It’s been three weeks since the last update to the Women DI College Top 20, and some small moves have occurred during that time.

The top five remains unaltered. Women’s Cougar Rugby (BYU) took two sides to the Las Vegas Invitational, and the A side looked sharp (read more). The Cougars defeated eventual LVI champion University of Victoria (Canada) during pool play, but fell to finalist Guelph (Canada) and Army on day two. The Cadets finished third at the tournament - i.e., the highest of American teams - and looked like they were busy in the off-season. It was also good to see former All American Nicole Heavirland back on the pitch. The solid performance earned the West Pointers a bump in the standings.

Stanford is 4-0 in the Pacific Mountain Conference West (read more), but the Cardinal have had to rally through some near-losses. Last Saturday, Stanford put a little more room between it and UC Davis in a 37-24 win, but the game was tied at half, and with approximately 10 minutes remaining, Davis only trailed 27-24. But Stanford isn’t the only PMC West team still finding its footing. Cal, which lost 27-26 to Stanford on a game-ending penalty earlier this month, dropped a 23-22 contest to Chico State (read more). The Golden Bears will likely return to the rankings, but not until some consistency surfaces – and that should happen come playoffs.

In the top 10, only one swap occurred: Central Washington over New Mexico. The Lobos have been idle, while the Wildcats are two games away from an undefeated season, its first in DI. CWU has the potential to be a top five team, but the squad is cruising through league with little resistance, and that lack of competition can be a difference-maker. Fortunately, it’s rumored that BYU and Central Washington will be playing a friendly in the coming months, and that match – much like Central’s fall friendly against Quinnipiac – will be a season highlight.

The South has three teams represented on the Top 20. Life University currently leads the bunch, 3-0 in the SIRC and yet to yield a point against. Saturday’s 53-0 win over traditional regional powerhouse Central Florida lent more insight into the Running Eagles’ strength (read more). Even before that game, UCF was off of the list, as it had already dropped a game to Georgia Tech. Taking Central Florida’s place on the rankings is Florida, which is also 3-0 and posting similar results as Life. North Carolina is undefeated, too, in the Mason Dixon South, and spent last weekend beating North Carolina State 59-19. UNC will likely defeat Virginia Tech in its final matrix match and take the top South seed to conference playoffs, which occur in less than a month.

Some important games will take place and inevitably affect future rankings. Keep an eye on the following and check back for match reports:

Feb. 28 – March 1 Women DI College Games
Mason Dixon
Virginia Tech @ North Carolina

Pacific Mountain
Central Washington @ Washington State
Oregon @ Oregon State
UC Santa Barbara @ UC San Diego
UCLA @ Arizona State
UCLA @ Arizona
Cal @ Stanford
Chico State @ UC Davis

South Independent
Georgia Tech @ Florida State
Florida @ Central Florida