Update: USA Rugby's official seeding here.

Conference play has ended for women’s DI colleges, and playoff-bound teams are now finding out where they’re heading for the Round of 16 (April 10-12). USA Rugby will issue the official brackets, so the following groupings could change. Reliable sources have provided the sites’ lineups, but again, this is not a formal announcement.

STANFORD: Central Washington, Stanford, Washington State, UC Davis
When the Pacific Mountain Rugby Conference held its playoffs last weekend, Competitions Manager Heather Smith prefaced the cross-divisional event (which didn’t culminate in a title match) with: We will provide them [USA Rugby] with our top two teams, hoping that they aren't put in the same Round of 16 bracket, as both are capable and deserving of moving on to the next round. It also is unclear if Stanford and UNM will play at home regardless of their rankings. Then I wouldn't be surprised if our 3rd-5th ranked teams end up at the location closest to them.

Well, if this group remains the same, then the conference’s four best teams will be in the same location. One better, last Sunday’s matchups will repeat themselves in the Round of 16. Washington State will play Stanford, which won 41-22 two days ago; and UC Davis will play Central Washington, which won 57-10, at nationals.

There’s always a game that occurs too early in the playoffs, and if the Stanford vs. Central Washington comes to fruition in the quarterfinals, then that game will claim the honor.

ALBUQUERQUE: BYU, New Mexico, Texas A&M, UC San Diego
BYU is the top team in this group, although it takes the Mountain West #2 seed into the playoffs. New Mexico’s one-point win in the fall afforded the Lobos the #1 spot out of the conference. Texas A&M won a three-team league, and UC San Diego won the PMRC South. The Tritons tied for fifth at last weekend’s conference playoffs, dropping a 45-15 contest to UC Davis before beating Chico State 24-14 on day two.

PITTSBURGH: Harvard, James Madison, UVA, West Chester
Mason Dixon champion West Chester is the favorite out of this four and will play James Madison, which bowed out of conference playoffs in a 66-5 quarterfinal loss to Virginia Tech. UVA gave West Chester a good game in the semifinals Saturday, losing 35-20, and earned 3^rd place with a 48-7 win over the Hokies. UVA will play Harvard, which finished third in the fall Ivy League (the Ivy League’s #1 and #2 teams competed in the fall championship).

GREENVILLE, S.C.: Central Florida, Life, North Carolina, Virginia Tech
Life won the South Independent conference with an 18-10 win over Central Florida Sunday and will play Mason Dixon #4 Virginia Tech in its first-ever nationals. UCF will take on Mason Dixon #2 North Carolina, which lost the conference title bout 58-5 to West Chester.

Regional playoffs have become really difficult. During the previous two years, the country has essentially contested two separate championships - one in the fall, one in the spring. The difference, however, is that the fall teams are generally concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest, making it easier to diversify playoff pools. The spring isn't as convenient, as teams spanning the east and west coasts are active, making the population of regional playoff sites tricky. But the reality is that not all regions of the country are equal or deserve the same representation. It's befuddling that the largest conference (14 teams) is sending its top four teams to one location (which we think is the only one with four Top 20 teams, including two that are worthy of spring Final Four appearances), while the 10-team Mason Dixon can split its five seeds between two car-convenient locations, or that the five-team South Independent has a 50% chance of sending a rep to the Final Four. One other team needed to replace a Stanford-bound team, simply to match the cross-conference competition that's occurring at every other site.