Tufts claim their second-straight QCTU title, and UNC their seventh, in a classically weather-afflicted affair
February 16, 2026 by Theresa Diffendal in News
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#9 Tufts EWO and #5 UNC Darkside put up undefeated 7-0 weekends to claim the Queen City Tune Up crown. Both faced surprise opponents in the final, as overall five seeds #14 Pennsylvania Venus and Chicago Fission captured narrow semifinal victories. UPenn looked like the strong team for much of the women’s final: Venus led 14-10 but could not covert the last score in wet conditions, and EWO, led by power-arm Lia Schwartz and the tireless cutting of Kate Gearing, rattled off five in a row to stun Venus for the title.
Darkside had a markedly easier time in the championship game, defeating Fission 15-9, with close shaves instead coming from Davenport (13-11) to finish pool play and UNC Wilmington (13-11) in the semifinal.
This marks Tufts’ second-straight QCTU title, and UNC’s seventh, with the streak only broken by weather cancellations in 2018.
Stay tuned to Ultiworld for a detailed tournament recap, and check out our event page below to rewatch all the weekend’s action.
