Women’s Division 2 – March 2025 Recap

Rumor has it that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb; that is most certainly not true in the world of USA Club Rugby. Our spring-only teams are entering do or die time, our split season teams are finally back in action, and our fall-only teams are getting back to the practice field as they count down the days until their Super Regional opponents are finalized. And I’m going to cover all the drama, right here.

As always, the disclaimer – this information is gathered from team-entered data on RugbyXplorer. Now if something is wrong or missing, you should probably double check that your club or your GU has entered it correctly on RugbyXplorer. If they did and I’m wrong, by all means reach out – I’m only human after all. Everything else added is solely for entertainment value by someone who has no stake in the outcome of these matches. So, take a breath, have some fun, and read on to see what happened in the USA Club Rugby Women’s Division 2 competition this March.

A couple more weeks of regular play in Northern California, as this was one of our last competitions to kick off. Right now it’s all about Berkeley (4-0) in the Bay Area. The All Blues are slicing through the competition, at a point differential of 191 after only four matches. East Palo Alto (0-4) held their own when they hosted the All Blues this past weekend, scoring only one try but holding Berkeley to 24 points, a season low for the All Blues. That might be the only high point of their season so far, as they’ve lost a couple tough matches. But the season is far from over, they travel to San Jose (0-4) next weekend, and one of those two sides could very well find their first win of the season. 

The Sacramento Amazons (3-1) are currently holding onto second place in the standings thanks to their big wins over EPA, San Jose, and the Fresno Golden Dogs (1-3). They lost 39-12 when they traveled to Berkeley at the start of March, but that was a whole month ago. The Amazons do still need to face Life West, but since that doesn’t count towards standings, they should take that as an opportunity to learn and grow so come playoffs, they will be ready should they face Berkeley again. 

Chico Knotty (2-2) are up and down this season. They put triple digits up against Fresno, but then had 92 put on them by Life West. Then at the start of the month they defeated San Jose only 31-7, while Sacramento and the All Blues both had more points than minutes played in their matches. 

As we mentioned, San Jose versus East Palo Alto will be a cracker of a match, with both teams desperate for that first win. Both Sacramento and Berkeley taking on Life West will be an interesting cross-conference matchup. That all happens in April. At the end of the season, the D2 NorCal Champion will advance to the Pacific Super Regional to take on the champs from the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, and the Southwest.

The Spring season looks to have wrapped up in the Pacific Northwest as we anxiously await playoff rugby. The Portland Pigs (5-0-1) are sitting pretty on top of the table after a stunning season in the D1/D2 hybrid. They performed superbly in both games against D1 Seattle, winning the first 26-21, and drawing the second 22-22. We’re unsure of the playoff structure for D2, but I can’t see anyone coming close to the Pigs in the PNW. If they advance without a final match, they will take on the Champions from SoCal, NorCal, and the Southwest at the Pacific Super Regional.

The Mudhens (3-3) were able to close their season out with a win over the Bend Lady Roughriders (2-3) on March 22nd, 35-5. They are third overall in the standings, but their last match against the Pigs was a 82-0 loss, a big mountain to climb as the postseason draws near.

It was a bit of a rebuilding year for the Tacoma Sirens (2-4) and the Steller Sea Lions (0-6) who both finished this past weekend. There were a ton of experiences to learn from, and playing top class teams such as Seattle, ORSU, and Portland will benefit them in the future.

After a thrilling March, the regular season has ended and the semifinals are set for the top four teams in Southern California. The West Coast Marines (8-0) finished on a golden note as they defeated Los Angeles Rugby Club (6-2) on Women’s Day to wrap up a perfect season. They secure the home field advantage for semifinals on April 5th, when they host the Fullerton Wolfpack (5-3). 

Coming in at second place is the Pasadena Royals (6-2) who can thank a single bonus point for their future home field advantage over LARC. And that’s to everyone who thinks bonus points are just a load of hokey. Now, where the WC Marines are solidly in first, the next three teams are all quite close. The Royals lost 59-24 against the Fullerton Wolfpack on March 15th, even though they finished higher in the standings. LARC defeated San Luis Obispo (3-4-1) at the start of the month, and SLO slaughtered Fullerton in January. But it’s all about how you finish, not how you start.

A few teams were unlucky not to make the final cut, San Luis Obispo being one of them. SLO finished fifth, despite some early season wins and strong games against top teams. Their one point loss to the Pasadena Royals back in February may have turned the tides, but it’s no use looking at one game when there are so many moving parts. 

It’s worth noting that the Empire Monarchs (1-7) got their first win of the season, finishing on a high note with a 20-17 win over San Fernando (3-5). Ventura County (2-6) also pulled off a nail biting 36-35 win when they hosted Santa Barbara back on March 15th. A positive end to the season for a number of the teams.

Semifinals will kick off on April 5th with the Pasadena Royals hosting LARC and the WC Marines hosting the Fullerton Wolfpack. The last two meetings between these two were Pasadena 31-14 LARC back in January and the Marines 27-3 Fullerton in February. The winners will advance to the Southern California Championship and the final champion will move on to the Pacific Super Regional in Las Vegas.

So what’s happening in the Southwest? Well, from what we can source, it’s a bit all over the place. A couple of forfeits, mostly from El Paso, and a few rescheduled matches to be played in April. We do know that Las Vegas Women (5-0) look good. They defeated Old Pueblo 50-7 just last weekend to secure their position at the top of the table. Albuquerque also got a win last weekend, 41-13 over Phoenix. Phoenix had the closest game to date against Las Vegas back in February, only 17-7 at full time. It’s difficult to source exact standings here as many of the teams on RugbyXplorer have missing data and score reporting.

However if Las Vegas really are on top, that puts them in excellent position to advance to the Pacific Super Regional which will be held on home turf in Las Vegas, Nevada at the end of April.

It’s the Growlers and the Renegades heading to Springfield in May for a final chance to advance to the National Championship Final Four. The two were neck and neck in the Midwest Final back in November and will both bring a lot of fire power to the Northern Super Regional as they take on the champions of Rocky Mountain and Mid-America. 

This season ended back in October, but semifinals have been confirmed for April 12th amongst the four teams participating in this division. The St Louis Sabres (3-0) finished undefeated after their 52-24 defeat of the Omaha Goats (1-2) on October 26th. They will host fourth-ranked KC Jazz (0-3) who haven’t yet managed to find a win. Their fall match against the Jazz resulted in a 83-0 win for the Sabres, so confidence definitely lies with St Louis heading into playoffs.

On the other side of the bracket it’ll be the Patriots (2-1) hosting the Goats. The Patriots capped off their fall with a monstrous 104-5 win over KC, which definitely gave them confidence heading into the winter break. Their last match against the Goats though was anything but easy. Omaha had the lead heading into the final 10 minutes, but the Patriots pushed on and managed to send over Lauren Kuklenski to find victory as the clock ticked down. That rematch could very well come down to the wire. 

The two victors will meet the next day at the Gans Creek Recreation Center in Columbia, Missouri for a chance to claim the Mid-America Title and the ticket to the Northern Super Regional.

Only two matches to update on this past month, but they help paint a pretty clear picture of what the postseason will hold. The Utah SLUGs (0-4) forfeited against the Boulder Babes (4-0) at the start of the month. It was a pretty thrilling match when Utah hosted back in October, but without the numbers needed to travel, the SLUGs had to call it early. They were able to host a few weeks later when Denver Black Ice D2 (2-1) made the trip out west. Denver won that comfortably, 45-0. 

There’s one more game to be played this upcoming weekend, and it’s a top of the table clash. Black Ice hosts the Boulder Babes in a thrilling rematch of the opening weekend. The Babes won that one 21-5, but Denver is hosting this time, and home field advantage might be enough to give Black Ice the nod. If Black Ice can win with a bonus point AND prevent the Babes from getting two losing points, they could finish top of the table and advance onward to Springfield, MO and the Northern Super Regional.

The Charleston Hurricanes (5-2) racked up two strong wins in March in order to make the cut for the Carolinas D2 Semifinals this past weekend, including a 71-0 defeat of fellow semifinalist, the Columbia Bombshells (3-4). The Savannah Shamrocks (2-5) needed to win the match against Charleston in order to leapfrog the Bombshells and make the postseason, but they were unsuccessful. Charleston kept the train rolling as they headed down to Atlanta to face the top of the table Atlanta 2.0 Selects (6-0-1). Atlanta were stunned by the firepower the Hurricanes brought, and scrambled to mount a counter attack. It was no use, the Hurricanes were upgraded to Category 5, and tore through the Selects. They will now head to the Carolinas Women’s D2 Final on April 12th to take on Charlotte (6-0-1). 

Charlotte also took the spring season by storm as they dropped triple digits on the Savannah Shamrocks at the start of March. That was their first outing since the 14-14 tie against Atlanta back in January, and it sure made a statement. They hosted the Columbia Bombshells in the other semifinal this past weekend, a confident 97-0 rout. 

Charlotte and Charleston will meet in Columbia, South Carolina in two weeks time. The two played once, back in October, with Charlotte winning that one 31-7, but times have changed. The winner will claim the title and advance to the Gulf Coast Super Regional where they will face either San Antonio or Little Rock, along with the True South and Florida Champions.

The regular season ended this past weekend with the Memphis Flamingos (0-4) hosting the Louisiana Lagniappe (2-2) and Chattanooga (2-2) hosting the Knoxville Minx (4-0). Knoxville finishes undefeated after sweeping both home and away fixtures against Chattanooga and the Nashville Stone Lions (0-4). In fact, their closest match was this past weekend, and they won by 24 points. Chattanooga fared well over Nashville, banking a 38-20 victory back on March 1st.

The True South West subdivision has been having a tough year, the Flamingos having to forfeit most of their fixtures, and then Lagniappe forfeiting against Birmingham Steel (4-0). Birmingham won the two matches they played comfortably, but really haven’t been tested yet this season. We expect Birmingham to face off against Knoxville for the chance to move on to the Gulf Coast Super Regional, but matches haven’t yet been confirmed in RX.

Everything has wrapped up in the regular season for the Texas and Arkansas teams. The Red River Conference will host their finals the weekend of April 12th in Dallas, TX. 

Clenching the top seed in this hybrid division is Little Rock (6-1). Little Rock stunned opponents this season with strong wins over Division 1 and Division 2 clubs alike. They took down the sHARCs D1 17-15 on March 15th and stormed by the San Antonio Riveters 37-23 the last weekend of the season. They will head to the RRRC Championships on April 12th to face familiar foes.

San Antonio (2-5) may not show much from their season record, but remember they were playing against three D1 teams along with Little Rock all season. They had a big win over sHARCs D2 earlier in March as well as their close battle with the Austin Valkyries earlier in the season. Their two head to heads against Little Rock were 29-15 and 37-23 losses, plenty to build on entering the Championship. 

San Antonio and Little Rock will indeed face each other one final time on April 12th, the winner claiming the RRRC crown and the golden ticket to the Gulf Coast Super Regionals.

The regular season finished up this past weekend and now the stage is set for the State Championship on April 12th. Fort Miami (5-1) and Tampa Krewe (5-1) take the top two spots at the end of regular season play. The Krewe were the team to beat entering 2025, having claimed the National Title back in 2024. Fort Miami made their statement back in February with an impressive 40-12 win over Tampa at home. However, the Krewe weren’t going to be thrown off that easily. The two met again on March 22nd, and this time Tampa had the final say. Thanks to an extra conversion and penalty goal by flyhalf Robyn Oliveri, the Krewe defeated Fort Miami 22-17. They did, however, neglect to get a bonus point in the win, as well as allowing Fort Miami two, so Fort Miami finished at the top of the table come the end of the regular season.

Orlando (2-4) finished their season with a played forfeit against the Tampa Krewe, I’m sure they are looking forward to taking some time off and regrouping before sevens starts. Jacksonville (1-5) was so close to ending their season with a come from behind win against Fort Miami, but struggled to put the necessary points on the board. They did however notch a win the weekend before when they defeated Orlando at home, 29-5.

Fort Miami and Tampa Krewe will battle it out on April 12th, with the winner advancing to the Gulf Coast Super Regional to face the champions from the Carolinas, Texas, and the True South.

It’s going to be a battle of the Rivers for the Capital Women’s D2 Championship on April 12th. Regular season play wrapped up this past weekend after a short winter break. NOVA (2-3) had a big mountain to climb as they hosted top of the table Severn River (6-0) on Spring Opening weekend. They held their own, matching try for try for the better part of the first half. Halftime score was 12-7 to Severn, and NOVA tied it up early in the second half. However a pair of tries from Severn’s Kayla Carter was too much for NOVA to keep up with and Severn pulled ahead. 

James River (3-3) opened their March by storming the Norfolk Storm (0-5) (see what I did there?) in a 61-5 masterclass. Mollianna Updegraff, Natasha Conerly, and Alyssa Willis all scored twice for James River, while Ruthanne Rowane and Ayana Lancaster took turns off the tee. 

The stage is set for the Capital Women’s Championship where Severn River and James River will once again face off. The last time they met? Why, it was just last week! Severn captured that win on the road, 26-14. The two also played back in October, Severn again taking the spoils 41-7. However, James River is closing the gap. Perhaps one game is all they need to turn the table and finish on top. We’ll find out in two weeks time. Winner will advance to the Atlantic Super Regional to play against New Haven, the Worcester Shamrocks and the TBD EPRU Champion.

Phoenixville (8-0) continued their perfect streak through the New Year as they roared back onto the scene with a handful of strong wins. As last year’s National Runners-up, they seem determined to make it to Indy and finally claim the crown. Their most recent win, a 55-7 stomp of second place Harrisburg (4-3), showed just how focused they are on the prize.

The battle for second place is still raging as Harrisburg and Monmouth (3-3) are neck and neck. They went head to head on the 22nd, and Harrisburg took that one 55-17, but there are still games left to play. Monmouth will host Doylestown (1-6) this weekend, while Harrisburg hosts Northeast Philadelphia (1-5). An unexpected win by Northeast could disrupt the table just enough for Monmouth to take second.

New Haven finished their season undefeated and booked their ticket to the Atlantic Super Regional taking place in Newport, RI the first weekend of May. They will compete against the Champions from Capital, EPRU, and New England.

After just missing out in the 2024 season, the Worcester Shamrocks were declared New England Champions after their win over Providence in November and are heading to the Atlantic Super Regional in Newport, RI.