The past 30 days has really seen the USA Club Rugby Women’s Division II open up, and by mid-March, everyone — aside from those who have already qualified for Super Regional Championships (SRCs) — will be playing league games. The first of the SRCs occurs the last weekend in April, so expect league champions to be named by April 12-13.
RELATED: Jan 15 DII Club Update • SRC Details x 4
The DI/DII NORCAL season (standings) held its season openers last weekend, putting six of seven teams into motion. Fresno celebrated a round-one win, putting up nine tries and 53 points against East Palo Alto. Scrumhalf Bea Weier scored three tries, with two of those scores following from an offload from twin sister Anna, and fellow halfback Lilian Dinis scored two tries and kicked three conversions in the #10 jersey. Vice captain Chetna Kumar-Naicker (2T) and fellow center Rynessa Loewen (T, C) also scored, as did fullback Sophia Hammond (T). • DI Life West beat DII San Jose 70-12 (read the DI recap for more info). • The Berkeley vs. Chico match was officially ruled a forfeit win to the All Blues, but 60 minutes of a 15s game was played. At that point, Berkeley led 83-0. The champion will participate in the Pacific SRC (April 26-27, Las Vegas).
SOCAL (standings) is plowing through its season and the West Coast Marines currently lead the standings at 5-0. Notably, the first-year team has beaten Pasadena, a former DI team that beat 2024 DII SoCal champ Los Angeles Rugby Club (LARC) 31-14. Looking forward to the Marines vs. LARC match on SoCal Women’s Day.
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LARC and Pasadena are both 4-1 and good candidates for the post-season, which begins with April 5 semifinals between the top-four teams. Last Saturday, LARC beat San Fernando (2-2) 43-5 and six players scored the seven tries: Whitney Smith, Francesca Kovach, Tracy Smith, Danielle Heinz, Xiuhnel Zein and Jenelle King (2). Inside center Devyn Yuhaski kicked four conversions. The Royals edged San Luis Obispo (3-1-1) 27-26. No. 8 Erika Matczenko scored two of the team’s five tries, and flyhalf Kira Nolan accounted for seven points on a try and conversion. • Empire (0-5-1) and Santa Barbara (1-5) also played a barnburner last Saturday, and the Mermaids took the 29-27 win. The Monarchs pick up two bonus points for 4+ tries and a fewer-than-seven-point loss. Playoffs are April 5 (semifinals) and April 12 (final), and the victor advances to the Pacific SRC in Vegas (April 26-27).
The PACIFIC NORTHWEST (standings) was meant to restart last Saturday and a game was played in Portland, but it was officially recorded as a forfeit win to the Pigs. It was a three-half affair, with Portland playing Tacoma in the first segment, then Eugene + Salem in the subsequent two periods.
This weekend sees the league launch full force, and Portland vs. Emerald City is the one to watch. Also looking forward to Seattle vs. Portland on March 22. There’s a DII playoff on April 5 but no details yet. Champ advances to the Pacific SRC (April 26-27, Las Vegas).
SOUTHWEST has been full-on since turn of the year, and Las Vegas tops the standings. Phoenix has proven the toughest competition, pushing Las Vegas to 17-7 and 17-0 decisions. Vegas has also topped Old Pueblo 72-0 and Albuquerque 62-10. The return fixture against the Atomic Sisters in New Mexico occurs on March 15. The champion will be named two weeks prior to the Pacific SRC (April 26-27, Las Vegas).
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The league doesn’t use Xplorer fully, but these are the results we have so far:
Las Vegas 17-7 Phoenix
Las Vegas 17-0 Phoenix
Las Vegas 62-10 Albuquerque
Las Vegas 72-0 Old Pueblo
Phoenix 21-10 Old Pueblo
Phoenix 28-10 Albuquerque
Albuquerque 80-17 El Paso
Albuquerque 20-12 Old Pueblo
On the other side of the country, the leagues that funnel into the Gulf Coast SRC (May 3-4, New Orleans) are all active. In the CAROLINAS (standings), both Charlotte and the Atlanta 2.0 Selects have secured home-field advantage in their respective March 29 semifinals. When they met on Jan. 25 for a cross-pool match, they sent the league atwitter with a 14-14 draw.
Their semifinal opponents will be determined during the final two rounds of matrix matches on March 1 and March 15. The Carolinas final is April 12 in Columbia, S.C.
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In the East pool, Fear the Maniacs (4-2) and Charleston (3-2) are both in the running for that second pool seed to playoffs. The former plays Charlotte this Saturday, while the latter needs to focus on beating Columbia and Savannah. Similarly, the West #2 seed is also up for grabs, with Savannah and Columbia currently occupying the second and third places in the standings at 2-3.
FLORIDA is also abuzz (standings). Fort Miami is 3-0 so far and beat 2024 national champion Tampa Bay 40-12 on Feb. 16. Six players scored six tries, and Morgan Freeman converted five of them. Inside center Morgan Brown was named MVP; outside center Morgan Walker earned the “Heavy Hitter” award; Vanessa Plasencia had Rookie of the Match energy; Liz Najjar earned Back MVP; and flanker Stephanie Nevadunsky was named Forward MVP. Both teams sent multiple players to the Can-Am Classic, which the USA South won 35-27 in Charlotte last Saturday. (Read the preview)
The back half of the regular season is contained to March, and then the top-two teams will compete in the April 12 final. Champ goes to New Orleans for super regionals.
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Little Rock is the team to beat in RED RIVER (standings) and is coming off a 29-14 road win against San Antonio. Outside center Laura Edmondson and flanker/captain Adrienne Yoder scored two tries apiece, and flyhalf/vice captain Zenobia Bowman dotted down the fifth. Wing Isabella Kell and inside center Abby Vestal split the conversions. Top-two teams head to the April 12 finale with victor moving onto Gulf Coast Super Regionals.
IDLE
CAPITAL: Resumes March 15. Championship is April 12 and winner advances to Atlantic SRC (May 3-4, Newport, R.I.).
EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA: Resumes March 15. Championship is April 12 and winner advances to Atlantic SRC (May 3-4, Newport, R.I.).
EMPIRE: Champion: New Haven. Heading to Atlantic SRC (May 3-4, Newport, R.I.).
MID-AMERICA: Resumes with league games on March 8, when the Patriots play the KC Jazz. All four teams will advance to the league championships on April 12 (semifinals) and April 13 (finals) in Columbia, Mo. Champ heads to Northern SRC (May 3-4 in Springfield, Mo.).
MIDWEST: Champion: Grand Rapids, Runner-up: Rochester. Both are heading to Northern SRC (May 3-4 in Springfield, Mo.).
NEW ENGLAND: Champion: Worcester. Heading to Atlantic SRC (May 3-4, Newport, R.I.).
ROCKY MOUNTAIN – Resumes March 8 with Boulder vs. Salt City Slugs. Champ heads to Northern SRC (May 3-4 in Springfield, Mo.).
TRUE SOUTH – Resumes March 1 with Birmingham vs. Memphis, and Nashville vs. Chattanooga. Championships are April 5-6 and the winner advances to the Gulf Coast SRC (May 3-4, New Orleans).
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