DIA Qfs Picks, Notes, and Stream Info
So there's the little matter of the DIA Quarterfinals Saturday, with eight teams left with a rugby game and a dream.
Baylor hosts Arizona, broadcast live by FloSports.
http://www.florugby.com/
DIAA Spring Final This Weekend
What is DIAA?
That might, in fact, be the important question. For those following college rugby around the country, it can be confusing as to what DIA, DIAA, and Varsity Cup is all about.
This weekend, the DIAA spring final (now there’s a statement that means almost nothing to most people) will be held, with Florida State playing UC Davis, and that’s going to be a fun game to track. But what does it mean?
Here’s what it should mean:
A DIAA rugby team is from a college that normally competes in DI sports, but does not have a varsity or athletic-department-run rugby program. There are exceptions to that, but that should be DIAA. A program that fits into that category can opt to play DIA, but it’s their decision.
UWRF Teams on Suspension
The University of Wisconsin River Falls rugby teams - both men and women - have been suspended due to hazing.
According to a report by the River Falls Journal, the teams were involved in a serious incident of hazing that, said UWRF Director of Recreation and Sport Facilities Steve Socker, “I’ve never seen anything of this magnitude before.”
The hazing involved misappropriation of funds and underage drinking. The men's team received a longer suspension than the women's team because the men's team was, said Socker, less cooperative during the investigation.
Men DI Playoff Games This Spring
Here are the Men's DI rugby games not only from this week, but the weeks coming up.
Since there are three playoff scenarios going on, we figured we'd give you some context, with the playoff/postseason scores from last week, and then what to expect next week.
Here are our reports on the Varsity Cup QFs:
Salaber Hat Trick Slams Door on Tigers
Penn State Wins High-Scoring VC QF Over Army
Varsity Cup Semis - Close Calls
And just like that, we're down to four teams in the Varsity Cup.
Cal hosts Penn State and Arkansas State hosts Navy in this year's final four, and it's all up in the air.
Certainly you have to figure Cal is almost unbeatable at Cal. Almost, that is, since the Bears actually did lose a game on storied Witter Rugby Field. Cal has since shaken off the bad memories of that game with a 71-7 pasting of Clemson that was clinical and dominant. Center Anthony Salaber scored three tries in the first half and now looks ahead to the final game for the seniors at Witter Field.
"Our game plan opened up some gaps inside and we were able to recycle the ball and move it out," said Salaber. "The opportunity to play on Witter Rugby Field one last time is a great honor. I know we're going to out everything we have into it."
Scholz Finalist - Mike Scarcella
Perhaps the most physical rugby player in the Rugby East, Iona College center Mike Scarcella was Goff Rugby Report's MVP Back in DI rugby fot last fall, and he is now a Scholz Award finalist.
One of four players who are finalists for the Scholz Award for the top men's college player in the country, Scarcella started playing at Bishop Hendricken in Rhode Island.
"I saw the movie Invictus," Scarcella said. "And I thought that was something I wanted to do. Hendricken was the only school with a rugby team in Rhode Island, and that's how I started."
Scarcella was flyhalf, partnering with Fall 2016 DII top college back, Tom St. Pierre, who was scrumhalf. St. Pierre went on to star at Norwich.
Club College Programs Unfazed
DIA is down to eight teams, and there is a marked difference between some of them.
Two of the teams are Varsity, and funnily enough those two, Lindenwood and Life, play each other. Lindenwood, by the way, is closing in on 50 rugby games for the season (including 7s and four tournament touch games). Of the remaining six games, three are elevated club teams - club teams with special support from the administration. Three are student club teams, and they have something to prove.
"I think it's a motivator for us," said San Diego State Head Coach Alex Lichtig. "Our guys know that some teams have more support on campus, but that just makes them work that much harder. The guys understand that everyone is just a college student, and maybe we need to work a lot harder."
That same feeling is at Indiana.
7s Training for Everyone at AIC
As exhausting as traditional rugby can be, there is no doubt that 7s requires an even bigger gas tank, testing every player’s limits; at American International College, Head Coach Rob Guiry makes sure that his players are fit and ready for the physical demands that come along with 7s.
Scholz Finalist - Bryce Campbell
It’s not easy to get capped as an undergraduate college player.
It’s even harder to do that and become a regular. And it’s hard still to do all of that and continue to contribute to your college team back home.
Bryce Campbell did all of that. The power-running Indiana University center is known for his physicality and coachability, and has been at the center of three years of IU dominance in the Big Ten. Teammates and opponents alike call him an animal, a monster, a beast.
Scholz Finalist - Chad Gough
Ask anyone who has seen Chad Gough play and they will say he is multi-skilled.
Playing hooker for the University of Utah, and with the collegiate All Americans, Gough has shown he can run, pass, and play in the open field as well as anyone. It’s something that has been a part of his game since the start.
One of the four Scholz Award finalists as the best men’s college rugby player in the country, Gough got his start as a senior at Snow Canyon HS in St. George, Utah.
“The team had started the year before I played,” Gough explained. “I didn’t play, but I did watch them, and Coach Michael Puriri was pretty influential in getting me to go out and play rugby. I think the game came fairly easily for me. Obviously the first week I had no idea what was going on. But from the first game I got the feel for it, started watching a lot of film, and learned.”
Scholz Finalist - Cody Melphy
Life University is packed with exciting rugby players, but Cody Melphy has turned more heads than most this season.
A finalist for the Rudy Scholz Award as the best male college rugby player in the country, Melphy has been a creator and a finisher for Life's vaunted backline, but perhaps more of a setup artist than anything else. It's a testament to the nomination panel and the voters that they see what he brings to the table.
Melphy began playing rugby as a senior at Heritage HS in Colorado. He had only a couple of months of school to go and overheard some friends talking about starting a rugby team.
College 7s Championship Update - Men DI
We're getting close to the climax of college 7s.
The tournament frequency and meaning will ramp up starting this coming weekend, and here's a quick look at what has happened so far.
St. Joseph's swept the Keystone series, and did so in pretty impressive fashion. 7s Training Plan at Heart of St. Joe's Spring.
Arizona Slams Air Force
The University of Arizona defeated Air Force emphatically in Saturday’s DIA quarterfinal, taking the Zoomies to earth to the tune of 51-7.
These two teams met last month in Las Vegas, and while Arizona won, it was a 36-34 scoreline. That indicated that this week’s playoff game, played in Colorado Springs, might be close, as well. It wasn’t. Arizona took control early and didn’t look back.
“That was a close game in Vegas, but it was played on a narrow field and I don’t think that suited us,” said Arizona Head Coach Sean Duffy. “We benefit when we have more space to move. But more than that, our guys, preparation-wise since Utah have really kicked it up a notch.”
That Utah game was a matchup for 2nd in the PAC Rugby Conference in Salt Lake City. Utah won 53-3 in what Duffy called a “humbling loss.”
San Diego State Holds Off Tenacious Utah
San Diego State just won't go away.
The Aztecs continued their run of impressive results, defeating Utah 41-31 to make the quarterfinals of the DIA playoffs. SD State started the spring season ranked #23 among all DI programs by Goff Rugby Report, but entered this weekend's game ranked #9, ahead of #11 Utah. And they played like it. The Aztecs worked their wide open game with confidence,
SDSU weathered some early pressure from Utah and got a penalty to clear their lines. Then, the Aztec pack won a scrum strike against the head, and the ball was sent quickly out to center Nick Lupian, who was superb all day, especially running with the ball, and he was in for the opening try.
Fullback Ari Flink was brilliant, also, for SD State, as he always seemed to find that little gap to push Utah back.
Penn State Wins High-Scoring VC QF Over Army
Penn State and Army combined for 81 points in Saturday’s Varsity Cup Quarterfinal, and it was the Penn State Nittany Lions that emerged winners in something of a barnburner, 47-34.
Penn State got some big runs from flanker Malcolm May and two first-half tries from center Joe Kelly to run out to a 34-10 lead. Army didn’t wilt, and instead mounted a comeback that got the Black Knights within a single score at 39-34 with ten minutes remaining. But a Jimmy Ronan penalty and one final try put the game away for Penn State.’Mike Eife, Tyler May, Malcolm May, and Rob Irimescu, all scored for Penn State. Ryan McNulty got three.
Head Coach James Willocks praised the effort and play of West Point, and said it was an honor to host them. But his Penn State team was pretty honorable, too.
