USA Rugby has concluded its play-in rounds of the DI and DII Fall College Championships and will now move into regional playoffs on Nov. 23-24 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Columbia, Mo.
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DIVISION I
There was just one wild card match in the western portion of the bracket. Rocky Mountain runner-up Wyoming traveled to College Station to play Texas champion Texas A&M and won 64-7. Read more from head coach John Pope. Wyoming will now face Midwest champion Minnesota in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Air Force and Indiana will face each other on the other side of the Columbia bracket.
The eastern portion of the bracket had three wild card games. Big 10 runner-up Michigan State traveled to Allegheny champion Pittsburgh, and after a 15-5 first half, the home side pulled away for a 55-19 win. UCONN awaits in the quarterfinals. Stay tuned for full interview with Pittsburgh head coach Olivia Redshaw. • The two other berths went to independent teams, as Davenport University beat Northern Iowan 89-26 at home, and U.S. Naval Academy topped Northeastern 46-0 in Annapolis. These two teams will meet in the quarterfinals in New York, and both have something to prove. The Panthers want recompense for a 38-point loss to the Midshipmen, and Navy wants to show that that prior victory wasn’t a fluke.
DIVISION II
The NORTHEAST held its four Round of 32 games, and SUNY Cortland was the first to book its spot in the Round of 16 next weekend. The Peace Frogs hosted Allegheny’s Youngstown State on Friday night and won 82-12. Stay tuned for an interview with co-captains Zoe Barrington and Julia Guercio.
Cortland will play Rugby Northeast champion Bryant University in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs beat the Mid-Atlantic’s Delaware 56-10 on Saturday. Stay tuned for an interview with Bryant head coach Rosie Harter.
Tri-State champ Vassar College defeated New England Wide’s Vermont 76-5.
“The Vassar Women showed real shape and poise in this playoff contest against the University of Vermont and over the 80 minutes 6 backs and 4 forwards scored tries,” Vassar head coach Tony Brown wrote. “Although a total of 14 tries were scored the game never felt like a rout. The UVM players constantly tackled and fought so Vassar had to build through multiple phases and breakdown the defense.”
Emma Manzella (4), Meg Martin (2), Alexa Mousley, Catherine Gladstone, Charlotte Benoit, Julia Busby, Yuming Ren, Molly Lynch, Caroline James and Mia Walsh dotted down tries, and Martin kicked three conversions.
Rugby Northeast runner-up Colby College defeated Upstate New York runner-up 38-12, and will now face Vassar in the quarterfinals. Emma Hofman (3), Allie Douma, Sarah Montembeau and Deirdre O’Flynn scored tries, while Helen Sears added the extras.
Photo: Carlisle Stockton of StocktonPhoto.com
The MIDWEST held two Round of 32 matches, as Illinois and the Colorado School of Mines received byes. Allegheny’s Indiana University of Pennsylvania hosted Ohio Valley runner-up Miami University of Ohio and won 57-10. The Scooters will play Mines on Saturday.
Cincinnati welcomed MARC’s Kutztown to Ohio and banked a 29-5 win.
“It was fun for our girls to play a team we hadn’t had played before and we really saw them play their game well against them. We can’t wait for the next round,” Cincinnati coach Craig Russell enthused.
Cincinnati will play Illinois in the Round of 16 this weekend.
The closest game by far occurred in the MID-ATLANTIC and occurred between two conference runners-up: New England Wide’s Hartford and Tri-State’s Marist. The Connecticut team won 21-19 and will take that momentum into a Round of 16 match against MARC champion Bloomsburg.
The Huskies beat Upstate New York’s Syracuse 38-12 on Saturday.
“Syracuse gave us exactly what we needed,” Bloomsburg Kevin Castner explained. “They had nothing to lose and everything to gain. It was a wake-up call for the team. Didn’t matter what the half score was [33-0], who we rested or played. Especially come playoff time, you can’t look past anyone, as Syracuse proved yesterday. They did not stop playing the entire 80 minutes and controlled play for most of the second half. It was a valuable lesson that will we take with us during the next round of play.”
On the other side of the pool, MARC’s Temple beat Rugby Northeast’s Roger Williams 37-14. The Owls will face New England Wide champ U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Saturday. The Bears grew its 17-3 halftime lead over Tri-State’s Fairfield to a 47-17 final.
There was just one Round of 32 game in the WEST, and Northern Lights’ Mankato beat Great Waters’ UW Eau Claire 39-5. The reward: a rematch against Northern Lights’ Winona State this Saturday. Stay tuned for follow-up with head coach Tyler Ranslow. Great Waters champ UW Oshkosh and Great Lakes champ Grand Valley State, both of which received byes along with Winona State, will face each other in the Round of 16.