What the First Round of D1A Playoffs Told Us
The message from the first round of D1A Rugby is that, yes, there are some teams knocking on the door, but there is also a long way to go for others.
Life vs Texas A&M
This was, and no surprise here, a lopsided game. A&M has enjoyed a solid season in the Red River but all of the issues we have discussed about the differences between a really well-run college club program and a school-supported program were on display here.
In the Georgia rain the Running Eagles were strong in the scrum and in contact, and quick to move the ball. They certainly can play with confidence. A massive scrum set up a run for Matt Carrion. A long-range snip weak by Ishma-eel Safodien made it 14-0, and a thundering short range carry by Adam Chadwick made it 21-0.
NCR Pens Open letter About Impasse with USA Rugby
National Collegiate Rugby is releasing an open letter to its members outlining its current relationship with USA Rugby.
The letter essentially says what USA Rugby representatives have been saying for the last couple of months: "we'd like the other side to see things our way, but right now we're at an impasse."
NCR outlines in their letter how they were able to offer a pathway to play and register in 2020 when USA Rugby was undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, and pointed out that USA Rugby owed NSCRO (NCR's predecessor organization) a not insignificant amount of $80,000 due to the bankruptcy. NCR's letter says the money was misappropriated but they were eventually paid.
Late Surge Sees Sacramento State Past Fresno State
Sacramento State defeated Fresno State 42-27 to win the California DIAA final Saturday.
The scoring started quite slowly as these two rivals tested each other and probed for space.
Kellan Fisch kicked a penalty goal for a 3-0 lead before Fresno State scored the first try of the game 25 minutes in.
Fish added another penalty and it was, amazingly, only 6-5 at halftime—a symbol of how hard the defenses we working.
Fresno State raced in for a try five minutes into the second period to take a 12-6 lead, but Sac State took control after that.
Tropical 7s U23 Brackets a Championship Rehearsal
The Tropical 7s U23 brackets are an interesting rehearsal for some high-level collegiate 7s in the USA.
This is most noticeable in the Women's Elite category, but it's there everywhere.
The U23 Women Elite bracket includes two teams each from Lindenwood and Life University—clearly a bit of a tryout for these programs for the CRAA Elite 7s in May. Dartmouth, Long Island, Army, and Harvard are all in that bracket and they all are expected to be in the CRAA 7s.
So, too, is Queens, which has two teams in the Women's Open bracket. Dartmouth and Harvard have 2nd teams in that bracket, and Lander and Davenport are also there.
South Carolina, Memphis Win SCRC Titles in Dramatic Fashion
South Carolina and Memphis are now SCRC 7s champions, as each won their divisional tournament in the conference championship.
D1
It was a solid showing for the Gamecocks, and a dramatic one as the USC players needed two late tries to edge Tennessee 26-24.
USC led 14-7 at halftime but three Tennessee tries put the Volunteers up 24-14.
After that fourth Tennessee try, the Gamecocks patiently worked the tackles and broke through to make it 24-19. USC then chased down the restart and put 6-4, 230-pound forward Erik Elken thundering through for the game-tying try. Jack Chelly converted and South Carolina had their victory.
Marist Wins Tri-State 7s
Marist defeated RPI in the final of the Tri-State Conference 7s Sunday in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Marist defended very well and outscored their three pool opponents, Seton Hall, Vassar, and Molloy, 105-5.
Fairfield won Pool B, holding off a determined USMMA in the key game. RPI took Pool C with wins over Hofstra B, WPU/MSU, and SUNY Maritime.
Hofstra's A side won their pool in convincing fashion, giving up just the one try.
Fans, Teams Can Vote for WAC Award Finalists
The nominees for the Rudy Scholz and the MA Sorensen Award are out.
Nominees for 2023 Scholz Award Named
2023 MA Sorensen Award Nominees Named
Fans and teams in the rugby community can help the selection panels by contributing their votes for the finalists.
Sac State, Fresno State Win California DIAA Semis
Sacramento State and Fresno State will meet in the California Conference DIAA final after both won semifinals in convincing fashion Saturday.
Sac State defeated San Jose State 63-14 scoring an early try from center D'Maurier McKenzie. SJSU hung tough and it was still 5-0 midway through the first half. Flyhalf Kellan Fisch's try made it 10-0 but SJSU answered with a converted try to close the gap at 10-7.
The Hornets blew the game open over the next 20 minutes—the last 10 minutes of the first half and the opening 10 minutes of the second half. During that period Fisch, center George Fountain, wing Andrell Cooper, and McKenzie all scored tries. Fisch converted two of those, and while San Jose State did score their second, by the 60th minute it was 36-14 Sac State.
College 7s Roundup: UMW, Fighting Irish, SCRC
Mary Washington defeated St. Bonaventure to win their home 7s tournament Saturday.
UMW has been concentrating on 15s much of this winter/spring but with a relatively young 7s team (no seniors) edged a very good SBU side 19-17 in the final.
The Mothers defeated Mount Saint Mary's in their opener 17-12 Connor Foster. Against Kutztown in a defensive battle UMW and KU tied 7-7.
After that Mary Washington shut out Virginia Tech Bs 38-0, and that set up a semifinal clash with Southern Virginia.
UMW won 25-12 and that led to the final. St. Bonaventure scored twice to lead 12-0 only for UMW to respond and tie it up 12-12.
With SBU up 17-12 and time up, Rory Naylor fed David Fitzgerald for the try, and Sebastian Schefermann hit the conversion to win it all.
South Florida, Florida State to FCC DIAA Final
Florida State and South Florida will meet up in the Florida DIAA college final after both won semifinals this weekend.
Florida State defeated Florida International 37-26, riding a torrid final 30 that blew the game open.
An early Sam Williams try capping off some Florida State pressure put the Seminoles ahead. Midway through the first half FSU was camped out in the FIU end again. They couldn't quite convert but off a penalty FSU ran a tap move and put scrumhalf Benz Celestin in at the corner. FSU 10 FIU 0.
But FIU responded well at the end of the first half, with scrumhalf Segundo Cremaschi scoring three tries in the space of about 10 minutes. Each time FSU had committed a penalty to back them up to their line, and FIU ran a maul or bashed the forwards. Once they got close, Cremaschi picked his spot and snaked over.
BYU Beat Cal 50-14
BYU beat Cal 50-14 Friday in a snowy Provo Friday.
In a game that was moved from Saturday to Friday to avoid the LDS Conference, BYU controlled a large amount of possession and won several of the physical battles in the victory.
Cal actually looked to score first and did well to keep the ball alive and avoid getting dragged into a slog to get over the BYU line. The Bears were held up, however, and BYU was able to clear. Still Cal had the majority of possession and territory in the first 10 minutes and seemed to be on the front foot.
DIAA Playoffs and Which Conference Might Be the Most Competitive
Florida's DIAA conference is perhaps the most competitive DIAA conference in the country.
It has some competition. We actually charted this out based on the highest points difference per game down to the lowest. The Florida, the California (more about them later), and the MARC have the most gradual line from highest PDPG to the lowest.
There are other measurements, too. The best one, perhaps, is the number of close-loss bonus points. Florida had nine (and this isn't event counting a vacated result), which is a staggering 50% of games. MARC had 33% (which is really high), Liberty DIAA had 30%, SCRC had 25%, California had zero, as did the MAC and Southern DIAA. (HOA we had all sorts of trouble tracking results so we've left them out, but we know they aren't very high.)
Cal Resting Many Starters for Friday BYU Matchup
BYU hosts Cal today and it's a bit of an unexpected look for this matchup.
Originally expected to be a massive clash between highly-ranked college teams. It's less of that now because Cal has sent a different lineup to Provo.
College 7s Update. Big Weekend Looms
Back we come with 7s.
Several teams have booked spots in NCR's massive CRC tournament—well really tournaments, plural, as it's a multi-bracket event with over 100 teams involved.
Indiana won the New England Free Jacks-hosted tournament in Boston (which seemed to have a number of different names but settled on the Monumental 7s). It's no surprise, really, as IU has some very accomplished 7s players and are seriously targeting a championship in 7s this spring.
Christendom won the Cardinals Conference 7s but have already qualified, so Richmond, which came second, gets a CRC Men's Small-College spot.
Cornell and Pitt join the CRC Women's Small-College bracket after Cornell won the Upstate NY 7s and Pitt finished highest among teams from the Allegheny Conference.
Who else has booked spots in the CRC?
Cal Poly Over A&M In Midweek Tour Match
Cal Poly defeated Texas A&M Tuesday night in a pre-playoff tour match.
The Mustangs got a big defensive effort from No. 8 Ryan Wenstrom, and the big loose forward also scored two tries on the night.
It was a well-contested match, but A&M found it difficult to break through. A break from flyhalf Jack Marchant got the Mustangs in the A&M 22 and then center Coby Baker fended off a couple of tacklers for the first try. Baker converted and would add a penalty a little bit later to make it 10-0 after 20 minutes. Soon it was 22-0 after lock Wyatt O’Connor and Wenstrom surged over. A&M answered with a long-range penalty goal from Alex Park, but once again Cal Poly put the pressure on. This time it was a loose ball gathered by Wenstrom and he powered through and then took off for a long-range try.
