College Women
The Big Ten decided to join the USA Rugby Women’s DI Fall Championship, hosted by ACRA, rather than the spring playoffs, this year, and the conference has made its presence known. Two teams – Penn State and Indiana – have advanced to the semifinals on Dec. 6-7 in Palm Coast, Fla., although the pair’s paths to the Final Four contrast greatly with each other.
Quinnipiac returns to the final four for the second time in the program’s short history, with its debut occurring in 2012. Recollections of that Bobcat squad only amplify the team’s progress in 2.5 years –not only was Quinnipiac playing in DII then, but its stardom also revolved around the phenomenal stiff-arming of Natalie Kosko.
Bowdoin College survived a nerve-testing weekend. The Polar Bears won two playoff games against Tri-State teams by a combined 51-37, and have been rewarded with a trip to the USA Rugby Women’s DII College Fall Championship, hosted by ACRA, final four. It will be the Maine team’s second trip ever, the first coming in 2006-07, when it lost to eventual champion UC Santa Cruz.
Notre Dame College is heading back to Florida after its 2-0 weekend at the USA Rugby Women’s DII College Fall Championship, hosted by ACRA. The Ohio side is the only semifinalist that won its games convincingly – but that’s not to say that the games weren’t competitive.
Vic Tise has learned a lot about his team in the past few weeks. The new Air Force coach took over for Lisa Rosen this fall and led his team to a 4-4 record. The Zoomies won the games they should have won and lost the games they should have lost, but that’s not to say the team didn’t improve throughout the season.