Women's rugby v. Cal State Northridge in national playoffs

April 21-22

Women's rugby v. Cal State Northridge in national playoffs

Thursday, Apr. 19, 2012

PULLMAN, Wash. - The Washington State University women's rugby team will square off against Cal State Northridge April 21 in Stanford, Calif., in the first round of the USA Rugby Women's Division II College Playoffs.

Qualifying for nationals

Two weeks ago, WSU blew out UC Santa Cruz, 84-5, in the first round of the regional playoffs at Humboldt State University in Arcata, Calif. Then, in the championship game on Easter Sunday, WSU blanked the host team Humboldt State, 26-0, to earn a slot in the national playoffs.

National rugby 'sweet 16'

Sixteen teams will play in the first round of the USA rugby playoffs this weekend, in four different locations around the nation.

Cal State University Northridge, WSU's opponent, won the Southern California championship, to qualify for the national playoffs in the Pacific Coast. Also playing this weekend in Stanford will be Humboldt State University and the University of Wyoming.

The WSU team is no newcomer to the nationals, having won the 2010 National Women's Division II Rugby Championship title on May 1, 2010, in Stanford, Calif. This year, they hope to recapture the title for WSU.

Financial support needed to participate

Although the WSU team has earned the right to compete in the first round of the national playoffs, their work is far from over. If they win this weekend, they will need to put together enough finances to pay their way back to Stanford for the semifinals and championship round on May 11-12.

The WSU rugby team is a sports club. As such, it has to raise most of its own financial support. To do that they have been hiring themselves out for miscellaneous jobs in the Pullman area.

"Financially, we are in a better position than we have been in the past," said Kathleen Higgins, one of the team members, "but we will still need a lot of financial help."

The team spent most of their funds to travel to the regional playoffs April 11-12. Now, the remainder of those funds are being spent to travel to the first round of the national playoffs in Stanford this weekend.

Interested supporters in the Pullman and WSU community can donate to the women's rugby team at http://womensrugby.wsu.edu/donate.

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The brackets below represent both the April 21-22 qualifying Division II playoffs (hosted in four locations nationally) and the semifinals and championship brackets in Stanford, Calif.