The Midwest bracket of the USA Rugby Women's DII College Fall Championship, hosted by ACRA, is the only region that is contesting all four Round of 32 matches on Saturday - that is, no conference championships count as Round of 32 games. Notre Dame College is the heavy favorite to advance to the Final Four in Florida, but here's a preview of what you can expect on Saturday:

Notre Dame College vs. UW Stout
We think the Falcons are going to take the whole tournament. The roster is not only bigger and badder, but coach Mark Andrade tested his squad against the best – Penn State – with pleasing results. Well knowns like captains Hannah Gauthreaux and (back from injury) Rebecca Swainson, Lea Walsh and Hannah Long are all familiar with the demands of post-season play, while newcomers like Danielle Walko-Siua (Youth Olympic 7s) and Jianna McCullough (Lakewood graduate) are familiar with high-pressure games.

No disrespect to UW Stout, which finished third in the Great Waters conference, but the Wisconsin side if anything should bank Saturday’s game as a learning experience.

Davenport vs. Illinois State
The Panthers were ineligible for last year’s playoffs, but the Great Lakes champion is in order this fall. Davenport trampled its opposition – which included DI Michigan and a close game against Lindenwood – behind the unstoppable Danielle Ordway, a Junior All American who scored 19 tries in seven games this season. Courtenay Tafel (8), Jennifer Harig (7), Junior All American Ashlee Byrge (5), Brittany O’Dell (5) and Carrie Eggleston (5) have also been tough to handle.

Illinois State plays in a combined DI/DII league, much like Upstate New York. DI Lindenwood and Northern Illinois compete against four other DII teams during the regular season. ISU and Western Illinois were deemed the strongest DII sides and played their conference final on Oct. 25. ISU won 48-21.

Davenport and Illinois State do have one opponent in common: Lindenwood. Where the Panthers held onto a 20-5 win over LU, Illinois State fell 74-0. For that reason, among others, we expect to see Davenport in the Round of 16.

Indiana Univ of Pennsylvania vs. Cincinnati
The opposite side of the bracket should be more interesting, as there aren’t overtly clear favorites. That said, we’re going to pick IUP in this Round of 32 match, as the Pennsylvania team has ample post-season experience and compiled a solid shut-out season. The team’s typically toughest opponent, Slippery Rock, went down 39-0.

But we also really like Cincinnati, which won Ohio Valley’s South division before defeating Denison 29-18 in the semifinals and losing 55-38 to Notre Dame College in the final. Watch for Katy Yoder, the team’s leading try-scorer, to make her mark on the match, as well as Justine Perl, Sarah Ackley and Carol Mata – all major threats.

Ithaca College vs. Denison
Denison took the Midwest bracket’s at-large bid, and as previously mentioned, bowed out of the Ohio Valley playoffs during the semifinals (29-18 loss to Cincinnati). The Ohio team has national playoff history and know the competition is only going to increase, and Ithaca is the epitome of such.

Last year, Ithaca surprised with a close-loss to Notre Dame College in the ACRA post-season.

“Our team this year has much more experience,” Ithaca veteran Rachel Karlins said. “Last year we were made up of mostly girls with a year or less of experience, and we were facing girls with 4 or more years of experience. We have learned to grow together as a team. We play well with one another and have a great bond on and off the field. This is no longer our first time making playoffs. We know the competition is much stronger and know how to better prepare for playoffs.”

Ithaca dominated Upstate New York and even defeated both DI teams – University of Buffalo and Syracuse – handily. The Renegades ended its season last weekend with a 123-0 victory over Fredonia. Shannon Lipe scored six tries, while Taylor Joyce (4), Katie Conmy (2), Corinne White (2), Amy Johnstone (2), Alexis Gilbert (2) and Karlins also scored five-pointers.

We’re picking Ithaca in this match, although if Denison can exert some pressure early on and force Ithaca to play from behind – a place the Renegades have not been all season – then the underdog could engineer a win.

In summary, this is how we picture the Round of 16 shaping up:
Notre Dame College vs. Davenport
IUP vs. Ithaca

To see the entire DII brackets, click here.