It’s playoff time. /// Photo: Ralph Horne
USA Rugby has released the club championship brackets, and by Sunday the national quarterfinal match-ups will be known. There are a couple of corrections needed, however, to the brackets itself.
In the eastern portion, the Midwest winner will play Charlotte, which won the South last weekend, in the national quarterfinals. However, the Midwest shifted its final four match-ups this year. The semifinals are cross-divisional, so DII reigning champ Wisconsin will play Buffalo, and Milwaukee Scylla will face Cincinnati on Saturday.
Also in the east, the Northeast champion will play the Mid-Atlantic champion in the national quarterfinals, and both regions are holding final fours this weekend. A correction is needed for the MAC match-ups: League-leader Brandywine is playing York & Lancaster (#4 NOVA 2 dropped out) in one semifinal, while Harrisburg and Doylestown duel for a MAC final’s berth. In Albany, Northeast leader Burlington plays #4 Portland, and #2 Providence plays #3 Hartford on Saturday before determining the nationals-bound rep on Sunday.
In the western portion of the bracket, the Southern California champ will play the Pacific North champion in the national quarterfinals. Ventura travels to Tucson to duke out the SoCal seed (read how both teams advanced to the league final), while NorCal champ Life West meets Pacific Northwest champion Bend in Seattle for the berth to the national Round of 8. The Roughriders are coming off a sensational league championship in which they defeated the Emerald City Mudhens in the league final, and the Gladiatrix have yet to be challenged this year.
In the other half of the western bracket, the Red River runner-up will play the Frontier champion in the DII national quarterfinals, and both regions are hosting final fours this weekend. Red River will send its champion to the DI national quarterfinals and its runner-up to DII. But the league semifinals need swapping (from USA Rugby’s listing): Host Austin plays Little Rock on Saturday, while HARC takes on the Oklahoma Roses. The Frontier semifinalists head to Kansas City and will see #1 KC Jazz vs. #4 Kansas State and #2 Boulder vs. #3 St. Louis on day one.
The eastern teams will head to Pittsburgh May 21-22, while the western teams travel to Tucson for the national quarterfinals. Stay tuned for reports.
DII CLUB QUARTERFINALS
WESTERN BRACKET
SoCal: Ventura v Tucson
vs.
Pacific North: Life West (NorCal #1) v Bend (Pacific Northwest #1)
Red River
SF: HARC v Oklahoma Roses
SF: Austin v Little Rock
vs.
Frontier
SF: Kansas City v Kansas State
SF: Boulder v St. Louis
EASTERN BRACKET
Midwest
SF: Wisconsin v Buffalo
SF: Milwaukee Scylla v Cincinnati
vs.
South: Charlotte
Northeast
SF: Burlington v Portland
SF: Hartford v Providence
vs.
Mid-Atlantic
SF: Brandywine v York & Lancaster
SF: Harrisburg v Doylestown