In honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Feb. 5, Savage is highlighting some of our favorite female athletes in some of our favorite sports throughout the week. First up: Jenny Fey, a top-tier ultimate player who's been playing for nearly 20 years.

There's a good reason everyone in Ultimate knows Jenny Fey's name. She's made Club Nationals 13 times and won once with Scandal. She represented the U.S. on the U20 Girls Team in 2004 (silver in Finland), the US Mixed Beach Team in 2015 (bronze in Dubai), and the US Women's Team in 2016 (gold in London). She's played for seven club teams, mostly in the DC area, including DC Scandal (2009-2013 and 2015-2017) and DC Space Heater. Here at Savage, we've been lucky to know her since her college days at the University of Mary Washington. When she's not on the field, Jenny teaches high school literature, linguistics, and psychology in Arlington, where she lives with her partner and toddler. Take it away, Jenny.

Savage: How did you get into playing ultimate? What drew you to the sport?

Jenny Fey: I was first exposed to a chaotic but epic version of ultimate at sleep away camp in middle school, but my structured ultimate experience really started in 10th grade. A group of students from a couple of Arlington high schools had been playing pick-up together for a few years, but had just recently started playing formal games as part of the local league (WAFC), where a certain gender ratio was required. This one mixed gender team planted the seeds for what is now a huge and highly successful Arlington youth program that spans many schools (YULA). Anyway, a few of my friends had already started playing and they recruited me as a sub one weekend; I had an incredible time and never looked back.

The sport is really ideal for me as an athlete... I always loved sprinting but was never a fan of long distance. I had a natural throwing ability and good hand-eye coordination, but was not so good with my feet, so I didn't excel at soccer. Everyone loves a disc in flight, but I was also really attracted to the cooperation elements of ultimate, the playing to a score component which demands strong play throughout a match, and the sense of community and camaraderie I felt with the folks I was playing with and against. I have loved giving back as a coach over the years as a chance to share my appreciation of the game with others.