Women College Semis Preview: 12 Teams In With A Shot At Glory
Women College Semis Preview: 12 Teams In With A Shot At Glory
Women's college playoffs kick off Friday morning.
Three women's college national champions will be decided over the next two days in Fullerton, CA, and each title race is up in the air at this point as the semifinals get underway Friday.
Watch the Women's College Semis and Finals LIVE on FloRugby
May 4 | Friday Games | LIVE | ||
9:00 AM | Women’s DII | Claremont | vs. | Salisbury |
10:30 AM | Women’s DII | Fresno State | vs. | Tulane |
12:00 PM | Women’s DI | Chico State | vs. | Virginia |
1:30 PM | Women’s DI | Central Florida | vs. | UC Davis |
3:00 PM | Women’s DI Elite | Penn State | vs. | Life |
4:30 PM | Women’s DI Elite | Lindenwood | vs. | BYU |
Women D2
Claremont Colleges vs. Salisbury
Fresno State vs. Tulane
Salisbury beat George Washington 94-10 and UNC-Charlotte 68-0 to get here, with the center pairing of Ciara Harbaugh and Presley Chaney scoring 11 tries between them. No. 8 Kaitlyn Jones is a force, too.
Claremont Colleges, meanwhile, had a tougher time, needing the try-scoring touch of scrumhalf Molly Ferguson to get by Santa Clara 31-25 in the round of 16 and fullback Alexandra Parker's 78th-minute try to put the Stags over the top against Nevada, 34-28.
Fresno State got a bye to the quarters and then crushed UC Irvine 74-10, with flyhalf Jenna Balestra scoring 29 points and center Jacklyn Blankenship scoring three tries.
Tulane also looked very good, with No. 8 Madeline Brenner scoring three tries and kicking conversions in a 60-21 defeat of John Brown and a complete performance in a 44-0 shutout of Kennesaw State.
Women D1
Chico State vs. Virginia
Central Florida vs. UC Davis
These teams all lost their D1 Elite quarterfinals, and all were shut out. Virginia, a 57-0 loser to Penn State, suffered the least. So where they stack up against each other might be difficult to gauge.
Central Florida prop and co-captain Julia Phillips is a smart and physical player who leads well. Center and co-captain Cortney Khuel is an effective runner, and fullback Jamie Spataro keeps the scoreboard moving.
UC Davis was very impressive, however, in beating a solid Grand Canyon team, with No. 8 Cecilia Flores performing well.
Behind the center pairing of Hannah Westfall and Stefani Vicino-Bergerhouse, who scored six tries, Chico State defeated UCSB 74-10 to advance to this round. The Wildcats will face what is always a well-structured Virginia team that succeeds when it wins set piece. Prop Alaijah Cheeseman scored four tries in the Cavs' 53-20 defeat of North Carolina. Abigail Duff scored 23 points in that game.
Women D1 Elite
Life vs. Penn State
Lindenwood vs. BYU
Life won its two playoff games by a combined score of 233-0. The team's open-field running and scrum are both impressive. Penn State is usually one of the best scrummaging teams in the country. Penn State's scoring in the first two rounds was 154-7.
Corinne Heavner on the wing and Tess Feury at fullback are superb attackers for Penn State. For Life? Well, the Running Eagles rested some of their most experienced players and rolled anyway.
"This is our fourth time heading to the semifinals, and the first time our team has traveled to California," Life head coach Rosalind Chou said. "We have a really experienced roster this year, and we are prepared to compete this weekend."
Lindenwood just recently named its end-of-season award winners, with Sorensen finalist McKenzie Hawkins getting Player's Player of the Year. AnnaKaren Pedrava was the Backs MVP and Ariana Lewis the Forwards MVP.
In the playoffs, the Lions outscored Stanford and Chico State by a combined 225-0.
"We are excited for the final four and the chance to compete against the top teams in D1 Elite," Lindenwood head coach Billy Nicholas said. "We do hope that someday we will be able to get the semifinals and final on different weekends like the men's D1A, but either way it is going to be a great weekend filled with a lot of challenge."
Lindenwood will get more of a challenge against a very physical BYU team.
The Cougars are led by Sorensen Award finalist Grace Taito at loose forward, but outside backs such as Genesis Hinckley, Emily McFadyen, and Alisa Baker are excellent attackers. BYU beat Arizona State 91-0 and UC Davis 92-0.