There isn’t a ton to report on the Women’s DI College Top 20, mostly because the previous two weeks fell between the end of regular season and playoffs. So several teams were either “idle,” in that they were preparing for the post-season on the practice pitch, or contested friendlies.

Penn State traveled the farthest for some competition, heading on its annual spring tour, this time to Spain and France, where the Nittany Lions went 3-0. Stanford tested itself against the Berkeley All Blues, which turned its three-point lead at halftime into a 36-19 victory. And Central Washington, the Pacific Mountain Rugby Conference (PMRC) North victor, played the Seattle Saracens of the BC Premiership to a 29-14 loss. For the latter two, the uptick in competition was a valuable experience heading into playoffs, which commence this weekend.

Also involved in the PMRC playoffs is UC Davis, which ended the regular season with a 41-12 win over Chico State, and UC San Diego, which has been idle since winning the South division.

The Mason Dixon conference contested its quarterfinals last weekend, and all three matches produced big point differentials (West Chester advanced to the semifinals via forfeit from NC State). North Carolina put up 159 unanswered points over Maryland (read more), UVA beat Pittsburgh 60-5 (and beat Dartmouth 58-21 in a friendly), and unranked Virginia Tech bettered James Madison 66-5.

The South Independent conference hosts its final four this weekend, and there is little doubt that Life will walk away with the title, easily. The Running Eagles ended the regular season with a 70-0 win over Florida, which holds the #3 SIRC seed. Kaitlyn Broughton scored five tries and has been an invaluable addition to the team this season. Deshel Ferguson continues to score on the outside, dotting down three tries, while speedy Christina Swift (2) and Megan Rom also scored.

Norwich returned to the pitch and promptly won its first tournament trophy of the season: Siena 7s. The Cadets ran into little opposition and will be the team to beat at college 7s nationals (read more). American International College is poised to tick up a spot or two. The Yellow Jackets have advanced to two 7s tournament finals: winning the Atlanta 7s Festival and finishing second of Norwich at Siena. Shamirah Robles, Jamirah Barden and Jess Davis were big contributors to the team’s successes thus far and will continue to influence the squad as it builds toward the CRC 7s in Chester, Pa., this June.

Lindenwood finally got the opportunity to show off its improvements, beating Davenport 15-6 in a friendly last weekend (read more). If you’re unimpressed by a victory over a DII team, then you’re mistaken, as the Panthers are capable of playing at the DI level and beat two DI teams at the Atlanta 7s Festival (including AIC).

This weekend’s playoffs will inevitably require more tweaks to the rankings, so stay tuned!