The 2022 Women’s XVs season reaches a crescendo this weekend, as national champions will be crowned across three divisions at AVEVA Stadium in Houston, Texas. Saturday’s Division II and Small College semifinals will serve as curtain raisers for the Lonestar Bowl featuring Texas A&M and Boise State. Sunday, DII and Small College winners will meet to determine their national champions, followed by the Division I championship between Michigan and Notre Dame College. 

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Division I

All season long, either Notre Dame College or Michigan has sat atop the Division I Coaches Poll. The Falcons owned the early part of the season, while the Wolverines took over the top billing just before the playoffs. Sunday, they’ll finally answer the question of ‘Who’s No. 1?’ on the pitch, as both programs vie for their first-ever national championship. 

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The Wolverines advanced to the final by knocking out the Midwest Conference’s top two teams in St. Louis. In the quarterfinals on, Friday, November 18, Michigan bested Iowa State 36-17 and Northern Iowa defeated Southern Nazarene 42-29. The Wolverines then beat the Panthers 31-14 in Sunday’s semifinal. 

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In Reading, Pennsylvania, Notre Dame College downed Clemson 57-5 in one Friday quarterfinal, and Big Ten runner-up Iowa defeated Colgate 42-15 in the other. In Sunday’s semifinal, NDC proved too much for the Hawkeyes, winning 41-19 to advance to the national championship. 

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Both squads are buoyed by exceptional No. 8s. Manning the back of Michigan’s scrum is Gianna Torres, who’s workrate in defense and hard carries in attack are key cogs in the Wolverine game plan. 

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NDC All-American Alivia Leatherman emerged as one of the best players in the country as a sophomore, helping the Falcons to a third-place finish last season. She’s taken another step forward during her junior campaign, sometimes lining up at prop, and sometimes at the back of the scrum. Either way, the Wolverines want to keep tabs on her.

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The Division I final kicks off at 2:00pm CST Sunday. 

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Division II

Four teams remain in the hunt for the first-ever Division II women’s national championship – Wayne State, Marquette, Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Roger Williams. Two of them have won titles before, Roger Williams taking home the Small College crown in 2014, and Wayne State laying claim to the same prize seven times since 2012. 

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The Wildcats leave Small College having won five national championships on the trot, while Roger Williams was bounced in the first round of the Division I playoffs last fall, rebounding to win the 7s national title in May. The Hawks advance to the semifinals with a 42-7 win over South Atlantic champion Coastal Carolina. Casey Dunbar, Makayla Carrafiello and Sarah Gray were outstanding in the effort. 

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Like Roger Williams, the other two Division II semifinalists were in last year’s DI playoffs, Eau Claire losing to Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals and Marquette to Life in the semifinals. Top-ranked Marquette graduated 10 seniors from last year’s playoff squad, and senior captains Ryley Rand and Hayley Weeder have impressively filled the leadership void. The Eagles earned a semifinal meeting with No. 2 Wayne State via a 22-15 quarterfinal defeat of Bowling Green in Elkhart, Indiana. 

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For their part, the Wildcats worked their way past the University of Texas San Antonio, 48-10, in their final home match at the famed Wayne Rugby Park before it’s razed at season’s end. Wayne State is led by a trio of NCR All Americans in lock Taylor Ference, prop Ashton Hurley and halfback Selma Taylor.  

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On the other side of the bracket, the Blugolds shutout Cincinnati 29-0 in Elkhart, and Roger Williams defeated Coastal Carolina 42-7 in Culpepper, Virginia. Saturday’s semifinal winners advance to Sunday’s national championship match at 12:00pm CST. 

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Small College

From a 16-team field, four remain in the chase for the Small College national championship – College of Saint Scholastica, Lee, Endicott and Northern Michigan. None has ever won a national championship before, paving the way for a new champion.

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Lee, Endicott and Northern Michigan were all expected contenders – playoff teams last year, ranked in the Preseason Top 10, all ranked No. 1 at one point this fall, and all ranked in the top four coming into the postseason. The Saints were none of those things, but an 87-10 win over Pitt State (KS) in the Round of 16 and a 45-36 defeat of the University of Chicago in the quarterfinals have landed them in the final four for the first time in program history. The Saints attack is paced by three players who gained valuable experience with the Northern Lights All Star 7s squad last year in Hailey Hammond, Navah Swoverland and Marre Welinski. 

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Drawing Saint Scholastica is South Atlantic champion Lee, who defeated St. Bonaventure 31-10 in the opening round and East Stroudsburg 36-17 in the quarterfinals to advance to Houston. Lee reached the same stage last season, finishing fourth, led by All American Siena Macy.

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Beating the Flames to take third in 2021 was Northern Michigan, earning the Wildcats the top spot in the Preseason Top 10 this fall.  The road back to the semifinals has been smooth for Northern Michigan, with a 54-0 defeat of Calvin in the opening round and a 49-5 quarterfinal win over York. The Wildcats are led by powerful inside center Bianca Rosales and fifth-year senior lock Kaitlyn Bammel.

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Colonial Coast champion Endicott had the toughest route back to the final four, starting with Northeast champ Colby College in the opening round, the Gulls advancing 27-14. Awaiting in the next round was Cortland for a quarterfinal rematch, the Red Dragons having eliminated the Gulls from postseason last fall. Endicott avenged the loss, 31-27, to book a trip to Houston. A bevy of senior leaders is skippered by captain Cassidy McElhinney, and sophomore fullback Tess Merrill is a livewire in attack and reliable tackler in defense.

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The Small College championship game kicks off Sunday at 10:00 am CST.

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Full Competition Schedule

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