CRAA DII Rugby Ranking – Week 3

Several College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) Division II conferences celebrated their season-openers last weekend, and the activity brought an addition to the rankings. This weekend, there are a couple of matches between ranked teams and that will bring more context to the list.

RELATED: Games & Scores: Sept. 23-25

Top-ranked Vassar College had its season opener delayed, as Columbia University had to forfeit its match due to administrative issues. The Brewers will take the pitch this weekend against Albany. Meanwhile in Tri-State, Fairfield University opened up league play with a 78-15 win against Marist College. Brigid Muller and Kieran McAllister were named MVPs on the day. Fairfield is scheduled for Columbia this Sunday.

 

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It was also opening weekend for the New England Wide conference, and the top-two ranked teams won their Tier 1 matches. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy bested New Hampshire 68-10, and Vermont defeated Maine 50-12. The latter was a close affair through the first half – 19-7 to UVM – and then the Vermonters pulled away in the fourth quarter. Lock Alta Godfrey led all point-scorers with 15 on a try and five conversions. Wing Emma Griffith and flyhalf Gabby Viale scored two tries apiece, and prop Sophia Tenuta, No. 8 Fiona Breier and fullback Annabelle Collins also dotted down. Coast Guard and UVM face each other this weekend for a highly anticipated match.

The Colorado Mesa State and Colorado School of Mines match this Sunday is equally intriguing. Both Rocky Mountain teams have defeated fellow DII Colorado College, and last weekend they both played DI crossovers (not reflected in league record). Mesa pushed DI Colorado in a 36-31 loss, while Mines took on Air Force’s B side to win 51-22.

In Rugby Northeast, UMass Lowell defeated Stonehill College 46-5 told hold steady at #9. The rankings were about to re-add Colby College after its 81-0 win against Bryant University, until TRB realized the school had swapped from CRAA to NCR this season. (Last year, Colby competed in the CRAA fall 15s season and playoffs). [Read more: College women’s rugby explained]

And finally, the Mid-Atlantic conference held its season-opening games. Kutztown held off Bloomsburg in 26-22 battle, and saw Gabbie Quigg (2), Emily Duff and Jenna Wilson all score tries. The bonus-point loss was enough to put the Huskies on the list at #10. Temple University was supposed to play its first matrix match against College of New Jersey, but the teams opted for a friendly scrimmage instead. Both teams had the numbers for 15s but not necessarily the experience, and through a rankings lens, the Owls dropped a couple of spots.