For the first time, Ultiworld is streaming games LIVE from East Coast Invite!
March 26, 2026 by Zack Davis and Aidan Thomas in Preview, Video
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.
The last weekend of the regular season is here! Bid-bubble D-I and title-contending D-III teams converge at East Coast Invite, where the women’s division takes center focus. The Swiss-style tournament will create an interesting dynamic, as the teams competing for bids should have an opportunity to stack early wins without playing each other. The last rounds of Saturday play under the lights in the evening could bring some crucial matchups as the strongest teams face off. With only four teams making the first-place bracket, rematches aren’t guaranteed, so every game is going to be crucial as these squads clamor for every rankings point.
Tournament Profile
- Date: March 28-29
- Location: Frederica, DE
- Weather: Mostly sunny with a high of 45 Saturday, 55 Sunday. Winds up to 15 mph.
- Top 25 teams
- D-I Women’s: #9 Penn, #20 Notre Dame, #22 Georgetown, #23 Wisconsin
- D-III Women’s: #1 Wesleyan, #2 Middlebury, #3 Haverford/Bryn Mawr, #4 Carleton Eclipse, #10 Kenyon, #11 Mt. Holyoke, #15 Wellesley, #19 Williams
- Ultiworld Event Page
- USAU Score Reporter
How To Watch
We’ve got you covered for all the exciting action this weekend. You will need an Ultiworld Standard or All-Access subscription to be able to watch games from the East Coast Invite 2026. Or get access for your entire team and coaching staff with a 2026 College Team Pack!
The event begins March 28, LIVE on Ultiworld.com. All broadcasted games will be available on-demand for viewing immediately following the live broadcasts.
Full Broadcast Schedule
Division I Tournament Preview
Very few bids were earned at last year’s East Coast Invite, with several schools seeing their hopes of an extra bid for their region, and thus a better chance at Nationals, die in Frederica, Delaware. Most notably, Northeastern, in pole position to claim a third bid for New England, collapsed to an 0-4 record on Saturday, relegating them deep into the consolation brackets and well out of the top 20.
In near opposite fashion, Notre Dame powered their way to a 6-0 record in last year’s tournament, defeating bid-earning hopefuls Virginia in the process, but couldn’t stay close enough with undefeated Tufts in the final and fell hundredths of a point short of a second Great Lakes bid in the algorithm. We witnessed a lot of frustration, and not a lot of reward, at East Coast Invite in 2025, but this year, with four top-30 teams clamoring for two available strength bids, we should see a bit of both.
#16 Northeastern Valkyries return to the ECI field once more in a bid-earning position. This time, it’s even more pivotal for New England, which has seen recent powerhouse Vermont fall outside the top 20 with a rough regular season. Northeastern must put on a strong performance to keep a second bid with New England.
However, their competition will be fierce, with #22 Georgetown (Atlantic Coast region) and #23 Ohio (Ohio Valley) right behind them in the rankings. Just a few spots lower sits #28 Wisconsin, who would like nothing more than to avoid a one-bid North Central, which would necessitate getting through #1 Carleton Syzygy to reach Nationals. But at over 200 points below the cutoff, it will take a monumental weekend from Bella Donna.
Additionally in the field are #20 Notre Dame Echo and hosts #9 Penn Venus. Penn has fairly locked up the Ohio Valley’s autobid, and Notre Dame doesn’t need to secure a strength bid – with Michigan struggling this year up until Northwest Challenge, the Great Lakes is a one bid region regardless. However, Echo can absolutely play spoiler as they tune up for a postseason run that will inevitably lead to a game-to-go against Flywheel.
Men’s Division
The men’s division has no real bid-earning implications, but there are a few storylines to watch. The top seed is Georgetown Justice, who will look to add to their 11-4 record and enter the postseason as a potential darkhorse, especially if NC State can help the region’s cause by earning a second bid at Easterns. They could be challenged by an intriguing squad in Johns Hopkins Dangerzone, who have raced out to a 13-0 record against middling competition (and middling might be an overstatement). But Dangerzone can only beat who they’ve played, and that’s what they’ve done. They’ll look to earn the opportunity to deliver a statement result against Georgetown.
Meanwhile, the Metro East, seemingly forever a one-bid region, will jockey for postseason seeding position and final regular season statements; Cornell, Yale, SUNY-Buffalo, and Syracuse are all top-100 teams that will have a chance at a bracket run this weekend.
Division III Tournament Preview
Four for Four
The top four teams in our objectively correct Power Rankings are cleating up this weekend in beautiful Frederica, Delaware. That’s #1 Wesleyan Vicious Circles, #2 Middlebury Pranksters, #3 Haverford/Bryn Mawr Sneetches, and #4 Carleton College Eclipse all throwing plastic for a chance at cementing themselves as favorites headed into May.
Reigning national champs Wesleyan are slight favorites for the D-III runners ahead of the swiss pools. The Vicious Circles logged a 7-6 win in a windy game against Middlebury at the end of a truncated March UMadness. Though Wesleyan has only played four games so far this spring, a win against a championship caliber team like Middlebury in any circumstances is a good sign. Hard to imagine Milo Brown isn’t already thinking about their POTY campaign too and will be looking to impress, and you never know what Scout Noble will pull out of the bag. It will be nice to see Wesleyan finally get a full weekend of games.
Middlebury followed up their March UMadness weekend with an easy win at The Grand Northeast Kickoff. The Pranksters only allowed 13 points over the course of six games, including five — the most in any game — in the final against #11 Mt. Holyoke Daisy Chain. The Pranksters have their sights set on the national championship, and this is their last chance to work out any kinks ahead of the post-season. Ella Widmyer has some unsettled scores, and with players like Ruby Salisbury coming into her own defensively and a plethora of sophomores alongside Widmyer getting a full season of college ultimate under their belt, this team is dangerous.
The Sneetches, like Middlebury, are coming off a dominant weekend, giving up 17 goals in eight games at Jersey Devil. The most they allowed was also five, to both RIT in pools and to Williams in the final. The runners-up from last year made a strong first showing, and are looking to repeat their success this weekend. This will be another chance for Erica Collin, Rufus Helmreich, Clara Morton, and the rest of the Sneetches to demonstrate they were never just the Zoe Costanza show.
Rounding out the top four is Carleton College Eclipse, who have taken care of business against D-III opponents like Portland, Whitman, and Lewis & Clark at D-III Grand Prix earlier this year. The Eclipse have struggled a bit against D-I competition, falling one-point short in games against Arkansas and Oregon State. Of this top four group, the Carleton is the one that feels the most like an underdog. That said, Carleton has a long history of success. Plus it doesn’t hurt to have players like Maddy Brown and Molly Horstman Olson moving the disc and Pilar Andruet flying around on defense; it’d be no surprise to see them hit their stride headed into the post season. We’ll find out immediately how legit this Eclipse team is with a first-round matchup against Middlebury.
What makes this weekend especially exciting for D-III fans is that this feels like a preview of the national championship. Much like last year, it’s entirely unclear who the favorite team is at this point in the season. Any team could find a win over the other, and while head-to-head matchups between these four teams aren’t guaranteed, any connectivity should provide some much-needed clarity to the rankings.
Moreover, these teams are getting a chance to face some quality D-I opponents. There are four top 25 D-I teams attending, and a handful more right outside that grouping. Having the opportunity to play tougher competition and expose any gaps in your own team just ahead of the post-season is invaluable. The teams that adjust the quickest, and hold their own against teams like Penn, Northeastern, Notre Dame and the others, or even find wins, will be a major indicator in who has the ability to take home the biggest trophy in May.
Top 25 Tango
Not to be overlooked or underestimated are the other four D-III women’s teams in attendance in Kenyon, Wellesley, Mt. Holyoke, and Williams. Each of them will open up their weekend with a chance at a major upset and statement piece. The first round matchups are:
- Carleton College v Middlebury
- #10 Kenyon Blu-Ray v #15 Wellesley Whiptails
- #11 Mount Holyoke Daisy Chain v Haverford/Bryn Mawr
- #19 Williams Nova v Wesleyan
Each of these teams are Nationals contenders and have talented rosters, many of whom have plenty of Nationals and club experience. None of the top four teams discussed above have been given an easy round one opponent, and any win from the contenders instantly springboards them into semifinal discussions.
These teams have some extra incentive to grab some quality wins too, as there are some bids available to collect. Kenyon will be looking to seal the deal on another ticket for the Ohio Valley (and I’m sure Haverford/Bryn Mawr wouldn’t mind the wiggle room). Meanwhile Mount Holyoke would like to get one more for New England, to go along with the three Middlebury, Wellesley, and Williams have already claimed. With the swiss-style pools, the first game will have an extra bit of added pressure to get started on a win.
