Carleton College, Dartmouth Earn Number-One Seeds
Colorado Springs, Colo. (May 14, 2018) – USA Ultimate, the national governing body for the sport of ultimate in the United States and proud member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, announced today the seedings and competition schedule for the 2018 Division I College Championships.
The top seeds at this year’s tournament go to the defending champions, Carleton College and the Dartmouth College, in the men’s and women’s division, respectively.
Continuing their momentum from 2017, Carleton College earned the top spot at the 2018 College Championships with a 33-2 season record, including tournament wins at Warm-Up: A Florida Affair and Easterns, as well as their conference and regional championships. Both their losses on the season came against College Championships qualifiers and fellow number one seeds. CUT has only missed qualifying for the College Championships twice since 1990, and their 2017 national championship was the fourth in program history.
North Carolina, Oregon and Brown, three past national champions, round out the top four in the men’s division and are the remaining one-seeds in their respective pools. North Carolina is in the top four for the third time in five years; they won the sole championship in program history in 2015, the last time the College Championships were held in Milwaukee. Oregon also claimed their third top-four spot in five years. After two years in the semifinals, Oregon finished tied for ninth in each of the last two years. Brown won national titles in 2000 and 2005 and is back at the College Championships for the first time in 10 years. A strong regular season and their win at the New England Regional Championships earned them the fourth overall spot in this year’s competition field.
Defending national champion Dartmouth Princess Layout claims the top overall seed in the women’s division. Princess Layout is making their fourth consecutive trip to the College Championships and their second appearance as a top-four team in that span. They have only one loss on the season, to fellow College Championships qualifier Ohio State in early February. Since then, they’ve accumulated 20 straight wins that carried them to conference and regional titles, as well as the number one seed at the College Championships.
California-San Diego, North Carolina and Stanford round out the top four in the women’s division. After 10 years away, California-San Diego returned to the College Championships in 2017 and finished tied for 13th. They played a full regular season this year, accumulating an impressive 36-3 record, with their only losses coming against fellow top seeds at the College Championships. North Carolina also returned to the national stage last year after a hiatus and carried their momentum into 2018. They have only one loss this season, which combined with their Atlantic Coast regional championship, earned them the third overall spot in Milwaukee. Stanford Superfly, the most accomplished team in college ultimate history, takes the fourth overall seed and the top spot in Pool D. The eight-time national champions earned the second bid out of the Southwest Region. They finished tied for fifth at the College Championships last year.
The 2018 Division I College Championships will be held May 25-28, at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee, Wis. The event will be hosted by USA Ultimate, the Milwaukee Ultimate Club and Visit Milwaukee.
The D-I College Championships were first held in 1984. The 40 teams that qualified for this year’s championships reached Milwaukee by advancing through conference and regional championship events. Four teams are first-time College Championships qualifiers this year: Georgetown, Northwestern and Victoria in the men’s division, and West Chester in the women’s division.
