Tri-State Latest
The Tri-State DII men's collegiate conference got underway this past weekend, with the biggest result likely being Siena edging RPI 16-12 to make a statement as to who will challenge Vassar for the North Division title.
Vassar won also, paced by two tries from center Eli Vargas and 12 points from scrumhalf Gary Garcia, the Brewers defeated SUNY New Paltz 27-14.
Head Coach Tony Brown wasn't overwhelmed with his team's performance, reasoning that New Paltz finished last in the division last year, and Vassar first, and so he would have expected a stronger showing.
Men DII College Rankings Week #1
With the Men's DII College season nbow underway, and underway in earnest this coming weekend, here is the first rankings of the season from Goff Rugby Report.
With Notre Dame College, James Madison, and Fairfield now up in DI, the competition for some of the higher rankings is even more fierce. We don't make many changes from the end of last season's rankings for the moment, but we expect changes to be made, and the ranking to expand from 25 to 50, eventually.
Here it is:
NECRC Kicks Off This Weekend
The New Englans Collegiate Rugby Conference men's DII conference kicks off this coming weekend, with all six teams in action.
This includes defending league champ Vermont, along with perennial contenders Rhode Island and Coast Guard. UVM has 12 returning starters and are entering the season with some onfidence, and will have to be in a tough opener against the US Coast Guard Academy.
"We are looking to start off the season right where we left off and prove why are the best division 2 team in all of New England," said UMV's Andres Marin. "We are excited to get back to work and show our fans that uvm rugby is back and hungrier then ever."
Fall 2015 NECRC Schedule
Citadel Starts Off Running
In an early-season non-conference match in the South, the Citadel shut out the University of North Carolina-Charlotte 53-0 to put the rest of the Southern Rugby Conference on notice.
Falcons Win Battle of Notre Dames
Notre Dame College visited South Bend, Ind., Friday to play the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 1st annual Notre Dame Catholic Cup.
In an interesting set of games, the NDC Falcons A side won convincingly over the Fighting Irish, but hosts B side won a close one to give them a boost going into a tough series of fixtures.
The UND players were just coming off a short preseason after learning that longtime coach Sean O’Leary would be stepping down. Lonnie Heeter has taken over the reins of the Irish, with O’Leary set to leave the school entirely in a couple of weeks.
Iona Downs Rutgers
Iona defeated Rutgers 53-3 Saturday at Ioan’s Mazzella Field in a non-conference game, with the Gaels scoring nine tries and belt Rutgers try-less.
Greg Amaty scored 13 points with a try and four conversions, while John Powers and Mike Marino both added a brace of tries. Tyler Ringwood, Dylan Evans, Sean Hardiman, and Mike Marro all touched down once.
For Iona, it was once again a case of intense, physical defense forcing mistakes and turnovers by their opposition.
Iona hosts Wheeling Jesuit next week in the Rugby East conference opener.
Video of Iona v Rutgers (if you don't see the video, please refresh the page).
Upstate NY Starts with Big Game
It was all about tries and bonus points this weekend as the Upstate NY Men’s DII college conference got underway.
The game of the weekend was likely Buffalo State against SUNY Oswego, two teams who were among the contenders last season. A relatively young Buff State team held off Oswego 29-27.
“We basically held them off,” said Buffalo State Head Coach Rob Jenkinson, whose team was deadlocked with Oswego 12-12 at halftime.
“It seemed like every time one team scored, the other would score,” added Jenkinson. “I was pleased with out ability to put phases together. If there was a difference between the teams is was how we worked as a unit, and used the phases to suck in the defense and use our backs.”
High-Scoring Start for Wheeling Jesuit
Wheeling Jesuit defeated West Virginia 67-5 Thursday night in an open-subs preseason game.
This followed on from WJU's 51-17 defeat of the University of Cincinnati on Saturday.
Against Cincinnati, the Cardinals were led by Peter Malcolm, while Chris Vakasisikakala and Ryan Graggs scored two tries each and Dominic Piazza, Randika Alwis, and Allan Hanson joined Malcolm with one try apiece.
“Overall, I am happy with our first outing,” said Bayer of the win over the Bearcats. “Our forwards dominated the scrums and played hard-nosed physical rugby when we needed to. Our backs showed an explosive ability to break the gainline and score tries. As a team, we showed some great support play that resulted in tries that were the result of multiple players’ efforts.”
Against WVU, Bayer was quick to point out that WVU had not been on campus for long.
Tri-State Kicks Off This Weekend
This weekend marks the beginning of the Tri-State Conference season and while it’s early days - most of the students have just returned to campus - it’s also a competition that is completely open.
This is in part because 2014 champions Fairfield has moved up to DIAA in the ECRC. Fairfield won the Tri-State before being eliminated from the national playoffs in a wild game with Roan University. With Fairfield out of the picture, there are some openings.
Vassar, which won the North with a 4-0 record, could well be the team to step into the vacuum, but Sacred Heart, 5-1 last season in the South, could, as well. Sacred Heart’s coach, Erik Bacik has stepped back for family reasons and a new coach could mean an adjustment period. RPI is hoping to build on a 3-1 season from last year (Marist was also 3-1 in the North).
Early Start for Upstate NY
The Upstate NY Men’s DII conference begins action this weekend, with most of the teams having been back in school for about a week.
So it’s a quick turnaround from “this is what a rugby ball looks like” to “let’s play a league game” but that’s what they have to do.
Last year, Buffalo State won the West with a 4-1 record, while SUNY Cortland edged SUNY Oswego (5-0 v 4-1) in the East. This year, the ten-team league is now down to nine after Hobart and Hamilton dropped out and RIT joined. As a result, the season has changed from one of four in-division games and one crossover, to a round-robin where eight of the nine teams play each other each week. It makes for a longer and busier schedule - hence the early start.
Buffalo State Coach Rob Jenkinson said the key is to drill the basics over and over again to get ready for the season.
Osborne Ponders New Season for Life
It will be a quiet fall for Life University on the game field, but not necessarily on the training field as Had Coach Tui Osborne welcomes his new freshman class.
Most of the fall games for the undergraduate college team will be for the JVs, giving Osborne some time to see what players he has, and where they fit in. Meanwhile, top players on the undergraduate team will be with the Life University Elite Training Group, that includes members of the Life University men’s club team, as well.
Iona Impressive in Opener
Iona College started their fall 2015 season with an impressive 50-8 defeat of Fordham this past weekend.
The Gaels started their season with characteristic vigor on defense, getting to the Fordham ballcarriers with speed and pushing the Rams backward. And when Iona got the ball, they were equally aggressive in challenging Fordham.
The result was seven first-half tries, five converted, for a 45-0 lead. After Coach Bruce McLane rang the changes, the second half was closer, but Iona still cruised to victory.
Lavar James scored two tries for Iona, while John Powers, Evan Staikos, Sean Hardiman, Bernie Curbelo, Dylan Evans, and Mike Marro all scored one, while freshman Eric Amaty converted five.
“It was good to finally get the season going,” said James. “We all worked hard during training camp … it just feels good to come out and get a win.”
Rusty Towson Wins Opener
Towson University opened up their 2015-16 season with a 24-14 win over Millersville.
Millersville gave Towson all sorts of problems, and Towson won in part thanks to some savvy play by their most experienced players. Towson looked set to score early and were running phases inside the Millersville 22. But a heads-up play from Millersville produced an interception and a long run in under the posts for a 7-0 Millersville lead.
But brothers Brian and Tim Shields connected for a nice try from the younger of the two - Tim - to make it 7-5. But Millersville hung tough and forced an impatient Towson team into too many errors. Working from a Towson penalty, Millersville powered through for a second try and a 14-5 lead at halftime.
Empire All-Conference 7s Players
The Empire Collegate Rugby Conference has named its 2015 7s all-conference team.
Furman over VMI in Pre-Season Game
Furman University opened its season with an impressive 47-22 victory over Virginia Military Institute Saturday in Lexington, Va.
This was a non-conference game between two of the stronger DII men’s college teams in Virginia. Furman ended the 2014-15 season ranked #7 by Goff Rugby Report, and VMI was ranked #12.
The consisted of three 30-minute periods, with both programs using the third period to blood some new players. The first half was very competitive with Furman holding a 18-15 lead. The Paladins committed too many penalties and knock-ons in the first period, but after they worked out the first-game kinks Furman won the next two periods comfortably, outscoring VMI 25-7 in the second period.
