All four divisions saw top teams face off as the season reaches a midpoint.
March 2, 2026 by Alex Rubin in Preview, Recap
Ultiworld’s coverage of the 2026 college season 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.
Throughout the spring season, we’ll publishing a bite-sized weekly recap of the action across the college division. This will serve as a supplement to our standard tournament reporting and offer a high-level look at the latest happenings and the biggest stories of the week.
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D-I Women’s
Pleiades Back In Business
#8 North Carolina Pleiades took down #9 Pennsylvania Venus with a 13-11 win in the final to win Commonwealth Cup Weekend 2. UNC’s only other close game was another 13-11 win over Georgia Athena in the quarterfinal. Incredibly, this is UNC’s first regular season tournament win since Queen City Tune Up in 2024.1
Until their loss to Pleiades, Penn had a similarly dominant weekend, with just a two goal win over #18 Notre Dame Echo as their only other close score. Notre Dame and Ohio Stacked Cats both had forgetful semifinal appearances, losing to UNC and Penn respectively while putting up just four points each.
#19 Michigan Flywheel stumbled, going 1-2 in one of the two power pools and then falling to regional rival Notre Dame by one in the quarterfinal round. Meanwhile, Liberty Flames had the biggest upsets of the tournament, beating fourth-seeded Cornell Wild Roses to become the only double-digit seed to make quarters (though perhaps Cornell should not have been seeded so high; they went winless on the weekend).
Around the Division
- Colorado State Hell’s Belles went undefeated during the Snow Melt round robin. Their closest game was a 14-11 victory over D-III’s Occidental WAC.
- Washington B Big Bang was the highest placing D-I team at PLU BBQ, losing in the semifinal to D-III’s Puget Sound Clearcut.
- Washington University Iron Horse won Midwest Throwdown, taking down Arkansas SoCo in pool play and the final, the latter by a 12-3 scoreline.
- Among D-I teams, American Dirty Ladies, Johns Hopkins Blue-Footed Boobies, George Washington Women’s Club Ultimate, and Rutgers Nightshade all finished match play at Cherry Blossom Classic with just one loss each. D-III’s Haverford/Bryn Mawr Sneetches and Lehigh Gravity both also went 4-1 on the weekend.
- Cornell B Thorny Roses were the only D-I team in attendance at the rescheduled Bring the Huckus; they finished the round robin with just a single victory, over Colby Center for Disc Control.
- NYU Purple Reign and D-III’s Wesleyan Vicious Circles both went undefeated at March UMadness, a one-day round robin.
Looking Ahead
#2 Stanford Superfly, #3 California-Santa Cruz Sol, #5 Washington Element, #10 Victoria Vikes, #11 California-San Diego Dragon Coalition, #12 Vermont Ruckus, #15 California-Los Angeles BLU, #16 California-Davis Rogue, #17 Cal Poly SLO SLO motion, #20 Texas Melee, #21 Northeastern Valkyries, #23 Minnesota Women’s Ultimate, #25 California-Santa Barbara Burning Skirts are on the team list for the Stanford Invite. Ultiworld will have written and video coverage of the event; stay tuned for more information about how to watch and a tournament preview.
Regional events include Big Sky Brawl, T-Town Throwdown, The Grand Northeast Kickoff, and Gnomageddon.
D-I Men’s
Mamabest
#4 Colorado Mamabird upset #1 Carleton CUT 15-12 in the final to win Smoky Mountain Invite. Mamabird did not let any team get within three goals of them as they coasted to an undefeated weekend. Zeke Thoreson built a strong Player of the Year case, continually getting open in the deep space and showing off an improved range of throws when he caught something other than a goal. Colorado’s defense continually snuffed out CUT’s hucks, with multiple defenders tracking the deep shots and sandwiching cutters out of a viable attack space. For Mamabird, this win is a small slice of revenge after these two teams met in last year’s national title game, though I’m sure CUT will remember that there are yet more important games to play this season.
Carleton was able to overcome a feisty #2 Oregon Ego team in the semifinal round. Despite missing POTY candidates Mica Glass and Raekwon Adkins to injury, Oregon fought back from an early deficit to force universe point. Max Massey played effectively both ways and seemed to battle injury himself, but gutted out a gritty performance. Filling in for Glass, rookie Owen Sprague looked at home centering the offense alongside Aaron Kaplan and Jonah Hammes.
#6 California-Santa Cruz Slugs maneuvered their way to a semifinal appearance, where they lost to Colorado. The Slugs took down #14 Michigan MagnUM 15-13 in a tight quarterfinal, the last point of which featured over a dozen turnovers. It was an encouraging performance for a team making their first regular season appearance east of the Mississippi in recent memory.
The story of the tournament was the barrage of upsets that is sure to turn our Power Rankings into some serious debate fodder. #10 Texas TUFF upset #3 Massachusetts Zoodisc in the prequarterfinal round. Zoodisc were playing without the services of Wyatt Kellman, Ethan Lieman, and Mason Stone. During pool play, Georgia Jojah beat Michigan, Tennessee Prohibition beat #9 Vermont Chill, and Georgia Tech beat both UMass and UC-Santa Cruz. #13 Pittsburgh En Sabah Nur had the most volatile tournament. They upset both Oregon and #5 North Carolina Darkside but then lost to #15 Brown Brownian Motion in pool play and Michigan in prequarters.
Edward Stephens was on the ground offering live coverage of the tournament. You can read his Day One Recap here, and stay tuned for a full tournament recap. Ultiworld filmed 18 games from the tournament, which subscribers can watch in the video library.
Around the Division
- Johns Hopkins Dangerzone beat SUNY-Binghamton Big Bear 10-9 in the final to win Bring the Huckus.
- Utah State Scotsmen beat everyone except D-III reigning champion Lewis & Clark Bacchus as they finished second at Snow Melt.
- D-III’s Kenyon SERF took down Duke Brimstone in pool play and the final to win Oak Creek Challenge. Kenyon upset top seeded SUNY-Buffalo Green Eggs and Ham in the semifinal.
- D-III’s St. Olaf Berzerkers beat Marquette Birdhouse in the final to win Midwest Throwdown. Marquette upset top seeded Southern Illinois-Edwardsville SIEGE 9-8 in what was surely a windy quarterfinal. Similarly, Kansas HorrorZontals upset Illinois Rise 10-9 in the prequarterfinal round.
- Kentucky KULT went undefeated to win The DUDE. Their closest matchup was a 11-10 pool play win over Miami (Ohio) Boogiemen, who they also beat 15-6 in the final.
- D-III Whitworth Bangarang went undefeated to win the Palouse Open. Washington State Air Raid finished in second place.
- Baylor Stonewall went undefeated to win Big D in Little D.
- D-III’s Middlebury Pranksters won the UMass Invite. The highest placing D-I team was Massachusetts B Dooz, who lost in the semifinal round.
- George Washington B and Maryland B Astro Quakers both made the semifinal at FishBowl, but neither finished with a winning record on the weekend. UMD B split games with eventual tournament winners William & Mary B Seahorse, while George Washington only won one game, splitting a pair with the other D-I B team in attendance, James Madison Smellfish.
Looking Ahead
#7 Oregon State, #8 Western Washington DIRT, #11 Cal Poly SLO SLOCORE, #12 Victoria Vikes, #16 British Columbia Thunderbirds, #17 Brigham Young CHI, #21 Minnesota Ultimate, #22 Utah Zion Curtain, and #24 Washington Sundodgers will all be competing at Northwest Challenge. Ultiworld will have written and video coverage of the tournament; stay tuned for more information about how to watch and a tournament preview.
Regional Events include Silicon Valley Rally, Big Sky Brawl, First State Invite, Spring Spook, Southwest Showdown, T-Town Throwdown, Underground Invite and The Grand Northeast Kickoff.
D-III Women’s
Top Two Showdown
#1 Wesleyan Vicious Circles took down #2 Middlebury Pranksters to keep their top ranking and drive home from the round robin play at March UMadness undefeated. The close score is an indication both of the talent level each team brings, but also of the weather. Points were taking in excess of 15 minutes as the teams struggled just to continually put in downwind holds. The teams took their halftime break with the score tied 3-3. Wesleyan won 7-6 in a game without any breaks or upwind scores.
Around the Division
- #8 Rochester EZ Women finished the rescheduled Bring the Huckus as the top team in the round robin format. Rochester lost to #14 Williams Nova, but beat Wellesley Whiptails who also finished with a 5-1 record. Williams (4-2) finished third, clinching their place with a 9-2 win over Ithaca Kweezy (2-4) in the last round of the day. Skidmore Thoroughbears broke seed with a 3-3 record. Colby Center for Disc Control went winless.
- #3 Haverford/Bryn Mawr Sneetches finished Cherry Blossom Classic tied for the best overall record, finishing 4-1 with a one-goal loss to D-I SUNY-Buffalo. Based on the scorelines from around the tournament, it seems like this was a windy affair with many games decided by the pre-game flip as much as by the play on the field. Lehigh Gravity also finished Cherry Blossom with a 4-1 record, losing just to Yale and taking home a win over #23 Richmond Redhots. Incredibly, Richmond’s only win was over the same SUNY-Buffalo team that beat Haverford/Bryn Mawr. #11 Kenyon Blu-Ray finished 3-2 and also beat Richmond, but lost to Haverford/Bryn Mawr (and to make matters more complicated, they also beat SUNY-Buffalo). Dickinson Dumptrucks went winless, including a loss to Messiah Falcons. Messiah added a win over William & Mary B Woolly Mammoths to go 2-3.
- #13 Colorado College Zenith went 5-1 in round robin play at Snow Melt, losing just to D-I’s Colorado State Hell’s Belles. Zenith beat the only other ranked D-III team in attendance, #25 Occidental WAC, 15-9. Air Force Kiwi and Colorado School of Mines Enthalpy both went winless, but it is great to see them continue to attend Snow Melt. Air Force is back after not playing in 2024, while Mines does not play the Series but has competed at Snow Melt for three years running.
- #18 Puget Sound Clearcut finished in second place at PLU BBQ, losing 15-9 in the final to a Portland State/Reed combined team despite winning 6-5 the day before in pool play.
- #5 Carleton Eclipse and #10 St. Olaf Vortex were both upset by D-I Arkansas SoCo in the bracket at Midwest Throwdown, preventing either team from making the final. #9 Macalester Pursesnatchers also fell in the semifinals, losing to a WashU team that won the tournament. In matchups between D-III teams, St. Olaf beat Macalester 10-6 and Winona State Bad Monaz 7-6 to set a midseason pecking order in the North Central region. Shoutout the Bad Monaz for going 4-2 on the weekend with just seven players.
- #22 Oberlin Preying Manti were the lone D-III team at Commonwealth Cup 2. Seeded dead last, Oberlin announced themselves immediately with one-point wins over MIT and Pittsburgh to open the weekend. Manti beat Maryland in the last round to claim 23rd.
Looking Ahead
Next weekend, #19 Union Jillz and Berry Valkyries are scheduled to compete at T-Town Throwdown. Also, Colby is hosting The Grand Northeast Kickoff, featuring #2 Middlebury, #6 Mount Holyoke, Wellesley, and Bates. Though a team list is not yet published, Claremont has made an appearance at Gnomageddon, and #7 Whitman at Big Sky Brawl.
D-III Men’s
Ice Cold: Bacchus Take Snow Melt Title
#2 Lewis & Clark Bacchus won Snow Melt, taking down D-I’s Utah State in the crossover round and again in a 15-10 tournament final win. There was plenty of other D-III action around the field too. Along with the finalists, #4 Oklahoma Christian Eagles and #17 Colorado Mines Orediggers won their pools. OC beat Mines by one in their crossover game and again on universe for third place. #14 Colorado College Wasabi also made the championship bracket, finishing sixth with losses to OC, L&C, and D-I Colorado B CUCU.
Occidental Detox and Puget Sound Postmen lost in prequarters to fall to consolation play, where Air Force Afterburn (who did not play Sunday) beat them both to claim ninth. Michigan Tech DiscoTech claimed an 8-1 win over Occidental in their matchup for 11th place, while Xavier B.L.O.B. took down Grinnell Grinnellephants 15-10 to place 13th.
Seahorse Swim Through Fishbowl
This recap was submitted by William & Mary Seahorse’s Owen Rollins
This year’s Fishbowl featured five teams from a combination of D-III and D-I Dev, and a fiercely competitive bracket with four universe point games on Sunday. In pool play, top-seeded James Madison B Smellfish stumbled, going 1-3 with their lone win coming over Maryland B Astro Quakers. Losses to D-III William & Mary Seahorse and George Washington B eliminated Smellfish from the bracket.
D-III Dickinson Dumptrucks excelled, going undefeated and securing the top spot when the round robin seeded into semifinals. UMD B, with the stellar cutting and handler pair of James Sykes and Julian Cooper, finished second in pool play, and Seahorse overcame a 4-1 deficit to defeat GWU B on universe point, earning the third spot.
In semifinals, Dumptrucks, led by Graham Bucci, Benjamin Lopez, and Eli Claney, defeated GWU B on universe to clinch a spot in the championship. Liam Andros, Krishna Swaminathan, Maddox Kromash, Peter Vicente, and Reuben Menk powered Seahorse to overcome another 4-1 deficit in the first round of the bracket against UMD B to clinch the 10-8 win.
The championship game featured the tournament’s two D-III teams: undefeated Dumptrucks and Seahorse, who the Dumptrucks beat the day before. Dickinson got out to an electric start, leading 5-2 despite multiple handler injuries, but Seahorse clawed back, with Logan Andros throwing the tournament-winning huck on universe point.
Around the Division
- #1 Middlebury Pranksters went undefeated to win UMass Invite. The Pranksters took down #12 Bowdoin Clown in the final and #11 Williams WUFO in their semifinal by identical 13-8 scores. Bates Orange Whip went winless save for a consolation win over Middlebury B Branksters.
- #9 St. Olaf Berzerkers won Midwest Throwdown with a 13-3 trouncing of D-I Marquette Birdhouse in the final. St. Olaf upset D-I Nationals team Washington University Contra 13-4 in the semifinal and Iowa State ISUC 12-7 in their quarterfinal. Truman State JujiTSU went undefeated in pool play but lost to WashU in their quarterfinal matchup. Minnesota-Duluth Northern Lights also went undefeated in pool play, and beat St. Thomas Purple Reign in D-III action once they were knocked out of the championship bracket. Missouri S&T Miner Threat went winless.
- Kenyon SERF took down D-I Duke Brimstone in pool play and the final to win Oak Creek Challenge.
- Whitworth Bangarang went undefeated to win the Palouse Open.
- Ithaca Nawshus, Skidmore Wombats, and Colby Center for Disc Control all made the quarterfinal round at the rescheduled Bring the Huckus. Ithaca finished 6th while Colby and Skidmore played for 7th. Vassar Swinging Monks were the other D-III team to make the championship bracket, but they lost in the prequarter round. Rowan Ruf Riders won the 13th place bracket with wins over Swarthmore Earthworms and Stevens Tech Ultimate along the way.
- Harding Apocalypse lost to the eventual finalists (Baylor in pool play and North Texas in the semifinal) at Big D in Little D, finishing third overall.
Looking Ahead
- Union Jaxx are playing this weekend at T-Town Throwdown.
- Colby Center for Disc Control are hosting eight teams at The Grand Northeast Kickoff, including #11 Williams WUFO, #21 Brandeis TRON, Bates Orange Whip, and Rensselaer Polytech Trudge.
- Asbury, Lipscomb Bisons, and Georgia College Disconnected are scheduled to compete at Underground Invite.
- First State Invite, Spring Spook, Southwest Showdown, and Silicon Valley Ralley feature a smattering of D-III teams playing regional competition.
Not counting an undefeated Carolina Kickoff 2025, as that was a round robin ↩
