, my dad used to play that sport.” And he said, “Oh yea? You should come play, it’s really fun, practices are.. ” and I responded with, “Sure. Sounds great. I’ll be there.” (I didn’t mean it at the time.) Three days later, I was practicing with the B team, and two days after that, I was traveling to San Diego with the A team for my first tournament. I haven’t had many free weekends since.

These days, I am working my way through medical school, trying to decide what kind of doctor I want to be and how to plan the rest of my life. I still love playing ultimate, and the time I’ve spent with teammates/friends in the sport have been some of the greatest experiences of my life. I also enjoy rock climbing, backpacking, cooking, family time, movies, girlfriend time and friends.

Fun Facts about Ashlin:

• I was the fourth grade table tennis champion.
• My aunt won a championship before me: college national champion (UC Davis Pleiades 1989).
• I hated PB&J sandwiches and pancakes when I was a kid.