The National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) is approaching the end of its regular season, which wraps on Nov. 5. All three divisions have the numbers for semifinals this year, and higher seeds will host those Nov. 12 playoff matches. National championship are Saturday, Nov. 12 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.
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Division 1 had a full weekend, and four teams look good for the semifinals should they stay the course. Read more.
D2 RUGBY
There are six Division 2 teams that are playing conference schedules (and another two in the provisional division). West Chester has played the most D2 teams so far, and is 2-1 after a 48-7 win against Lander University. Heather Spangler (3), Christelle Alce (2), Taylor Baldwin and Bayla Schindledecker scored tries on Saturday, while Sarah McNicholas (3C, P) and Olivia Eckard (2C) kicked for points.
The Bearcats have played a decent amount of rugby but its game against West Chester was the South Carolina team’s first regulation D2 conference match of the season. Lander plays D2 Queens on Saturday and finishes with a friendly against NCR DI Clemson. The Golden Rams travel to AIC (0-1) on Oct. 28 and then the postponed game against Davenport (1-0) has been rescheduled for Nov. 5.
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Davenport was active on the weekend and welcomed Navy to Grand Rapids, Mich., for a non-conference match. The Panthers won 44-5. Seven players scored tries: Ashley Cowdrey (2), Aubrey Crist, Jasmine Hernandez, Ellis McKay, Mariah Pruitt, Addy Ochoa and Lily O’Connor. Crist kicked two conversions as well. The Panthers have also defeated AIC and Notre Dame College in October.
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Queens Univ. of Charlotte (1-0) was doubly active on Saturday, taking two sides to CRAA DI Virginia Women’s Rugby (aka, UVA). Varsity won the friendly 43-12 and JV won 66-5. The Royals’ D2 conference win came against West Chester (20-0 on Oct. 1). Two more double-header weekends await: Lander and NCR DI Univ. Northern Iowa visit on Oct. 22, and then two teams head to Navy on Oct. 29.
AIC was been idle since Oct. 1 but has a mid-week friendly scheduled against D1 Army this Wednesday. The Yellow Jackets will then welcome West Chester on Oct. 28, the same night that the 2021 national championship team will be honored. Regular season ends with a Nov. 7 match New Haven (evidently the teams’ early-September game was not a league game).
So at the end of the regular season, only West Chester will have played all of the D2 teams that are playoff eligible: AIC, Davenport, Lander, New Haven and Queens.
D3 RUGBY
There are four teams in Division 3 that are playoff eligible: Bowdoin, Castleton, New England and Norwich.
New England (1-1) and Castleton (0-3) played a proper 15s game, and the Nor’easters won 55-0. Salma Bezzat led all scorers with 20 points on two tries and five conversions. Mackenzie Burke, Brianna Dargin (2), Allie Gilbert, Olivia Stewart, Delaney Hansen and Liz Cogan also scored tries. New England will wrap up the season against Norwich (1-1) on Oct. 29.
Bezzat on UNE Senior Day / Photo: Catherine Higgins for Univ. New England Athletics
Norwich beat Castleton 34-13 earlier in the season and played 7s against Colby-Sawyer College Saturday. The Cadets went 2-1 on the series, winning the first two 32-0 and 18-0, and dropping the third match 15-10. Assumpta Nandawula, Caitlin Burke, Shannon Hobbs and Ember Rousseau scored multiple tries on the day. Norwich will play Bowdoin and then New England the next two weekends.
Bowdoin (2-0) also filled its weekend with friendlies. The Polar Bears traveled to the Univ. New Haven Sunday and beat the D2 team 21-10 in a 40-minute match. Bowdoin then turned around and beat DI CRAA UCONN 35-10 in an 80-minute match.
Lauryn Eisenhart led in the way of points with 17 on a try and six conversions. While Kyra Bishop was visible on both sides of the ball, leading in the way of tackles and with two tries on the day. 2021 D3 national championship MVP Rebecca Vakarau scored two tries, as did Len Dodge. Kenya Mecias Quinonez added five points, and Chloë Sheahan kicked two conversions.
Bowdoin will close the regular season against Norwich this Saturday and then play its annual match against CRAA DII Fall Champion Vassar College on Oct. 29.
All of the D3 playoff-eligible teams will have played each other when the regular season ends. The top-two teams host their respective semifinals on Nov. 12, and odds are the New England vs. Norwich match will determine home-field advantage for their rematch in the semifinals.
PROVISIONAL LEAGUE
In the provisional division, D2 Newberry College hosted D3 Guilford in a pair of 7s matches and won both: 34-0 and 25-12. Taqwai Seburn lead with four tries on the day, while Anna Howell, Victoria Noel and Dasha Timms scored tries apiece. Ariana Hawkins accounted for 13 points on a try and four conversions. That’s a wrap on Newberry’s first season in NIRA. Guilford, however, has a series with Alderson Broaddus before the fall ends.