This weekend, the final bids for D-III Men’s Nationals are to be decided!
May 5, 2023 Michael Ball In Preview with Comments
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College Regionals in the spring are amongst the most exciting parts of our ultimate calendar. For some, these events will be the culmination of a season — or even college career — while for others it’s just another step on their path toward the D-III College Championships in two weeks. You can expect plenty of action, including some unexpected results. Each team will be fighting to avoid falling into the latter group.
This weekend, the two final regions that will be heading to Ohio will be determined by the results of the games in their respective regions. We’ve got you covered on the storylines to watch.
Great Lakes
Score Reporter
Location: Holland, MI
Nationals Bids: 1
Excitement Level: ??
Let’s call it how it is: the Great Lakes is the weakest region in D-III Men’s this year. No teams from our power ranking are in this region. Butler is the highest-ranked team according to the algorithm. The GL was in a very similar position last season, and this region had one of Nationals’ best feel-good tales. Will there be another Cinderella this year?
Butler Big Dog, the one-seed mentioned above, is the team that will be the most tested and the favorite in this weekend’s tournament. Big Dog, the only team from the region that has faced Nationals-level opposition this season, tested themselves by making the trip to North Carolina to play FCS D-III tune-up. Butler went 1-6 because they were missing key players. Three of these losses were against teams that had already secured a Columbus bid. Butler’s coaching staff appeared confident after the weekend. They thought that these reps would provide valuable learning opportunities and would pay off in the long run. Butler reached the finals of Regionals 2022 but lost. Can they do it again this year?
This weekend, the team that defeated Butler in last year’s final is the six-seed. Grace Lancer is learning the hard lesson that you need to take Conferences very seriously. Despite having H2H victories over the two- and three-seeds, Lancer were the 6th seed due to a loss against Hillsdale. Joel Close, Theodore Faur and the rest of Grace have shown an ability to make a run at Regionals, and they’ll get a look at Butler in pool play that could matter (for both teams) in a potential bracket play rematch.
The presence of any other teams at Nationals would come as a surprise. Wheaton, North Park and Butler, who are respectively the two and third seeds, have the highest chances of being able to go far, but they both have serious concerns on their record. Wheaton is the two-seed and has played three close Conferences matches. North Park, on the other hand, has lost to Butler in a rout and has also suffered losses to Grace. There’s a reason they play the games, but it’ll be surprising to see anybody other than Butler or Grace take the bid this weekend.
New England
Score Reporter
LocationSmithfield (RI)
Nationals Bids: 2
Excitement Level: ????
The excitement level of this tournament was 5/5 two months ago. With two bids in the region and just one powerhouse, there’s plenty of room for confusion. New England’s second heavyweight has emerged in the second half. But any region with four of our top 25 teams and a fifth that took a bidding last year will be filled with excitement.
Bowdoin Clown was the surprise favorite at the weekend. Bowdoin’s undefeated season, which included five victories by at least six goals, earned them a spot in the region after they started the season on the bottom half of our top 25. They put any doubts about the strength of their schedule to rest by beating Middlebury with a margin of two goals at Conferences. This weekend, they secured the Clown one seed. Bowdoin, a big and athletic team, applies heavy pressure in matchup defenses to stack breaks. Their ability blow out opponents should keep their top players refreshed for bracket play.
It’s been a different year than usual for the Middlebury Pranksters. Normally used to dominating D-III opponents until Nationals, this year the Pranksters faced some adversity. They lost to Richmond and Colorado College during the regular season, and Bowdoin, at Conferences. Middlebury captains explained to me during FCS that their goal was to test themselves for the playoffs by deliberately challenging themselves. The Pranksters have shown that they can play at an elite level and are very deep. Can they pull it off this weekend?
While Bowdoin and Middlebury are the two favorites to claim the region’s bids to Columbus, there are plenty of teams in the field capable of knocking them off. Williams WUFO (and Brandeis TRON) both qualified for Nationals this spring, and many of the players from those teams are returning. Led by Danny Klein and Charlie Tantum, WUFO play a loose, fun style that can be overpowering when they’re clicking, as evidenced by a 15-4 win over Ohio Valley champion Kenyon at Layout Pigout. TRON, who have attended each of Nationals’ last two editions, are now in their postseason stride after a dominating performance at Conferences. Bryant, Bates and other teams have had a history of doing well at Regionals. There won’t be many easy wins this weekend, and much like the South Central last weekend, the top seeds will need to be dialed in at all times or risk facing an early end to their season.
P.S.
I would also like to send a shout-out to the Middlebury Branksters who will represent D-III Ultimate at New England D-I Regionals next weekend. The Branksters won a bid to the New England D-I Regionals by placing second at development conferences. They will be the 13 seed this weekend in Maine. The entirety of D-III ultimate should be supporting the Branksters this weekend; it’s always sweet when D-III teams beat D-I teams, but the idea of Middlebury’s B-team causing havoc at D-I Regionals is next level. This weekend, we’re all Branksters.
