Last weekend was a big one in terms of senior women’s club league championships. The titleholders – with a couple of caveats – are heading to the USA Club Rugby Super Regional playoffs. See the DI bracket and DII bracket, both of which include links to the regional playoffs (or just toggle through the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet).
RELATED: Fixtures & Results: April 23-24
DIVISION I
The Chicago Lions and Metropolis Valkyries originally had their Midwest title match scheduled for November, but it was postponed until this past Saturday. All that anticipation was well worth the wait, as the two battled to a 24-17 decision, in the Lions’ favor (stay tuned for coach interview). The repeat Midwest champion now heads directly to the national championship semifinals and will play the Atlantic Super Regional champion (determined April 30-May 1).
The other national semifinal will be contested between the Pacific and West champs, both of which will be named on May 7. The West is between the Colorado Gray Wolves and Houston Athletic, and the duo just played its second regular-season match to determine higher seed and thus location of the West final. The Gray Wolves won 41-19, so the current plan is for a May 7 West final in Colorado.
The Southwest’s Tempe is the SoCal champ after a 39-15 win against Santa Monica last Saturday. The Ninjas qualify for the Pacific Super Regional (May 7-8 @ Morgan Hill, Calif.) but it appears that there is no other DI opponent in the region. Even though NorCal had been penciled in, since it ran a DI/DII hybrid league this year, there is no DI match on the Super Regional schedule: See here. If that is the case, then Tempe will advance directly to the national semifinals in Atlanta. See brackets.
DIVISION II
Red River held a proper semifinal/championship weekend in Austin. On day one, San Antonio beat the Austin Valkyries 73-5 and Little Rock topped Round Rock 76-5. On Sunday, the Riveters beat Little Rock 37-15 for the league title and berth to the Gulf Coast Super Regionals, also in Texas.
The Carolinas also sends a representative to Gulf Coast; however, it won’t be Charleston/Augusta, which won the title 34-7 over Fear the Maniacs. The Hurricanes declined the berth and Fear the Maniacs VP Holly Welch indicated that the board is polling members for availability and checking finances, and will discuss the likelihood of a trip to Texas this evening. In other words, TBD on the Carolinas rep at Super Regionals. [4.26 UPDATE: Fear the Maniacs have also declined the berth, so a replacement is needed. Perhaps Red River #2 Little Rock?]
The Pacific Super Regional (May 7-8 @ Morgan Hill, Calif.) seems to have taken shape. The Pacific Northwest had three teams playing league 15s this spring, and Portland beat Emerald City 18-13 in Saturday’s final. The Pigs’ May 7 opponent – SoCal champion Santa Barbara – had a similar situation this spring, where just San Fernando Valley was able to play 15s. The two played two regular-season games and Santa Barbara won both. SoCal held its championships last Saturday and the Mermaids played DI stand-in Belmont Shore for the run-around.
The Southwest held its first DII women’s club championship in Mesa, Ariz., and Old Pueblo rallied to beat Albuquerque 48-21 for the title (stay tuned for coach interview). NorCal contested its final round of regular-season games, and Berkeley finished its 7-2 season with a 51-17 win against East Palo Alto. Being a hybrid league, some teams are DI, others are DII, and the All Blues are competing in the DII regional playoffs.
Check out the DII national bracket and toggle through the tabs at bottom of spreadsheet for Super Regional visuals.