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DI, DII Midwest Clubs Funnel Into Playoffs

  • 21 Oct 2024
  • 11604 Views
rugby playoffs

The Midwest Rugby Union now knows its women’s Division I and Division II playoff-bound teams. DII begins at the quarterfinal stage this Saturday, Oct. 26, while DI begins with semifinals, set for Nov. 2. All of the Midwest’s champions will be named on Nov. 9 at the Chicago Blaze facility in Lemont, Ill.

RELATED: Full Midwest Playoff Info Latest DII UpdateLatest DI Update

QUICK VIEW

MIDWEST DII QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, Oct. 26 @ higher seed
Wild Card, East, Central, West

South Buffalo (WC2) @ Buffalo (E1)
Cleveland (C2) @ Rochester (E2)
Twin Cities (W2) @ Palmer College (W1)
Wisconsin (WC1) @ Grand Rapids (C1)

MIDWEST DI SEMIFINALS
Saturday, Nov. 2 @ higher seed
Eastern Conference, Western Conference

Chicago Lions (W2) @ Columbus Squirrels (E1)
Pittsburgh Forge (E2) @ Metropolis Valkyries (W1)

 

DIVISION I

There are eight teams in DI — four in the Eastern Conference, four in the Western Conference. The Eastern league actually has one more league game between Columbus and Detroit this Saturday, but the outcome won’t impact the standings. The Squirrels are 5-0 and have enough competition points to withstand a loss and still advance as the top seed out of the region. Its closest games occurred against reigning DI Midwest champion Pittsburgh Forge (4-2): 38-25 win on the road, and then 47-36 win at home. Last year, Columbus had a very good year in advancing to the Midwest final , which for the first time ever featured two Eastern teams. The Forge held the edge last year and advanced to nationals.

Competition wise, a similar relationship exists the undefeated Metropolis Valkyries and 4-2 Chicago Lions. The Western Conference teams rely on each other for tough competition, and ended their regular seasons against each other last Saturday. The Valkyries won 44-26 and Shaena Sparrow was named Player of the Match.

So the No. 1 seeds will host the No. 2 seeds from the opposing conference. The Valks welcome the Forge to Minnesota on Nov. 2, and the Lions head to Ohio to face the Squirrels. Victors advance to the following Saturday’s championship.

DIVISION II

There are 19 teams in DII, and they’re divided into three leagues: Eastern (6), Central (6) and Western (7). The Oct. 26 Midwest quarterfinals involve the top-two teams from all three leagues, and then the two best 3rd-place teams from across the whole competition. Standings do the work. The East is sending three teams to the quarterfinals: Buffalo (5-0), Rochester (4-1) and wild card South Buffalo (3-2). Buffalo dropped from DI this season and played its closest game against Rochester (20-14) earlier in the fall. South Buffalo is the reigning DII Midwest champion.

 

Central gets two reps in 5-0 Grand Rapids, the 2023 Midwest runner-up, and 4-1 Cleveland. Unfortunately, the two teams didn’t play each other. The Iron Maidens were meant to travel to Rockford, Mich., on Oct. 12 for a Breast Cancer Rugby Roundup, a fundraising event that also featured women’s college and girls’ high school 15s games all at one location. These events are special for many reasons, but in the rugby context, they demonstrate the pathway from high school to senior club rugby and beyond.

In the Western league, Palmer College won its six regular-season games 463-27. The only team to score more than one try against the Dragons was Wisconsin (46-12), which ended the season 4-2 to nab the first Wild Card spot. Twin Cities Amazons finished second at 5-1, the definitive match being a 41-36 win against Wisconsin. The reward is debatable, as the Amazons will face Palmer College in the quarterfinals. Seeds were based on last year’s performances, with some consideration for regionality. Twin Cities and Palmer College come in with 6th and 3rd seeds, respectively:

#8 South Buffalo (WC2) @ #1 Buffalo (E1)
#5 Cleveland (C2) @ #4 Rochester (E2)
#6 Twin Cities (W2) @ #3 Palmer College (W1)
#7 Wisconsin (WC1) @ #2 Grand Rapids (C1)

 

Saturday, Nov. 2 will be the semifinal stage for both women’s DI and DII, again, with higher seeds hosting. And then the whole field, which includes four men’s divisions, I-IV, will contest finals and name champions. For the women, the DI champ will claim a berth to the national championship semifinal/final weekend, which occurs May 16-18 at a TBD location. The DII champ and runner-up (if the trend from the last few years continues) will advance to the Northern Super Regional Championship (aka, national Round 16/8) in the spring.

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