WEST CHESTER, PA – West Chester University's women's rugby squad travels to Grand Rapids, Mich., for its first-round National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) playoff match against Davenport University at 12 p.m.
West Chester (2-3, 2-2 NIRA) battles Davenport (6-0, 2-0) in the semifinals while Queens (N.C.) (7-0, 3-0) takes on American International College (5-1, 3-1) in the other semifinals. The winners will faceoff for the Third Annual NIRA Tier II Championship on Saturday, Nov. 19.
The Golden Rams dropped the 2021 NIRA Tier II National Championship Game to AIC last fall while winning the inaugural tier championship in 2019 before the pandemic. A win Sunday would land them in the national championship game for the third consecutive season.
"The playoff experience of our upperclassmen has really been evident these past two weeks," WCU head coach
Tony DeRemer said. "Our seniors know what it takes to be successful in the playoffs, and they've turned up the intensity and focus in practice."
In it's initial season in the NIRA, Davenport makes its first trip to the postseason with an unblemished record. The Panthers and Golden Rams cancelled their scheduled season finale and have spent two weeks in preparation for Sunday's playoff showdown.
The Panthers average 62 points per match and have been held to under 40 points just once this fall – a fact not lost on DeRemer.
"We've talked a lot about defense these last few weeks," DeRemer explained. "Davenport has strong, powerful runners, who are difficult to bring down. We will need to work on pressuring them defensively."
West Chester averages 27 points per match, but have yielded over 20 points in a match just once this fall. A defensive effort such as those New Haven, Lander and even Queens and Navy in losses, will be needed Sunday.
