All of the DI spring quarterfinal match-ups have a bit of drama attached. The Mid-Atlantic and Southwest showdowns are essentially replays of the teams’ respective conference finals. The South pits the traditional powerhouse against the successful upstart. The West is even more dramatic. Stanford and Central Washington played alongside each other during the Pacific Mountain conference playoffs, but not against each other. It left onlookers wondering which side was actually better, and Sunday will finally answer that question.

Both Stanford and Central Washington endured similar Round of 16 matches today. The Wildcats faced UC Davis, and the Cardinal took on Washington State. The eventual victors did not own their respective first halves, as the underdogs were attempting to engineer an upset. Central Washington led 14-0 at the break, while Stanford led 12-5. But the second 40 was less of contest for both higher-ranked teams. CWU won 47-3 over UC Davis, while Stanford won 60-10 against Washington State.

CWU was interesting from a lineup point of view. Cassidy Meyers moved from flyhalf to fullback, prop Angela Ve’evalu came on as a second-half sub – among other changes – and it lent some insight into the team’s flexibility. Some highlights included Ve’evalu’s three second-half tries (Heather Johnson [2], Jenny Johnson, and Kat Long also scored), and the great defense of outside center Asinate Serevi.

Subs played a big role in Stanford’s turnaround as well.

“We had a few come on late in the first half, early in the second half, and they really lifted the game,” said Madda Wilson, a leading try-scorer for Stanford. “Players like Maki [Asrat] coming on at inside center – someone I noticed right away, playing outside center.”

Those fresh legs stressed Washington State, which was already operating at a frenetic pace.

“They got tired in the second half and we took advantage of that,” Wilson said. “We kept running at them hard, and they started realizing that they weren’t going to break through our line. We stayed strong and they went down a little bit.”

Both Stanford and Central Washington have shown they can be vulnerable at times – whether it’s starting slowly or letting penalties snowball – and control will play heavily in tomorrow’s highly anticipated game.

“There’s nerves, but I think nerves can be good,” Wilson said. “We’re ready to play. We have a good system in place. If we stick to the system and everyone gets a good recovery tonight, it’s going to be a good game.”

The West DI quarterfinal occurs at 3:15 p.m. PT.