The DI club rankings will update every other week, as the season is spread across fall and spring. The list begins with the Top 12, as all competitions are not yet in motion, but grow as necessary.
The Saracens are currently competing in British Columbia’s Premier league. There were three weeks of exhibition games (Seattle won both of their matches: 37-10 vs. Burnaby Lake and 35-20 vs. Capilano) through last weekend, and now the first set of five league games commences. The second set of league matches will occur in the New Year. Seattle will see Burnaby Lake on Oct. 15 for the season opener.
Chicago North Shore is playing equally as strong in the Midwest, posting big scores against the Minnesota Valkyries and Wisconsin, and getting A & B side wins against Chicago. Player-coaches Lauren Trout and Christiane Pheil received some relief as James Constantinidis assumed the head coaching position in mid-September. The 2016 DI club runner-up will face 2-0 Detroit this weekend.
The Raleigh vs. NOVA rivalry picked up where it left off, and the Venom kept its perfect 2016 MAC record intact with a 36-15 win. The coaching staff in North Carolina has turned over but it hails from the Raleigh old boys network, and there is continuity.
Beantown is better this year. The club inherited good talent from the collegiate ranks as well as its crosstown rival. Boston has also lost its former head coach, Arturo Bravo Nuevo, to Philadelphia. The two face off this weekend for Beantown’s 40th anniversary, but there might be room for another team to step into the top two this fall. At present, Providence is looking like the best candidate.
The Atlantic North is different this season, as New England and Empire are contesting completely separate competitions. New England kept its DI intact and added Burlington and Providence to fill out the ranks. Empire transitioned to a DI/DII hybrid league, and unsurprisingly, former DI teams Monmouth and Village Lions are leading that combination league. Both undefeated, the two compete this Saturday.
In contrast, Red River did away with its DI/II hybrid league last season and has four teams (Austin, Dallas, HARC, Little Rock) in DI this year. The Valkyries have played the only league match thus far, an 87-0 win over Dallas.
Black Ice has undergone a bunch a turnover, both in players and coaching staff. To boot, the Colorado team is no longer the only member of the DI Frontier, as Utah’s Vipers have joined the competition. The two teams will play a series to name a post-season rep and also play meaningful friendlies to meet the minimum number of matches required for playoffs. The Denver team finished runner-up at Aspen Ruggerfest before facing the Vipers in a 14-5 victory (Kemi Adewunmi scored both tries). The Vipers then followed with a 37-7 victory over Glendale’s developmental side. This weekend, Black Ice celebrates its 25th anniversary against the Boulder Babes.
So who’s missing? The Pacific South plays all of its league games in the New Year and its teams (Santa Monica, for example) won’t join the rankings until they play competitive matches, which could include tournaments like Scrum by the Sea. Additionally, Life West is playing in DII NorCal (there is no DI in that portion of the country) but will follow a DI post-season. We’ll include the Gladiatrix in the DI rankings once they start playing, too.
There are approximately 30 DI women’s clubs in the country, so the rankings likely will not grow beyond the Top 15.
2016-17 DI CLUB RANKING
Rank. Team (League Record). Results
1. Seattle (0-0). Defeated Burnaby Lake 37-10, Capilano 35-20
2. Chicago North Shore (3-0). Defeated Minn Valkyries 77-0, Chicago 38-7, Wisconsin 98-7
3. Raleigh (3-0). Defeated Pittsburgh 35-0, NOVA 36-15, Philly 41-19
4. Beantown (3-0). Defeated Providence 36-5, Albany 67-7, Burlington 80-0
5. NOVA (1-1). Defeated Philly 82-7, lost 36-15 to Raleigh
6. Austin (1-0). Defeated Dallas 87-0
7. Black Ice (1-0). Defeated Vipers 14-58. Vipers (0-1). Lost 14-5 to Black Ice, defeated Glendale Dev 37-7
9. Providence (2-1). Lost 36-5 to Beantown; defeated Burlington 81-7, Albany 27-1710. Detroit (2-0). Defeated Wisconsin 24-10, Chicago 60-26
11. Boston (2-0-1). Defeated Albany 17-5, Burlington 28-0; tied Albany 5-5
12. HARC (0-0). Defeated DII San Antonio 29-0 in friendly