#1 North Carolina Pleiades is back in action ready to defend their 2021 title. Given the wealth of talent that returns for them (Anne Worth & Ella Jeungst for starters) they can barely crow about the pieces missing from the fall. They easily worked through the early part of their Queen City schedule, but faced a stiff challenge from #14 Tufts in the semifinal. Now they match up against another New England squad, #10 Vermont Ruckus. Ruckus builds off their solid core, headlined by Kennedy McCarthy but also features some high profile rookie pickups. Having experience nationals for the first time in recent history, Vermont seems poised to make another run to the national championships this year.