(additional reporting by Owen Goff) Pool play has ended and eight teams remain in the hunt for the Women’s College 7s National Championship. The top two finishers in each pool moved into the Cup competition; the #3 teams in each pool will start at the semifinal phase and play for the Bowl; and the four #4 teams will play for the Shield.

Leading off tomorrow’s Cup quarterfinals (see the full schedule below) are Penn State and Stanford, a match-up with a long history in 15s. The Nittany Lions finished atop Pool A after beating UC Davis 24-7 in Round III. PSU absorbed the Aggies’ forward-centric, contract-heavy style, and was more effective in spreading the field. Meya Bizer (2), Tess Feury, and Elizabeth Cairns scored the tries, while Bizer slotted two conversions.

Although Penn State did not react quickly enough to a quick tap from Davis playmaker Sydnee Watanabe, who set up the Aggies’ try, the Nittany Lions were clinical and aggressive on the day, and showed no signs of fatigue.

Stanford, however, did flag in its final pool game against Virginia Women’s Rugby, losing 22-12 to finish second in Pool B. UVA went up 12-0 as Summer Jones turned a long series of phases into a try, and Zoe Schmitt broke weakside off a scrum for a short-range try. The Cardinal answered in the second quarter, and both of Olivia Bernadel-Huey’s tries originated from disrupted scrums. The freshman finished off the good pressure with linebreaks and long, galloping runs to the try zone. The teams were tied 12-all into the break.

But UVA played a brilliant second half, keeping the ball out of Stanford’s hands and working the clock once Schmitt dotted down her second try, 17-12. The team's expert management paid off in the end, and UVA was a Liz Anderson try, a brilliant individual effort, stopping and going along the sideline, for the corner score.

“I think we aged very well,” UVA captain Bri Kim said after the 3-0 day. “We did a good job of executing our game plan, and I saw huge improvement from our first game to our second game – Air Force really challenged us. We are looking at competing for the Cup. We’re ready.”

Pool B champ UVA will play Pool A #2 Rutgers in its Cup quarterfinal. Paced by two tries from former All American Miranda Previte, Rutgers defeated Montana State 20-7 in Round III. Emily Stuart and Kristen Siano also scored, but the real triumph happened on the other side of the ball. The Bobcats got their first points in a national championship – and they originated with solid phases. Consummate playmaker Ivanna Lopez-Bell broke the line, kept her legs moving as she awaited support, and Stephanie Taylor rounded out the effort with a pull-away try.

Pool D topper Lindenwood finished today with a 10-0 win over James Madison, getting tries from Amanda Divich and Georgia Page. The Lady Lions will have their hands full with Princeton, Pool C’s runner-up, in tomorrow’s Cup quarterfinals. The Tigers ended its day with a physical 24-7 win over Humboldt, and no one was thumping ballcarriers harder than Humboldt's Kristine Werner. But the NorCal team's love for contact worked against them in the end, and Princeton employed a wider game that put Andrea Malleo, Jessica Lu (2), and Alex Eakes in for tries. Cat Lambert added the two conversions. Meredith Conrad-Forrest, who was initially unavailable for the trip, prevented the shutout with a quick-tap breakaway try.

"We just wanted to keep the ball and I think we did that," Princeton assistant coach Emil Signes said.

The fourth Cup quarterfinal will come down to Pool C winner Central Washington and Pool D runner-up Cal. The Golden Bears know what the Wildcats are capable of, having watched the team play firsthand during 15s playoffs. Cal will need to recover quickly from its 17-7 Round III win over Texas if it's to subdue CWU.

“We had a rough game; it was very physical,” Cal coach Lucy Croy said of the Texas match.

Kelly Doran and CJ Whiteside combined for three tries, while Texas' Wendy Sun added to her point total with a converted try in the waning moments of the game.

“CJ Whiteside is a solid player, but sometimes we rely on her too much,” Croy confessed. “We’re excited to still be in it; it’s been a lot of fun to be here playing these great teams. Tomorrow’s games will be more challenging, but we’re excited.”

Central Washington downed North Carolina 40-0 to end the day. A high-pressure defense (Queen Fina Toetu’u and Mele Halahuni especially) and the ability to turn messy ball into positive yardage saw Ros Pena (2), Cassidy Meyers, Asinate Serevi, Jennifer Johnston, and Ashley Rolsma score tries.

Serevi played a key role as playmaker. She has the size, skill, and power to be the main scoring threat, but she was a calming force in the middle of the field, setting up teammates and cleaning up the game if it got choppy.

The knockouts kick off at 8:40 a.m. MT Sunday. The Cup quarterfinal losers will move into the Plate bracket. Below are the full match-ups:

Cup Quarterfinals
8:40 a.m. A1 Penn State v B2 Stanford
9:00 a.m. D1 Lindenwood v C2 Princeton
9:20 a.m. B1 UVA v A2 Rutgers
9:40 a.m. C1 Central Washington v D2 Cal

Bowl Semifinals
10:00 a.m. A3 UC Davis v D3 Texas
10:20 a.m. B3 Air Force v C3 North Carolina

Shield Semifinals
11:00 a.m. A4 Montana State v D4 James Madison
11:20 a.m. B4 Texas Tech v C4 Humboldt