Digging through the women's division's recent past to shed some light on the near future.
October 21, 2025 by Aidan Thomas in Analysis, Opinion
Ultiworld’s coverage of the 2025 club ultimate season are 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.
The Line brings together lists of sevens from our reporting staff.
Between familiar names laying claim to TCT titles year-in and year-out and others limping to a Nationals bid on the backs of skeleton crews, “the regular season doesn’t matter” has become a familiar refrain among club ultimate fans. But hindsight is 20/20, and with Nationals on the horizon, results that seemed easy to dismiss or offered little in the way of clarity now gleam with kernels of insight into the 16 teams still competing for a title. So let’s dismiss the summertime naysayers and dive into the seven most illuminating regular season games.
Washington DC Grit 15-11 Northampton Starling, Elite Select Challenge Quarterfinals
Earn a bid, defend the bid. That’s what Grit did for the second straight season, on razor-thin margins in 2025. This year, Grit needed every key win to fend off challengers for the Mid-Atlantic’s third bid, including the Northeast, where Northampton Starling made a charge to give their region a fourth bid. The two squads met late in the season, with a Sunday morning quarterfinal clash at the Elite Select Challenge. On a day that was cut short due to inclement weather, Grit brought the energy early and gutted out a 15-11 win over Starling.
That loomed large at the season’s end, as Grit finished 15th with the final bid spot, while Starling finished two spots back at no.17. Northampton went on to lose on universe in the game-to-go at Northeast Regionals, while Grit defended their bid with a 15-12 win in the game-to-go at Mid-Atlantic Regionals. Sparked by another strong season and a key win over a bubble team when it mattered, Grit are back at Nationals, hoping to make the bracket for the first time since 2022.
Québec Iris 12-9 Colorado Kelp, PEC East Quarterfinals
Kelp only played two tournaments in the regular season, magnifying the importance of every result. With the second of those tournaments being a brutal slate of games at the US Open, the PEC East was a vitally important tournament for the Colorado side, particularly in their quarterfinal against Québec Iris, another team fighting for a bid. In a tight game, Iris edged ahead early and then earned a demoralizing break for half, extending a 6-5 lead to 9-5 after holding out of half. They held on for a 12-9 win. Not only did Kelp lose that one, they dropped into placement brackets, where they lost to Starling, another win that could have been a huge factor in their bid chase. Instead, Kelp finished 16th, one spot behind Grit for the final bid, while Iris slotted into 14th and won the Northeast game-to-go over Starling.
San Francisco Fury 15-10 Seattle Riot, Pro Champs Final
If you don’t think Fury are the clear national title favorites, get your eyes checked. They were so incredibly dominant over 2024 that any bracket picking against the San Francisco squad at Nationals feels like a vague desire for the unexpected rather than a calculated decision. And if you wanted to see them face a little adversity before Nationals, the Pro Champs final proved just that for Fury, and they passed the test with flying colors. An incredibly windy battle saw turnovers aplenty — 33 in just the first nine points — and Fury fell behind by two breaks, 2-4. But Fury didn’t blink. Whether it was Anna Thompson, Carolyn Finney or a number of other stars, Fury showcased a deep array of throwers who could cut through the wind with dangerous throws to overcome tough conditions. A 6-1 run turned that 2-4 deficit into an 8-5 halftime lead and eventually the 15-10 win. This roster is littered with talent, and they can bury you from the start, and they’re not fazed by an early deficit. Have fun knocking this team off.
Seattle Riot 15-13 Denver Molly Brown, US Open Pool Play
After a quarterfinal exit at Nationals in 2024 and an upset loss to Traffic in their opening action of 2025, Seattle Riot rounded into form at the US Open and provided a major shakeup in the power rankings and perception of Fury’s top challengers. They entered as the seven-seed and drew 2024 semifinalist Molly Brown. Riot delivered an immediate statement with their 15-13 win to claim the pool that immediately reset some expectations for Molly Brown, the tournament’s two-seed playing in their first tournament of the year. Molly Brown certainly had no issues returning to Nationals, and they can search for a deep run there, but this was a telling result for them in the early going, as the Denver squad finished the regular season 0-7 against teams ranked ahead of them, raising fair questions about their ceiling.
Seattle Riot 15-12 Boston Brute Squad, US Open Semifinals
After focusing on Riot’s first major victim at the US Open, let’s turn our attention to the statement that Riot made in the tournament. After the win over Molly Brown, Riot added a victory over BENT in crossovers, eventually taking a 4-0 record into the semifinals against Brute Squad. There, Riot dispatched Boston, the team responsible for Seattle’s elimination at Nationals in 2024. If the Molly Brown win was an early indication that Riot had more in the tank, this was a full-on announcement that they were here to be major players in the title race this year. With wins over Brute Squad and Scandal this year, Riot have a claim to be Fury’s biggest challenger at Nationals this year, a fact that not many would have predicted prior to the US Open.
Bologna BFD Shout 15-14 Washington DC Scandal, US Open Pool Play
Scandal were another squad looking to make a statement at the US Open after getting thumped by Brute Squad in their opening tournament. Instead, it was quite the opposite for the Mid-Atlantic’s finest, as Scandal dropped their opener to the Italian squad BFD Shout, trailing most of the way and unable to force a turn on double-game point. That game had ripple effects as Scandal failed to win their pool and in turn drew a tough quarterfinal against Brute Squad. After losing there, Scandal fell into the fifth-place bracket where they took their worst loss of the season, an upset at the hands of Parcha. One of the preseason title favorites, Scandal left the US Open with a 3-3 record and only one win versus a top-15 opponent — an early sign that last year’s national runners-up might not be the primary challengers in 2025.
San Francisco Nightlock 12-10 Chicago Nemesis, PEC West Pool Play
Nightlock’s path to Nationals in 2025 was fairly straightforward — even if it was a difficult task. Quite simply, in a brutal Southwest region, Nightlock needed to earn their region a third bid and defend it. After a 5-1 effort at their first tournament, Nightlock needed a signature win at PEC West, and they got it early, toppling 2024 Nationals qualifier Chicago Nemesis in pool play. It served a dual purpose for Nightlock — the first was earning their first win over a returning Nationals team in the young season, but the second was delivering a big blow to Nemesis’s chances at grabbing a second bid for the Great Lakes. Ultimately, it was a job well done for Nightlock, who finished 13th in the final rankings, six slots higher than Nemesis, to earn a bid, which they defended at Southwest Regionals to earn their spot at Nationals.
