It’s coming down to the wire for the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) Division I women’s 15s championships. Playoff spots won’t be determined until the final outings of the regular season – this weekend – and then the Nov. 12 play-in round will fully populate. After that, it’s full throttle playoffs, with the national quarterfinals (Nov. 18) and semifinals (Nov. 20) – also known as “regional championships” – following in St. Louis, Mo., and Reading, Pa. And then the national championship final on Dec. 4 in Houston. [11.7 Editor’s Note: NCR brackets have since shifted. Read the latest for quarterfinal match-ups.]
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There are two DI play-ins on Nov. 12 – one each for the eastern and western regional championship brackets. The updates since the last post-season review last week …
Allegheny (2): Notre Dame College beat conference mate Kent State 64-0 on Saturday, and is heavily favored in this Saturday’s game against Pitt (which lost to Colgate 17-5 in a non-conference match Saturday). But the Allegheny champ isn’t the only team with a post-season pathway. The conference runner-up heads to the play-in round, and that team – likely Kent State – will head to Culpepper, Va., (site of the DII & Small College regionals) on Nov. 12 to face the South Atlantic champion, Clemson. Notre Dame College will head straight to Reading, Pa., for the quarterfinals/semifinals – again, so long as it wins Saturday’s game vs. Pitt.
Big 10 (3): Michigan locked up the top spot after defeating Indiana 32-0 last Saturday, and will head to the western regionals in St. Louis. The conference sends its runner-up to the eastern regionals, but the standings won’t be sorted until this Saturday’s final games. Iowa (4-1) plays Notre Dame (3-2), and Michigan (5-0) faces Michigan State (3-2). There’s potential there for three 4-2 teams in the standings, which brings all the drama to Saturday. The Big 10 also has a spot in the Nov. 12 play-in rounds and is slated to play Midwest #2 Iowa State. Winner slots into the western regionals.
Lone Star (1-ish): Southern Nazarene won the conference with a 26-12 victory over Texas A&M. The Oklahoma team heads to western regionals to face Univ. Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals. The Aggies will play an exhibition game at nationals against independent Boise State.
Midwest (2): Northern Iowa finished its undefeated season with an 82-22 win against Minnesota. The Panthers head to St. Louis for its Nov. 18 national quarterfinal against Southern Nazarene. Iowa State beat Wisconsin 76-7 to finish second, and heads to the Nov. 12 play-in round against Big 10 #3. Whoever wins this play-in game moves onto western regionals to face Michigan on Nov. 18.
South Atlantic (1): Clemson played an exhibition game against Lander on Saturday during SARC championship, and the South Carolina team must get through a Nov. 12 play-in game before booking a spot in eastern regionals. Clemson’s most likely opponent? Kent State.
Upstate New York (1): No new news here, as Colgate is the rep. It beat Pitt 17-5 last weekend in a non-conference match and will play Big 10 runner-up in the Nov. 18 quarterfinals in Reading, Pa.
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