Although the match-ups and kickoff times have been published (click here), the women’s DI and DII spring brackets have not. Therefore, the match-ups for the final four are not known. Nevertheless, below is some insight into the DI and DII regional playoffs.

South – Greenville, S.C.
DIVISION I
Life is the forerunner in this pool of four, but the Running Eagles are not without their vulnerabilities. The varsity program is making its first foray into the national post-season, which is an accomplishment in and of itself, and started 2015 with an injection of fresh talent. Fullback Kaitlyn Broughton out of Tennessee has made the biggest impact, leading the team in tries scored, and complimenting great finishers in Deshel Ferguson and Christina Swift.

The forwards are all fit and mobile – N’keiah Butler, Karen Faget, Nicole Strasko are epitomes of such – but the pack showed some weakness in the scrum against Central Florida in the SIRC final. That unstable set piece kept UCF game (which ended 18-10), despite the varied and more potent attack that Life sported in the backs.

Life has also done well to mix up its competition, playing teams outside of the South to test itself. Texas A&M, Life’s Round of 16 opponent, emerges from a three-team Southwest conference, which named its champion in the fall after home-and-away series. A&M was initially penciled into the fall playoffs but sustained too many injuries to enter the team, so now the Aggies are playing in the spring.

The other semifinal will be one of contrasting styles. UCF’s strength is in its big, powerful forwards, which proved that they can wage an 80-minute punch offensive, while stealing scrums along the way. The attack is predictable, but effective. Wing Anges Furst is pretty slippery when the ball makes it out her way.

North Carolina, on the other hand, finds its edge in the backs. If the Tar Heels can work clean breakdowns and move the ball quickly, then flyhalf Cam Gunn has a lot of options for attack. Of course, there’s lead try-scorer Naya Tapper, but she ran into some penalty trouble when the team got behind in the Mason Dixon final. Brittany Lademann is a great attacker, as is speedy sophomore Tavoiya Whitworth.

So it all depends on who can exert their will: slow ball plays in UCF’s favor; quick ball plays in UNC’s hands.

DIVISION II
Two Florida teams are playing conference champions. On one side, Carolinas champ South Carolina takes on South Florida; on the other, SIRC champ Alabama plays Florida International.

USC and Alabama are better prepared for playoffs, having played some close games during the spring matrix season and actually contesting conference championships. The Florida league was riddled with forfeits and cancellations – so much so that the conference forewent traditional standings. FIU, which competed in last year’s final four, won a couple of big games, and it was the 64-7 game against South Florida that determined the conference’s two representatives. That said, Florida does not deserve two reps at national playoffs, and the fourth spot could have easily gone to Georgia or Emory in the SIRC.

Want more insight into the rest of the DI/DII playoffs? Then read about:

Mid-Atlantic: Expect a Mason Dixon conference final rematch in DI; DII reigning champion Mary Washington is in a battle with itself

West: Eager for Central Washington vs. Stanford quarterfinal; West Coast leaders attempt to subdue '14 national finalist CSU Northridge

Southwest: BYU leads a pool that includes two California teams; the winner of Texas State vs. UC Riverside advances to the semifinals in Pittsburgh