Old Pueblo repeated as Pacific South champion after a 38-17 win over Las Vegas.
The women’s DII club landscape is divided into two leagues: American and National. The American League includes the Pacific North (ACR1), Pacific South (ACR2), Frontier (ACR3) and Red River (ACR4) competitive regions (CR). Below is an update on where each American League competition stands and how playoffs are shaping up. Stay tuned for the National League update.
PACIFIC SOUTH (standings)
Remaining teams: Las Vegas, Old Pueblo, Pasadena, Ventura
Old Pueblo Lightning has ended the regular season atop the standings for the second year in a row, and now the competition moves into a two-weekend playoff scenario: 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 on April 22. The two victors will contest the final on April 29 at the Little Q in San Diego.
April 22 Semifinals
#1 Old Pueblo vs. #4 Ventura
#2 Pasadena vs. #3 Las Vegas
PACIFIC NORTH
• Pacific Northwest (standings)
The conference will hold its final four weekend on April 22-23 in Bend, Ore., and although there is one more weekend of regular-season play, the top four have been decided. Defending champion Bend finished second behind Emerald City, which still has a game against Eugene this weekend. Portland finished third on point differential, and ORSU will take the fourth sport – so long as it doesn’t lose by 150 points to Chuckanut Bay Saturday.
• NorCal (standings)
Technically, NorCal is designated a Division I competition, and the victor will move onto the DI regional championships. The runner-up will advance to the DII Pacific North championship against the Pacific Northwest champion, and the game will be contested May 6 in the Bay Area.
The five-team NorCal is scheduled to host its semifinals this weekend, with the championship following on April 22. Life West is favored for the DI seed and SFGG the DII seed given the spring results and the teams’ lack of forfeits.
FRONTIER (standings)
All of the DII teams are consolidated in the Mid-America competition, and the top-four teams will head to St. Louis, Mo., for the championship. There are still two weekends of play remaining, and they’ll determine which teams move on.
At present, there are three 4-1 teams – St. Louis (21 points), KC Jazz (20 points) and Wichita (20 points) – and another two eligible for semifinal berths: Boulder Babes (2-2, 11 points) and Kansas Bison (2-2, 10 points).
RED RIVER (standings)
*Updated*
The original version of this article erroneously referenced the Texas DII league that will culminate in a Texas championship but not participate in a larger Red River championship. Red River still has a hybrid DI/II set-up where the champion takes a DI seed and the runner-up takes a DII seed to the national quarterfinals. Texas Rugby Operations Manager Wendy Young explained that USA Rugby will not approve the winner/runner-up scenario going forward, and thus the competition will change next year.
The Red River championship will occur May 6-7 in Tulsa, Okla., and begin at the final four phase. The Texas DII championship will also be occurring at the same site/date (learn more).
Undefeated Austin is the leading candidate for the Red River title, and thus DI seed, while Dallas Harlequins and Houston Athletic have traded wins this split season.
The four American League CR champions will report to Tucson, Ariz., for the western portion of the DII National Championship quarterfinals and semifinals on May 20-21. The National League will report to Pittsburgh, Pa.; stay tuned for an update.