SIRC Opens With One Game, But a Big One
It's a relatively quiet start to the South Independent Rugby Conference schedule this weekend, as there's only one game on the slate - the rest of the teams in the South And North divisions start next week.
But it's a big game, nonetheless. MIddle Tennessee State, which won the SIRC North with a 7-1 record in 2014-15, visits Kennesaw State, which finished second in the SIRC North with a 6-2 record. And, of course, the team that handed MTSU's only loss of the regular season? KSU.
"Every time we play them it's a dadgummed nailbiter," said MTSU Head Coach Jody Hensley. "They give us fits every time we play them. This is a huge game for us."
New Era for Team, Coach at West Point
It's a long way from Stanford University to the US Military Academy at West Point, both in miles and, many might say, in culture.
But Matt Sherman has made the trip, trading in California summers for Upstate New York winters, and a well-support, but club, team that always struggled to match the athleticism of the other teams around it, to a varsity program that is awash in leaders and tough-minded athletes.
Sherman, who was an All American at Cal and was first capped by the USA in 2003, coached at San Diego State before moving on to Stanford. He also coached the All Americans. But this summer he and his wife took a big leap, and crossed the country to take on the West Point job after interim Head Coach Mike Mahan stepped down. Now he inherits a program that won the Rugby East last fall, but still has a frustraitingly tepid DIA playoff record.
This Weekend in DII College
Here's the lineup of conference games for Men's DII college teams this weekend.
Pretty much every conference kicks off this weekend. Below, if we have a specific article about that conference, we link to it when the conference is named in the schedule.
Some things to note:
Rowan at IUP in the MARC has been rescheduled to October 3 because lightning is expected in Indiana, Pa. on Saturday. This season promises a potential shakeup in the Capital Conference, where Georgetown is looking to make a move on Towson and Salisbury. All three teams open up on the road.
After a big win over RPI, Siena looks to topple another rival in Vassar in the Tri-State. NECRC defending champion team Vermont opens on the road at the always-tough Coast Guard Academy. That conference will be a dogfight this year.
SLU Looks Over Shoulder in Gateway
The Gateway Conference had a soft opening a week ago but is full-on this weekend, and the question remains whether anyone can catch St. Louis University.
Southern Illinois reportedly has depth issues, so while SIU defeated UMKC 43-29 in August, observers aren’t sure if that strength will last. The loss was certainly a blow to UMKC. Meanwhile, SLU beat Washington University 44-12 last week (taking the actual weekend for the entire squad to see the USA play Australia in Chicago), and look to build on that this weekend.
But perhaps the big game comes in a week, when SLU faces Principia. Both teams are skilled, speedy, and not especially big up front. And both could be thinking conference championship.
Furman Looks for Strong Start as Southern Kicks Off
The Southern Rugby Conference begins with ten teams in action this weekend.
Defending champion Furman hosts Coastal Carolina and Head Coach John Roberts says his team needs to fill in some important holes. Furman graduated their 2014 second row, and their props, Adrian Marcoliese and Jeff Tonge, are studying abroad this semester, and so his tight five is completely new.
Marcoliese and Tonge, said Roberts, were capable of changing a game with the way they dominated the point of contact. And while flanker RJ Bradley, South African-trained Thomas Trankle, and Patrick Musau will provide power at lock and No. 8, it’s up front where the questions need answering.
WILL Kicks Off Amid Shakeup
The new-look WIIL Men’s DII conference gets underway this weekend with 2014 national finalists the UW-Whitewater Warhawks heading up a strong lineup of teams.
Whitewater visits UW-Platteville in the opener for both teams on Saturday, while on Sunday we see UW-Stout, always one of the tougher teams in the conference, on the road at UW-Lacrosse, and Marquette going across town to UW-Milwaukee.
But perhaps eyes will be on the new faces on Saturday, as brand-new varsity program Lindenwood Belleville out of Belleville, Ill. plays its first conference game ever away at Illinois State - winners of the south division in 2014 - and Northern Iowa moves from the Northern Lights to WIIL and hosts Illinois-Chicago.
Duluth Headlines All-Minn Tourney
The fall collegiate season in Minnesota gets going with the All Minnesota tournament, which provides college teams competitive opportunities across divisional boundaries.
Defending national men’s DII college championship team the University of Minnesota-Duluth takes the field at the VFW Post 5518 Rugby Grounds in Elk River, Minn., to start another championship run. The Fighting Penguins share a pool with Bemidji State and St. Cloud State. DIA team Minnesota-Twin Cities joins North Dakota and Winona State in Pool B, while UM-Mankato, previous small-college champion St. John’s, and North Dakota State in Pool C.
Eight teams compete in a Tier 2 men’s college bracket, including five B sides from Tier 1 and also Moorhead State, Wisconsin River Falls, and Minnesota-Morris.
Expectations High Throughout Empire
The Empire Conference may once again be Stony Brook’s to lose, but the other six teams are making a surge.
While Stony Brook plays a non-conference game against Rugby East power Kutztown, Colgate hosts Brockport, Syracuse welcomes Fordham, and the US Merchant Marina Academy plays at Binghamton.
Colgate and Brockport both have some significant talent, and this opening game could tell us a lot about which of the two will challenge the top teams.
Rugby East Fires Up
A bigger Rugby East conference kicks off this weekend with an eye toward producing the top DI men's college team of the fall.
This year, eight teams are in the conference - Army, Buffalo, Iona, Kutztown, Penn State, St. Bonaventure, West Virginia, Wheeling Jesuit.
Kentucky Rugby Awards Scholarships
The University of Kentucky Rugby Program has announced the recipients of their Leadership Scholarships.
These Individuals have shown an exceptional amount of character, leadership and dedication towards our program over the past year.
They will each receive $1,250 towards their Fall tuition with an option for another $1,250 in the spring.
CJ Leadingham, senior flyhalf, 5’10", 205lbs, Political Science Major
Chad Goodrich, junior center, 5”10", 190lb, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Major
Caleb Canter, junior flanker, 5’9", 185lb, Mechanical Engineering Major
Gamecocks Win A Boost as SCRC Starts
Columbia, SC - The University of South Carolina Men’s Rugby team suited up this past weekend in Columbia against James Madison University to kick off the fall 2015 season.
Looking to claim their third straight Southeastern Rugby championship in as many seasons, the South Carolina Gamecocks were facing a JMU Dukes squad that had moved up to DI after winning their DII conference last season, made the DII 15s final four, and won USA Rugby's DII college 7s championship.
The Gamecocks looked in mid-season form, mixing their returning starters and their new class of freshmen that is 35 strong. The Gamecocks lit up the scoreboard first off of a maul by senior Dana Corcoran. Senior Jared Magill scored shortly after, and continued pressure led to tried from senior Michael Rudzinsky, senior Mike Mahon, and senior Luke Bolembach. JMU scofed on an interveption.
Key Non-Conference Games This Weekend
While a variety of conferences kick off this weekend, several prominent college programs are finding a little extra competition outside of the conference structure.
West Virginia looks to rebound from a rough open-subs game against Wheeling Jesuit as the Mountaineers visit Bowling Green. To be fair to WVU, their game against WJU came just after the players arrived on campus and isn’t necessarily representative of how life in the Rugby East will go.
Bowling Green Head Coach Tony Mazzarella, whose team played in a halftime demo with Kent State at a recent Cleveland Browns preseason game, expects his team to be in good shape.
Opening Weekend Men's All-DI College Rankings
This season, Goff Rugby Report will rank the DIAA, DIA, and Varsity Cup indepenedent teams as one group. However, we plan to split our rankings, with our fall rankings only ranking teams that play in the fall.
This year, we start, though, with a ranking of everyone to give you some perspective and a starting point. The top three teams in our all-DI ranking for the Opening Weekend play 15s only in the spring, so we won't be including them anymore until the New Year. Likewise, Life University, which has just one varsity game in the fall, will be not in the fall rsnkings. Same goes for #8 Central Washington, and #9 Utah.
In addition, we expect the rankings to expand as we watch the progress of more programs. All of that is for the future. Right now, this is where everyone stands.
Davenport Downs WMU
Davenport University went 1-1 in two early-season games as they lost to regular rivals Western Ontario and then beat Western Michigan.
ECRC Starts as AIC, NEC Meet in Presidents Shield
After winning the National Small College Rugby Organization championship, New England College is now in DI, and will open the fall 2015 ECRC conference schedule with a clash against defending conference champion AIC.
NEC's first foray into the East Coast Rugby Conference then has become an instant rivalry game as the two start the ECRC season Friday at 7pm. They've played each other in 7s, each winning one, and tying the third game. The presidents of the two universities - Michele Perkins at NEC and Vince Maniaci at American International, know each other well, and so the rivalry in rugby 15s seems natural. Friday's game, then, will be the inaugural Presidents Shield game between the two teams.
