Photo: KJ Feury
The final DI College Spring Ranking reflects the two championships’ results, which were produced Friday-Saturday, May 5-6 in Marietta, Ga. Remember that BOTH DI Elite and DI Spring teams are included in this ranking because they began the post-season together before separating at the semifinal stage.
RELATED: Penn State, Lindenwood: DI Elite Finalists • DI Elite & DI Spring Playoff Brackets • Women’s Rugby Results: May 5-7
Penn State repeated as DI Elite national champion after first defeating BYU 40-7 in the semifinals and then Lindenwood 28-25 in the final. During the trophy match, Penn State held what seemed like a healthy 25-6 lead at minute 55. But then Lindenwood really started connecting on offense, getting line-breaks more consistently and connecting along the sideline for tries. With three minutes on the clock, the teams were tied 25-25.
A few Lindenwood errors in the final minutes – knock-on inside its 22 meter, scrum penalty – allowed Penn State’s Gabby Cantorna to kick the winning points. Back-to-back penalties and a yellow card gave Lindenwood an opportunity to change the scoreline, but a knock-on and push into touch ended the game.
Life, which lost 19-3 to Lindenwood in the semifinals, and BYU played an equally entertaining match for third place. The teams traded the lead throughout the match, and with minutes on the clock, the Running Eagles held a 36-34 edge. In minute 79, BYU fullback Jessica Peterson hit a dropgoal, 37-36, and there the score held.
The DI Spring championship was also decided in the waning minutes! The ever-shifty Danielle Walko Suia scored beneath the posts for Notre Dame College and a quick conversion brought the score to 20-19 to UC Davis. With a minute to play, the Aggies made it as tough as possible for the Falcons to rally for one more score, sending the restart deep and then turning the ball over. Sydnee Watanabe’s dive-over was held up, but then wing Prai Harris capped off fast hands with a corner try, which Rebecca Lehman converted from the sideline, 29-17.
Both finalists overcame tough semifinal opponents. The Notre Dame College vs. Stanford match necessitated overtime (two 10-minute periods), and the Ohio squad scored two tries in the final five minutes. Davis trailed Central Florida by 12 points at the half before putting down four unanswered tries in the second stanza, 36-24 the final. In the third place match, UCF had more in the tank and put Stanford away with three converted tries in the final 15 minutes – 45-19 the final.
That’s a wrap for collegiate 15s rankings. A final DII spring ranking will follow but teams won’t move, as Davenport repeated as DII national champion and will retain its #1 spot. The rankings will resume in fall 2017, when those colleges vying for DI and DII fall championships resume play. Spring rankings will return in January 2018.
