The Women’s Division II Sweet 16 kicks off Saturday at four regional locations across Ohio, Missouri, Massachusetts and Virginia. Winners advance to the Sunday quarterfinals, and by the end of the weekend, four teams will have punched their tickets to the final four in Houston.
Out west at the CPKC Training Complex in Kansas City, MO, eighth-ranked Illinois, champion of the Great Waters, takes on unranked Grand Valley State, an at-large selection out of the Great Lakes. GVSU finished the season 6-1, with the lone loss coming to conference champion Bowling Green.
Playing for a Sunday meeting with either the Illini or Lakers are the University of Texas – San Antonio and two-time defending national champion Wisconsin Eau Claire. The Roadrunners return as champions of the Lone Star, while UWEC is playing the dual role of defending champion and underdog, having finished third in the Great Waters behind Illinois and Marquette.
At Fortress Obetz in Obetz, OH, Marquette takes on back-to-back Upstate New York champion Syracuse in the opening round. The Golden Eagles upended UWEC, 12-10, in the conference semifinals, a huge improvement over their 78-0 loss to the Bluegolds in last year’s national championship game. The next day they fell, 7-0, to Illinois in the Great Waters final. Syracuse swept the Upstate NY conference, capping off a 6-0 regular season with a 59-7 win over Buffalo.
Awaiting either Marquette or Syracuse in the second round will be the winner between 17th-ranked Bowling Green and Allegheny Champion Cincinnati. The Falcons went a perfect 7-0 en route to the Great Lakes conference title, conceding just two tries all season. The Bearcats gave defending champ Eau Claire their closest game of regionals last fall, and they’re battle hardened, having steeled themselves against DI competition this fall.
No. 2 Coast Guard, champion of the North Atlantic Rugby Conference, draws Delaware in the opening round at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton, MA Saturday. The Bears defeated New Hampshire twice to secure the first ever North Atlantic crown, and the Blue Hens are an at-large selection, finishing behind William & Mary in the Mid-Atlantic.
Also meeting in Canton are Rugby Northeast champion Roger Williams and Tri-State runner-up Fairfield. The third-ranked Stags finished the regular season 5-2, with the lone losses coming to top-ranked Vassar, earning an at-large bid. The ninth-ranked Hawks’ only losses this season are to fellow playoff teams Coast Guard and New Hampshire.
The Wildcats received an at-large bid after finishing second in the North Atlantic to Coast Guard and defeating Roger Williams in interconference play. New Hampshire draws undefeated Vassar (11-0) in the opening round at the Culpepper Sports Complex in Culpepper, VA.
Awaiting the Brewers or Wildcats in Sunday’s quarterfinals will be either Mid-Atlantic champion William & Mary or South Atlantic Champion Kennesaw State. The Tribe went 4-0 in MARC play this fall, beating Delaware 21-10 to clinch the conference title. The Owls lost their season opener to UNC-Charlotte, before reeling off five-straight wins to claim the SARC crown.
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