Photos: Chelsea Ann Vondran
The DII Carolinas conference contests its semifinals this Saturday, with the higher seed hosting. The championship will be held March 24 in Charlotte, N.C., and it’s very likely that both finalists will advance to the USA Rugby DII College Spring Championship Round of 16 (April 21-22).
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College of Charleston (CoC) enters the post-season as the conference’s number one seed and hosts #4 Appalachian State on Saturday. On the other side of the bracket, UNC Charlotte hosts Coastal Carolinas.
“Coming off a very difficult last year, we all knew the talent on our team was not reflected in our record, and I believe the girls took it personally,” College of Charleston coach Kristin Graziano confessed. “Our goal going into the season was to win the Carolinas [and] that is still the goal.”
The squad is relatively young, but has been working hard under captains Paige Bramblett and Morgan Sweeney. President Rachel Dors is the “glue that holds them all together,” Graziano praised.
The team smartly scheduled several tournaments throughout its split season in anticipation of the forfeits that tend to befall this conference. A nice team game has evolved, one that doesn’t feature any superstars and relies on good chemistry. College of Charleston is not a physically big team, but leans on finesse, skill and pace to put points on the board.
“We made a decision as a team to get better every time we took the field, and this group has certainly done that,” Graziano surveyed the year thus far. “From the back line, who is experienced and working really well together; to the forwards, who are dominating continuity in every phase; to being linked by freshman and junior scrumhalves, we have extraordinary depth and versatility on the field and the sidelines.”
Graziano pointed toward Queens University of Charlotte as its best competition thus far. The loss provided some valuable insight into the team’s game, and CoC was hoping for some post-season redemption. Unfortunately the Royals had to withdraw from the season due to numbers and is now committed to 7s. Queens will leave DII Carolinas for DI Mason-Dixon next season.
The rest of the spring has been a mix of cancelations and tournaments, but significant results include a 93-5 win over UNC Charlotte on Feb. 10
“It’s nice to be the sleeper team coming into playoffs because there is no pressure to win but an awful lot of determination by some very motivated athletes,” Graziano looked ahead. “We will take it one match at a time, and see where that leads us. … I have no doubt the girls will meet their goal to win the Carolinas. That is my expectation.”
College of Charleston is no stranger to the post-season, and Graziano explained that the club team is more successful than any other varsity team at the school. The team last competed at the national Round of 16 in 2014 and entered the knockouts with an at-large berth and #16 ranking. CoC beat the #1 ranked school and then missed the semifinals by a kick.
“That was a very good team with many talented players,” Graziano reflected. “This team is better collectively that the 2014 squad. … We plan on sticking around for an extended season and look forward to some really great rugby in the coming weeks.”
The USA Rugby DII College Spring Championship begins April 21-22. Although the brackets have not been released, Carolinas traditionally receives at least two seeds to the Spring Round of 16. The conference could send teams to two playoff locations – Life University (Marietta, Ga.) and East Carolina (Greenville, N.C.) – and will likely face a mix of teams from the South Independent, Mid-America, Florida and Capital conferences.