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USA Rugby released the fall championship sites on Wednesday, Oct.
The DI scene picks up this weekend, as teams in the varsity, ACRA, and independent realms play some important games.
As the only Midwest representative in both the DI and DII ACRA 7s championships, Davenport did its region proud this weekend in West Point, N.Y. The Panthers outscored its five opponents 166-38 and is the undisputed DII ACRA 7s champion.
Army is the new DI ACRA 7s champion, unseating Norwich after a 22-7 title bout. It’s tempting to focus on the victories over the Vermont side, which had won 63-straight 7s games entering this weekend’s championship, but the spotlight needs to shine on the West Pointers themselves. The hosts dominated the field and played a commanding, smart campaign to the title.
The ACRA 7s championships are being held this weekend in West Point, N.Y., and action of field 1 will be live-streamed both days.
The USA Rugby Fall Championships, hosted by ACRA, was marked by rematches. In DI, USA Rugby's best (Penn State) and ACRA's best (Norwich) replayed an early-season thriller (read more). In DII, last year's ACRA finalists revisited the pitch, and the trophies exchanged hands.
During the 2013-14 season, the women’s college landscape lacked unity. ACRA had formed and more than half of the country’s programs aligned with its fall league and championships. Some fall conference winners accepted automatic bids to USA Rugby’s spring playoffs, but many didn’t, which meant diluted competition for the spring national championship.
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The Women’s DII College Fall Championship, hosted by ACRA, will be live-streamed beginning tomorrow at 9 a.m. ET. Follow along with the commentators and take note of the following players who will likely feature heavily in the weekend's games:
NOTRE DAME COLLEGE
The USA Rugby Women DI College Fall Championship, hosted by ACRA, will contest its final four this weekend, and the victor will earn its spot in the national championship in May. Penn State plays Quinnipiac on one side of the bracket (1 p.m. ET); Norwich takes on Indiana on the other (3 p.m. ET).
One thing was certain as Kutztown and Vassar lined up for their quarterfinal on Sunday: One of last year’s Final Four teams wasn’t returning to Florida this December. And through 80 minutes of play, it appeared that Kutztown was the team to be left behind, as Vassar established and retained a lead throughout the game.
Now that ACRA has been assimilated into USA Rugby, essentially – hence the official fall championship description including “hosted by ACRA” - the awkwardness of the two “national” titles will be resolved, to an extent. The DI and DII teams that emerge victorious on Dec. 7 will be known as USA Rugby’s fall champions and earn berths to the national final against the spring champion on May 9.