College Women
Sometimes, one of the best things a team can do is lose. That’s what happened with UW Steven’s Point during the final week of the Great Waters regular season. Its opponent, UW Eau Claire, wasn’t going to the post-season, but that didn’t dilute its aggressive work at the breakdown and fringe, nor the impact of center Robin Blevins and flanker Janee Kutz.
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.
In one of several outcomes that necessitates a DII rankings shift, Bloomsburg defeated Kutztown 76-8 in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference (MARC) final. The titleholder had defeated Delaware 66-26 in Saturday’s semifinal, while Kutztown bettered East Stroudsburg 35-5 for the berth to the final.
As Saint Michael’s and Stonehill entered the final week of the Rugby Northeast season, both teams had already secured places in the DII fall Round of 32. But there was no semblance of comfort on the pitch when the undefeated rivals contested the conference title Saturday. Stonehill wanted its third-straight trophy, but Saint Michael’s controlled the game for a 41-12 win.
Dartmouth and Brown won their respective Ivy League championship semifinals today and will play for the title tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. EST at Big Green's Brophy Field in Hanover, N.H.