ECRC Latest - Khabir Paces AIC, NEC, UMass Win
AIC flyhalf Jihad Khabir scored four tries as the Yellowjackets defeated Fairfield 52-13 in ECRC action Saturday.
The victory put AIC at 3-0 in the conference, as the defending conference champs also got tries from Royaal Jones, Marquis Williams, Christian Adams, and Malik Walker. Michele Magistrali converted six out of eight tries. But the day belonged to Khabir who continues to dare defenses to contain him. The flyhalf has a superb turn of pace, and an extra gear after that - a gear he often doesn't need. Khabir also scored four tries last week.
AIC Coach Rob Guiry said his team was uncharacteristically sloppy in the opening half, and led only 19-8 at the break.
Big Scores in Rugby East Saturday
Kutztown University opened their Rugby East account with a fairly straightforward 95-8 win over West Virginia.
The Mountaineers are somewhat down this year so Kutztown was favored to win, but it was important for the Golden Bears to get their young players started on a winning note. The scoreline shows that there’s talent all through the lineup.
Ivy Latest - 14-Man Yale Wins Plus More
In a dramatic game in the Ivy League, Yale came back to beat Cornell Saturday in Ithaca, while Dartmouth had to work for a win and Brown won big.
In the opening two minutes of the game, Yale hooker Bryan Herbert was red-carded. That call put Cornell on the front foot and in the first quarter of the game they ran in three converted tries to lead 19-0.
But Yale began to claw back. Luc Ryan-Schreiber scored a try to inch closer, and while Cornell replied to make it 24-5 at halftime, Yale controlled much of the second half. Charlie Hill scored, and then another try made it 24-17. Derek Ficenec’s try then tied it up.
Men DII College Games Sept. 23-25
Check back for the scores - here are the games slated for this weekend in Men's DII College rugby.
Rugby East - Army, WJU Win
In Rugby East action Friday night, West Point defeated St. Bonaventure 67-12 to move to 3-0 in the conference and 4-0 overall.
Junior flyhalf Jon Kim notched 18 points while
Jake Lachina, Ryan Moshak, Chris L’Amoureux, Ben Lemon all score tries in a pretty unrelenting first half that saw the Black Knights take a 32-0 lead, and enter the break up 32-7.
SBU held that score unchanged for 15 minutes into the second half but it was too much, and the final 25 minutes saw Army score five tries - one each from Sean Berry, Hayden Cross, and Jason Blackwood, and two from Ben Vasta. Kim added two early penalties and six conversions, while Blackwood converted his own at 70 minutes and Vasta’s second, right before the end of the game.
Ted Gorman and Charles Schwenk scored tries for the Bonnies, who drop to 1-2.
Men DI College Games Sept 23-25
Questions remain to be answered in this weekend's Men's DI College schedule.
Has Wheeling Jesuit rebounded all the way from their humbling opening-season loss to Notre Dame College? Can Wisconsin build on a nice opening week win to chase Indiana? What about Illinois? They won big in Week 1 and now face said IU, which is really, really good.
Harvard Hosts Dartmouth at New Field
It’s a soft opening for the new Harvard University rugby field, but it’s an opening.
Harvard’s Men’s, Women’s, and Business School teams will now play on Robert Mignone Field, so-named because Mignone was a major donor for the project. The field is located near the Harvard football stadium, and is an impressive facility, with bleacher seats and a press box.
The Harvard women will play today, Friday, against Brown, and then on Saturday the men will host Dartmouth. The official opening of the field will be October 15, when the Men, Women, and Business School teams all host games.
For the men’s team, this will be a tough start to the Ivy League schedule.
WWU 7s Kicks Off College 7s Season
THe stage is set for one of the first college 7s tournaments of the season, with Western Washington University hosting the WWU 7s Sunday in Bellingham, Wash.
Nine teams will compete in the competition, which has a fairly simple format that guarantees all teams four games.
In Pool A University of Victoria, Oregon State, and WWU-2 will compete, with UVic certainly strong favorites.
In Pool B University of British Columbia - Okanagan, Western Washington, and Washington State University - Tri Cities will face off. This is much more of a pick 'em pool, with OBCO strong, but WSU-Tri Cities a school-supported (if small) program, and WWU certainly nicely-placed to challenge for the cup.
WJU Looks to Build on Win
If Wheeling Jesuit is to make a move in the Rugby East, the Cardinals will need to log a strong result against Iona this weekend.
After being thumped pretty handily on their opener against Notre Dame College - a non-conference loss to the tune of 59-5 - WJU has picked things up with a close win over Mount St. Mary’s, and a solid result of Lindenwood-Belleville, before they opened their conference season with a win over St. Bonaventure.
New Coach Tom Duffy joined the team just before the Bonnies game, and was pleased with what he saw.
“First off all, I was just so impressed with what Allen Hanson and Peter Malcolm did to hold it all together,” said Duffy. “I knew they had talent, but then I saw the ability and speed of these guys. I think it was just a case of putting the loose ends together.”
Men Fall DI College Rankings Week #2
Here's our second Men's DI College rankings, and as will happen through much of the season, we expand the number of teams listed as we see new results come in.
This time around we dropped Delaware out of the rankings after a 33-0 loss to Iona and a loss to Rutgers. It's just too early for them. Coming in to expand the list from 30 to 35 are Wisconsin, Wheeling Jesuit, Mount St. Mary's, Kentucky, Illinois, and NEC.
Gamebreakers - Ben Burmester
Ben Burmester was at the center of Air Force's impressive 66-26 win over Utah this past Saturday, leading the Zoomies to a win in the opening weekend of their schedule.
"Ben is an impact player that runs with intensity, difficult to tackle and a leader on defense," said Air Force Coach Denny Merideth. "He is a captain whose passion on the field is infectious to every member of the team."
Louisville Makes Splash with MAC Win
One of the more intriguing results of the past weekend in DI rugby was in the Mid-American Conference, with Louisville defeating Miami 43-7.
Miami of Ohio has long been one of the stronger teams in the conference, and Louisville one of those teams chasing them, but this past weekend, Louisville seemed much the stronger of the two.
New Coach Emil Walton still has some work to do to see how close his team can get to challenging the likes of Bowling Green, but it’s a good start,
“We have some good athletes, and what I am trying to do is get them to get the basics down, and work from there.”
Watson is taking over from Ken Mance, who is stepping away from the team. Walton had been active with the Louisville men’s club, and came on last spring. That was supposed to be a temporary situation, but Watson stayed.
Gamebreakers - Mickey Bateman and Sam Chapman
Mickey Bateman was the MVP of the 2015 USA Rugby College 7s National Championships, and around that same time, Sam Chapman was suiting up for his high school team, the Kansas City Junior Blues.
Now, a little more than a year later, the two combined to help Lindenwood to 3rd at the World Uni 7s. Bateman, an aggressive, experienced halfback, and Chapman, a former KC Jr. Blues flyhalf who had a superb weekend on the wing, were part of a snappy Lindenwood team that showed well in Bath.
Getting Professional about Amateurism
Amateurism is under intense scrutiny this college rugby season for a number of reasons.
First off, there was the Lindenwood eligibility saga, which has now ended with Lindenwood avoiding punishment and DIA Rugby opting not to pursue an appeal. Part of the issue came down to whether a player paid in an overseas academy system is eligible if you can’t really prove he was going to school.
Still more questions are arising from various quarters about college players who played in PRO Rugby North America. Some of those players have returned to their college teams to resume a college rugby career … but is it that simple?
USA Rugby is right now working on a plan to establish in greater detail what pay-for-play situations end college eligibility, and what situations allow a student-athlete to return to the college rugby field.
Gamebreakers - Tom St. Pierre
Norwich University scrumhalf Tom St. Pierre was the sparkplug this past weekend as the Cadets defeated Middlebury 30-14.
St. Pierre scored a two tries to go with the try he scored against Rhode Island the week before, with that pair against Middlebury helping stake his team to a 15-0 first-half lead.
This is St. Pierre's third year as a starter for Norwich - the Rhode Island native was the team's Rookie of the Year in 2014-15 and is now the team captain.
"Tommy has keen understanding of sport," said his Coach Bob Weggler. "He was captain of his Bishop Hendricken High School rugby team that traveled to England and Wales, and his football team, which won a Rhode Island State Championship. Tom's strength as a leader is he can lead by example or motivate his teammates through effective words."
