Stanford and Central Washington were the clear leaders during last weekend’s Pacific Mountain Rugby Conference playoffs. On Saturday, the pair combined for 199 unanswered points, but Sunday competition brought more resistance. The Cardinal fielded a younger team against Washington State and won 41-22, while the Wildcats subdued a good UC Davis 57-10. Although the undefeateds didn’t play a championship match, one can foresee a healthy West Coast rivalry developing into the future.

In the semifinals, Stanford started nine underclassmen who handled Washington State’s physicality well. That said, the team couldn’t convert on its possession until 11 minutes in, when wing Chelsea Harris scored the first of her two tries. Outside center Madda Wilson and scrumhalf Esther Melton followed with five-pointers, and with flyhalf Nikki Richardson’s conversion, Stanford led 17-0 after 18 minutes.

Washington State got on the board with a penalty try, which was awarded when Stanford interfered with the grounding of the ball in try zone. Stanford lock Julia Howell reinstated the point differential with a try, and the hosts led 22-7 at the break.

The third quarter saw Stanford run in three more tries, with Harris, Richardson and wing Dani McDonald dotting down. Washington State used its kick-and-chase to score in the corner, and when Stanford began to fall off in the final 15 minutes, the Cougars scored twice more. It was a strong finish for WSU, but not enough to overcome the Cardinal.

In the other semifinal, the drama was saved for the opening minutes. UC Davis made its intentions clear with a game-opening try, which snapped Central Washington into action. Carrie Vaillancourt, Heather Johnson, Cassidy Meyers, Fina Toetu’u and Angela Ve’evalu all scored. The Aggies dotted down one more before the break and trailed 31-10.

"We knew UC Davis would be a physical battle so we came out and set the tone early," Central Washington coach Mel Denham told CWU Athletics. "We had some penalties against us early on, but we were able to make adjustments, and once we got into the game we were able to gain some momentum and play our game."

Central tacked on four tries from wing Ashley Rolsma, Meyers and two more from Ve’evalu. Fullback Katerina Long also added six conversions in the 57-10 win.

It’s expected that teams will be informed of their Round of 16 travel plans today.

Pacific Mountain Conference Playoffs
Saturday, March 28
Game 1 – Chico State-West #4 0-101 Central Washington-North #1
Game 2 – UC Davis-West #2 45-15 UC San Diego- South #1
Game 3 – Stanford-West #1 98-0 UC Santa Barbara-South #2
Game 4 – Cal-West #3 20-37 Washington State-North #2

Sunday, March 29
Game 5 – Chico State 14-24 UC San Diego
Game 6 – UC Santa Barbara 3-62 Cal
Game 7 – Central Washington 57-10 UC Davis
Game 8 – Stanford 41-22 Washington State