There’s been one big move since the last USA Club Rugby Women’s Division I Ranking on Jan. 15, and it involves the reigning national champion. There isn’t going to be much action outside of the SoCal/Southwest until March, so these updates will continue on a bi-weekly basis until then and feature in front of the subscription wall.

Need more context? Review the Dec. 18 intro piece

San Diego beat Pasadena 75-10 to marks its third-straight victory in DI SoCal/Southwest. Of the 11 tries scored, flanker Kaylee Westmoreland converted 10 of them, and also added a try.

On Feb. 10, the Surfers will face Belmont Shore — which has picked up stellar players in Sophie Pyrz and Sam Brackett, and also just beat Santa Monica 29-12 — to complete the first half of its home-and-away calendar. Additionally the Feb. 17 rematch between San Diego and Tempe in Arizona is on the watch list, as the Ninjas have played the Surfers the closest so far this year.

Outside of the southwest corner of the country, Seattle has restarted play against its Canadian opposition. The UBC Thunderbirds traveled to Washington for a 22-15 win in the BC Premier/DI. Seattle is the only team with two records in the rankings – with 3-0 reflecting its Pacific Northwest outcomes and the second set reflecting its Canadian games. Why are we showing both records when it’s the DI/DII team, and not the Premier team, that will feature in USA Rugby playoffs? Because players will inevitably get time on both sides, so it’s worth a note.

With all of that said, the expectation is that San Diego eventually sits atop the DI rankings, provided its compelling record stays intact. The Surfers are the reigning national champion and have returned many of the important pieces that drove that title run. So far, the team has not rostered 2023 notables like Tia Blythe, Teigan MacDonald and championship MVP Julia Buescher, who is currently coaching La Costa Canyon in its SoCal high school 7s season.

POST-SEASON

No new updates, per se, just a review of what is known:

• Northern Region: Midwest champion Pittsburgh Forge booked its spot in the national semifinals already.
• Pacific Region: The SoCal/Southwest and Pacific Northwest champs will meet in Las Vegas again for their Super Regional match (aka, national semifinal play-in) the first weekend in May.
• Atlantic Region: The DI teams in the eastern portion of the country will keep their post-season setup intact, where the No. 1 seeds in New England and East South (formerly, Mid-Atlantic) will host the second seeds from the opposing competition on April 20. The two semifinal victors will then join the rest of the Atlantic Super Regional finalists on May 4 at a to-be-named location in the EPRU.
• Gulf Coast Region: The fourth semifinal spot goes to the Texas / Rocky Mountain area, but how this representative is named is still unknown. The teams in these two regions used to play each other, but they have since separated out and are building their own schedules.

UNRANKED (18)

• Tempe (SoCal/Southwest) – 29-0 L v San Diego, 94-5 W v Pasadena, 24-19 W v Belmont Shore
• Belmont Shore (SoCal/Southwest) – 22-5 W v Pasadena, 24-19 L v Tempe, 29-12 W v Santa Monica
• Santa Monica (SoCal/Southwest) – 59-5 L v San Diego, 24-10 W v Pasadena, 29-12 L v Belmont Shore
• Pasadena (SoCal/Southwest) – 22-5 L v Belmont Shore, 94-5 L v Tempe, 75-10 L v San Diego
• Houston Athletic (Texas) – First game: March 2 vs. Raleigh
• Austin Valkyries (Texas) – 0-2. 38-0 L (friendly) v Dallas Harlequins
• ORSU (Pacific Northwest) – 1-1. Idle
• Raleigh (East Coast South) – 2-3. Idle. Next game: March 16 vs. Atlanta
• D.C. Furies (East Coast South) – 2-4. Idle. Next game: March 23 vs. Raleigh
• Atlanta Harlequins (East Coast South) – 0-6. Four forfeits & losses to D.C. & NOVA
• Denver Black Ice (Rocky Mountain) – 1-1. Next game: non-league vs. Austin Valkyries for March 16.
• CO Gray Wolves (Rocky Mountain) – 0-2. Idle. Next league games: April 13 v Denver Black Ice, April 20 v Utah Vipers
• Providence (New England) – Idle.
• Detroit (Midwest) – 5-3. 3rd in the Eastern Conference. Season over
• Milwaukee Scylla (Midwest) – 2-4 in the Western Conference. Season over
• Buffalo (Midwest) – 1-7 in the Eastern Conference. Season over
• Cincinnati Kelts (Midwest) – 1-7 in Eastern Conference. Season over
• Chicago (Midwest) – 0-6 in the Western Conference. Season over