Everything you need to know about the first rounds of bracket play
October 25, 2025 by Josh Katz in Recap
Ultiworld’s coverage of the 2025 Club National Championships 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.
SAN DIEGO – And just like that, there were four. After a thrilling prequarters round and a more mundane set of quarters, four teams remain in contention for the 2025 Mixed Division title. Included in those four are the last two champions, a team trying to win their first title in a decade, and a team just trying to win a semis game for the first time. Let’s break it down.
Ann Arbor Hybrid vs. Fort Collins shame.
The first semifinal of the evening pits the last two champions against one another. #1 Ann Arbor Hybrid, winners in 2024, have only gotten better as the weekend progressed, at least on the scoreboard. They won their pool play games, in order, 15-11, 15-10, and 15-9, and dispatched #16 Arizona Lawless in quarters 15-8. Their offense, immaculate all season long, has looked just as good in San Diego. The Rachel Mast/Aaron Bartlett downfield duo has been a joy to watch, and Jon Mast looks comfortable as ever as a facilitator in the backfield. Maketa Mattimore has also been a constant presence around the disc. Jared Schwallie is having a breakout of sorts on the club stage, his crowning performance a 1G/5A/1D line in quarters.
On defense, Nathan Champoux remains the best defender in the division for Hybrid, often completely erasing his matchup from the field. His offensive impact has been more muted on the turn, though. Instead, Hybrid have seen large contributions from Charlie Vukovic, Kat McGuire (especially in the deep space), and Chase Cunningham, Notably absent from that line is Dalton Smith, who is in San Diego but has yet to take the field this weekend. Last year’s main driver of Hybrid’s D-line offense hasn’t been needed yet, but semis represent a big step up in competition.
The 2023 champions, #4 Fort Collins shame., have not exhibited quite the same level of dominance this weekend, but they’re certainly more battle-tested. Their pool play matchup against #3 Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust was one of the best games of Thursday, and that level of competition was higher than anything Hybrid have seen in San Diego. Blaise Sevier put up one of the best single game performances of the tournament in that game, a 1G/4D effort to lead shame.’s defensive push. Nick Snuszka, Aubree Dietrich, and Alex Daniels have all chipped in with timely blocks and breaks on that side of the ball. On offense, shame. continue to run the Jade McLaughlin show, and she’s showing no signs of wearing down under the heavy workload. Matty Russell and Simon Montague have been steering things in the backfield, but much of their work is made easy by McLaughlin’s downfield dominance. On the rare occasions she can’t get open, there’s at least one of Sarah Itoh, Sarah Pesch, or (especially) Rory Veldman charging into the lane instead to get the disc.
It’s a bit simplistic to say that defense will decide this game, but when you have two electric offenses taking the field, break chances will be sparse. In a way, perhaps Hybrid’s defense is better suited without Smith’s aggressive shot taking for a game that will likely require more care with the disc on the turn. Or maybe they’ll miss his offensive firepower and struggle to convert any breaks at all. Or he’ll be cleated up Saturday night and render this musing moot. No matter Smith’s status, this should be an excellent game.
Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust vs. New York XIST
Finishing up Semifinal Saturday is a battle between a longtime mainstays in the upper echelon of the division and a team on the cusp of establishing themselves in a similarly timeless tier. Drag’n Thrust have made semis four times in the last six years, and five times overall since the final leg of their threepeat in the mid 2010s. XIST are in the semis for the third time in four years, but they’ve never gotten further than this. Getting over that hump, especially with a win over Drag’n, would probably cement XIST in that top tier.
Drag’n are the lone semis team that didn’t win their pool. They were close, but fell to shame. on a chaotic universe point to slip to prequarters. Friday’s bracket play, however, was nothing but a light speed bump on the road to title number four. They started off Friday with a 15-5 shellacking of #13 Washington DC Rally and followed that up with a thorough takedown of #2 Durham Toro, 15-11. Defense in particular has been their strong suit all weekend, and Drag’n own a lengthy list of players who could easily spring for a block at any point. Kyle Suelflow leads the line with a mighty eight, and James Pollard, Bret Bergmeier, Owen Suelflow, Sarah Mondschein, and Jane Koch have all chipped in with multiple blocks of their own.
Offensively, Drag’n are incredibly balanced. Just one player on their roster has posted double digits in either goals or assists through five games (Caleb Denecour with twelve assists). He’ll show up a lot in the backfield, as will Bryan Vohnoutka and Clare Frantz. Their star, though, is Chagall Gelfand, the reigning College D1 Women’s Offensive Player of the Year and a runner up for last year’s Club Mixed Breakout Player of the Year. Whether she lines up in the backfield or starts downfield initially, she’s going to find a way to touch the disc on just about every point. Drag’n also have Ian McCosky, Danielle Byers, and Emma Piorier to throw out on offense. With such a deep and diversely talented roster, Drag’n can attack in a number of different ways. Huck it deep? The Suelflows are happy to chase it down. Stick to small ball? Denecour, Piorier, and Gelfand can easily pinball the disc around.
If you think Gelfand’s resume is impressive, just wait until you hear about XIST’s offensive dynamo, Jolie Krebs. She earned the same BPOTYium/OPOTY awards parallel the cycle before Gelfand, and used the extra year afterwards to ascend into superstardom. She was recently named the best player in the division in our top 25 rankings, and has used the first two days of Nationals to cement that she deserves such an honor. Her offensive gravity warps defenses regardless of where she is or where the disc is. But if you devote too many resources to keeping her quiet, the rest of XIST’s offense is more than capable of picking things up. Sadie Jezierski has been similarly dominant as a thrower, and the quartet of Axel Agami Contreras, Oliver Chartock, Mike Drost, and Emily Barrett all attack the endzone as if their lives depend on scoring as many goals as possible. New York’s defense is somehow equally, if not more, potent. Abby Cheng, Ben Simmons, Elias Levey-Swain, and Jeff Zhao all enjoy nothing more than blowing up lazy throws and/or cuts, and Simmons, Lu Neves, and Oscar Kohut excel at quickly finding open receivers to turn those blocks into breaks.
Both of these teams are deep, battle-sharpened, well-coached, and ready for whatever the other throw their way. XIST’s offense thrives on not turning the disc over, and Drag’n’s excels at getting it back if and when they do give the ball away. It’s hard to ask for a more evenly matched up pair of teams to take the field under the lights at Canyon Crest Academy, and with any luck, we’ll be treated to a game befitting the spectacle.
