National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) released its first Women’s Small College Coaches Poll last week (below) and expect a reboot every Wednesday. It’s a good place to start in terms of knowing which teams are performing well and a launching point for understanding the rugby that’s happening across the member organization. The polls are also good confirmation for which teams are playing 15s, as that detail can sometimes be withheld in score reporting.
RELATED: Women’s Rugby Scores: Sept. 22-24
As mentioned in previous recaps, the NCR fall is the 15s championship season, and that’s where TRB’s focus lies. But there are *a lot* of teams playing in “festival” divisions that provide new/developing/regrouping teams a space to play 7s/10s or combine rosters. So, for example, Gannon Univ. isn’t the only Small College in Allegheny; there are another seven registered teams playing in a 7s circuit this fall. This space nationwide is important, but it’s also been growing, and there needs to be incentive to play 15s, the format that embraces a more diverse, and thus larger, player pool. But that’s a subject for another piece.
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ALLEGHENY (1)
Gannon Univ.
The Pennsylvania team opened with a massive shutout against DII IUP and then regrettably had its match against DI Pitt canceled last weekend. The team has a couple of out-of-state fixtures on the schedule and then will have face the Ohio Valley champ (last year it was Baldwin Wallace) in a Nov. 4 play-in match ahead of the national Round of 16.
COLONIAL COAST (5)
Endicott, Plymouth St, Univ Maine Farmington, Univ Mass Dartmouth, Salve Regina
This conference is home to the reigning NCR Small College 7s and 15s national champion, Endicott College (Beverly, Mass.). The Gulls had its opener postponed and then followed with a 56-0 win against UMass Dartmouth. Tess Merrill scored three tries. This Saturday, Endicott travels to Roger Williams for a highly anticipated friendly.
Salve Regina and Plymouth State are top choices for runner-up. The former tied DII Providence College 31-31 in a friendly, and the latter beat Keene State 29-7 (friendly) and UM Farmington 22-10. The conference championship is Oct. 28.
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EASTERN PENN (6)
East Stroudsburg, Loyola Univ of Maryland, Scranton, Shippensburg, Susquehanna, York College
Looks like teams are playing three conference matches before heading into Oct. 28 playoffs. East Stroudsburg and York took the top-two spots last year and both have beat Shippensburg so far. This weekend will see all six teams take the pitch.
GREAT LAKES (1)
Calvin College
Calvin has always been part of the DII schedule, since there are no other Small College options right now. It’s 0-3 in league so far, and although two are listed as forfeits, rugby was played. Calvin did participate in the Round of 16 last year.
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GREAT WATERS (4)
Univ Chicago, Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan, Univ Wisconsin Platteville
This conference intermixes its DII and Small Colleges for convenient scheduling, and then separates them for the Nov. 4-5 semifinals and finals. Northern Michigan is the team to beat and finished 3rd at 2022 nationals, and has already played the 2022 DII reigning champion and runner-up. Northstar beat Marquette 48-12 and then fell 30-7 to UW Eau Claire last Saturday. Univ. Chicago is the only Small College in South pool and will open its season against DePaul this Saturday.
MID-AMERICA (2)
Missouri S&T, Pittsburg State
This area has several 15s round robins schedule with teams like Drury Univ., Central Missouri and Missouri hosting, but all three are currently listed in the Festival Division. Massive props to Small Colleges’ Pittsburg State and Missouri S&T, who are having a go. The Kansas team participated in NCR 15s regionals last year and the latter played its first-ever 15s match on Sept. 16 against Central Missouri.
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NEW ENGLAND WIDE (1)
Eastern Connecticut State
New England Wide is new to NCR and thus didn’t have a Small College designation prior to this season. As such, ECSU has been scheduled into the DII competition and the same remains true in fall 2023. The team forfeited its match to Coast Guard last Saturday and is scheduled for UVM on Oct. 1.
NORTHERN LIGHTS (4)
Gustavus Adolphus, Macalaster, MSU Moorhead, St. Scholastica
St. Scholastica finished 4th in the nation last year but Gustavus Adolphus won the teams’ season opener last weekend. Moorhead lost a close game (37-29) to DII North Dakota State on Saturday as well.
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OHIO VALLEY (4)
Baldwin Wallace, Denison, Kenyon, Wooster
Kenyon was the first team on the board this fall, banking a 42-5 win against Wooster, and will play reigning champion Baldwin Wallace this Saturday. It’ll be the Yellow Jackets’ first 15s match of the season. Denison meanwhile played in a 7s tournament with Earlham, Oberlin and Ohio Wesleyan. The conference champion will play Allegheny’s Gannon Univ. for a spot in the NCR Round of 16 national playoffs.
PRAIRIE STATES (1)
Wayne State College
The Wildcats are back in Small College where they belong and are under the leadership of new head coach Bryn Chivers, formerly of Univ. South Dakota. Unsurprisingly, Wayne State College has played a pair of 15s matches against a combination USD/Prairie States team and won both.
RUGBY NORTHEAST (5)
Bentley, Bryant, Colby, Keene State, Middlebury
Colby’s the reigning conference champ and has played two Division II teams to ready for the season. The Maine team beat Univ. Maine Orono 84-17 and dropped a 15-7 contest to Roger Williams, an 2022 national semifinalist. Four of five teams are in motion this weekend, including Keene State, which is the lone team with a regular-season win so far (17-15 W vs. Bentley).
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SOUTH ATLANTIC (2)
The Citadel, Lee Univ.
Lee finished runner-up in the national 15s and 7s championships last year and then bid farewell to head coach Chris Martin. The Flames still look strong and beat DII Georgia Tech 31-27 and Citadel 58-0. When the teams see each other again on Oct. 28, it’ll be for the SARC title.
TRI-STATE (5)
Drew, Hofstra, Molloy, New Paltz, Siena
Tri-State is new to NCR, and all but Drew compete in the conference’s Central pool. Siena is looking strong early on, defeating Hofstra 31-10 and Rutgers 20-7 in a DII friendly. Drew pushed DII Fordham in a 24-19 loss as well, and SUNY Maritime, which is playing 10s, ran out against DII Fairfield’s Bs. Semifinals are Oct. 29, and final is Nov. 5 at higher seeds.
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UPSTATE NEW YORK (13)
North: Clarkson, Oswego, Plattsburgh; West: Brockport, Fredonia, Niagara, Rochester, St. Bonaventure; East: Cortland, Geneseo, Hamilton, Ithaca, Le Moyne
Easily the largest Small College conference in the country. SUNY Cortland is the reigning champion and already 3-0 with wins against Geneseo, Ithaca and Le Moyne. St. Bonaventure and Niagara are 3-0 in West pool, and they will meet on Oct. 14 for a Friday Night Lights match. Oswego and Plattsburgh are out in front in the North, and they, too, will face each other on Oct. 14. Conference playoffs begin Oct. 21 and finals are Oct. 28.
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