Photo courtesy UCONN Women’s Rugby Facebook
The USA Rugby DI Fall College Championship playoffs will begin this weekend, and thus a final ranking will lend some insight into the teams vying for the fall title.
RELATED: USA Rugby DI Fall College Championship Bracket
The U.S. Air Force Academy has been the most consistent program this season and kept the Rocky Mountain competition at arm’s length. Regrettably, Air Force had its road games against the U.S. Military Academy and U.S. Naval Academy canceled this fall, and they would have lent some useful information for the rankings, not to mention valuable competition. Nevertheless, the Colorado Springs program knows about playoffs and should be considered the team to beat.
UCONN knows about playoffs, too, but the Huskies weren’t without their hiccups this fall. Northeast runner-up Northeastern won the teams’ regular-season game 24-22, but UCONN regrouped in time for the rematch in the conference final, winning it convincingly: 51-5. Stay tuned for interviews with co-head coaches Taylor Edinger and Gabby Benitez.
Navy remains at number three after a 41-19 win over Princeton last weekend. The Tigers are not eligible for the post-season this season – an administrative restriction imposed by the school, per president Kat Leung – but the New Jersey school lined up important DI opponents. Navy is of course in the same scenario, being an independent program, and its lopsided win over Davenport is what shot the Midshipmen to the top of the rankings.
With that said, fellow independent Davenport finished its regular season strongly. After taking three-straight losses to teams in higher divisions, the Panthers finished with four wins against Big Ten teams and NIRA’s Notre Dame College. The Michigan program has played the most games – nine – across the ranked field this fall and came the closest to DI Elite Penn State (24-17 loss) among DI teams.
Midwest champion Minnesota might be the best rested by the time the fall quarterfinals kick off Nov. 23 in Columbus, Mo. The Gophers secured the berth to regionals after a 43-5 win over Northern Iowa in mid-October, and advanced directly to the West Round of 8, along with Air Force and Indiana. There’s only one play-in match in the West: Texas A&M vs. Wyoming, while the East has three wild card matches Nov. 16.
The Redstorm moved up a spot after Utah State hosted Wyoming in the Rocky Mountain semifinals and lost by 12 points – a margin small enough to stay on the rankings but also worth of a drop to the bottom third of the list. Similarly, Wyoming’s move was tempered by the point differential against Air Force.
Indiana played two tough games to end the Big Ten season: a close 15-10 win over unranked Michigan and a 34-point loss to Penn State, which again, does not compete in DI playoffs but defers until the spring for DI Elite.
Texas A&M won the Texas conference after a competitive final four weekend. On Saturday, the Aggies went up 10-0 as flanker Rebecca Sechrist and scrumhalf Hannah Sullivan scored, and that lead held until minute 54. Lock Ellyn Mohr, prop Kayli Kean and wing Daniela River then scored for Angelo State, and No. 8 Amanda Steffins’ conversion provided a 17-15 lead (Sullivan’s second try broke up ASU’s run). The Aggies consolidated efforts for a final push and were rewarded with tries from Sechrist and wing Jennifer Reed in the final 10 minutes: 25-17 to A&M.
On the other side of the bracket, the University of Texas shut out previously ranked North Texas 41-0. Scrumhalf Analisa Ruiz scored three tries, while wing Juliette Soler, flanker Lucy Urdahl, prop Willa Scanlon and outside center Persephone Alicea added one apiece. Wing Julia Norwood kicked the three conversions.
In the final, the Aggies took a 25-0 lead on Texas as wing Mackenzie Nelson and No. Deborah Tate scored two tries apiece and Sechrist added a third. That scoreline held until minute 65 when Ruiz and Alicea went into the try zone within minutes of each other. Norwood’s two conversions made it a game but the final 10 minutes saw no more points scored: 25-14 the final. The Aggies will now host Wyoming in Saturday’s wild card match, and while Texas’ season is over, the team joins the rankings at No. 15.
Previously unranked Pittsburgh joined the list after winning the Allegheny berth. The conference is a DI/DII hybrid and produced single-digit decisions and upset wins in that top tier. The only misstep was a 29-26 loss to DII Youngstown State, a defeat that kept Kent State in contention (via standings) for a post-season berth until the final week of play.
Finally, Notre Dame might be the one team that could have shaken up the wild card round but a couple of early season, single-digit defeats put too much distance in the standings. Notre Dame ended its fall with a 66-5 win over Michigan, 71-7 win over Purdue and 16-point loss to Davenport. Remember: The Big Ten records do not include games against the Panthers or Ohio State, which aligned with Allegheny this fall during a rebuilding season.
This weekend is the officially kickoff of the USA Rugby DI College Fall Championship, as higher seeds host wild card (aka, quarterfinal play-ins) matches on Nov. 16. There are three play-ins in the East, and the winners will advance to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., the subsequent weekend. The West heads to Missouri. Learn more.
