Washington State v Lindenwood in today’s Spring Round of 16 (Photo: Jackie Finlan)
The eight teams heading to Marietta, Ga., for the championships weekend on May 5-6 have been determined. Four of those teams will be competing toward the DI Elite National Championship, and the other four will be competing toward the DI Spring Championship. That’s two different semifinal groups, and two separate champions will be named.
RELATED: DI Elite / DI Spring Playoff Brackets • East Previews: Marietta and State College • West Previews: Palo Alto and Davis
BYU and UC Davis are the only two teams that know their final four bracket as of today (Saturday), because they contested the first two rounds of playoffs on Friday-Saturday, while the rest of the field is Saturday-Sunday. The Cougars defeated Chico State 67-14 in the Spring Round of 16, and the Aggies bested Arizona State 96-0.
During today’s spring quarterfinal, BYU held a 25-7 halftime lead over UC Davis, as BreAnn Duce, Nicole McCullough, Alisa Baker and Lindsey Sheriden scored tries (Jess Peterson added a penalty and conversion) for the Cougars. Rebecca Lehman converted Aggies wing Prai Harris’ try. The home side rallied in the third quarter (Sydnee Watanabe and Tonya Wessman tries) to close in at 25-19, but then three tries (Grace Taito, Rebekah Hebdon, Lora Gubler) from BYU in 10 minutes put the game out of reach, 44-19.
BYU now advances to the DI Elite National Championship and will play the winner of Penn State vs. Notre Dame College in the semifinals. UC Davis advances to the final four of the DI Spring Championship and will play the loser of Penn State vs. Notre Dame College.
The Nittany Lions topped James Madison 127-5 today in State College, Pa. Kayla Canett, Amanda Berta, Gianna Solomon, Rachel Ehrecke, Madison McCormick, Sophie Pyrz, Alexis Weisser, Kate Dent, Ellie Fromstein and Gabby Cantorna all scored tries.
Notre Dame College moved the ball around as well in its 57-5 win over Virginia Tech today. Alex Strasser, Jessica Fox, Danielle Walko Suia, Emilia Ferrara, Kayla Rudman, Marcaya Bailous, Cynthia Fuentes and Lea Walsh all dotted down. The Falcons will play the reigning DI Elite champion in tomorrow’s spring quarterfinals.
Life University and Central Florida advanced to the Spring Round of 8 after defeating UNC 137-5 and UVA 48-20, respectively. The Running Eagles saw Kaitlyn Broughton, Christina Swift, Alex Sedrick, Gracie Martinez, Whitney Wilson, Jocelyn Jones, Taylor Makowski, Ana Fanning, Darian Lovelace and Brittany Wilcox were among the try-scorers.
Even though UCF defeated UVA by 28 points, it was the closest Round of 16 match to evolve. The teams scored three tries apiece in the first half, as Jessica Warner (2) and Courtney Keuhl scored for UCF; and Caroline Schmelter, Hannah Kirk Nass and Joy Jefferson dotted down for UVA. Jackie Edge’s conversion gave UCF the 17-15 halftime lead.
UCF used the second half to grow that lead, sending Christina Norman, Warner (2) and Keuhl (2) across for more tries. Frankie Beller ended the day with a UVA try, 48-20.
The winner of Life vs. UCF this Sunday will play the winner of Lindenwood vs. Stanford in the DI Elite National Championship semifinals. The two losers of the aforementioned spring quarterfinals will advance to the DI Spring Championship final four.
Stanford defeated Arizona 68-15 in the teams’ regional playoff opener. There was a nice period in the second half when the teams traded tries for about 15 minutes, but overall, the Cardinal dominated. Outside center Madda Wilson had a first-half hat trick, and Kathryn Treder, Nicole Esdall, Dani McDonald, Lex Schoenberg, Olivia Bernadel-Huey and Ufu Ovienmhada all scored. Arizona saw Madison Hall, Sarah Chavez and Destiny Moreno dot down.
In the final Spring Round of 16 game, Lindenwood defeated Washington State 95-7. Props Isabel Manu and Tiana Aumua and fullback Caring de Freitas were among the highlights and all brought a different brand of physicality to the pitch. Manu was especially fun to watch, opening the second half with a breakaway try and beating backs to the try line. Dana Olsen, McKenzie Hawkins, Jennese Bacon, Annakaren Pedraza, Laura Enk, Teresa Bueso Gomez, Kendal McCracken and Imogen Davies also scored for Lindenwood, while Gaby Drllevich accounted for Washington State’s try.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s reports, which will detail both championships’ contenders.