After a weekend in Austin, the women’s DI club championship is one game away from naming a new titleholder. All of playoff games were exciting but the most nerve-wracking was saved for the final match on Sunday: NOVA v Chicago North Shore. The Virginia team threw everything it had at North Shore, and if it wasn’t for the defensive efforts of wing Alyssa Green, it would have been NOVA that celebrated the semifinal win (final score: 11-10 to North Shore).

North Shore coach John Tisdale took note of NOVA wing Erica Cavanaugh, who ran ragged over Seattle during the team’s 24-0 quarterfinal win. Containing that outside attack against a backline replete with 7s-refined athletes was particularly important.

“A lot of players played well, but Alyssa stood out,” Tisdale said. “She made a couple of tackles out of nowhere. You thought NOVA was in for the score, and then Alyssa came booking across the field to level a couple of girls.”

Green was instrumental in what Tisdale indicated was the turning point in the game.

“NOVA was attacking in our half, and Alyssa came from the opposite side of the field to tackle the winger [Cavanaugh] within meters of our line,” Tisdale recalled. “We still would have been winning at that point, 20 minutes in, but that try would have changed the momentum.”

Cavanaugh wasn’t Green’s lone responsibility; her defense across the board was stellar.

“There were times when NOVA was camped down on our line, going through what seemed like 20 phases of play,” Tisdale said. “She made some big tackles that caused knock-ons and turnovers. The whole team stepped up, but Alyssa was solid.”

Green is only in her second year playing rugby, and Tisdale is excited to see how more time on the pitch will propel her.

“She has amazing speed and doesn’t realize it,” Tisdale said. “She looks like she’s coasting when she runs. When she gets more competition under her belt and becomes comfortable with her footwork, she’ll be a force to be reckoned with. Even in one year, her positional play has improved tremendously. She’s always asking for additional information on how to be better.”

Green will likely be tasked in the title match when she must corral Glendale power wing Tyra McGrady. But after Green’s performance against one of the most dynamic backlines in the country, one suspects that Green will be up for the challenge.

When reigning women’s DII club champion Albany won the 2010 tournament, their success not only necessitated a promotion to DI but also awarded the Northeast territory with two seeds to this year’s event. Burlington is the happy recipient of that second seed, and while the Vermont team is pleasantly surprised with its success this season, it also acknowledges all of the work that has preceded its debut at nationals.

Burlington formed in 1997, but by 2005 the team nearly folded due to low numbers. The squad joined forces with Saranac (NY) and formed Great Northern. After a couple of losing seasons in DII, the team dropped down to DIII to rebuild. The turning point occurred in 2008 when founding member Tiffany Renaud and Theresa Bertram started coaching the team. Great Northern returned to its Burlington roots and retained a handful of Saranac women on the roster.

“If you told me in 2008 that we would make Nationals in three years, I would have told you that you were dreaming,” Burlington captain Maria Godleski reflected. “We won our way back to division two last fall, and this fall we not only gave teams a run for their money, but also qualified for nationals. I think people are pleased that their commitment to practices and each other has paid off.”

Burlington lost two games during league – a 12-10 loss to undefeated league winner Beantown, which is ineligible for nationals, and 19-0 loss to #1 NRU seed Portland (Maine). During the first round of playoffs, Portland and Monmouth (N.J.) received byes, while Burlington advanced to the semifinals after a 15-0 win over Hudson Valley (N.Y.).

Last weekend’s NRU final four was a miserable one weather wise. Rain turned to sleet then snow, and temperatures dipped into the 30s, and a few players had to leave the field due to hypothermia.

“When we had our team meeting before the game, we knew the weather was going to be horrible,” Godleski said. “Our plan was to keep in the forwards, and in the end, we could only follow our game plan as the backs were literally frozen and the ball was wet.”

The tactic worked, and Burlington’s large pack was able to out-ruck and maul Monmouth. In the first quarter, Burlington inched toward the try line with a series of rucks and punches, until No. 8 Avery McGill was close enough to pick from the base. As McGill dove for the line, flanker Leonie Cowley drove over her fellow backrow to ensure a proper grounding. Cowley converted the try for the 7-0 lead.

Just before half, Burlington banked its second and last try of the day, as the team repeated its pick-and-go march inside the 22 meter. Hooker Ashley Poupoure spotted an overloaded to the right, called for the ball, pinned her defender, then hit Cowley in support. The breakaway took the pass at pace and dotted down for the 12-0 lead.

Both teams’ backlines remained non-factors for the rest of the game, and Monmouth struggled with its penalty count, many for offsides. The second half ended with no points scored, and Burlington advanced to the final against Portland, which eliminated Hartford 14-5 in the other semifinal.

The sleet and snow had ceased on Sunday for the final, but the temperature and field conditions were still issues. Burlington stuck to its forward-oriented game plan, and attempted to shut down Portland’s speedy fullback, who scored two of three tries during the teams’ regular season meeting. Portland prevailed 19-5, with scrumhalf Nadie Paffett-Lugassy getting Burlington’s lone try.

“In both games our team played as a team,” Godleski said. “On Saturday, the forwards won the game, but the backs suffered out on the field for the win.”

The NRU #2 seed affords the team the #7 seed overall at nationals. The team has a very tough opponent in the first round, the Albuquerque Atomic Sisters, who lost 34-22 to Albany in last year’s final. Regardless of the outcome, it’ll be a milestone in the club’s history and hopefully inspire success in the future.

“We hope to continue winning and stay positive because that is the attitude that has gotten us this far,” Godleski concluded.

The women’s DII club national championship begins on Friday, Nov. 11 in Virginia Beach, VA.

Quarterfinals
#3 Pittsburgh(Midwest) v #6 Santa Monica (So Cal)
#2 Atomic Sisters (West) v 7 Burlington (Northeast #2)
#4 Raleigh (Mid-Atlantic) v #5 Memphis (South)
#1 Portland (Northeast #1) v #8 Sacramento Amazons (Pacific Coast)

Alex Goff looks at one player who could be a big part of the USA 7s team for many years.

Eight games later, and CR2's Glendale Raptors and Chicago North Shore have been named this year's women's National DI Club Championship finalists. The two escaped the weekend with clean records, with Glendale defeating Belmont Shore 55-5 on Saturday then Atlanta 29-5 in the semfinals. North Shore shut out ORSU 22-0 in the quarterfinals then outlasted NOVA 11-10 on Sunday.

The two teams competed against each other nearly two months ago during league, and the Raptors won 29-8. But both sides have evolved tremendously over the course the season, and will hopefully bring a spirited game to Virginia Beach, since it'll be the only DI game contested among the Women's Premier League and DII national championships that will be occurring concurrently.

The weekend's scores:

Saturday, Oct. 29 - Quarterfinals
Glendale (CR2 1) 44-0 Belmont Shore (CR1 3)
Atlanta (CR3 1) 55-5 Austin (CR2 2)
NOVA (CR3 2) 24-0 Seattle (CR1 2)
Chicago North Shore (CR2 3) 21-0 ORSU (CR1 1)

Sunday, Oct. 30 - Semifinals
Glendale 29-5 Atlanta
Chicago North Shore 11-10 NOVA

Sunday, Nov. 13 - Final
Virginia Beach, VA
Glendale v Chicago North Shore

For Premier Members only. USA center Mile Pulu speaks with RUGBYMag.com's Alex Goff about the Pan-Am tournament, and winning a bronze medal.

Available to Premier Members only. RUGBYMag.com's Alex Goff talks with Zack Test about winning a Bronze Medal at the Pan-Am Games. The USA finished 3rd, winning 3, losing two, and tying one. Their losses were both to the eventual champions, Canada, and were by 8 and 2 points, respectively.

The USA 7s team is completely and utterly capable of winning a gold medal Sunday at the Pan-Am Games. If ...

Alex Goff talks about how third parties see different aspects of the games.

Alex Goff checks in on who wasn't playing at the Pan-Am Games.

The USA 7s team backs are something of a question-mark, but an exciting question-mark, going into this weekend’s Pan-Am Games.

USA 7s team members are saying they aren’t obsessing too much about their opponents at the Pan-Am games.

Rugby life has taken an English turn for Derek Asbun, as one of the captains who led Cal to a 2011 D1A championship last season is now studying, and playing rugby, at Oxford University.

Perhaps the biggest change between last year’s USA 7s team and this fall’s  Pan-Am squad is the shift from power to pace.

With their victory over France, has New Zealand become the most successful Rugby World Cup team ever?

In what many would consider an upset, Pittsburgh women defeated Slippery Rock 19-12 for Allegheny’s DII college title. At the heart of the win was No. 8 Nicole Wieszczyk.

“She came back from an injury that had her sidelined for three weeks and picked up right where she left off,” Pittsburgh coach Anthony Simasek said. “She had numerous dangerous runs off the back of the scrum and was a consistent defender. Also, her work rate was excellent and she could be found at most rucks.”

Pittsburgh was trailing 12-7 with about five minutes to go in the first half, but Wieszczyk reversed the flow of momentum when she picked off a scrum and ran 20 meters for the try. With the conversion, Pitt led 14-12 into the break and managed to hold SRU off the scoreboard for the second stanza.

With about 15 minutes remaining in the game, Wieszczyk put the final touches on the Pitt forwards' dominance, dotting down the last try of the game after the forwards walked in a five-meter scrum.

Pittsburgh is grateful to have Wieszczyk back on the active roster, and will rely on her expertise during the Midwest Championship’s round of 16 this weekend, when Pitt takes on Michigan #2 seed Bowling Green. Should Pitt advance to the quarterfinals, then they'll face the winner of Denison (Ohio #1) and IUP, which SRU had defeated 35-0 during the Allegheny semifinals.

Slippery Rock faces CARFU title winner Loyola in the opening Midwest round. If SRU wins in the first round, they'll have to play Grand Valley State, arguably the best DII team in the Midwest.

USA Rugby's new High School Nationals plan is coming together

Shalom Suniula was not surprised when he was tabbed to be the USA 7s team captain, having been the vice captain last year, but he knows his job is changing.

Much has been accomplished in the last few days regarding the new collegiate 7s national championships.

Did the 2011 Rugby World Cup usher in a new era of competitiveness between Tier 1 countries and lower-tier national teams?

Questions still surround what will happen with the USA Men’s National Team coaching position.

One of the better games to occur this weekend in women's DI rugby happened in the Midwest, where Ohio State defeated a very good Notre Dame 22-17. Instrumental to that victory was Aqua Adu-Gyamfi.

Adu-Gyamfi was a track star in Ghana and has since found her stride with the OSU women. She's played for the Midwest and has caught some national attention.

"Not only is she the fastest person on the field but her defense is stiffling," OSU coach Philip Payne said. "She is a big hitter who plays the game full out. She scored two tries, poached countless balls from Notre Dame players, and held Notre Dame's very good #13 in check all day.

"She should be on the National team's radar, but that will come as OSU wins," Payne continued. "We need to get in front of the selectors."

Keep an eye for this powerful, open field runner, who has greatly helped Ohio State's 2-1 record.

USA Rugby Men's College Competition Committee member Craig Brown spoke with RUGBYMag.com Editor Alex Goff Sunday to discuss the committee's frustrations and players' and coaches' frustrations over the lack of details regarding the new USA Rugby Collegiate 7s Championships.

As of now, there is no venue for the December championships. There is no published format for deciding at-large qualifiers. And details are nonexistent regarding expected sponsorship and broadcast/webcast coverage.

Brown was speaking on behalf of the members of the Committee, who are frustrated to find out there is currently no available funds to webcast the event, and are frustrated at having to wait for USA Rugby's Board to ratify or reject plans they submitted last spring.

This interview is available exclusively to RUGBYMag.com Premier Members.

USA Rugby is expected to continue to hire national coaches even as the Men’s Eagles position remains in flux entering the final months of Eddie O’Sullivan’s contract.

More details are trickling in about the future of the USA Men’s National Team schedule.