Welcome back to another USA Club Rugby Monthly Recap! This month we are excited to dive a bit deeper into the details, as we don’t have anything to catch up on from the fall. In case you’re new here – welcome! This is your one stop shop (organized by division) to find out what’s happening in club rugby in the USA.
A few notes – this information is all gathered from team-entered data on RugbyXplorer. So if there’s an error or an incorrect score, please first check RugbyXplorer and then with your local Geographical Union to ensure all matches are finalized in the system. Like any human, I also make mistakes; so if it’s all right online and wrong here, please let me know! Any other commentary added is for entertainment value from someone who has zero stake in the outcomes of these matches.
Now with that out of the way, we can get into the good stuff. What happened in the Women’s D2 Competition in February? Read below to find out!
Midwest Women’s D2
The Grand Rapids Growlers defeated the Rochester Renegades 24-17 in the Midwest Women’s D2 Championship in November. They will both advance to the Northern Super Regional in Springfield, MO to take on the champions of Rocky Mountain and Mid-America.
Mid-America Women’s D2
We are currently halfway through the Mid-America Women’s D2 season, with each team having played three games. Currently the St. Louis Sabres (3-0) are well on their way to defending their Mid-America title and heading back to the Super Regional. They have a whopping 136 PD, their closest match a 49-24 win over the Patriots (2-1) who sit in second. The Omaha Goats (1-2) came within 4 points of the Patriots in October, and are looking to avenge that loss come spring. We’re unsure of exact dates of the games, but as soon as we know, you’ll know. Still plenty to play for, a ticket to Springfield is up for grabs.
Rocky Mountain Women’s D2
Safe to say that the Rocky Mountain region is slumbering under deep snowfall. However these teams don’t let a little wind and cold stand in the way of their spring season preparation. Doors open March 8th when the Boulder Babes (2-0) host the SLC SLUGs (0-1). The Babes, the SLUGs, and Black Ice will play in a round robin format over March and April, as well as some other friendlies in between to prep for the postseason. The Champions will eventually travel to Springfield, MO in May to compete against Grand Rapids, Rochester, and the Mid-America Champ.
New England Women’s D2
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.
Empire Women’s D2
New Haven finished their season undefeated and booked their ticket to the Atlantic Super Regional taking place in Newport, RI the last weekend of April. They will compete against the Champions from Capital, EPRU, and New England.
Capital Women’s D2
Capital continues their break this month, with games kicking off again starting March 15th. Severn River (4-0) have a comfortable lead after going undefeated in the fall. It would be unlikely for them to lose first, but not impossible. Both James River (2-2) and NOVA (2-2) could make it happen if they both beat Severn with max bonus points, not allowing Severn River to score a bonus point, AND by topping the PD that Severn put on them in the fall. So… possible but a lot of items on that checklist to be done. Regardless, one of those two teams will be able to face off a third time in the Capital Women’s D2 final in April for the bid to the Super Regional in Rhode Island. It all starts back up with NOVA hosting Severn River and James River hosting Norfolk Storm (0-4) on March 15th.
Eastern Pennsylvania Women’s D2
The action resumes in Eastern Pennsylvania in March with Phoenixville (5-0) hosting Northeast Philadelphia (1-4) in a rescheduled match from the fall. Phoenixville have their sights set on Nationals after finishing second last year in the final against the Tampa Bay Krewe. Monmouth (3-2) and Harrisburg (3-2) are both in the hunt as well, those two face off March 22nd in Harrisburg.
Pacific Northwest Women’s D1/D2
Up in the Pacific Northwest, the action has only started for the D1 teams as Seattle hosted ORSU this past weekend. Portland (2-0) were slated to host the Tacoma Sirens (0-1) but unfortunately that game was recorded as a forfeit. Plenty of rugby to look forward to in March as Portland hosts the Mudhens (0-0), ORSU Jesters host the Bend Lady Roughriders (0-0), and the Steller Sea Lions (0-0) make the trip to Seattle.
Northern California Women’s D2
Still quiet up in Northern California as we only have two games to cover. Well, two and a half really. D1 Life West traveled to San Jose (0-1) to play a hybrid qualifying match. This means Life West has already declared for the D1 postseason pathway but must participate in a minimum number of games in order to qualify. So Life West’s standing won’t be relevant to our D2 rankings, even though they are listed in the table. That’s why I count it as a half.
Fresno Golden Dogs (1-0) really kicked off their season in style with a 53-32 win over East Palo Alto (0-1). Beatrice Weier scored a hat-trick for the Golden Dogs in the win, while Lilin Denis added three of the extras along with two tries of her own. Finally, Berkeley (1-0) stormed Chico (0-1) 83-0 when the game was called at 60 minutes.
Coming up in March, the Sacramento Amazons (0-0) begin their season by traveling to Berkeley, battle of the giants right out of the gates. Chico will host San Jose, one of those teams getting their first win of the season.
Southern California Women’s D2
Games really got underway in February and it is going to be a race to the finish for these Women’s D2 teams in Southern California. The WC Marines (5-0) are the last undefeated team in the competition thanks to three strong wins over the last month. The third-place Pasadena Royals (4-1) gave them a run for their money highlighted by a pair of tries from flyhalf Kira Nolan, but the Marines pulled away in the second half to make it 46-21.
The Fullerton Wolfpack (3-2) had a strong defensive match, almost preventing WC from securing the bonus point in the 27-3 final. The Los Angeles Rugby Club (4-1) are tied on table points with the Royals, but sitting in second thanks to a higher point differential. Two confident wins over Ventura County (2-2) and San Fernando (0-5) highlighted their February campaign.
San Luis Obispo (3-1-1) had a dramatic 10-10 tie against the Empire Monarchs (0-5-1) the first weekend of February, and then dropped a last minute heartbreak to the Royals 27-26. San Fernando hosted the Santa Barbara Mermaids (1-5) in one of the games of the season on February 15th. Two tries in the final minutes from Evelin Avila and Evelyn Nicacio sealed the deal for San Fernando, who are currently in sixth, with one less match played than the top five.
In March, LARC will finally host the WC Marines in the top of the table clash on the 15th. The Fullerton Wolfpack will host the Pasadena Royals the same day across the city. Finally, Ventura County will host the Empire Monarchs on March 1st, with one team hopefully securing their first win of the season.
Southwest Women’s D2
Moving on down to the Southwestern part of the country, Las Vegas (4-0) continued their hot streak this past month. On the 15th they traveled to Phoenix (2-2) for a tightly contested affair with the second place team in the conference. Scrumhalf Courtney Julander opened the scoring 12 minutes in, and that was almost it for the first half had Skylar Asuncion not snuck in at the stroke of halftime. The second half was a grittier defensive battle with Phoenix only allowing one score by winger Rachel Haycock. Their second match was a much more smooth affair as they toppled the Albuquerque Atomic Sisters 62-10.
The Atomic Sisters are currently 1-2, having had their own big win back in January against El Paso. Phoenix also found a win this month when they hosted Albuquerque on the first. That keeps them within fighting range for a postseason slot.
Next month, the Atomic Sisters host Las Vegas and Phoenix trades home and away matches with El Paso. Lots at stake here as the Southwest is hosting the Pacific Super Regional just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.
True South Women’s D2
The Knoxville Minx (4-0) hosted the Atlanta 2.0 Selects in a mid-February friendly, but otherwise are waiting until a few more league games play out in March to determine the postseason match-ups.
Birmingham Steel (2-0) look to continue their winning ways the first weekend of March when they host the Memphis Flamingos (0-2) who forfeited their last match of the fall against Louisiana Lagniappe (1-1).
The Nashville Stone Lions (0-3) open their spring season this weekend against the Chattanooga Queens (1-2). The last time these two played, the Queens dominated 54-22; but home field advantage might play to the favor of the Stone Lions, who are hunting for that first win.
Texas Women’s Premiership
It’s getting hot down in Texas and we don’t just mean the temperature. Texas plays a D1/D2 hybrid, with teams pre-electing postseason pathways and then competing in a combined bracket for the regular season. There are three squads following the D2 postseason, but they are making some waves.
First up is Little Rock (4-1) who smashed the sHARCs D2 (0-4) earlier in the month. They already recorded a January win over the D1 Austin Valkyries (2-2-1), and have only lost one match to the D1 Dallas Harlequins (4-1). Little Rock are currently in second place with one more game played than the D1 sHARCs (2-1-1) who are close behind.
The San Antonio Riveters (1-4) are still trying to find their second win after taking down sHARCs 2 in January. They dropped a tough game to Little Rock this past weekend.
The sHARCs 2 are struggling after a few big score matches against them. Hopefully the two weeks off is enough to rest and regroup when they travel to the San Antonio Riveters on March 8th.
Carolinas Women’s D2
In the East, Charlotte (5-0-1) remain on top after having a forfeit win over the Columbia Bombshells (2-3) at the start of the month. They’ve been eager to get back to the pitch since that 14-14 tie to West leader Atlanta 2.0 Selects (5-0-1) in January. Fear the Maniacs (3-2) had a superb February, notching two 60-point wins over the Savannah Shamrocks (2-3) and the Bombshells. Winger Tracy Ferguson was essential in the two wins, adding 4 tries to her season total as well as Anna Poston and Holly Welch who shared the kicking responsibilities, converting 55% of the tries. The Southern Pines Celts (2-4) smashed the Carolina Villains (1-3) on February 15th, fullback Alyson Witt scoring a hattrick at home. Eno River (1-5) have had a tough season, their only win coming from a forfeit loss by Augusta (1-4).
Heading to the West, Atlanta 2.0 Selects (5-0-1) rule the table, the only blight on their record that tie against East leader Charlotte. They had a strong 31-15 win over the Charleston Hurricanes (3-2) and they’ll need that confidence when they host Fear the Maniacs the first weekend of March. Regardless of the outcome, Atlanta is the only team to have secured home field advantage for the conference semifinals at the end of March. The Carolina Villains finished on a high note as they managed to sneak in a win over Eno River in their last home game of the season. Only a few games left in this competition before the semifinals and finals, with the winner advancing to the Gulf Coast Super Regional in New Orleans, LA.
Florida Women’s D2
A few games to catch up on in the sunny state of Florida. Treasure Coast (0-4) have elected to play a forfeited season, still participating in friendly matches but not seeking any postseason action. Fort Miami (4-0) made a statement with their two wins over Tampa Krewe (3-1) and Orlando (2-2). As Tampa Krewe are the reigning D2 Women’s National Champions, it raises some eyebrows. Fort Miami will have to keep the standards high on the road, as they travel for their next two matches.
Tampa Krewe did secure a very tight win over Jacksonville (1-3) on February 8th, Kelsey Cashem making her name on the scoreboard as she kicked both conversions, one penalty goal, and even scored a try for the Krewe. Orlando also eked out a win over Jacksonville the next weekend, a penalty try at the 72nd minute pushing Orlando to a six point lead, which they kept for the rest of the match.
Jacksonville are unlucky to be sitting at 1-3, they’ve shown brilliance throughout the season and raked in max bonus points in both of those February losses. It’s just a matter of time before those efforts turn into marks in the win column. Their next chance is when they travel to Tampa Krewe on March 15th.
