The big thing that occurred since our last Women DII College Top 20 was the fall championship playoffs. These cross-conference games lent some perspective to the relative strength of regions, and also made room for West Coast teams that have taken down DI sides during tournament season.

While individual teams both over- and under-performed, we were impressed with the overall performance of the Tri-State league. The conference sent three teams to the post-season, and they all deserved to be there – how many DII conferences can claim as much? Bowdoin ended both Rutgers’ and Marist’s post-season hopes, defeating the former 29-23 and latter 22-14. And then Vassar lost its game-long lead in the waning moments against Kutztown, falling 22-20 and relinquishing its return trip to the semis. The Brewers’ performance, however, afforded a healthy jump in the rankings but also highlighted some of Kutztown’s failings. During the last three games, the Pennsylvania team has started slowly, relied on the turn-around spirit on captain Faith Hughes, and fought back from a deficit. In the quarterfinals, it took the entire game to establish a lead, and that’s a concern heading into Saturday.

Both Utah Valley and Mankato performed well in the West region of playoffs. Frigid conditions in Northern Iowa made for a miserable weekend, and the pair duked out a 32-25 decision to Utah Valley. The Rocky Mountain champ then faced Winona in the quarterfinals, falling 20-7 – a respectable finish.

While the majority of DII colleges bid farewell to their post-seasons, a couple of conferences named their automatic bids to the spring championships. A thriller evolved between then undefeateds Mary Washington and Salisbury in the Capital final. The defending USA Rugby champ got out to an early lead, but then Salisbury rallied to go ahead by 14 points – a points differential that held until the second half. Led by flyhalf Sophia Therriault, who was playing in her first game in six weeks, Mary Washington launched a slow and steady comeback, which made is 24-22 to Salisbury with five minutes remaining. Regulation then expired but a series of Salisbury penalties kept play alive. The final infringement occurred five meters out from the try line, and Mary Washington made good on the opportunity, 29-24.

“While we did just win our conference and that qualifies us for [spring] Nationals, I am sure we will probably have to face Appalachian State in either the round of 16 or 8,” Mary Washington coach Kris Kabza looked to the New Year. “We have not had much luck against them the last two years. We need to get past them before we can even consider the Final Four.”

Appalachian State is better than #8 but some inactivity, cancellations and important injuries have forced the southern powerhouse down a couple of notches. AHO did beat DI Georgia in a round robin not too long ago, and we do expect a reinforced team come spring.

IUP repeated as Allegheny champ and wasn't really pushed throughout the fall. Poor communication saw the Pennsylvania side withdraw from the Round of 32, leaving Cincinnati with a forfeit win into the Round of 16 and a scar on the playoffs itself.

Florida International is being punished for its oppositions’ lack of reliability. Even though FIU beat Florida Atlantic 26-12 and is undefeated, its 4-0 record is composed of two forfeit wins. FIU might be a great team, but until it can play some consistent competition, then it's difficult to judge.

On the other side of the spectrum, an uptick in activity has seen the return of Humboldt, which took down some DI teams at Scrum by the Sea before sweeping the Chico Classic. CSU Northridge repeated as Scrum by the Sea champion, defeating four DI teams en route to the trophy.

With the exception of this weekend’s DII fall semifinals, the rankings will go quiet for the next month and a half, but the New Year will see the rest of the country’s teams come to life.