Lindenwood Beats Davenport, on to DIA QFs
Lindenwood University defeated Davenport 36-14 Saturday in a game that doubled as the final Mid-South league game and next week's DIA playoff.
Since Lindenwood and Davenport were slated to play in the DIA playoffs anyway, Lindenwood offered Davenport the option of making this game count twice, thus saving Davenport the trip to St. Charles, Mo. next week.
Davenport opened the scoring with an early try from center Reece Czarnecki, converted by Noah Zomberg. That lead last until the 36th minute, when Lindenwood No. 8 Wesley White picked up from the scrum and went over. Moments later, flyhalf Nick Feakes scored on a quick tap to give Lindenwood a 10-7 lead at halftime.
DIAA West Bracket - GCU, UCD
Grand Canyon University and UC Davis will face off Sunday in the DIAA Western Bracket after both won games on Saturday.
The quarterfinals in the West were played at Western Washington University's rugby stadium in Bellingham, Wash. on a cold, rainy day. The conditions may not have made for the prettiest rugby, but it was certainly dramatic.
In an exciting opener, Grand Canyon took an early lead thanks to Maceo Brown. Brent Williams added a try for a 12-0 lead. But Western Washington battled back, scoring a try and then working a nice move off a lineout to take the lead 14-12.
Varsity Cup Round 1 Latest
Here's a rundown of the Varsity Cup 1st round.
Army defeated University of Notre Dame 41-8. A Jon Kim penalty goal and a Luke Heun try, converted by Kim, put Army up 10-0. But Notre Dame replied with a penalty and a try to make it 10-8 30 minutes in. However, just before the first half ended, Austin Rutledge scored to make it 17-8 (with the conversion) and that gave Army some cushion.
DIAA East Bracket - Mizzou and FSU
Florida State and Missouri will meet Sunday in the DIAA spring semifinal game in Spartanbug SC after both won quarterfinal games Saturday.
For Missouri, it was a fairly comprehensive result, as Mizzou took down Brown 55-17.
Florida State, however, had a much tougher time of it against North Texas. It was a back-and-forth game, with UNT taking an early lead and then FSU scoring twice to make it 12-7. But UNT kept up the pressure and got two penalty goals and a try to lead 18-12.
A tackle in-goal jarred the ball loose for FSU to score, but another penalty for North Texas kept the Mean Green again 21-17.
Then Alex Ruiz took over, scoring a try, which he converted, and adding two penalty goals for a 30-21 FSU lead. North Texas scored with one minute remaining, but Florida State held on 30-28.
Men DI College Games April 8-9
Playoff time and tour time means the number of domestic college rugby games drop considerably.
But the importance ramps up. The Varsity Cup kicks off with its first round of games. We make our picks here: Varsity Cup Round 1 - Our Picks. In addition, the DIAA playoffs kind of get started.
Varsity Cup Round 1 - Our Picks
The Varsity Cup's 1st Round kicks off this weekend and in recent years we've seen a few surprises in this round.
While most would think that Cal and Central Washington are heavily favored to make the final (both teams get a bye this weekend), that doesn't mean all of the other games are foregone conclusions.
Here's what we think (Goff Rugby Report rankings in parentheses):
DIAA Playoffs - West Bracket
The West Bracket of the Men's DIAA College Spring playoffs (we know, catchy) kicks off in Bellingham, Wash. this weekend with a team that's been there, done that, two teams that have been knocking on the door for a while, and one new arrival.
Been there, done that, is, of course, UC Davis. The Aggies have won two straight DIAA national titles, and while they were upended March 25 by Chico State, they garnered revenge this past Sunday in winning the Pacific Western Conference once more. The key for Davis has been a commitment to the cause. More than any one player, the Aggies have taught themselves how to win at crunch time. They don't give up on plays, they don't get angry at each other if things aren't going right, and they know what pressure rugby is like.
Yes, they lost a game this year, but they are in very good shape to return to the final.
DIAA Playoffs - East Bracket
Call it the bracket where no one knows each other.
The eastern side of the DIAA spring playoffs brings four disparate teams together at the Upward Star Center in Spartanburg, SC.
You've got Florida State, which emerged late in the day in the SIRC and then defeated Kennesaw State and Central Florida to take the conference title. You've got North Texas, which played an almost non-existent conference schedule in the fall, and battled to find games and get back to the national level. There's Brown University, which finished 2nd in the Ivy League, and then blew through the play-in games. And there's Missouri, which kept winning in the Heart of America ... when teams wanted to play them.
ECU Gets a Boost from Men's Teams
It was an eventful Saturday at East Clayton Community Park in Clayton, NC as East Carolina University traveled from Greenville, NC for a joint workout with the the Chapel Hill Warriors men’s team and the Clayton Bootleggers.
ECU arrived in Clayton for a 9:30 AM 7s clinic led by the Clayton Bootleggers flyhalf Nick Russell, a New Zealander who played high-level 7s in his home country.
“We need all the rugby we can get,” said ECU forward Nick Hills. “This tournament next weekend is huge.”
College 7s Tournaments Around the USA (Updated)
We're getting deeper into the college 7s season, and below we have a list of some of the tournament this year.
We don't pretend that this is an exhaustive list and if you have a tournament we've missed, please let us know here.
Many of the tournaments listed below will end up being qualifiers for USA Rugby's championship, but officially there's been no decision on what tournaments will be automatic qualifiers. This is partly because the USA tournament has been reduced in size somewhat, and so USA Rugby needs to know how many tournaments are pushing to be qualifiers, and then how many they can approve.
Hogan Memorial 7s Remembers Player, OSU Wins
The University of Dayton hosted the 2nd Annual Kevin J. Hogan Memorial 7s this past weekend, with Ohio State winning the cup final over Bowling Green.
SDSU Rugby Team Goes Diplomatic on Trip to Georgia
San Diego State University's men's rugby team just completed a short but fulfilling tour of the Republic of Georgia.
DIA Playoff Speculation Latest
Baylor's defeat of LSU in the Red River Conference final puts the entire DIA playoff picture into some muddiness as we await the latest rankings.
(This article contains some changes from the original based on what teams will be playing in the playoffs ... basically we shouldn't have had Arkansas State in there, sorry -AG)
With the Bears beating the Tigers (Baylor Downs LSU on Late Try to Take Red River), Baylor gets an automatic spot in the playoffs as a conference champion. There are five of those who are participating in the DIA playoffs. But there are seven more spots, which are dependent on the D1A Rankings.
Here's how it could well shake out:
Mid-South - Life 6-0, Lindenwood Sparkles
Life University finished off their Mid-South season with a 6-0 record after defeating Davenport 45-11 Saturday.
Brown, Davis to DIAA Playoffs
UC Davis and Brown are the final two teams in the DIAA spring playoffs after both won Sunday playoff games.
In the Ivy League, with both Dartmouth and Harvard going to the Varsity Cup, the league held a four-team play-in for to decide its DIAA playoff representative. Brown, which was 2nd in the league season during the fall with a 5-2 record, defeated Yale 44-5 on March 25. On Friday, Princeton beat Penn 45-0. On Sunday, then, Princeton took on Brown, and Brown emerged the winner 19-12.
