Fresno State won the West Coast DIII championship last year and then played in DII regionals. •
The West Coast conference has made some changes for 2016-17, and unlike previous years, they impact the fall. Furthermore, the conference has expanded its select side program, dubbed the Pumas, to include collegiate players outside of the DII league.
In 2015-16, the conference split its members into DII and DIII competitions, partially to align with a new DIII competition out of USA Rugby. But as it turned out, the West Coast was the only women’s college conference to host a legitimate DIII league in the spring, and therefore, will recombine the ranks for 2016-17.
The eight teams, which no longer include Humboldt State (as it joins the DI Pacific Mountain Rugby Conference alongside Cal, Chico State, Stanford and UC Davis), is divided into two pools of four:
Blue: CSU Monterey Bay, Santa Clara University, UC Santa Cruz, Univ. San Francisco
Red: Fresno State, St. Mary’s College, Sacramento State, UN Reno
Each team plays its pool mates once, and then the top two teams from each pool move onto the Cup semifinals – which will name representatives to the DII regional playoffs – while the bottom two move onto the Plate final four. Should USA Rugby reconsider a DIII competition, then eligible teams will be ranked and advance to regional playoffs.
Conference competition begins Oct. 1 instead of January. Motivation to switch to a split season was outlined in the West Coast newsletter (subscribe by e-mailing commissioner Vicki Hudson at westcoastwomensrugby@gmail.com):
Considerations include[ed] increased time between matches to allow recovery time, avoiding matches or playoffs during spring breaks, creating a safer environment for rookies to develop by increasing training sessions between conference matches, and reducing the impact of weather for travel to snow-bound areas.
In addition to considering weather (which sees UN Reno play all of its fall games at home), the pools’ staggered start dates account for schools on the quarter system.
Additionally, the conference is expanding its select side program. Thirty players currently comprise the pool, but coaches are encouraged to continue nominating players for the three sides: senior, U20 and U20 developmental. Players will be evaluated during two mandatory training sessions in September and October before naming final selections to November’s Scrum by the Sea, the Pumas’ first-ever fixture. Players from DI and/or independent colleges in Northern California and Nevada are now eligible for inclusion, since their conferences did not host select side opportunities last season. The non-West Coast players, however, are eligible for the senior side only.
Players will be managed through the West Coast Conference Select XV’s account on TeamApp.
Current Pumas Player Pool:
Sydney Abel
Anita Agopyan-Miu
Alyssa Arace
Samantha Arnez
Jenna Balestra
Sydney Beyma
Catriona Clohessy
Rachel Darvas
Faye Epenisa
Fe’ofa’aki ‘A-kakau ‘Epenisa-Carlsen
Moriah Halteman
Thao Huynh
Samantha Koegel
Emiliana Lacandazon
Tyler Malcolm
Mariela Murillo
Cady Riley
Stephanie Rosales
Courtney Rouse
Stephanie Rovetti
Megan Shalvis
Clarissa Sparks
Kristina Tomelloso
Kaydee Valliere
Mallory Waldeck
Megan Walls
Brittany Weidner
Nikki Wheeler
Katherine Whiting
Jessica Williamson
To subscribe to the West Coast conference newsletter, e-mail westcoastwomensrugby@gmail.com. To access the current edition, click here.