The College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) contested the last of its women’s DI spring 15s conference playoffs this weekend, and now the regional championship brackets can be finalized. In fewer than two weeks, the spring quarterfinals and semifinals will take place at east and west coast locations, producing finalists for the May 6 title bout in Houston, Texas. The CRAA championship weekend will also feature the women’s DII 15s spring final, which will not finalize its quarterfinalists until April 16.
RELATED: CRAA DI Spring Championship Bracket
Eastern Regionals confirmed match-ups after the April 1 Blue Ridge final. Virginia Women’s Rugby (aka UVA) beat North Carolina State for the Blue Ridge title and will face Florida runner-up Univ. Florida on Saturday, April 22 in Gastonia, N.C. Florida champion Univ. Central Florida will face the Wolfpack in the spring quarterfinals, and the two victors will play Sunday for the berth to Texas.
For Western Regionals, BYU was probably the first team in the whole country to secure a post-season berth. The top Pacific Desert conference team gets an automatic bye to regionals, and BYU is undefeated, a record that includes several forfeit wins. Univ. Arizona marked the last league match for BYU, and the Cougars put 146 points between themselves and the visiting Wildcats.
The second Pacific Desert seed was decided Saturday night, when second-ranked Grand Canyon Univ. hosted #3 Arizona State. The Lopes put down 17 points in either half for the 34-0 win and will return to Palo Alto, Calif., for the Western Regionals on Friday-Saturday, April 21-22. A rematch awaits between Grand Canyon and Pacific Mountain champion Stanford. The two met in the 2022 spring quarterfinals and the Lopes won that game by two points.
Stanford fullback Sydney Hsu / Photo: Jackie Finlan
Palo Alto sees a lot of action this spring and this weekend hosted the Pacific Mountain Rugby Conference (PMRC) championships. It’s essentially a NorCal vs. Pacific Northwest showdown (and will be replicated at the U23 all-star level on Friday, April 28 at Starfire Stadium in Seattle). The weekend started with Stanford and Univ. Washington, and the host built a 24-5 halftime lead. The Cardinal did a really nice job of connecting after line-breaks (fullback Sydney Hsu was pretty devastating) and keeping the attack moving quickly. The Huskies did a nice job of hustling on defense and kicking for territory, but that pressure took its toll and penalties started to pile up inside their 22.
Stanford piled on three more tries in the first 15 minutes of the second half, 45-5. The final quarter was more even, as the Cardinal worked its bench and Washington kept pushing. The teams dotted down three tries apiece for a 64-22 final.
Cal and Western Washington followed, and the PMRC North champ opened with the game’s first try, when No. 8 Molly Cricchio scooped up a dropped pass in Cal’s end and quickly returned it to the Bears’ try line. Morgan Wyatt scored a near-identical try at the end of the first half. Western Washington was also very good in the ruck, stealing several breakdowns. But as the game evolved, the team had to play a lot of defense, and the feet stopped moving in favor of quick poaching attempts.
Cal vs. Western Washington / Photo: Jackie Finlan
Cal had a lot of weapons, from a dominating scrum, to hard-running forwards placed all around the pitch, to arguably the best center pairing at the tournament whose line-breaks set up many tries. Western Washington just didn’t have an answer for them.
The Bears took a 26-14 halftime lead, and then put down three-straight tries in the second half for a 43-14 lead. There were 15 minutes to play, and Western Washington made the most of them. Scrumhalf Sydney Copeland, a very dynamic player, scored after mounting pressure and penalties. Copeland then sent a box kick from WWU’s end down field and Marin Cohan tore away on the chase. The wing kicked the ball off the ground a couple of times and won the race to the try zone for the dot-down. Outside center Tamsen Henry – another difference-maker on both sides of the ball – lined up the kick a few meters off the sideline. It hit the post and bounced over for the most thrilling scoring combo of the day.
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WWU ended the game with a final try, but the game belonged to Cal: 43-31.
With the wins, Stanford and Cal secured berths to the Western Regional championships (April 21-22, Palo Alto), and Sunday’s final seeded the teams into that round. It was the third time these two teams met each other this spring, and Stanford kept its winning record intact with a 43-28 victory. Stanford will play Pacific Desert #2 Grand Canyon Univ. in the spring quarterfinals, while Cal will play BYU.
CRAA DI SPRING 15S CHAMPIONSHIP
Western Regionals
Palo Alto, Calif.
Friday, April 21
Cal vs. Grand Canyon
Stanford vs. BYU
Saturday, April 22
Consolation & Spring Semifinal
Eastern Regionals
Gastonia, N.C.
Saturday, April 22
UVA vs. Florida
Central Florida vs. NC State
Sunday, April 23
Consolation & Spring Semifinal
Spring Championship
Houston, Texas
Saturday, May 6