College Women
Ithaca College returns to the DII fall Round of 32 as the Upstate New York champion, and runner-up SUNY Geneseo is also making the trip to the post-season. The pair played to an exciting conference finale last weekend, one that wasn’t truly decided until the final minutes of the contest.
Where does DI stand? Everywhere. There are essentially three different competitions being contested at the level above DII, and it’s been a laborious process sorting out who’s playing where. Below is a summary of the competitions and which teams/conferences are competing in them:
The National Collegiate Women's Varsity Rugby Association (NCWVRA) has released its latest Coaches Poll, a ranking of varsity programs that are also eligible for the first-ever varsity championship. Only those coaches whose programs are championship-eligible were surveyed.
Notre Dame got a nice boost heading into the Big Ten championship this weekend, defeating Michigan 22-0 in a wet, physical game. The Irish finish the regular season 4-1, losing only to Penn State and unable to reschedule its game against Indiana. The latter are traditionally the top two teams in the conference and have committed to the DI Elite championship in the spring.
The fall has been an incredibly exciting season, as teams that have aligned with the varsity and DI Elite leagues have the freedom to book competitive games every weekend. Lindenwood has explored the eastern half of the country, and traveled south to Life University last weekend. The Lady Lions got more than a little pushback from the host, as the Running Eagles won 25-14.