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Women’s DII Club Leagues Name Finalists

  • 03 Apr 2023
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WARRIORS RUGBY

The last USA Club Rugby women’s Division II update was March 28, and a few key games occurred last weekend that refine the playoff picture. Several leagues around the country are naming their champions on April 15, and they’ll advance to one of four Super Regional Championships – which occur every weekend between April 29-30 and May 20-21 – around the country. See TRB’s draft brackets for a visual. [Lead photo: Camp Pendleton Rugby @warriorswomensrugby_2020]

RELATED: Women’s Rugby Scores: March 30-April 2

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GULF COAST SUPER REGIONAL

The Carolinas held its DII semifinals on Saturday, and the higher seeds prevailed. Charleston topped Fear the Maniacs 60-5, while Eno River bettered Savannah 36-7. The final is April 15 in Gastonia, N.C. The champion will then make the trip to Orlando for super regionals on May 6-7.

Tampa Bay had already secured its berth to the Florida championship (April 15, Bradenton, Fla.) and capped the season with a 49-21 win against Fort Miami on Saturday. The Krewe will face Jacksonville in the state final, and the Sinners capped their regular season with a forfeit win against Orlando.

The Red River semifinal/championship weekend is April 22-23, two weeks prior to super regionals. The North pool knows its two post-season reps: #1 Dallas Harlequins, #2 Little Rock. Both are 5-1, but the Quins overtook the Arkansas team in the standings after beating the Dallas Reds Saturday. The San Antonio Riveters locked up the top South pool spot after shutting out Bay Area (2-3) Saturday. The team still has an April 8 league game against Houston Athletic (2-2), which dropped a 36-22 contest to Round Rock (1-5) last weekend.

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HARC and Bay Area could advance to the post-season and it might very well come down to the final game of the league season. HARC plays San Antonio this Saturday, and a loss would put all the pressure on the April 15 match against BARC, with the winner advancing.

The True South logged its final matrix game of the spring when Louisiana Lagniappe beat Nashville 41-36 on Saturday. The standings have been finalized, and now the April 15-16 championship weekend in Huntsville, Ala., is set. In the April 15 semifinals, #1 Knoxville will face #4 Chattanooga, and #2 Memphis will play #3 Lagniappe. The two victors will compete for the title on Sunday, and the champion will advance to Super Regionals three weeks later in Florida.

PACIFIC SUPER REGIONAL

Camp Pendleton finished its inaugural SoCal season undefeated, defeating Ventura 35-17 on Saturday. That sets up a Warriors vs. San Luis Obispo championship on April 22 at CSU Long Beach. When the teams met on March 4, the Warriors won 32-27, so a rematch is very much desired.

 


Southwest leader Las Vegas improved to 7-0 after a 53-21 win against Phoenix in Arizona. (Old Pueblo beat El Paso 69-5 but both are out of post-season contention.) The second seed is down to Albuquerque and Phoenix, and their April 15 match will likely determine who faces Las Vegas in the April 29 championship (which Rugby Xplorer shows as occurring at Westside Sports Complex in Tempe, Ariz.).

NorCal played another round of DII vs. DIII crossover friendlies, so nothing has changed in terms of standings, which name the champion. That said, we’re not convinced that the ladder is complete/accurate yet. It shows Berkeley as leading at 3-0, but does not factor in a loss to the Sacramento Amazons – which also show just one game played.

There were no league games in the Pacific Northwest last weekend, so no changes in the standings. Emerald City and Portland await their semifinal opponents, which will be finalized after the last round of regular-season games this Saturday, April 8. With that said, there is a healthy divide between the DI/DII hybrid teams and the DII-only teams, so the expectation is a Mudhens vs. Pigs championship on April 22 (West Linn, Ore.)

ATLANTIC SUPER REGIONAL

Eastern Pennsylvania (EPRU) now knows its finalists. Phoenixville kept its undefeated record intact with a 55-21 win against Northeast Philadelphia. Harrisburg booked its spot in the final after a 33-22 win against Doylestown, finishing 3-3 in the regular season. The duo meet in Lehigh Valley in two weeks, with the victor advancing to Richmond, Va., on April 29-30 for regionals.

 

 

The Capital final is also set. Inclement weather canceled Severn River’s final league match against Norfolk last weekend, but the Honey Badgers had already secured a final’s berth. James River (4-2) spent the weekend beating DII NOVA 46-7, and will also feature in the April 15 final. The title match occurs at Severn River’s home pitch.

No change in Empire and New England, as both leagues named champs in the fall. Empire champ New Haven ran out against DI Boston in really muddy conditions. It was a loss, as one would expect against a DI squad also building toward Super Regionals, but a good early-spring push for the Connecticut squad. New England champ Worcester is still idle.

NORTHERN SUPER REGIONAL

Denver Black Ice is representing the Rocky Mountain at super regionals and kicked off the spring with a 29-12 win against Boulder Babes. In Mid-America, finalist Kanas City Jazz only trailed Midwest powerhouse Palmer College 19-12 at the half before dropping a 47-12 contest at full-time. Fellow finalist St. Louis had an internal scrimmage and will play Lindenwood on April 15.

No change in the Midwest, as Milwaukee Scylla and Cincinnati Kelts secured berths in the fall.

 

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