If Bloomsburg 7s is approved for AQ status, then Navy has a spot in Colorado. /// Photo courtesy Navy Women’s Rugby
The collegiate spring 15s season is poised for regional playoffs, and they coincide with the national 7s qualifiers (with one exception: November’s Stanford 7s). Three potential berths were awarded last weekend, and there are more teams considering at-large applications to the May 19-21 championship in Glendale, Colo.
The adjective “potential” is used because the application deadline for tournaments to serve as automatic qualifiers (i.e., the champion advances directly to the national championship) is Friday, April 7. At the time of print, USA Rugby’s College 7s Championship site listed 10 women’s tournaments that have applied for automatic qualifier (AQ) status, and USA Rugby Collegiate Director Rich Cortez indicated that events will be reviewed after the application deadline. Here’s a summary of the AQ criteria.
The Bloomsburg 7s hosted 10 squads, and three Division I schools were present (one AQ criteria). Navy, which now lists Dan Burr as head coach, brought two sides, and its first team took home the trophy. The Midshipmen defeated Stony Brook 26-0, Millersville 26-7, Temple 27-0 and Bloomsburg’s second team during pool play. The host also went undefeated during pool play but fell 25-12 to Navy in the final.
Bloomsburg finished runner-up to Davenport in last year’s DII College 7s Championship, so it would be no surprise if the Huskies applied for an at-large bid. The program recently celebrated its first alumna – Nikki Snyder – earning a USA Women’s 7s cap at the Las Vegas 7s.
The Rugby Northeast held its conference 7s championship – an event that requires a minimum of five teams to qualify for AQ status – and got great participation from the league. Stonehill College went 5-5 for the title and topped a field that included Merrimack, Bentley, Holy Cross, Roger Williams, Providence College, Bryant, Southern Connecticut, UMass Lowell, St. Michael’s College, Saint Anselm and Franklin Pierce.
Finally, Michigan hosted the Wolverine 7s on Saturday, and spent the pool rounds defeating Davenport 19-14, Indiana 33-5 and Michigan State 45-0, and then earned a final’s berth after a 31-0 semifinal victory over Ohio State. Meanwhile, Davenport – the only DII team competing in the tournament – followed its opening-round loss with two shutouts: 38-0 vs. Michigan State and 52-0 vs. Indiana. The Panthers then edged a very good Notre Dame 19-12 in the semifinals.
In the championship match, host Michigan defeated Davenport 19-12 and confirmed that it will be looking for a national’s bid. Davenport would make a good addition as well.
As an aside: Kudos to the Wolverine 7s tournament staff for maintaining a simple, straightforward document for live scores – a rarity and yet so valuable. See the scores here.
Buffalo State, mud and all
The aforementioned tournaments are awaiting their qualifier status, but there are also teams considering at-large berths after last weekend’s results. Buffalo State, for example, won the Upstate New York conference championship, which hosted six teams, and is looking at financials in advance of submitting an at-large application.
And then there are teams like DI University of Iowa, which experienced more success than expected this spring and is trying to find a means to qualify. Iowa coach Jim Estes explained that there is nothing formal in the DI Midwest for 7s, and the team has only had contact with 15s conference mates Northern Iowa and Iowa State. Simpson College and Wayne State College have provided the best competition in the region but they’re NSCRO aligned.
Once USA Rugby confirms which events will serve as automatic qualifiers, we’ll start to have a better idea of which squads will fill the 12-team women’s open championship.
Visit USACollege7s.com for more info.