Tufts put a target on their back with a second consecutive tournament win, while Stanford and UCSB rebounded in a big way
March 4, 2025 by Kiana Hu in Recap
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Stanford, CA – While the out-of-region teams in attendance at this year’s iteration of Stanford Invite may not have been as strong as the usual slate, the abundance of high-performing Southwest teams provided a compelling foil to #2 Tufts EWO’s undefeated record. Tufts cruised all the way to the final, dispatching a resurgent #13 Stanford Superfly 11-8 in a game where Tufts led the entire time. Meanwhile, semifinalists #11 Cal Poly SLO Motion and #16 UC Santa Barbara Burning Skirts rose above the pack and cast more confusion over the pecking order of the stacked Southwest region.1
Tufts EWO Dispel All Doubts
Following a tremendous victory at Queen City Tune Up, EWO captured their first-ever Stanford Invite title and their second-straight tournament title in their undefeated 2025 season. Throughout the weekend, Tufts utilized the remarkable depth of their roster to succeed in both calm and windy conditions, playing without 2024 All-American and U24 pick Emily Kemp in all of Sunday’s bracket games. Their dominant performances against the best West Coast teams solidify EWO as a top Nationals contender as well as the East Coast team to beat.
In contrast, Stanford Superfly came into the tournament with a chip on their shoulder from two tough early season results—missing the bracket at both Santa Barbara and President’s Day Invite—and played their way to the final like they had a point to prove. Perhaps aided by a bit of home field advantage, Superfly broke upwind on universe against #12 Washington Element in quarterfinals before emphatically defeating the Burning Skirts in a classic regional showdown to move past semifinals.
Tufts carried the momentum from their previous ten-straight wins into the final, getting a clean hold to start on a slicing throw from Kate Gearing to Ryanne Barrett, with the only hiccup being a pass that went off the hands of Gearing into the hands of teammate Mina Brown. Stanford had more trouble with the windy conditions, as a gust pushed Heather Szczesniak’s throw intended for Sage McGinley-Smith to the turf. Tufts’ D-line found themselves working upwind against a zone, which they did with relative ease and some help from Gearing, who toed the endzone sideline with a layout for the 2-0 lead.
Which, according to frisbee-rankings.com, currently has six bids ↩
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