Santa Barbara Invite 2026: Day One Centering Pass (Women’s Div.)

A new potential dynasty announces itself after a dominant round of pool play

January 25, 2026 by Kiana Hu in Recap

Ultiworld’s 2026 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.

Welcome to the 2026 college season kickoff! Teams were treated to a picturesque day of frisbee with sunny but mild temperatures and light to no wind. The fields were abuzz with that scintillating first tournament energy. New team cheers, fresh jersey kits (or in the case of #2 Carleton Syzygy, spray paint jerseys that read “ICE OUT” and “CHOOSE LOVE”¹), and sidelines screaming the names of their rookies after every catch and throw. While #1 UBC Thunderbirds and Carleton remain in a tier of their own, the rest of the pecking order becomes a bit more clear as we gear up for quarterfinals.

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Have the Stars Aligned for a New Dynasty?

It might sound ridiculous to predict the outcome of the college women’s division for the next few years based on the results of the very first day of the season.² But for Carleton Syzygy, they’ve announced their revenge tour, and don’t worry about the tickets selling out. Yes, the players on Syzygy are human and therefore fallible. No, they aren’t a particularly tall team (on average). Yes, UBC still has their top end talent from a victorious 2025 title run. All those statements can be true and Carleton will still be the heavily favored team to win this tournament — and every tournament after that.

It’s one thing to have a generational talent in Chloe Hakimi join your team as a rookie. It’s quite another to have her not be the first, or second, or even third offensive driver when she’s on the line. In fact, that’s what made Carleton so dominant as they closed their pool play games out 39-10: their secondary and tertiary lines looked as poised, as comfortable with the disc, and as determined as their elite level players. Audrey Goedekke, Melba Henley, Zoe McDaniel, and Fiona Wong are only a few of Syzygy’s lesser talked about underclassmen who are more than capable of stepping up and running the show.

Carleton will have potential challengers in the Thunderbirds and #7 Colorado Quandary, who had similarly easy Saturdays, and it’s possible those teams can catch Syzygy on the wrong foot. Otherwise, even for those talented squads it may be an uphill battle to prevent the foundations of a dynasty.

The Music Stops and the Sun Rises in Pool D

1. Syzygy are running a GoFundMe for Minneapolis ACLU’s immigrant legal support ↩

2. There’s some full-circle imagery here as only recently did Syzygy themselves bookend the historic Pleiades streak ↩