It’s down to two teams: Either BYU or Central Washington will advance to the May 9 national bout as the spring champion. Two very different games evolved today, but both exciting.

The day started with BYU vs. West Chester, the Southwest champ vs. the Mid-Atlantic champ. The Golden Rams gave it a go, and at one point only trailed 15-10, sending Nicole Benedetti and Olivia Grassi across for tries. But the Cougars needed only time to find their full stride, and pulled away for a 56-17 victory.

“I have to hand it to BYU,” said West Chester coach Tony DeRemer. “They played very well today and beat us at almost every phase of the game. They were at the breakdowns very quickly and they ran the ball hard and offloaded well. We had a difficult time bringing down Jordan Gray and that opened up lots of options for the BYU offense.”

Gray scored two tries, but it was prop Rebeka Boaz and her four tries who did the most damage on the scoreboard. Jennie Lewis, Justina Grubb, Paige Torgerson, Jessica Peterson, Ali Smith, and Meighan Stevens also scored, while Chanel Johnstun and Smith added conversions.

DeRemer complimented his team’s opponent, but also recognized that the Golden Rams did not play to their potential. The Pennsylvania side lost flyhalf Katie Walston to injury early in the second half, but “this was not a huge factor in our loss,” DeRemer confessed. “Of course her loss was substantial to us, but either way, we were not executing on either side of the ball.”

Central Washington had some execution issues as well in its semifinal against Life University.

“The conditions – wind and sun – put us on the back foot, and Life came out ready for a physical match,” Central Washington coach Mel Denham indicated.

The Wildcats scored the opening points when Heather Johnson dotted down, but then Life answered with three unanswered tries from Deshel Ferguson, Nicole Strasko, and Kim Semiglia. A Madison Ohmann conversion gave Life a 17-5 lead into the break.

“We had a great first half,” Life University coach Ros Chou confirmed. “In the second, fatigue set in, and we didn’t execute some of the simple things.”

“We made some half-time adjustments, talked about how to regain control, and came back out playing our game on the front foot,” Denham explained.

A linebreak-turned-try from fullback Cassidy Meyers lent some confidence to the Wildcats early in the second half, and then the floodgates opened. Flyhalf Kat Johnson converted that try as well as Johnson’s second score, giving Central Washington the 19-17 lead.

From there, Queen Fina Toetu’u, Sammy Pinson, and Jenny Johnson all dotted down, while Long added three more conversions for the 40-17 victory.

“All the credit goes to Central Washington for playing a full 80 minutes, maintaining a great defensive pressure, and executing well when it counted,” Chou said. “We couldn't afford to make mistakes against a team like that. The rugby program and the entire university is so proud of our efforts this season, and we couldn't be happier with the heart and determination of this team. It was a physical match and we start working on next season tomorrow.”

Tomorrow begins against West Chester, while BYU and Central Washington vie for the berth to Kennesaw State on May 9.