Some drastic changes occurred in the Women’s DI College rankings, thanks to some surprise results and close games. Central Washington and New Mexico made big leaps up the Top 20, but their final rankings deserve some explanation.

CWU hosted Quinnipiac for one of the most thrilling games of the fall. Down 17-5 at half, the Wildcats shut out the visitors in the second stanza and tied it up in the third quarter. With two minutes remaining in regulation, Junior All American Ashley Rolsma dotted down for the 22-17 win.

The win was enough to put Central Washington in the top 10 – impressive considering the makeover the Wildcats have enjoyed this season. But we’re less inclined to simply slot CWU above Quinnipiac, which has spent the last five years working toward a solid spot in the top five. Central Washington has the makings of a phenomenal team, but we want to see more of the new varsity squad before hanging too much on one outcome – remarkable though it was.

New Mexico’s situation is a little more controversial. The Lobos defeated Women’s Cougar Rugby 30-29 for the Mountain West title. No disrespect to UNM program, but there was considerable chatter about the officiating and the (six times as many) penalties against BYU – so much so that the Cougars filed an official complaint. Criticism for referees is nothing new nor something to which we like to give press, but when it comes from a reputable source, then we’re willing to indulge it - for now.

New Mexico moved from #13 to #6, but that one-point wasn’t enough to push past the perennial national semifinalist. The teams play again in March before playoffs, and if UNM repeats the victory, then maybe it will be time to rethink that rationale.

With Central Washington and New Mexico leap-frogging the meat of the lineup, a few teams bumped down a couple of spots through no fault of their own: Army, Brown, UVA. The Cadets dropped another three-point game to AIC and beat Air Force 29-7 at home; Brown won the Ivy League title; and UVA went 11-0 this season after a 58-12 win over East Carolina.

But there were a few teams that did deserve to drop a spot or two. West Chester struggled against Quinnipiac and lost 36-17; Indiana could not get on the board against Penn State in the 83-0 loss; and Life has been idle for more than a month.

Three teams vanished from the rankings: Navy, which lost 99-19 to Quinnipiac, 46-12 to Brown, and 10-5 to Harvard; Harvard, which finished third in the Ivy league after a 22-15 win over Dartmouth; and Air Force, which proved there is too much distance between it and the top two Mountain West teams.

Taking their places are Illinois conference champ Lindenwood, which will be testing itself against Ohio State this Saturday in the Round of 16; UC San Diego, which finished second at Scrum by the Sea; and North Carolina, which rejoins the list after winning Rucktoberfest.

While the Mid-Atlantic teams’ seasons have come to an end, the national DI playoffs are just starting up. Keep an eye on the brackets (here) and see if these rankings hold up.