GRR: West Coast
California (and UN Reno) hosted its first-ever all-star assembly, giving women from DII Southern California and West Coast conference the opportunity to train and play at a higher level.
The West Coast conference was essentially building toward a rematch of Humboldt vs. UN Reno. The duo met early in February, and that match turned out to be the only competitive match of the teams’ regular season. Humboldt won that game by two points, and that slim margin paid dividends during last weekend’s conference playoffs.
All of the top teams in the DII West Coast conference exited the weekend with big wins. Sacramento State defeated SF BATS 65-12; Reno topped Santa Clara 78-10; and Humboldt banked shutouts against St. Mary’s and Fresno State by a combined 199-0.
Humboldt entered its toughest league match under less-than-ideal circumstances. A month into the West Coast DII season, the reigning champion had yet to play a game due to cancellations and forfeits. Saturday opponent UN Reno, however, already had three wins to its credit.
The women’s DII West Coast got off to a rocky start - a couple of game cancelations and forfeits, a program folded – so interest consolidated around the conference’s top teams. The first match of note occurred last Saturday between UC Santa Cruz - last year's conference runner-up - and perennial contender UN Reno, but the result was somewhat unexpected.