Vipers during the LVI / Photo: Jackie Finlan
The majority of DI club competitions are wrapping up league play this weekend, and April 28 will see more teams secure berths to the national quarterfinals alongside Detroit. By May 6, all but the fourth seed in the eastern regionals will be decided, as the vacant South spot must be filled by a repechage match on May 12.
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ATLANTIC NORTH
GU crossover semifinals on April 28 @ higher seed; May 5 final
Teams have been playing competitively friendlies, and Boston and Monmouth have made good use of the Gold Cup. Boston in particular has faired well and ended its six-game series with 20-10 loss to Austin, and 22-15 win over Houston Athletic. Monmouth went 0-6. The Village Lions traveled to Philadelphia last weekend and dropped a 48-5 contest. Albany started April with a 46-19 win over DII Hartford and then defeated a Beantown squad 52-8 on Saturday.
MID-ATLANTIC
Final league game April 21; championship May 5-6 @ NOVA
Pittsburgh dropped from the league (and has now combined with the Pittsburgh Highlanders to form Pittsburgh Forge and will compete in the DII Midwest from fall 2018 onward), so those spring fixtures aren’t being played. NOVA and Raleigh went undefeated in the Gold Cup, while league-leader Philadelphia most notably defeated Beantown 34-12. All three teams head to NOVA for the league championship in May.
MIDWEST
The Competitive Region (CR) named its champion in the fall. Detroit went undefeated to win the berth to nationals and has been staying sharp during the Gold Cup. The team played two competitive matches against the Atlantic North and now look for its first wins of the tournament this weekend in Texas.
PACIFIC NORTH
Life West is the only DI team in NorCal and Pacific Northwest, since Seattle is no longer eligible for USA Rugby playoffs. The Gladiatrix won five games against the top tier of DII NorCal teams this spring.
PACIFIC SOUTH
This league, like Rocky Mountain, includes three teams, which bulk up their schedules against San Diego DI and the top tier of Pacific South DII teams. Tempe went undefeated and will thus host the April 28 final against Belmont Shore, which finished second.
RED RIVER
League matches continue until April 28; championship will be held May 5-6 @ Austin
Austin is hosting the final round of the Gold Cup, which brings Houston Athletic, Chicago and Detroit to its home pitch. The Valkyries are undefeated in league Houston Athletic are playing their fifth and sixth games of the Gold Cup this weekend, hosting the Midwest’s Chicago and Detroit
ROCKY MOUNTAIN
Black Ice banked a 27-26 win over the Glendale Merlins to add some drama to this small, but gripping league. The final league game is this weekend, when the Utah Vipers (2-1) host Glendale (2-1). On May 5, the #2 and #3 teams will contest a play-in match to the May 6 final against the #1 team.
SOUTH
There are no DI teams in the South, which would otherwise compete in the eastern portion of the national quarterfinals. At last mention, a repechage match between the Mid-Atlantic runner-up and either the Atlantic North or Midwest runner-up was scheduled for May 12. However, the Gold Cup has shown that the Mid-Atlantic deserves that second seed, considering NOVA and Raleigh are currently the second- and third-place teams in their league, and have both went 6-0 in the cross-CR Gold Cup.