Eight members of the National Collegiate Women’s Varsity Rugby Association (NCWVRA) will initiate the record books, competing in the first-ever championship quarterfinals taking place this weekend. The higher seed will host the match, and the four victors will advance to the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 20 at Brown University. The championship and 3^rd place matches will occur on Sunday, Nov. 22 in Providence, R.I.

On one side of the bracket, #1 Quinnipiac will host #8 West Chester in a rematch of last weekend’s regular-season game. The Bobcats defeated the Golden Rams 100-10 last Saturday (read more) and were paced by sophomore center Ilona Maher’s five tries. The victor will contest its semifinal against the winner of Dartmouth vs. Norwich. The Big Green is coming off an Ivy League championship, one that was won in injury time over Brown on Sunday (read more). The Cadets finished fourth in the Northeast.

On the other side of the bracket, Ivy League runner-up Brown plays American International College. Both teams have their weapons, but it will be particularly exciting to see the Bears' Saskia Morgan and the Yellow Jackets' Anne-Laurence Harvey do battle. The winner will play the better of Army vs. Harvard. West Point came in ranked second after a narrow 20-12 loss to Quinnipiac, while the Crimson finished fourth in the Ivy League after dropping games to Brown and Princeton last weekend.

With the exception of the Quinnipiac vs. West Chester match, the quarterfinal games have not been previewed in the regular season.