GRR: SoCal
This weekend was an important one in Southern California, for both DI and DII women’s colleges, and a fantastic Friday night match initiated the action. Reigning DII conference champ Long Beach State proved vulnerable after a big loss to CSU Northridge, and Friday’s game against a solid UC Irvine was going to indicate just how vulnerable.
It was billed as the “game to watch,” and CSU Northridge and UC Riverside did not disappoint. With 10 minutes remaining in the game, Riverside trailed USA Rugby’s DII national runner-up by two points, but then a yellow card opened up the necessary space for CSU Northridge to run in three tries to finish the game 38-17.
This weekend, the Southern Independent Rugby Conference (SIRC) will join the West Coast and Southern California conferences in DII women’s college league play. In the past, the SIRC has suffered from forfeits and teams folding, but the conference has now doubled in size, and that should stabilize the schedule to an extent.