Scylla held off a late-surging Morrigans. /// Photo: Sabrina Marie Bukvich
The women’s DII club championship national playoff bracket will begin filling out this weekend, as several regions host finals this weekend and next. That means that this rankings will most likely need revision come Sunday, so expect a quick turnaround.
Milwaukee Scylla is still our top pick. The team has returned the vast majority of the squad that pushed 2016 national finalist Wisconsin in the Midwest championship. Scylla warmed up for Midwest playoffs with a friendly against now-DI Wisconsin and won 17-12, and then defeated County Will Morrigans 24-20 in Saturday’s regional semifinals. Consequently, the Morrigans have a favorable ranking after turning it on in the final quarter to score three tries and threaten the decision.
RELATED: 2017 Women’s Event Calendar • Women’s Rugby Results: April 21-23 • Women’s DI Club Rankings
The other side of the Midwest final four was equally thrilling, as Buffalo overcame a second-half deficit with two tries in the final 12 minutes for the 24-22 win over Cincinnati. Buffalo lost to Wisconsin by a big margin in last year’s Midwest semifinals, so we’re eager to see how the New York team fairs in the championship match against Scylla on May 6 in Lemont, Ill.
Harrisburg is the other team we’re considering for the top spot. The Pennsylvania leader has also returned the majority of the squad that fell 14 points behind Wisconsin in the 2016 national semifinals and benefits from DI crossover games during the regular season (all MAC teams play crossovers). Severn River enters this weekend’s MAC final four in second, falling to Harrisburg 41-17 and defeating #3 Brandywine 38-14 this spring.
Providence confirmed its top status in New England, defeating Worcester 29-10 in the GU final. The Kathy Flores-coached team has played DI friendlies to ready for the post-season and will host Brooklyn in the Atlantic North semifinals Saturday. Empire’s top DII seed, Morris, will host Worcester, and Saturday’s victors will fight for the national quarterfinal berth on May 6.
Also filtering into the eastern portion of the DII national quarterfinals will be the South champion, which now has four candidates. Reigning champion Charlotte beat Augusta 55-5 in Sunday’s Carolinas final, and Ft. Miami won the rubber match against Orlando 41-24 in the Florida title win. All three teams head to Souths. The True South hosted the most exciting GU championship as 2016 titleholder Nashville held off Memphis 29-28 in Saturday’s semifinal only to fall two points short of Knoxville in Sunday’s championship. The Minx head to Ormond Beach, Fla., next weekend for the South final four.
The western portion of the national championships draws even more attention. While Wisconsin played some closer games en route to last year’s final, eventual champion Life West did not. Now that the Gladiatrix are in DI, we can now have a better understanding of how teams/regions line up. That said, there is still a NorCal final with San Francisco Golden Gate this weekend to determine DI/DII seeds, but if Life West loses, it will be a tremendous upset.
Assuming SFGG finishes second to Life West in NorCal, it will take its place in the DII Pacific North championship, which affords a berth to the national quarterfinals. SFGG is a legitimately good team that has seen the tail-end of its season suffer from opponent forfeits. The team will host the May 6 CR championship against Pacific Northwest champion Emerald City. The Mudhens shut out ORSU in Saturday’s semifinal and then banked a redemptive win against Bend in the GU final. READ MORE. The Washington squad gets the nod for now, having already improved on last year’s finish and also benefitting from a natural build into the post-season.
Ventura gave Life West its best competition last year, but bowed out at the CR semifinals Saturday – barely. The SoCal side traveled to O.P. Lightning in Tucson and with the exception of 10 minutes in the second half, held the lead throughout. With two minutes left in the match, the Outlaws led 22-20 but coughed up a penalty in Lightning flyhalf Alex Rath’s range. The kick fell over and O.P. held on for the 23-22 win and berth to CR final against Pasadena, which defeated Las Vegas 27-7 on Saturday. Pasadena actually won its league match over Ventura in similar fashion, scoring a closing-minutes try to win 22-20.
Kansas City Jazz represented the Frontier last year but other teams have stepped into the spotlight this spring. The team dropped league games to Kansas Bison (26-22) and Wichita (43-24), but advances to the final four this weekend for a rematch against the Bison. All three teams finished 4-2, while leader St. Louis has posted more convincing results (49-29 W vs. Boulder, 49-15 W vs. Kansas Bison) this spring. The Sabres play Wichita Saturday and the two semifinal victors will contest the nationals’ berth on Sunday.
Finally, Red River will sort out its DI and DII nationals’ reps this weekend with a final four. Austin is heavily favored for the DI seed, and HARC the repeat DII nod. The Houston team did lose to Dallas Harlequins on the road, but HARC has posted more convincing numbers throughout the season. The two will face each other on Saturday, and the winner will move into the CR championship most likely against Austin.
