GRR: Women DII College
Like its DI counterpart, the Women’s DII College rankings that will be maintained for the rest of 2015 will only concern fall-based and split-season teams. Those programs playing league matches in both the fall and spring – as well as the fall champion – will carry over to the 2016 spring rankings.
Hurricane Joaquin forced some cancellations and forfeits in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference (MARC), but four DII women’s games did take place. Out front were division leaders Kutztown and Bloomsburg, which outscored their opponents by a combined 98-0.
Administrating the women’s Rocky Mountain conference is like coaching a team. There are well established programs – the veterans – that plan for playoffs and whose engagement in the league hinges on a level of professionalism (e.g., playing a season without forfeit wins).
The National Collegiate Varsity Women’s Rugby Association (NCVWRA) voted a national championship into existence this fall. A five-person tournament committee composed of three athletic department administrators and two varsity coaches will name and seed the top eight varsity programs. The quarterfinals will occur on Nov. 14, and the higher-ranked team will host.
There are many familiar notes in Bloomsburg’s recent past. The program wanted to be more competitive, so it hired a tested coach, Kevin Castner from East Stroudsburg University. He injected structure and discipline, and while there was some resistance, the players subscribed to this success-driven culture. The affect was realized on the pitch, and Bloomsburg started winning.
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