The #1-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has won the WIIL Conference after beating Northern Iowa 88-12 on Saturday, and Illinois State 45-11 on Sunday.

ISU takes a seed to nationals, as well as Whitewater, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which beat Northern Iowa 52-35 on Sunday to take 3rd in the conference, and secure a seed to the national playoffs.

For the UWW Warhawks, this was a gratifying weekend, especially since they weren’t at full strength. Club president, captain, and fullback/flyhalf Eric Pachowitz missed the game due to a nagging injury. But, said Pachowitz, the team is experienced, and handled it well.

“We’ve got some great senior players - Tim Grams, Jack Healy, Robby Sindic - and they did a great job,” said Pachowitz.

Grams served as game day captain and he, said Pachowitz, “took charge of the game.”

With prop Brandon Lopez continuing his excellent season, and flanker Shay Haase dominating at the lineout, Whitewater showed why they’re the #1-ranked team.

But it wasn’t easy. Illinois State has an excellent defense, and in fact took an early 3-0 lead, and it wasn’t until 16 minutes or so that the Warhawks got on the board. Considering that Whitewater had averaged 87 points per game against other conference opponent, it’s reasonable to think they might have been frustrated at not being able to score in the early going.

However, Pachowitz said, “no one got down on each other. They were patient and just kept working.”

So now UW-Whitewater will enter the national Round of 16, and will play the winner of Plymouth State and the NECRC #2 (either Rhode Island or Vermont). Illinois State will play in the 1st round, against Great Lakes Conference champs Grand Valley State. UW-Milwaukee will take on Northern Lights #2 North Dakota State in the 1st round of the playoffs.