Revisiting the Single Biggest Choke Day in College History

The comebacks that occurred during semifinals of the 2024 D-I College Championships seemed like one-in-a-million events...except three of them happened in one day.

March 12, 2025 by Grace Conerly in Opinion

Ultiworld’s 2025 college coverage is presented by Spin Ultimate; all opinions are those of the author(s). Find out how Spin can get you, and your team, looking your best this season.

Disclaimer: as someone who has been on both sides of an epic choke, I understand how this article could make you sad. But you will live to fight another day, and championship performances are built on the bricks of failure. To be clear, anyone in this article is infinitely more talented at ultimate than the talking heads who write about you.¹ In fact, one time I threw nine turnovers in the national title game.

At the halfway point of a new college season with Nationals front of mind, let’s take one last look backward at one of the most famous – or, depending on your perspective, infamous – days in the history of college ultimate.

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May 26th, 2024. One of the most unforgettable days in college ultimate history. Between schedule changes, lead changes, big deficits, clutch drops, tragic throwaways, and bad weather, this day had it all. If you were a fan of any of these teams, you could not relax until the final point was scored.

The conditions combined to give the world four epic games – three being chokes of epic proportion.² Choke jobs are some of the greatest and most tragic games to play. On one hand, you could mount the greatest comeback of your life and watch your opponents crumble into an offensive mess. On the other side, you are the offensive mess, your worst nightmare coming true as you forget how to catch and throw.

Tolstoy famously opened Anna Karenina with the bald pronouncement “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,”³ before going on to describe, in hundreds of pages of detail, the particular unhappiness in on Russian Family. Wins and chokes are the same: it can be hard to tell one well-played game from another, but every collapse has its own striking characteristics.

That said, every chokejob in ultimate must have a certain set of qualities:

1. The eventual losers have to be up by at least three breaks at some point in the second half.
2. The expectation has to be that the eventual losers will clearly win the game.
3. A primary reason (although not the only reason) for the eventual losers to, well, lose has to be a mistake or series of mistakes of their own making.

All of these games fit the mold. Now, let’s explore each of them in their distinct ways.

Choke 1: Vermont and Stanford Set the Standard

Through the first half, the cards seemed stacked in Vermont’s favor. As the #1 team throughout the regular season, Ruckus seemed primed and ready for a title run. Their roster, brimming with talent, sliced through the Stanford zone with relative ease given in the conditions. Their cutting depth showed through in the first half with Kennedy McCarthy, wearing the jersey of Sophie Acker,⁴ leading the way. They were able to come up with bobbled discs, 50/50 jump balls, and forced the Stanford offense to be uncomfortable. Mae Browning’s deep throws were the most dialed in shots of the half. In addition, the sideline was lined with Vermont fans, namely the recently eliminated men’s team. All that is to say, the stars seemed to be aligning for Vermont.

.@RuckusUltimate‘s Caroline Stone hucks to a bidding Lauren Clayter as Vermont take an early lead on Stanford in the national semifinal! pic.twitter.com/XGIl3aTyC0

— Ultiworld (@Ultiworld) May 26, 2024

Despite having the winning-est program in the history of college ultimate, it was Stanford’s first trip back to the semifinal since 2018, meaning this most of Superfly’s first time on the big stage. And Stanford struggled in the first half. Their cutters always seemed too far away and their usually steady handlers became unglued in the wind. Star handler Esther Filipek was particularly guilty of this, with 16 recorded turnovers over the entire game. Their patented zone defense found some success but their offense could not possess the ball enough to keep them level. Halftime: 8-4.

 

In the second half however, the metaphorical lights shone even brighter. Vermont looked like they wanted to take an impossible 7-point shot and end the game in a point, and Stanford was able to tie the game at 9s after a 5-1 run. Macy Vollbrecht, Harper Baer, Sage McGinley-Smith and Kiana Hu had their names all over the stat sheet, but it was the whole Stanford team who leveled up against the pressure. The teams traded points until 13-13. Between the conditions and style of play, the game had reached its time limit. Soft cap was on. Golden goal situation. Game to 14.

 

Vermont was receiving, going straight into the wind. Stanford had not played person defense the entire game, so it was no mystery what was coming. The game plan for Vermont was clear: load up your line with your best throwers and put it in. But it was not the day for Vermont; a simple drop on a reset from Emily Pozzy led to a short field for Stanford and three nerve wracking passes later, Stanford found an opening to the end zone. Comeback complete.

From down 8-4, Stanford ⁦@SuperflyUlti⁩ came roaring back to win on universe point and advance to the final of the College Championships! pic.twitter.com/W5MFNi2H4E

— Ultiworld (@Ultiworld) May 26, 2024

 

Choke 2: Death, Taxes, and UNC vs. Colorado in the Bracket

For the past two years, UNC Pleiades have played Colorado Quandary in the bracket of D-I College Nationals. In 2022, Colorado had a chance to end The Streak before it could start, but they fell one point short. In 2023, UNC put together a decisive win to clench a third national championship. Going into 2024, this seemed like Quandary’s best chance to knock off Pleiades. On paper, Pleiades were the most vulnerable they had been in many years with big graduations, top players suffering from injuries, and a less dominant regular season.

The first half was played in the wind and rain, but you would not have guessed it by the way these two teams were able to possess the ball. Both offenses had good moments and break chances were elusive. For Pleiades, Dawn Culton, Theresa Yu, Sarah Combs, and Emily Przykucki all made their marks on the game early. For Quandary, Clil Phillips and Faye Burdick could not be denied. They were doing it all from taking the biggest matchups to driving the offense with their legs. It seemed as if this game would be another wire to wire matchup with no team taking more than a one goal lead. Pleiades went into half on serve, 8-7.

Coming out of half, it seemed like life had been sucked out of Pleiades legs. The offense stagnated and the pressure from Quandary ratcheted up. A goal line give away from Pleiades led to a patented around break from Phillips to Burdick for another break 13-9, which, in the moment, felt like the nail in the coffin for the three-time defending champs.

 

Pleiades were able to steady the ship and punch in a hold to make it 13-10, but they would have to outscore Quandary 5-2. The next point lasted an entirety and exemplified the fight that both teams brought. The over-15 minute battle featured an Emma Williamson layout block, Sarah Combs winning under after under, a Kailyn Lowder runthrough block, and a huge layout score from Yu.

The next point Pleiades leaned into their “depth” (or more their non-universe line players, somehow Culton was still going) and an overthrown huck from Quandary led to a one-possession break for UNC. In hindsight, this felt like the game winner for Pleiades. In the new era of college, you cannot be carried to a championship by one or two players. You have to have depth from five through 14, and Pleiades showed that with an exclamation point.

Both teams feeling the pressure, a messy point ensued – no Culton on for UNC. The multi turn battle culminated with a perfect throw upwind from Macy Hudson to Caroline Spencer to force universe.

 

The crowd at the stadium was silent, stunned at what Pleiades managed to string together. But they still needed one more. Quandary, visibly shaken, took a timeout to regroup.

As the universe point started, the energy was electric. It felt like the entire crowd was behind Quandary. But a slight misthrow from Colorado allowed enough time for Combs to swat it to the turf – turnover. Pleiades relied on their trademark discipline to maintain possession until Culton got a step deep, and you know what happened next.

 

 

Choke 3: 12-8, Oh No!

On the same field where Pleiades silenced the dynasty-weary crowd, Darkside had the chance to do the same. Across from them were Cal Poly SLO SLOCORE, seeking their first trip to the final in program history and hailing from a place where it famously never rains.

To SLO’s detriment, the game began in pouring rain and wind; unrelatedly, (or maybe not) UNC went up 3-0 to start the game. The wind was clearly affecting all the players as both teams had uncharacteristic drops and missed throws, but UNC just played better. They were ready for the Cal Poly deep game and earned block after block on poor hucks. Everything was coming up Darkside, epitomized by Dylan Hawkins’ series of bobble catches for a goal.

 

As the first half drew to a close, the rain subsided, but it gave way to the wind. It felt like both teams collectively forgot how to catch. There were more drops in this half than the rest of these teams’ spring games combined, some of these chest pass drops from Calvin Brown, Kevin Pignone, and Smith, while Josh Singleton had four drops.

 

Cal Poly had their fingertips on a couple break chances, but piling errors let these opportunities go. UNC went into half up 8-4 and feeling good.

The first part of the second half was smooth sailing for UNC, trading with Cal Poly to take a 12-8 lead. But the drops kept coming, with North Carolina and Cal Poly each sporting their share of tragic fumbles. It felt like a battle of who could capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes. In the words of my roommate, “throw your 7 coaches, the game plan, and your preparation out the window; if you can’t catch and throw, you can’t win.”

 

It was at 12-8 that the energy started to shift in Cal Poly’s favor. As if the wheels weren’t off enough already, the UNC offense top to bottom collapsed, stymied as Cal Poly applied good pressure in deep space. SLOCORE cut the lead to two at 13-11, and Darkside wouldn’t score again.

 

A dangerous play on the goal line stopped UNC from going up 14-12.⁵ But the intended receiver walked it out to the goal line and, summing up the whole game, the reset dropped it on the very next pass.

 

A few turns from each team later, and an arcing flick away shot from Brown brought Cal Poly even with Darkside. For the third time this semifinal round, the teams were tied at 13.

 

The next two points were the stuff of nightmares for UNC. They completely bungled two offensive drives in a row, the first featuring a turfed blade to the back corner and an underthrown huck. (It’s also worth noting Cal Poly drew another yellow card for a dangerous play in these sequences.)

 

Cal Poly finally found their rhythm in the deep space with a tremendous upwind huck from Calivn Brown to Alex Nelson to make it 14-13. And just when you thought the three time champs could not possibly have another drop, the receiver fumbled the first pass. A few passes later, it was ball game for Cal Poly, in truly the most improbable comeback ever. The crowd stormed the field, celebrating the team to finally put an end to the Darkside title run.

 

Other Iconic Chokes

While it may be impossible to find a day, now or ever, with as much of a choke-quotient as the 2024 College Nationals semis, there are other notable chokes in recent years. How do they stack up?

Carleton CUT Missing Nationals in 2019 in a Three-Bid Region

Caveat to begin, Joe White and Stan Birdsong were both not playing due to injury, and in a windy regional like the North Central, size is even more of a premium. Nevertheless, CUT should’ve made Nationals on the backs of their other talented players (Andrew Roy, Dillion Lanier, and Ethan Bloodworth come to mind). After a disappointing loss in the semis to Iowa State, CUT had more than enough opportunity to earn a bid through the back door game. But in a physical game-to-go against Wisconsin, CUT did not have it, eventually losing 13-11.

Maybe it was too much wind, maybe it was a lack of depth, who really knows, sometimes you get unlucky. Word on the street is CUT are on the rise. Will we see them return to the semifinals at Nationals this year?

2022 College Nationals: Vermont Ruckus Giving Up an 8-5 Lead to Colorado Quandary in Quarters

To put a more positive spin on this game, it was less of a choke from Vermont and more of Colorado playing lights out for a half. Nevertheless in the spirit of the article, Vermont went into half up 8-5 against the no.2 seed – with their size and speed, Vermont was able to match Colorado in a way that left their offense stunned. You knew that a team as talented as Colorado was going to punch back eventually, but you probably did not predict a second-half shutout in the quarterfinals of Nationals. Final score? Colorado 15-8 Vermont. No, that is not a typo.

2017 College Nationals: UNC Darkside in the Bracket

North Carolina is the only school to earn a triple feature in this article. Is it bias or is it because their program has been involved in some of the greatest games of the modern era?

In very analytical terms, Darkside played badly in the bracket. Quarterfinals against Wisconsin saw Darkside go down early in the game but fight to stay in it. Wisconsin was ahead as late as 13-10, but a string of breaks, punctuated by a Nathan Kwon block, pulled them back for a win. Then, as if their day couldn’t get more exciting, they built a 12-8 lead⁶ against UNC Wilmington. But then Jack Williams decided to become superman, and down went Darkside.

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1. Editor’s note: no lie detected ↩

2. The fourth semifinal of the day between Brown and Colorado was a banger game for sure, but not a choke job ↩

3. This is from the 2000 Pevear & Volokhonsky translation. Editor’s Note: Pevear and Volokhonsky translations are the standard for works originally written in Russian, and that is a hill I will die on. ↩

4. Not playing due to an injury sustained during the series ↩

5. You have to think that if UNC makes that catch cleanly, they go on to win the game ↩

6. Where have we seen that before? ↩