UCSD Womxn’s Dragon Coalition brought the fire in Santa Barbara this weekend, January 25-26th, for their first official tournament of the 2020 season.  Seventeen teams travelled to compete in this year’s SBI. Throughout the weekend, the young dragons showcased the depth of the team this season, with rookies playing alongside seniors to take the final against UCLA Blu. The defending national champions are proving they are still a force to be reckoned with this year, going undefeated all weekend.

Day 1 started out early, with UCSD taking dubs against University of Washington Element (13 - 8), Cal Pi Queens (13 - 7), and Victoria UVixens (13 - 2) to come out on top in their pool. With freshman Maggie “Manta” Pierce handling for her fast and furious rookie class, the team’s newest additions shined in pool play and scored multiple rookie points.

Day 2 was another early start for the quarters game against Northwestern Gungho. The field was full of dips and holes, but even that couldn’t stop Dragon Coalition’s momentum. UCSD took quarters 13 - 6. The semis were back on flat even turf against Vermont Ruckus, in which D-Co utilized their whole defensive line to take the game 12 - 3. In the final against UCLA, the dragons worked chilly offense against Blu’s zones, and fought hard on defense to snatch a close 12-10 championship game. Special shoutouts to a layout grab in the endzone from the one and only Pin-Hsuan “Kirby” Chen, and a critical layout D from Alex [D is for] “Dante” Diaz.

Championships are nice, but getting to play ultimate with our friends is the best.