Quinnipiac has already won two league games and it’s reflected in the rankings. /// Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics •
For the first DI college ranking of the fall, some explanation is needed as to which teams are considered for the Top 20:
• Any DI team competing toward the USA Rugby fall championship or National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA), i.e., varsity, titles
• Any DI Elite team (from spring 2016, as new lineup hasn’t been confirmed) that also competes in a local fall league or has a significant “friendly” schedule
• Any independent team that is playing a weighty fall schedule
Excluded are those DI teams that are vying for the spring championship, and for Elite/independent teams, those participating in spring-based conferences.
The Mason Dixon is the only conference that is tricky. The North pool contests all of its league games in the fall, while the South pool is split. So a team like spring runner-up UVA is only playing two fall matrix matches, but has scheduled friendlies against North pool teams among others. To keep it simple, Mason Dixon will remain in the spring rankings.
The moral of the story: The DI rankings are a bit of a balancing act, so with that in mind, view the first iteration as a starting point. Remember that the Top 20 rates teams on where they are today. Teams that are in performance mode and playing league games are viewed favorably. The rankings will be updated weekly.
The lone exception is Penn State. The Nittany Lions played closer games than usual last year, but the national championship streak remains strong and alive. Penn State played friendlies against Women’s Premier League’s New York and its alumni, and kicks off the Big Ten season Saturday against Michigan.
Reigning NIRA champion Quinnipiac is off to a solid start. After trailing Army at the half, the Bobcats pulled away for a 32-19 victory, and then followed with a 44-0 shutout over American International College (AIC). Ilona Maher and Emily Roskopf scored two tries apiece against the Yellow Jackets. Quinnipiac’s home field is under construction this fall and so the team is traveling a bunch. The big trip is to Ellensburg, Wash., for the always-entertaining match against the Wildcats.
Army rebounded from its opening loss with a 63-12 win over Dartmouth, which had defeated AIC 24-22 in its first fall game. The Black Knights led 17-12 at the half, and then ran in eight tries in the final 40. Junior wing Rebecca Stipp led with three tries and four conversions, while Sydney Hawkins, Zye Crittington and Taylor Jessop had multi-try games.
Central Washington has an impressive roster and incoming class, and worked its depth during two sets of friendlies against the Canadian University of Victoria and University of Lethbridge. The Wildcats then sent new freshman Sui A’au to France with the Girls High School All-Americans (GHSAA), who finished second at the European U18 7s Championship.
DI Elite runner-up BYU has been idle thus far but will play a friendly against DII Utah Valley this Saturday. Its first DI match doesn’t occur until Oct. 8 against Air Force, This fall, the Cougars will play Air Force, followed by Central Washington and New Mexico. Fellow DI Elite teams present in the rankings will transfer to the spring rankings should they remain in the competition.
Life University broke in its new turf pitch (which has stadium seating, rugby turf, spotlights, VIP section and more) with a scrimmage against WPL’s Atlanta Harlequins. Of particular note was the duel between Life’s Kaitlyn Broughton – who was active this summer – and Quins’ Monique Compito in the centers. Life will miss graduates Nicole Strasko (who is heading to the OTC in October) and Deshel Ferguson, but the ranks have swelled and newcomers like GHSAA Taylor Makowski mark new talent to follow.
Lindenwood warmed up with a 49-14 win over senior club St. Louis Sabres. The Lions have another star-studded recruiting class that includes 7s Olympian Richelle Stephens, GHSAA Renee Gonzalez from the European 7s championship, and former Quinnipiac standout Natalie Kosko, who is back from injury. The St. Charles, Mo., program has an interesting independent schedule, which sees the team play Oklahoma and New Mexico in two weekends’ time, Life University, Penn State, and then Stanford and UC Davis one weekend in November.
Notre Dame College hosted Norwich for the teams’ first Tier 1 NIRA match, and the Falcons rallied in the fourth quarter to win 27-17. The Cadets were coming off a 127-0 friendly win over Tier 2 Castleton and will face Quinnipiac this weekend.
On Saturday, a replay of the 2015 Ivy championship will evolve between Dartmouth and Brown. The Bears warmed up with a 42-14 win over NIRA Tier 2 Bowdoin. Harvard gets the nod over Princeton due to the Crimson’s 32-5 win over Navy last weekend.
UConn is the first team on the list that is eligible for USA Rugby’s DI fall championship. The Northeast champ is the reigning fall champ and ran two sides during last weekend’s Beantown collegiate tournament. They’ll get a final tune-up against DII St. Michael’s (which shut out Boston University 58-0 last weekend) before launching into league season.
2015 fall runner-up Air Force comes in next after defeating Colorado 66-10. BYU and New Mexico no longer compete in the Mountain West (the three remaining teams play a home-and-away series), but Air Force is playing them both in friendlies and those games will be useful for ranking purposes.
Indiana has traditionally been the second-best in the Big Ten and kicks off conference play this weekend against Purdue. Notre Dame beat Purdue 63-12 on Saturday, hence the higher ranking. With the new conference set-up Indiana and Notre Dame will play each other twice during the regular season.
DI fall quarterfinalist Minnesota rounds out the top 20 and will play its first league match Saturday against Milwaukee. We’re keeping an eye on Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa, both of which won their games last weekend. Also on the watch list, NIRA’s West Chester, Big Ten newcomer Rutgers, the Texan league, and a UConn challenger in the Northeast.
DI COLLEGE FALL RANKING – SEPT 14, 2016
Rank. Team (League Record). Notes
1. Penn State (0-0). Friendly losses to alumni 36-17 and WPL New York 72-22
2. Quinnipiac (2-0). Defeated Army 32-19, AIC 44-0
3. Army (1-1). Lost 32-19 to Quinnipiac, defeated Dartmouth 63-12
4. Central Washington (0-0). Split 2 sets of friendlies v UVic & Lethbridge
5. BYU (0-0). Idle.
6. Life (0-0). Scrimmage vs. WPL Atlanta
7. Lindenwood (0-0). Defeated St. Louis Sabres 49-14
8. Notre Dame College (1-0). Defeated Norwich 27-17
9. Norwich (1-1). Defeated Castleton 127-0, lost 27-17 to NDC
10. Dartmouth (1-1). Defeated AIC 24-22, lost 63-12 to Army
11. AIC (0-2). Lost 24-22 to Dartmouth, 44-0 to Quinnipiac
12. Brown (0-0). Defeated NIRA Tier 2 Bowdoin 42-14
13. Harvard (0-0). Defeated Navy 32-7
14. UConn (0-0). Ran two sides at Beantown tournament
15. Air Force (1-0). Defeated Colorado 66-10
16. Princeton (0-0). Idle
17. Notre Dame (1-0). Defeated Purdue 65-12
18. Indiana (0-0). Idle
19. New Mexico (0-0). Idle
20. Minnesota (0-0). Finished second to DII Winona at All-Minnesota
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