The first half of the Women's DII College National Championship gets underway this weekend, as Saturday's Round of 32 begins the process of naming a fall champion. The last team standing on Sunday, Dec. 6 will secure its spot in the May 2016 national final against the spring champion. Since there are 30 teams involved (two at-large bids in the West Regional went unfilled), the previews will be broken into regions. First up, the Mid-Atlantic, which involves eight teams from six conferences. The higher seed hosts the opening match, and the winners advance to the Round of 16 at Vassar College.

(1) Grand Valley State (At-Large/Great Lakes) @ Bloomsburg (MARC #1). Bloomsburg has returned to the DII fall playoffs stronger than it left them. Last weekend, the MARC leader dethroned reigning champion Kutztown in a shocking 76-8 decision (read more). The Huskies are eager to get past the Round of 16, and that starts with Grand Valley State. The Michigan team is one of three at-large teams added to the Round of 32 and hails from the Great Lakes conference, where it finished third before Davenport and playoff rookie Ferris State (both in the Midwest Region). It’s commendable that the Lakers are making the 600-plus-mile trip to Pennsylvania, but the team does have its work cut out for it.

(2) Stonehill College (Rugby Northeast #2) @ Rutgers (Tri-State #2). Rutgers fielded an untested lineup in the Tri-State conference final against Vassar (read more), and it showed in the 118-point loss. Coach Ken Pape indicated that it was a positive experience for players and coach, who noted a few highlights to be added to the playoff roster. Was Rutgers concealing its weapons for the post-season? That answer will start to form against Rugby Northeast runner-up Stonehill. The Massachusetts side drop the conference title 44-12 to Saint Michael’s, and is also recouping the loss of longtime head coach Derek Jenesky. Rob Brennan will be leading the team into the playoffs.

(3) Smith (New England Wide #2) @ Saint Michael’s (Rugby Northeast #1). The Purple Knights snapped Stonehill’s conference-winning streak with a healthy 32-point win last weekend (read more). The win was more than home-field advantage for the Round of 32; the teams truly cherish this rivalry that resonates throughout the Northeast 10. The Vermonters will look to hold off New England Wide runner-up Smith College, which finished 4-2 and grabbed the playoff berth on standing points. It had looked like UVM was going to finish second, but some late missteps saw the team finish 3-2-1.

(4) Albany (Tri-State #3) @ Ithaca College (Upstate NY #1). The reigning Upstate New York champion has a solid cast of experienced veterans running the show, and they’ll be tough to take down in the Round of 32. The Renegades got solid competition out of Buffalo State this fall, so they’ve been tested and know their capabilities under pressure (read more). Albany’s most telling games were losses against Rutgers and Vassar. The Tri-State #3 team pressured the conference leaders from certain positions, but uniformity is an attribute that is still developing. Albany secured a spot to playoffs after defeating Marist 41-19 in last weekend's 3rd place match.

Round of 16: All four victors will head to Vassar College for the next stage of playoffs. On Nov. 21, winners of games 1 and 2, and games 3 and 4 will play each other. Saturday’s winners will then compete in Sunday’s DII fall quarterfinals in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.