Photo: Jackie Finlan
The penultimate update to the Women’s DII College Spring Ranking is an easy one in that it considers a total of four games, but the moves are still significant.
RELATED: Kennesaw State Named Spring Champ • DII All-Tournament Team • Women’s Rugby Results: April 21-23
Kennesaw State and Tulane retain the top-two spots among spring-based teams (remember that Davenport is the fall champion and included in this ranking since it will play the spring champion in the national final on May 6). The duo decided both the SIRC and spring championship finals in the closing minutes, with both titles going to Kennesaw State (read more).
We didn’t think there was room between the aforementioned and their quarterfinal opponents, but we were wrong. Kansas State and South Carolina dropped their Spring Round of 8 matches by two and three points, respectively, to Kennesaw State and Tulane, but then Grand Canyon beat that margin when it fell 22-20 to Tulane in the semifinals. The Arizona squad has had a tremendous season and is a leading candidate for collegiate team of the spring. The Antelopes ended the season with a 37-10 win over UC Irvine in the third-place match.
UC Irvine is a good team and sent players to the DII Spring Championship All-Tournament Team (read more), but swapped with Fresno State in the rankings. After comparing performances against common opponents Grand Canyon and Santa Clara, the Bulldogs had stronger showings.
There is one more game for the spring season: May 6 in Marietta, Ga.
