Women’s Division 2 – November 2025 Recap

With November coming to a close, we have a few different things happening across the USA Club Rugby landscape. Regions are either powering down for the winter, entering hibernation mode before reactivating when the snow goes away; starting their preseasons to celebrate the end of the 10-month summer (looking at you Texas); or most excitedly – crowning champions. The bulk of this recap will go to the latter, as playoff rugby is always page scrolling stuff. However, we will of course cover every region and division seeking USAR Club Nationals qualification in the spring.

All of the information and stats reported below are gathered from team-entered data on Rugby Xplorer. If something doesn’t seem right, please first check with Rugby Xplorer or your local GU before sounding the alarm and flooding my inbox. If it’s right in the system and wrong here, it could just be me. Unfortunately I too make mistakes. All other commentary is just for fun from someone who has no stake in the outcomes of these matches.

With that out of the way, let’s cover everything that happened in November in the Women’s Division 2 competition!

November was all about the Midwest championships. With four teams left after the end of October quarterfinals, it was guaranteed that a new champion would be crowned, thanks to the Grand Rapids Growlers promotion to D1. 

In the first semifinal, Fort Wayne (3-0) hosted the Milwaukee Scylla (4-0). Fort Wayne topped the Central league with a 36-5 win over the Chicago Sirens (2-1). They defeated Oconomowoc (2-2) in the quarterfinals, who had finished third in the D2 Western, but advanced to playoffs after Palmer College dropped. Milwaukee had gone undefeated in that Western Conference; absolutely smashing Oconomowoc when they played in the regular season 85-5. Despite Fort Wayne having the home field advantage, past scores hinted that the Scylla would take this one – and they did. Claire Tomashek scored an astounding six tries in the 68-10 win for the Scylla, including four in the last twenty minutes. 

In our other semifinal, the game was a bit closer. Buffalo (3-1) hosted South Buffalo (3-1) in a thrilling rematch of the D2 Northern league regular season game. The D2 Northern league had a photo finish, with three teams finishing 3-1, with only a few bonus points to separate them. Buffalo ended up on top of the table, having defeated South Buffalo 46-17 in the regular season. South Buffalo finished second, their big win coming over the Rochester Renegades (3-1) who had defeated Buffalo in the regular season. In the quarters, Buffalo defeated the Pittsburgh Forge (2-2), while South Buffalo pulled off an astounding win over the undefeated Cleveland Iron Maidens (4-0) to advance. It was a relatively low scoring match, only six total tries. This time, it was South Buffalo who came out on top 22-12. It was the ultimate Cinderella story, the Mighty Ducks of the Midwest D2 – South Buffalo. 

With both South Buffalo and the Milwaukee Scylla qualified for the Northern Super Regional, there was one final prize to claim – the Midwest title. It was a barnburner of a match, with 97 total points scored (more than one point per minute!). Zoey Siciliano scored three for South Buffalo, but not enough to match Claire Tomashek’s four for the Scylla. At the final whistle, Milwaukee reigned supreme, continuing their undefeated season, final score 58-39. Both teams will enter hibernation for the winter before the Super Regional comes knocking. 

The Mid-America region is done for the winter, with the St. Louis Sabres (5-0) finishing undefeated. It was a stunning season for the Sabres, who only allowed 34 points scored against them all season. It’s also a strong first step to returning to the Northern Super Regional and possibly beyond. Last year the Sabres fell by only three points to the Grand Rapids Growlers in the Super Regional final; now that the Growlers have gone D1, it’s all open for St. Louis. The Patriots (2-3) and the Omaha GOATS (2-3) had identical records and total table points at the end of the fall, however the Patriots won the head to head 41-21 back in September, which puts them in second overall. The GOATS finished third, while the KC Jazz (1-4) sits in fourth. Spring will bring playoff rugby to the Mid-America region, and it’s all on the Sabres to defend their MARFU title and advance back to the Super Regional. 

There was only one match played in November, between the Boulder Babes (0-4) and Denver Black Ice (2-2). Black Ice held the Babes scoreless for the first half, but Boulder had their moments. They managed to get a penalty try and a score within five minutes; following it up with another try near the end of the match. In the end it wasn’t enough, with Black Ice topping Boulder 45-19. Black Ice are solidly holding onto third place in the standings, behind the Colorado Springs Pike Peaks (4-0) and the SLUGs (3-1). The Littleton Lemons (1-3) are in fourth, ahead of Boulder in fifth. The league will resume in the spring with playoffs to determine who advances to the Northern Super Regional. 

Up in New England we had the semifinals and finals of the women’s D2 competition. The top four teams were the same as last year, albeit some in a different final ranking. Providence (4-1) finished on top, same as the year before; last year’s champions, the Worcester Shamrocks (4-1) took second, followed by the Hartford Wild Roses (3-2), and the Albany Knickerbockers (2-3). Providence smoked the Knicks in the semifinal 65-12. Amanda Schweitzer scored three for Providence and took care of the kicking duties, while Michaela Conway and Chanel Kung scored the two tries for Albany. In the other semi, the Worcester Shamrocks took down the Hartford Wild Roses, no scores reported. This set up a massive game between Worcester and Providence for the final, a rematch of last year. Providence would have been disappointed with the last minute loss in the final last year, after going undefeated all season. This year, they were determined to make it all the way to the Super Regional. It was down to the wire yet again, but this time, Providence got their reward. Final score 31-29 over Worcester; Providence taking the NERFU title. Now Providence will head into a well-deserved off season before starting a late spring preparation for the Atlantic Super Regional. 

November saw the end of the Empire Fall 2025 campaign before closing doors for the winter. With only three teams in the Empire conference, there was one semifinal play-in between the bottom two teams, with the winner advancing to the championship match. Danbury (3-1) finished top of the table thanks to two extra bonus points both earned in their regular season matches against second-place New Haven (3-1). This meant that New Haven had to take on the Brooklyn Hyenas (0-4) on November 8th. It was a solid performance by New Haven, who toppled the Hyenas 55-10 in their pursuit of the trophy. Gabrielle Dixon, Aunalise Anderson, and Brandice Neal all scored twice for New Haven in the win. 

Then Danbury hosted New Haven in the final. New Haven and Danbury had split their regular season matches in September, first Danbury by 12, then New Haven by 7. Margaret Aydlett was excellent off the boot for New Haven, kicking three penalty goals and two conversions. This turned out to be the difference, as New Haven took the victory 23-16. This means that New Haven will advance to the next stage of playoffs in the spring. Last year New Haven made it all the way to the Atlantic Super Regional, eventually falling to the Phoenixville White Horse in the semifinal. They will aim higher this year, and this win was just the first step. 

We are at the halfway point of the Capital Women’s D2 season, just in time for the winter break. It’s close at the top of the table, with James River (3-1) and Severn River (3-0) just one table point apart in the standings. James River has one more match played, but also already lost in the regular season to Severn River, who remains undefeated. Last year Severn River defeated James River three times in order to reach the Atlantic Super Regional, where they fell to the Worcester Shamrocks in the consolation match on Sunday. James River does have the point differential on their side, they defeated the Norfolk Storm (1-3) 43-7, while Severn only defeated Norfolk 29-5. Similarly James River defeated NOVA (0-3) 29-12, compared to Severn’s 14-7 win. The two will go head to head again on March 28th, likely for the top seed in the Capital region.

Our other two teams are currently battling it out for third place. It was a spicy one back in October when they went head to head, with Norfolk eking out the win 24-22 over NOVA. They will also face off again on March 28th, after both taking on Severn River and James River once more. 

There was one final game in November in Eastern Pennsylvania to close out the regular fall season. We still don’t have final standings for playoffs, as the EPRU resumes in March to play a few more fixtures, but we have already confirmed one thing: Phoenixville White Horse (6-0) will again take the top seed in the EPRU Championship match in April. As two-time National runners-up, White Horse have some unfinished business on the National scene. Of course, winning the National Championship requires qualifying for the National Championship, and this is where the rest of the teams in the EPRU fall victim to White Horse’s rampage. At an overall point differential of 394 over six matches, it ain’t pretty. Phoenixville have only had 40 points scored against them all season, and 20 of those were back on opening weekend from Northeast Philadelphia (2-4). Harrisburg (2-3) are next in line to face Phoenixville, but that won’t be until March.

The one match that did take place this past month was between Northeast Philadelphia and Doylestown (0-6). It was Doylestown’s best chance to get a win, and would have provided a moral boost, especially heading into the winter break. However, Northeast Philadelphia also needed the win in order to have a chance at playoffs. It was a reasonably even first half, but Northeast Philadelphia scored two quick tries courtesy of Kayla Coan and Chloe Hoag to start the second half that gave them the buffer. Final score 34-24 in favor of Philadelphia. In order to keep the playoff dream alive, Northeast Philadelphia must win their next match against Monmouth (5-1) in March. 

Up in the Pacific Northwest we’re operating under a collection of social media reports as the PNW hasn’t yet input the women’s competitions into RX. It seems the only match of the month was when the Bend Lady Roughriders topped the Steller Sea Lions in an epic 15-14 battle on November 9th. There are seven teams in this division, so we’re hoping that the season really gets into full swing in the spring. 

We’re not quite sure what’s happening with NorCal this season. Last year, the division was made up of seven teams, six D2 and one D1 (Life West). This year, only three D1/D2 teams are listed in the RX bracket. Whether the bottom four have gone down to D3, only time will tell. One match was already played with the Berkeley All Blues (1-0) topping the Sacramento Amazons (0-1) 95-7. The All Blues will be opting for a D1 postseason pathway, but the jury is still out on the Amazons. When we know more, we will be sure to update you!

Southern California has yet to submit their teams for this upcoming season but they also don’t typically kickoff until January, so we’re not worried yet. As more information comes in, we’ll update this section.

The big news from the Southwest is that Las Vegas is back and ready to defend their National title. Las Vegas had a dream run last year, continuing all the way to the National Championship where they defeated Phoenixville White Horse in a 28-24, down to the wire match. They will be joined by Albuquerque, Phoenix, and the Old Pueblo Lightning. El Paso has since dropped down to D3, and has been replaced by Northern Arizona. Games will kick off in January, and we will cover all the action then.

The Knoxville Minx (1-0) made their debut of the 25-26 competitive season in November when they took on the Nashville Stone Lions (0-2) on November 9th. The Stone Lions fared better than their opening game against the Birmingham Steel (2-0), but failed to put any points on the board in the 39-0 defeat. This starts both the Minx and the Steel off as undefeated, the same way they did last season. Knoxville were also slated to take on the Chattanooga Queens the following weekend, but no scores were reported and no updates were made on socials, leaving me to assume it was postponed. This division will return in February with a bang, when the Minx host the Steel in the battle that will likely determine the True South champion. 

Down in the Lone Star state, we had a couple preseason friendlies as well as some teams in action in various tournaments. The Houston sHARCs second side got some valuable minutes over in Austin at the annual Bat City XVs. Little Rock featured at the Ozark tournament, taking on the OKC Boomers and the Fayetteville Phoenix on Saturday before facing the Mid-America All-Stars on Sunday. The Riveters have yet to take the pitch yet, but as they don’t start until January, they have a bit more wiggle room. 

The season opens with Little Rock hosting the sHARCs on December 13th and San Antonio traveling to the D1 Dallas Harlequins on January 10th.

The Carolinas Women’s D2 was busy in November, as all 11 teams wrapped up their fall season and determined final standings heading into the winter break. 

In the Western conference, the Atlanta 2.0 Selects (4-0) finished their season undefeated with a whopping 90-0 win over the Carolinas Villains (1-3). It was a slaughter from the opening kickoff, with the Selects finding the try zone after five short minutes, and proceeding to make a total of 14 visits that day; through eight different players. Due to forfeits, the Selects only played two league matches all season, but still managed to rack up a total differential of 245. They will be a force come postseason. Claiming the second spot in the Western conference are the Augusta Furies (3-1), who finished their season back in October. The Savannah Shamrocks (2-2) take third after their 50-5 win over the Villains on November 22nd. Charlie Pitts scored an astonishing five tries for the Shamrocks, while Mary Catherine Innace added two. The Villains finished fourth over the Columbia Bombshells (0-4), who unfortunately had to forfeit their season. It’s likely the top two teams will head to playoffs, with the top seed hosting the Eastern conference’s second seed.

In the East, there are six teams total, and the standings were close at the end of the season. Charlotte (5-0) finished on a high note, racking up two important wins in November. First they took down last year’s champions, the Charleston Hurricanes (2-3) 83-14; an aggressive scoreline over reigning champions. They followed this up with an impressive 53-24 defeat of the second place team, Fear the Maniacs (3-2). Fear managed to keep their second place ranking thanks to a few helpful bonus points they grabbed in their 26-22 loss to the Hurricanes back in October. The Fayetteville Valkyries (3-2) might have just missed the playoff cut despite two wins in November. They took down the Southern Pines Celts (0-5) on November 1st before defeating Eno River (2-3) on the 15th. However when Fear and Fayetteville last went head to head, the game fell heavily for Fear, so perhaps the standings are just. Eno River finished fourth over the Hurricanes despite having the same record and the same number of bonus points; Charleston had to forfeit against Eno back at the start of October due to low numbers. Typically a forfeit takes away a table point, leaving Charleston one spot below Eno on the table. Finishing up our standings are the Southern Pines Celts. The Celts also had a few forfeits to pull them out of the running, but were impressive when they took the field against the Valkyries. They scored 17 points in the 26-17 loss, with Stephanie Iacobucci finding the try zone twice for SoPi. 

The league is expected to resume in the spring; whether there will be more league play before playoffs, we are unsure, but we are sure that there are a number of playoff-caliber teams in this league eager for their opportunity to prove what they’ve got.

The draft schedule has been confirmed for the Florida Women’s D2 competition, starting in January 2026. As of now, games will kickoff with Jacksonville hosting Fort Miami and Tampa hosting Orlando on January 17th. On the 31st, the Lady Hammerheads will join the competition. They are listed as a D3 team, but will play in the D2 competition in order to gain experience and grow into the league. As of now, the finalized schedule hasn’t been posted in Rugby Xplorer, so these fixtures could all change, but we know that the season won’t formally kickoff until January.