Recapping three universe point games in prequarters, a regional rivalry in quarters, and statement semis performances from a packed day of bracket play
May 19, 2025 by Bix Weissberg in Recap
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BURLINGTON, WA – On the most action-packed day of the postseason, we had thrilling nail-biters galore. Ten teams were sent home and only two battle-tested contenders remain. That’s bracket play for you. Read on for the top level stories from the day and stay tuned to our 2025 D-III College National Championships event page for updates!
Prequarter Pandemonium
Here’s the thing about prequarterfinals: there’s no easy way in, and there’s no easy way out. None of the round’s eight teams cruised into the bracket, and all of them were eager to secure a coveted quarterfinal appearance. This moment, where every team is suddenly a game from elimination, was chock full of close competitions and not one, not two, but three universe point contests.
Where to begin? Perhaps with The Battle Of The Struggling Goliaths, Elon against Oklahoma Christian. Both of these squads had high momentum headed into Saturday, and both faltered against lower-seeded aggressors in pool play. The consequence? One team had to face an unfortunate fate earlier than expected. With both squads playing full-throttle, the game remained a tight stalemate through half.
That is, until Elon’s zone started working, and Alex Santai and the OC handler core yielded a pair of crucial breaks to Big Fat Bomb’s suffocating zone defense. It took a miraculous effort from Emmanuel Kameri and Sammy Roberts to revive the Eagles’ offense, who battled back to force a universe point. In one of the game’s many hard-fought holds, a stellar defensive play from Elon’s Brayden Morrison and a sneaky downfield cut from Myles Sawin secured Elon’s quarterfinal spot.
Prequarters also featured two underdog bouts. Claremont began their face-off with Rochester by digging themselves into a bit of a rut as the Braineaters struggled to find an answer to the shifty David Leder. It took three brilliant defensive plays from the phenomenal Jacques Paradis to drag the Braineaters out of their 10-7 deficit. The teams traded blows until universe, when the Piggies’ Emerson Jenen took matters into his own hands, lost his defender, and found the back cone to seal the deal. Despite a disappointing bracket exit, Claremont’s performance throughout the weekend has been one of the weekend’s greatest sights to behold.
Bowdoin Clown and Wesleyan Nietzsch Factor’s prequarter was a topsy-turvy affair. It was all Clown for the first three-quarters of the game, and at 14-11 it looked like Bowdoin would survive the perilous prequarters, safe and sound. But in the 11th hour, Wesleyan came alive, and after a series of breaks, found themselves on script at universe. Bowdoin’s Benjamin Halperin, however, wasn’t having any of that comeback nonsense. Halperin marched it up the field, and not even a contested block from the dominant Aran Sheehan could save Wesleyan, for Bowdoin had already factored out the possibility of loss.
A Northwest Reckoning
In a quarterfinal round that proceeded without much of the prequarterfinal fireworks, one game is worth highlighting: Lewis & Clark Bacchus against the Whitman Sweets. Sound familiar? It is. This is the Northwest’s definitive rivalry. These teams play each other far too often, and usually Whitman gets the best of Bacchus.
But things were different this time around. Bacchus were coming off their best season in recent history. Despite coming up short against Middlebury, they had easily disposed of lower seeds in pool play and prequarters. And they came out hot. Bacchus played with unparalleled intensity, fighting for every 50-50 throw against a Whitman team that can usually rely on its aerial dominance. Charlie Wagner, Sam London, and the infallible Leo Farley propelled Bachus into the semifinals in sweet revenge for the many previous game-to-gos where Whitman left victorious.
Semis Set the Stage
This year’s semis featured four established powerhouses.
Carleton CHOP struggled for the first time all weekend at the worst time, going head-to-head with Lewis & Clark Bacchus. While Bacchus maintained their clean offensive execution through the first chunk of the game, the pressure of the moment seemed to be making CHOP uneasy. Carleton’s offense faltered a few too many times, and suddenly CHOP found themselves down 11-6.
The sense of urgency kicked in and CHOP began to turn it around, with Tomomi Perry and Nathan Wang willing CHOP back into the game. Clawing back a break at a time, Carleton brought things on serve at 13s. But it was short-lived. Sam London shut out the lights on CHOP with a lovely layout block, and Bacchus wasted no time punching in a break and securing the semifinal.
Echoing their women’s division counterparts’ bracket matchup, Davenport played Middlebury in the slightly-earlier semifinal. Given that these two teams have both been playing at such a high-caliber level this weekend, their eventual collision was expected to be a back-and-forth showdown. The Pranksters, as usual, had other plans. Middlebury came out the gate swinging, and all it took was one Peter Mans’ eye-catching layout block to get the break train rolling.
Davenport went down early and never quite found their offensive rhythm, thanks largely to Middlebury’s stifling defensive pressure. Jacob Felton delivered a couple of outstanding break mark flick hucks, but staring down a 14-10 deficit, it was too little too late. The mighty Panthers have fallen, the jester reigns supreme.
And so the stage is set, Lewis & Clark Bacchus taking on the Middlebury Pranksters. A telling observation was made in the Ultiworld Discord server: both of these teams have played through their roster this weekend. Every player on Middlebury has recorded a stat this weekend, and all but two players on Bacchus have as well. Evidently, depth wins. On the division’s brightest stage, the eventual victor may be the team that uses its entire roster most effectively.
