The final 16 of women’s DI playoffs kicks off this weekend at four regional sites.

Here’s the lineup of games:

Lindenwood v Washington State

Stanford v Arizona

played at Stanford

Life v North Carolina

Central Florida v Virginia

played at Life

Penn State v James Madison

Virginia Tech v Notre Dame College

played at Penn State

UC Davis v Arizona State

Chico State v BYU

played at UC Davis

“We had a long break between playing 15s in the fall and getting ready for playoffs,” said Notre Dame College back Danielle Siua. “We’re not playing any warmup games and going straight into playoffs, so we’re going to have to be ready.”

NDC did play 7s and did well at the Las Vegas Invitational. But with a coaching change (Luke Markovich is now the Head Coach), and the layoff, they will have to be extra focused. 

(NDC will join the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association in the fall. “The women have proven that they will work tirelessly to achieve everything they set their minds to," Markovich said. "Therefore seeking eventual NCAA sponsorship makes sense as the next step. The last few weeks have been demanding, but their work rate and adaptability have been inspirational. It truly makes one proud to be a coach.”)

Both Lindenwood and Penn State went on tour. Lindenwood to Ireland, and Penn State to Wales and England. Penn State has been about as active as any team, playing tournaments, women’s clubs, one-off warmups, tour games, and 7s. Last week’s 60-10 win over the DC Furies should be a noted.

The UC Davis - Chico - Arizona State - BYU bracket could be an interesting one as all of the teams have talent, and all have potential weaknesses. UC Davis captain Sydnee Watanabe said her squad is more consistently good and more unified than last year, and last year they won the DI (just below DI Elite) final over Virginia.

Lindenwood’s bracket looks to be one where the Lions can shine. Lindenwood met Stanford back in November, and Lindenwood scored over 100 on the Cardinal. It won’t be like that this time, but still it’s hard to bet against the Lions.

And Life should be favored in their bracket. The Running Eagles powered through most of their opposition, but their results are hard to gauge. A 7-0 loss to the DC Furies in the DC Ruggerfest was possibly just a shortened tournament game that you shouldn’t read too much into. But their 10-10 tie with Penn State way back in October does indicate possibly where Life sits in the pecking order.