On the division's biggest stage, the two finalists -- Whitman and Middlebury -- have persevered by relying solely on the players taking the field
May 18, 2026 by Zack Davis in Recap
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WAUKEGAN, IL – What does it mean when two coachless teams make the final game of the championship tournament? In a sport that is becoming more complex, both on the field and off, how do a group of college students keep everything together to even just get to the Nationals stage, much less reach its peak?
The logistics alone are a nightmare. Even on a basic level, making sure every player has a USAU membership, has a semblance of an understanding of the rules, and remembered to pack both cleats is a massive undertaking in itself. Add to that travel, food, lodging, roster updates, scheduling, jersey compliance, field assignments, and the myriad of little details that go along with running a team.
That’s just what goes on off the field. Once the team gets to the complex it’s warmups, captains packets, matchups, systems, calling lines, managing load, making adjustments, and handling the attention and emotions of a team of 18-24 year olds. Then you still have to play the game. Many teams have added at least one but often two or three coaches to help manage these roles. Whitman Sweets and Middlebury Pranksters, however, have both abstained.
To be clear, coaches aren’t a bad thing. In fact, in many cases, they’re very good. For example, last year Wesleyan, famously a player-led team, opened their program to Coach Keith Raynor and instantly found success. The Connecticut based team finished in the consultation pool in ‘23, ninth in ‘24, then won it all last season. This year they lost in a very competitive, back-and-forth semifinal to a coachless, player-led Whitman Sweets.
The ethos of this division is very much player-centric. The elite teams with coaches aren’t necessarily led by those coaches. If you watch Wesleyan, even for a point or two, it’s clear that the Vicious Circles aren’t Raynor’s team. He’s impactful, yes, but at the end of the day, Vicious Circles are about the names on the roster. When the going gets tough, it’s Scout Noble on the sideline hugging teammates with heads down, or gently giving pointers to overeager rookies. Every perennial top team in D-III is like this: when the chips are down, and it’s a tight game, the players are in a huddle, and the coach is off to the side.
Whitman and Middlebury have taken this ethos, this idea that it’s just a bunch of friends playing a game, and made it their identity. Middlebury, infamously, never takes anything seriously off the field. This includes, but is not limited to, interviews with reporters. I’m fairly certain I spoke with Izzy Laramee, Tessa Lake-Goldstein, and Jessica Berger, but one can never be too sure.
The Pranksters were more focused on final exams, which are coming up next week for Middlebury students, than they were the weekend. They said they were studying on the train ride over, before biking the rest of the way here. When asked about the impact of Steve Swan, long time coach of the Middlebury Pranksters, I was told that he was on either maternity or maybe fraternity leave, the players weren’t too sure. Steve is the proud parent of a brood of goslings, or swanlings maybe, and is expected to return in the future with his offspring added to the coaching team.
Middlebury is quite young, with only three seniors1 on the team, and a whopping eleven freshman. Among those first-years is star talent Zora “Dennis” DeSilva, who instantly slotted in as a key player for the Pranksters and has rewarded that trust with some big league blocks to go along with passes that truly boggle the mind. If Ella Widmyer wasn’t on the team, it would be a cinch to label DeSilva as the best thrower for Middlebury. With 2G/12A/12D/11T through the first two days, DeSilva has noticeably elevated her team by taking a lot of the focus off of the aforementioned Widmyer.
In addition to DeSilva, senior captain Cece Rhyneer has really stepped up for the Pranksters, providing solid reliability to the Pranksters’ handler set, and a real sense of leadership off the field. When asked for an interview, all eyes turned to Rhyneer, and it was only with her blessing that I was allowed to speak with the team.
For Whitman’s side it’s much less of a joke, but very much the same sentiment. After the semifinal game against Wesleyan ended, the extended spirit circle had broken up, and the Sweets had run through the tunnel of fans and supporters, captains Josephine “Josie” Bygrave and Joanna “Joey” Biehl harped on the closeness of the team. “We weren’t that focused on hyper-analyzing everything that was happening in that game,” said Bygrave. “We know our skill, we know our abilities, and so we were putting so much faith into our team.”
They clearly pride themselves on being player-led, and player-focused. That player-focused mentality is “something we’ve been reflecting on a lot,” Biehl said. “I think it pushes everyone to have a really deep knowledge of the game. We’re not relying on a singular voice so everyone is responsible for teaching each other and teaching themselves.”
This gets to the center of what it means to be a part of the People’s Division. Instead of shifting that cognitive load off of themselves, each player made a conscious decision to pick up a bit of the weight and lighten it for everyone else, resulting in a whole truly made more than the sum of its parts.
Enough philosophy though, there is still plastic to be thrown, and some titanic matchups to look forward to. Even though they don’t take anything off the field seriously, when the pull goes up, each player on the line is locked in.
Ella Widmyer in particular has been on a tear, slicing through some of the best teams in the nation to the tune of 24 assists, good for third overall at the tournament. Middlebury hasn’t really been in danger of losing any games, with their closest call being their final pool game against Wesleyan that ended 15-12. Their semifinal game was a walk, 15-4 over a completely depleted Haverford/Bryn Mawr Sneetches who barely edged out Davenport on universe in quarters.
Whitman has had a bit more competition, though not by much: their quarters match up against Macalester ended 15-11, but after Whitman stopped some early momentum from the Pursesnatchers the game never really felt close. The semifinal match against Wesleyan was a song of a different tune, a true back-and-forth game defined by momentum shifts and marathon points.
Whitman’s standout Gabbie Campbell was a work horse, scoring both with her legs and her arms, bringing an ever-present poise in a very frantic game. It was Julia Hanson that really stole the show for the Sweets however, nearly matching Campbell beat for beat over the course of the game. Though neither player had any Sports Center-worthy plays, they really didn’t need to, as their smooth and controlled style ground down the Wesleyan wall defense, and their patience paid off.
So for the final, who will be the key? Which community will come out on top? Will Ella Widmyer’s elite throwing ability be enough in the face of the hybrid style of Gabbie Campbell? Will the breakout Julia Hanson have the speed and agility to outmaneuver rookie phenom Zora DeSilva? How will the Pranksters’ core of Avery Goldstein, Izzy Laramee, Cece Rhyneer, Kaia Ganzell, Sasha Hanna, Makenna Bachman, and Lizzie Madden meet the Sweets’ heart of Ingrid Noren, Leah Uhlman, Kate Campbell, Ollie Fox, Anja Floisand, Ashley Hagen and Wyatt Albright?
Whoever it is, the People will be watching.
Ultiworld is streaming 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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