Middlebury become the winningest program in women's D-III, claiming their fourth title in dominant fashion
May 18, 2026 by Theresa Diffendal and Zack Davis in Recap
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#2 Middlebury Pranksters are your 2026 D-III Women’s National Champions, utilizing their depth to outrun #6 Whitman Sweet, 15-6. Middlebury broke the Sweets on the first point of the game, a premonition of what was to come. The teams traded holds, and then the Pranksters went on a 5-0 run that effectively shut the door on Whitman.
Middlebury was ruthlessly effective, even as the wind picked up. Quarterbacked by Ella Widmyer and first-year Amy Li, the Pranksters went a perfect 7/7 on holds as sure hands from Avery Goldstein, Zora DeSilva, Lizzie Madden, Izzy Laramee, and Cece Rhyneer reeled in discs blown off course. Whitman strung together plenty of passes, as a rotating deep cast of throwers in Gabbie Campbell, Joey Biehl, Julia Hanson, Anja Floisand, Allee Garver, and Ashley Hagen worked laterally against Middlebury’s zone but found little success consistently moving forward. The Sweets were without Kate Campbell, who left the field with a non-contact injury on the game’s first point and did not return.
Li made an argument for Rookie of the Year with play in the final alone, doing everything Widmyer (who had six assists in the final) has been lauded for doing as she marshaled break after break for the Pranksters. Li was compact, efficient, and effective with her cuts, often dusting whatever defender was forced to guard her after she generated the turn. Li was the driving force in two of the Pranksters’ first upwind breaks, particularly the first, which gave the Pranksters the 4-2 lead after a long slog of a point. That 4-2 lead quickly turned to 5-2 with the help of the wind and Middlebury was off to the races, taking half 8-3.
An ever-present upwind/downwind led to marathon points filled with near misses – but just as many fantastic plays, such as Josie Bygrave’s sliding grab for 9-4 and Whitman’s first goal of the second-half that seemed like it might spark a Sweets comeback. Play-making though wouldn’t cut it against the Pranksters’ defense, with twelve players recording a block in the final, led by Ruby Salisbury and Lizzie Madden with three each.
The last point finished similar to many of the others: despite a great play by the Sweets — this time a skying block from Campbell — Middlebury’s zone suffocated any progress. Avery Goldstein made a leaping catch block in the cup on the goal line, and quick movement from the Pranksters found a sure-handed receiver in the end zone, this time, fittingly, senior captain Cece Rhyneer. Game, 15-6.
Stay tuned to Ultiworld for a full-length recap, while subscribers can relive all the weekend’s action in our video library. Congratulations again to the Middlebury Pranksters on their fourth championship!
