The Division II national championship will be decided this weekend, with the semifinals Saturday and the final Sunday at SaberCats Stadium in Houston, TX. Defending champion Wisconsin Eau Claire returns with hopes of a three-peat, while Coast Guard and Vassar are back to replay last year’s semifinal, and Cincinnati makes its NCR final four debut.
The Blugolds recovered from the speedbump of losing the Great Waters conference semifinal to Marquette by hanging 69 points on UT-San Antonio in the opening round of the playoffs in Kansas City, and shutting out Grand Valley State, 51-0, in the quarterfinals.
They draw Cincinnati in Saturday's semifinal, a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal, which Eau Claire eked out on a walk-off try, 12-10. The Bearcats return four All-Americans from that team, in lock Elaina Grayson, flanker Shannon Swinterton, No. 8 Taylor Powell and wing Paige Huggins. Cincinnati beat the team that beat UWEC in the Great Waters semifinal, Marquette, 27-15, to advance to Houston.
Eau Claire is bolstered by its own quartet of returning All-Americans in fullback Cerys Ridd, flyhalf Megan Ludy, lock Calla Dexheimer and prop Emily Martel. But center Khloee Chamberlain may be the best player on the team, if that isn’t No. 8 Kaitlynn Moore.
On the other side of the bracket is a replay of a high-scoring affair in last year’s semifinal between Vassar and Coast Guard, which the Brewers took, 48-38. Vassar jumped out to a 38-10 lead, which the Bears would cut to two scores in the second half, but the Brewers controlled the contest the whole way.
Vassar narrowly lost to Eau Claire in the final, 32-29, and the Brewers have graduated some key players since, but back is All-American scrumhalf Sophia Bailey, who left the national championship game with a broken ankle. She scores as well as she distributes, dotting down more than 30 times this season, and as long as she’s healthy, Vassar is a contender. The Brewers have been dominant defensively this postseason, beating New Hampshire and William & Mary 36-5 and 40-0, respectively.
Coast Guard has had a tougher road back to Houston, narrowly escaping Fairfield in quarterfinals, 17-15, after handling Delaware in the opening round, 48-12. The Bears are led by senior captains Delaney Moyer and Daniella Tipton, as well as flyhalf and team president Katherine Jenkins.
Eau Claire and Cincinnati contest the first semifinal at 2 p.m. CT Saturday, while Coast Guard and Vassar kickoff at 4 p.m. The winners play for the national title at 2 p.m. Sunday. All games are streamed live by The Rugby Network with a TRN+ Ticket.
