BYU beat Chico State and UC Davis this weekend. BYU Photos: Jackie Finlan
Penn State and BYU, the 2016 DI Elite National Championship finalists, will play each other in this year’s semifinals on May 5. Penn State advanced to the national final four with playoff wins over James Madison and Notre Dame College, while BYU took down Chico State and UC Davis this past weekend.
RELATED: DI Preview: State College Pool • DI Preview: Davis Pool • DI Elite & DI Spring College Playoff Brackets
BYU was the first team to secure a spot in Marietta, Ga., after defeating Chico State 68-14 on Friday. While it was a good, physical win, the game was marked by handling errors – forced and forward passes – that needed tidying in advance of Saturday’s quarterfinal against UC Davis. The Aggies shut out Arizona State 96-0 on Friday to advance to the DI Spring Round of 8.
The Utah squad made some lineup changes – some tactical, like moving flyhalf Nicole McCullough back to her natural position at scrumhalf; and others due to injury, like introducing freshman wing BreAnn Duce to the starting line for the injured Alexa Tenney. Duce earned special praise from BYU coach Tom Waqa, as the youngster stepped up her performance and scored the first try of the spring quarterfinal.
BYU took a 25-7 halftime lead, as McCullough, Alisa Baker and Lindsay Sheridan all scored, and Jess Peterson added a conversion and penalty. Prai Harris finished off a breakaway in the try zone and Rebecca Lehman added the conversion.
In the second half, Davis changed its tactics, foregoing defensive rucks and working the no-offsides line to disrupt BYU’s offense. It worked, Sydnee Watanabe scored, and then Tonya Wessman followed with an intercept try, 25-19.
“We had to be smart with the ball,” Waqa addressed the team’s adjustments. “We attacked the sides [of the would-be ruck] and really kept it with our forwards to counter that tactic. Once we got moving forward, then Davis got more honest with their defensive line. That’s when we moved it out wide again.”
Waqa credited captain McCullough (above) in managing that adjustment, and the pack got a boost from some fresh legs. During the final quarter, Rebekah Hebdon, Grace Taito and Lora Gubler scored tries, while Peterson handled the extras, 44-19.
“Out of all the other games in the Round of 8, we probably played the best DI team in the nation in UC Davis,” Waqa said. “We had to work for that win, and we feel good about it. It was very stressful to coach, but fun to watch.”
Waqa noted that the UC Davis game was a good one in terms of setting a foundation for the next phase of playoffs. The team will focus on fitness in the subsequent weeks and prepare for the reigning DI Elite champion.
Penn State hosted its playoff pool and ended the weekend with wins over James Madison and Notre Dame College.
Penn State’s Kayla Chipman /// Photo: KJ Feury
“Both games were really good team games,” Penn State coach Kate Daley said. “While there were some individuals who put in really great individual efforts, the majority of our tries were team tries that went through a lot of sets of hands and multiple phases.”
During Penn State’s 127-5 Round of 16 win over James Madison, Daley worked the team’s depth onto the pitch and noted how less experienced players like freshman flanker Madison McCormick and first-season wing Emily Barton grew in confidence. The team then lined up against Notre Dame College, which had defeated Virginia Tech 57-5 on Saturday.
“They were very physical and definitely scrappy at the breakdown,” Daley said of the quarterfinal opponent. “We had to work hard on cleaning up the breakdown and creating fast ball for ourselves.”
Penn State’s Megan Lowe /// Photo: KJ Feury
But while the Falcons were athletically on par with the Nittany Lions, the Ohio team’s lack of game time this spring became influential in the outcome of the match. Captain Fran Schaeffer managed the game well from second row, while Gabby Cantorna made sound tactical decisions from flyhalf. Wing Corinne Heavner finished several attacking campaigns with tries and joined teammates like Meg Lowe, Kayla Canett, Tess Feury, Robyn Mertz and Cantorna in the Falcons’ try zone. Penn State triumphed 62-8.
Emilia Ferrara (penalty) and flanker Karmin Macedo (try) accounted for the Falcons’ points.
“I’m really proud of this group; they’ve come a long way over the last year,” Daley said. “We had some injuries in the fall and they really have come together as a team. We have a lot of seniors who weren’t necessarily the best players as juniors … and they’ve stepped up and made it their mission to fill the shoes of those who came before them.”
Stay tuned for reports from the two other DI Elite semifinalists, Life and Lindenwood, as well as the DI Spring semifinalists UC Davis, UCF, Notre Dame College and Stanford.