Two important DII spring college league games drew attention last weekend: West Coast’s Fresno State vs. UN Reno, and Gold Coast’s Long Beach State vs. UC Irvine. This weekend sees the Carolinas kick off the post-season with semifinals.
CAPITAL
Both George Washington and Catholic University were idle last weekend and won’t return to action until March 24 for a round robin and Nash Bash, respectively. The two teams contested the conference championship in the fall.
CAROLINAS
There were no league games last weekend, but several teams stayed active in Savannah. The conference semifinals occur at the higher seed this Saturday, as College of Charleston hosts Appalachian State, and UNC Charlotte hosts Coastal Carolinas. Read more. The final will be held on March 24, and both finalists will likely advance to USA Rugby playoffs (brackets have not been released). East Carolina and Life University are the two eastern host sites for the Spring Round of 16.
FLORIDA
Eckerd confirmed that it’s heading to the DII College Spring Round of 16, and coach Mike Geibel explained that the team is the best its ever had. Ally Gallagher was named MVP of the USA Rugby South team that won the Premier title at Savannah St. Patrick’s Day tournament last weekend.
GOLD COAST
Claremont (6-0) has clinched the top seed in this conference, and the number two spot zeroed in on Long Beach State (4-1) and UC Irvine (4-2), which played out Saturday. Long Beach State played catch-up into the second half, as Elona Williams (2) and Faith Thea Flores scored tries for Irvine. Tries from Stacey Garcia and Erika Morales kept the 49ers in striking distance, and then starting at minute 55, Long Beach State scored three-straight tries – two from Shamariana Wright and one from Dakota Tex. Teresa Fuentes Castilla kicked a conversion for the 27-15 win.
Long Beach State has one more league game against MiraCosta, which pushed UC Riverside in a 36-35 loss Saturday – but a win would lock up second place.
SOUTH INDEPENDENT
Tulane played at Savannah St. Patrick’s Day, shut out College of Charleston, and played DI Central Florida in a much-needed competitive match. UCF led 12-5 at the half before pulling away 41-5, but on-lookers, especially the referee, were very complimentary of DII Tulane’s showing.
The conference’s final four weekend occurs April 7-8 at Kennesaw State in Georgia and involves the host, Tulane, Georgia and Alabama. In all likelihood, the semifinal match-ups are Kennesaw State vs. Alabama, and Tulane vs. UGA.
WEST COAST
It took 20 minutes for the scoreboard fire up, and it was Fresno State inside center Jacklyn Blankenship who did the honors with a try. Megan Walls and Jenna Balestra added first-half tries to UN Reno’s score (Mallory Waldeck) for a 17-5 lead after 40 minutes.
Waldeck scored after the break, 17-10, but that was the last of the single-digit point differentials, as Moriah Halteman, Balestra, Raquel Macias and Blankenship scored in the second half for Fresno State. Regan Garner kicked four conversions on the day. UN Reno earned a bonus point with two more tries from Kalia Hurley and Waldeck, and Rachel Aldax added a conversion in the 45-22 decision to Fresno State.
The conference final is scheduled for Saturday, April 7 at Cal Maritime Academy, and it will feature the Fresno State vs. UN Reno rematch. In all likelihood, the West Coast will receive two spots at the DII College Spring Round of 16, so these two finalists will extend their post-seasons to April 21-22. BYU and Stanford are the west coast host sites.