Recapping all the action from three rounds of bracket play!
May 18, 2026 by Zack Davis and Theresa Diffendal in Recap
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WAUKEGAN – A thrilling day of bracket play had it all: the top two seeds meeting in quarters, universe point contests, come-from-behind wins, and upset victories that ultimately pit Middlebury Pranksters and Whitman Sweets against each other in tomorrow’s championship game.
Read on for the topline stories from prequarters, quarters, and semis!
New Finalists
2026 will have a new set of finalists after both Wesleyan Vicious Circles and Haverford/Bryn Mawr Sneetches lost in semifinals. Wesleyan and Haverford/Bryn Mawr started their days at 8:30 a.m. in the prequarter round after dropping a game in pool play yesterday, and had to battle through universe point quarterfinals to reach the last round of the day. By the time Wesleyan lined up across from Whitman, and Haverford/Bryn Mawr across from Middlebury, to decide who was going to the championship game, the 2025 finalists were on their third games of the day.
It showed most clearly in the Sneetches’ round, as Middlebury employed an effective defense that forced dozens of throws with little forward progress, tiring out an already well-run top line. Ella Widmyer collected seven assists throwing to a cadre of cutters as Middlebury blanked Haverford/Bryn Mawr in the second half for the most lopsided game of the day.
Middlebury advances to their first championship game since 2023, when the Pranksters last won gold in the Claire Babbott-Bryan era. Middlebury has never lost in their three prior championship game appearances.
- Middlebury 15 – 4 Haverford/Bryn Mawr | Game Recap | Stream
Wesleyan‘s semifinal was much more of a back-and-forth affair, but depth and fatigue were still lead factors. Whitman, appearing in the semis as the no.7 seed after upsetting Haverford/Bryn Mawr 15-4 in pool play yesterday, jumped out to a 4-1 lead with quick and concise holds while Wesleyan’s O-line faced multi-turn points against the Sweets’ strong defense.
Wesleyan’s top end of Milo Brown, Scout Noble, Maggie Brown, and Sofia Canoutas-Nadel rallied to tie the game at 5s, and even regained the lead late at 11-10 when Elizabeth Littel made a catch over traffic. But each time, Whitman, headlined by Gabbie Campbell but getting production across the roster, responded with a break of their own. Campbell’s pass dealt the final daggers, finding Ingrid Nelson for the late break for 13-11, then Julia Hanson with a crossfield backhand for the game-winner.
Tomorrow marks the Sweets’ third college championship game appearance, but only second at the D-III level: Whitman’s last appearance, in 2016, was at D-I Nationals. The Sweets’ only previous D-III final showing was in 2009, which they won.
- Whitman 14 – 12 Wesleyan | Game Recap | Stream
Elite Eight
Wesleyan and Haverford/Bryn Mawr also played the most electric games of the quarterfinal round, winning on universe against Carleton and Davenport, respectively. That was where the similarities between the games ended, however, as Vicious Circles had to stave off a resilient and multi-pronged Eclipse attack, while the Sneetches needed an impossible-seeming comeback run to secure their victory.
- Haverford/Bryn Mawr 14 – 13 Davenport | Game Recap | Stream
The quarterfinal between the overall top two seeds was a game of runs if ever there was. Haverford/Bryn Mawr, reinvigorated with seven seniors who missed pool play due to graduation conflicts, almost seemed to benefit from being able to reintegrate key pieces like Clara Morton and Sonia Nicholson in an earlier prequarter against Lewis & Clark, quickly picking up a break for the 4-2 advantage.
Davenport Panthers‘ stout zone, with Mya Maycroft, Kira Straub, and Elleythea Smith in the cup, seemed to effectively stymie the Sneetches as the Panthers put up five unanswered for the 7-4 advantage, only for Haverford/Bryn Mawr to respond with four of their own and take half 8-7.
Davenport kept throwing the zone though, and it again thoroughly disconnected the Sneetch handler corps from any receivers. On the turn, disciplined handler movements from the Panthers chewed up yards in fast break scenarios, and the game seemed in danger of getting out of hand as Davenport opened the second half with a 5-0 run and the 12-8 advantage.
But in spite of all the momentum, that was the last time the Panthers would score, as the Sneetches’ Rufus Helmreich would not be denied. They, along with Erica Collin, notched critical blocks as the Sneetches mounted their own five-point comeback run. Helmreich scored two of their three goals on the last two points of the game, using a motor that somehow hadn’t quit to churn out strike cut after strike cut, including a final upline jab to secure the winner on universe.
- Wesleyan 13 – 12 Carleton | Game Recap | Stream
One field over, Wesleyan seemed mostly in control of their quarterfinal matchup, quickly scoring twice to start and opening up an early 4-1 lead. It looked in danger of ballooning further at 7-3 and Wesleyan on the goal line to break for half, but Carleton Eclipse capitalized efficiently on simple errors — a drop here, an overthrow there — to trim the lead to one.
Several mis-executed hucks attempts for Wesleyan, a theme that would hurt them in the semifinals, showed that enough runway existed for Carleton to stay in the game, despite Vish eventually holding for half. Scout Noble and Sofia Canoutas-Nadel alone combined for 21 turnovers as Wesleyan tried to go over, under, and through Eclipse’s zone, but Sophia Morse-deBrier was difficult to overcome in the deep space, collecting eight blocks and leading the counterattack on a turn.
Zone was one of the most frequently employed defenses around the complex as the wind picked up a tick from yesterday, and it proved effective. The Circles’ pulled out their own late in the second, jamming enough lanes for a short-field break and what felt like the go-ahead goal at 11-8 without many of their top players on the field.
But Carleton refused to go away. With soft cap on at 12-9, game to 13, Eclipse held with a shot to a sliding Morse-deBrier, who got a block on the next point to set up a gorgeous backhand huck from Maddy Brown. The following point of attrition brought the game into hard cap, and ended with a Morse-deBrier assist, game tied at 12s. An incomplete huck gave Carleton the disc on universe, but they did not have enough for one more, and Wesleyan’s second shot to Mackenzie Bunnell was a success. Vish were back in semis, comeback averted.
- Whitman 15 – 11 Macalester | Game Recap
Macalester Pursesnatchers looked to benefit early from having the prequarter round to warm up and took an early lead, with Claire Lee’s hucks falling in all the right ways. The toll of an extra game, however, quickly became clear. With Whitman Sweets‘ Gabbie Campbell going toe-to-toe with Lee, Whitman’s depth in Julia Hanson, Wyatt Albright, Ollie Fox, Ingrid Noren, and Josephine Bygrave were able to shine as Whitman rolled to an 8-4 halftime score, Bygrave finding Hanson for one of Hanson’s seven points and the break.
The Pursesnatchers fired back out of half, narrowing the lead to 8-6, but Whitman replied with four straight goals of their own to double up Macalester, 12-6. Lee kept hunting, racking up nine assists as she marshaled her squad for one last response, but Whitman firmly slammed the door, breaking on their first game point opportunity for the 15-11 win.
- Middlebury 15 – 8 Rice| Game Recap
Rice Torque, and Ria Stevens’ incredible performance, was finally brought low by an insatiable Middlebury squad that did not allow double-digit goals in either of their bracket games today. The Pranksters led wire-to-wire, building on an 8-5 halftime lead with three breaks in the second. Stevens still impressed, notching five blocks while guarding a fresh Ella Widmyer, but Torque could not find the gear needed to capitalize on Middlebury’s mistakes.
Thirteen different Pranksters recorded a goal or assist, continuing a common pattern of Middlebury both expertly reloading and developing talent, from rookies Zora DeSilva and Ami Li to sophomores in Izzy Laramee and Kaia Ganzell.
Notes from Around the Complex
- Rice Torque and Santa Clara Rage played the closest prequarter round — but it didn’t look like it would end that way. Rice built an 8-3 halftime lead thanks to excellent defensive plays from Callista Baker and Ria Stevens. But a heater of a half from Rage’s Diana Huang, who scored all four of her 1G/3A statline in the second half, brought Santa Clara within one, 9-8. Even when Torque seemed to pull away, Santa Clara refused to go away, breaking again late to trail 13-12. It took a dime from Radhiya Bharmal to a diving, toe-dragging Stevens to fully ice the game, 14-12. (Game Recap)
Tomorrow, Ultiworld will stream the women’s championship game between Whitman and Middlebury at 1 p.m. CT. Follow along with the action by watching on the tournament event page.
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