Tufts toughed out a gritty tournament win.
February 16, 2026 by Alex Rubin 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.
#9 Tufts EWO capped off an undefeated weekend with a universe point victory over #14 Pennsylvania Venus in the final to win this year’s Queen City Tune Up. With rain making the playing conditions barely tolerable, teams across the complex competed admirably and made the best of a wet weekend in South Carolina.
Tuftsing It Out
Despite the dripping conditions, both the Tufts and UPenn offenses led the way in their final game. Usually in rainy, sloppy conditions, zone defense is the answer, but both teams struggled to generate turnovers with the junk looks and only went back to them sparingly throughout the first half. Whether Lia Schwartz was drilling blades through the holes in Penn’s zone or Grace Maroon was bounding through Tufts’ cup, both teams found ways to score and forced their opposition to return to matchup defenses. The throwing battle between Schwartz and Maroon was a treat to watch. Schwartz’s crisp OI forehands could have dropped into a keyhole given their accuracy, and Maroon bent a handful of backhand hucks perfectly over multiple defenders right into her cutters’ hands.
After going down an early break, Penn took advantage of two rare Tufts drops to break twice before halftime, claiming an 8-7 advantage. As rain pounded on the turf in the second half, Penn’s junk defense returned. Despite the heroics of Annabel White who reeled in a handful of really tough catches, Tufts stumbled through a rough patch of play, giving up enough breaks to find themselves in a 12-8 deficit.
Alongside Maroon, UPenn rookie Sydney Neal1 was a rock-solid backfield partner. Neither seemed phased by high stall counts or the defense around them. In situations where many teams might consider a punt acceptable, Venus were able to keep their possession moving and turn their opportunities into goals. Penn continued to find answers against both the Tufts defense and the adverse weather as they built a 14-10 lead.
But, ultimate games are played to 15. And, you’ll notice that the headline is about Tufts, not Penn. The comeback started innocently enough. Schwartz peeled off her mark to stay in the deep space and block what would have been the game-winning huck. She then marched the team upfield for a break. That would have been a nice story on its own–a team with its back against the wall competing as hard as they can and inching a bit closer. But that was just the beginning. Neal misread Maroon’s cut…Tufts huck the other way…14-13…Neal bobbled one…Schwartz’s huck is caught at the goal line and then turned!…Abigail Smith dropped one…Ellie Kowalski snuck a backhand to Kate Gearing…14-14. Universe.
With a crowd of people amassing on the far sideline as other games ended, the sideline energy for both teams fed the players on the field. Penn calmly worked the disc to the red zone, but Neal hung a backhand too far for Smith. A diving effort couldn’t catch the disc and for the fifth point in a row, Tufts had possession. Maroon swatted Schwartz’s huck to White to give Penn one more chance.
But, again, the headline is in fact about Tufts. Mina Brown got in the way of an upline pass, and tipped the game back in Tufts’ favor with a timely block. Given a second chance, Schwartz commanded the backfield in the red zone, and floated a perfect flick across the face of the goalline right to Gearing’s hands. With supporters making a tunnel on the field, EWO celebrated an unlikely but well deserved victory.
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If this game was played in May, it would have been an instant classic. That it took place at Queen City Tune-Up should not in any way diminish what was clearly a Nationals-worthy game between two competitors who gave everything they had. In February, both teams and anyone who got to watch such a spectacle can consider themselves winners.
I’d also be remiss not to note the great effort by UPenn to get to this point. Taking down #13 Michigan Flywheel during pool play set the stage for their bracket run, and surviving close bracket games against Georgetown Huckin’ Foyas (quarters) and #8 Vermont Ruckus (semis) shows that the team does know how to close out close games. While the loss in the final is sure to feel bitter, Penn can show up to practice next week with their heads held high on the strength of their six powerful wins this weekend.
First Looks
Two recent Nationals semifinalists spent the weekend trying out different player combinations and integrating new players into the fold. #7 North Carolina Pleiades lost a close semifinal here to Tufts–their only close game on the weekend. Every other match was at least a five point win, including a 15-1 pasting of #8 Vermont Ruckus in the third place game. Pleiades have the foundations of a strong offense around Bella Russell and a strong athletic defense that will surely generate lots of turnovers over the course of the season. Finding the killer instinct to convert those chances into goals will be UNC’s project as they work to get back to the Nationals bracket after their stunning miss last season.
Ruckus, on the other hand, really worked for their wins. They eked out 10-9 (over Liberty Flames) and 11-9 (over #21 Texas Melee) wins in pool play before dislodging #25 Notre Dame Echo 13-9 in the quarterfinals. While their wins may not have been easy, the team learned how to win together in adverse conditions. Their 10-9 loss to Penn in the semifinal may have prevented a regionals preview in this final, but it shows that the team is already at a level where they can compete with the tournament champions.
Presumably Ruckus opened up playing time in the third place game for players who were largely on the sideline during the semifinal, which may explain the lopsided (15-1!) scoreline. Folks who follow the club division might recall a team there losing an early season 15-1 matchup to a historic powerhouse program.2 Well, those two teams met again in the semifinals at Nationals. So without making any predictions, I’ll just leave caution to not put too much stock into early season results.
Wait and See
For a few teams in the middle of the pack, QCTU showed some good results and enough questions that it is difficult to pass judgements on their season-long outlook. Michigan entered the weekend seeded fourth, and a quarterfinal loss to UNC is nothing to be ashamed about. Neither is their pool play loss to Penn–the classic 4-5 seed duel in Pool D. Their pool play loss to William & Mary Cypress has to sting, though the team rebounded nicely by beating Texas in the 5th place bracket.
Texas is surely thrilled with their weekend too. Are Melee back? Losses only to ranked teams and solid wins over Wisconsin Bella Donna and Pittsburgh Danger might indicate a new competitive window in Austin. With #6 Colorado Quandary keeping their stranglehold on the region, Texas will need to turn some of those games against ranked opponents into wins if they want to earn a second bid to Nationals. But for their first competitive showing at an out-of-state tournament in years, this is a great start.
Georgetown showed up to play this weekend! With the Atlantic Coast relatively open behind UNC, the Huckin’ Foyas are making their case as the next challengers. Their win over #17 Georgia Athena propelled them to the quarterfinal, where they hung tight against Penn in a two-point loss. Close losses are not predictive of wins, but for a team that exists largely off the national radar, this weekend was a statement to pay attention.
Dreary Disappointment
It is never fun to come in to a tournament as a ranked team and end up in the consolation bracket. Whether due to weather, player absences, or incorrect projections, #17 Georgia Athena and #19 Virginia Hydra did not live up to pre-tournament expectations.
Athena finished 10th after a 3-3 weekend, though two of those losses were on universe and the other was to UNC. With Quincy Booth on the roster, Georgia will often have the best player on the field. Usually that is enough in a double-game-point scenario, but with Florida looking improved earlier this month at Florida Warm Up, Georgia will want to turn close losses into wins before Southeast Regionals rolls around.
Virginia finished 13th this weekend and also went 3-3. Like Georgia, two losses were close (by three combined points) and the other was to Tufts. Hydra are a well-coached and well-organized team that always seems to figure out their best strategies and a way to contend by the end of the season. They’ll still need a second bid in order to have their best shot at Nationals, but with losses to all out-of-region teams, this weekend’s results made it more difficult to bring that back to the Atlantic Coast.
Pittsburgh Danger ended their weekend with a win–their only one at the tournament to finish 19th. Taylor Conroy, a breakout player in the club division this fall, was not on their event roster this weekend. Conroy’s return will surely help, but given the gulf between 19th place and the second place finish of regional rival Penn, Pittsburgh now knows that it faces an uphill battle ahead of a potential future regional matchup with more at stake.
And lastly, everybody should be somewhat disappointed by the weather. At this point, it is par for the course in this particular place during this same weekend each year. Yet no amount of mental preparation or freezing fortitude can make it such that there isn’t just a bit of frustration for the reality that it should be warmer and sunnier in South Carolina, even in February.
