GRR: Women DI 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).
Not too much movement in the Women DI College Rankings, despite the onset of the fall playoffs. A few key games outside of the ACRA-sponsored championship proved important, however, but no one team moved more than two spots.
Well that settles that. If there was any question as to whether Central Washington is the strongest DI women’s college in the Pacific Northwest, then it was answered last weekend. Washington State, the reigning Pacific Mountain North champion, traveled to Ellensburg for the teams’ first official meeting and returned to Pullman with a 41-5 loss.
The Big Ten decided to join the USA Rugby Women’s DI Fall Championship, hosted by ACRA, rather than the spring playoffs, this year, and the conference has made its presence known. Two teams – Penn State and Indiana – have advanced to the semifinals on Dec. 6-7 in Palm Coast, Fla., although the pair’s paths to the Final Four contrast greatly with each other.
Quinnipiac returns to the final four for the second time in the program’s short history, with its debut occurring in 2012. Recollections of that Bobcat squad only amplify the team’s progress in 2.5 years –not only was Quinnipiac playing in DII then, but its stardom also revolved around the phenomenal stiff-arming of Natalie Kosko.