Norwich Wraps Up Tour with Gaelic Sports and a Final Rugby Match
Norwich University wrapped up their tour of Ireland with a 38-0 loss to the Irish Defense Force.
This IDF team was a mix of Cadets and Officers with an average age some years older than the Norwich women.
The Norwich Cadets defended hart and at halftime it was only 12-0. However, the hard work took its toll and the Irish Defense Force ran in some late tries. Coaches made sure that everyone got on the field as this was a tour to develop players.
"We battled to the very end," said Norwich Men's Rugby Head Coach Bob Weggler. ""I was so proud how we tackled; in the end, it was our opponents age and physically that beat us. We are so grateful for the Defense Force rugby team's hospitality. It was so amazing to hear both countries National Anthems before the match."
Lindenwood Pulls Away From CWU in Women's D1A Action
Lindenwood defeated Central Washington 41-15 Saturday in women’s D1A action in Ellensburg, Wash.
Reigning MA Sorensen Award-winner Freda Tafuna scored three tries in the first half. Her first try on a pick-and-go gave the Lions the lead within four minutes, Perhpas a bit set back by the pace and intensity of Lindenwood’s attack, CWU was able to rebound and hold the Lions at bay for a good 20 minutes, During that time the Wildcats inched closer with a Jessica Postle penalty goal. But more Lindenwood pressure was finished off by Tafuna to make it 12-3.
CWU responded well as Winnie Namosimalua powered her way to the tryline. That made it 12-10 with halftime approaching.
Immersed in Culture, History, and the Sport, UVA Women to Tour Ireland
The University of Virginia women's team is off to Ireland to tour over the next week-and-a-half.
The tour, run by Irish Rugby Tours, will include three games and three professional coaching sessions.
"This is our third tour with Irish Rugby Tours and I can only say that each experience was incredible and life-changing," UVA Head Coach Nancy Kechner told GRR.
There are all sorts of reasons to go on a rugby tour—it's fun, it's a team bonding experience, it's a good way to challenge yourself as a rugby player and a rugby team, it's culturally enriching, and more.
Norwich University Teams on Tour With Irish Rugby Tours
Norwich University is on tour in Ireland with their men's team and their women's team.
"I have taken Norwich on seven tours of Ireland over the years," said Men's Head Coach Bob Weggler. "Every time we have used Irish Rugby Tours. George does such a great job, and we really get the experience of rugby being a global sport."
George would be Irish Rugby Tours head guy George Hook.
Both teams will be playing games while there also will be coaching experiences and cultural activities, too.
Weggler said the team will certainly go to Trinity to work with their Head Coach, Tony Smeeth—"I have a lot of time for Tony," said Weggler.
Life Wins at Lindenwood in Key Women D1A Meeting
Life University won the Women’s D1A (then called D1 Elite) final last year by a try, and the rematch of the two finalists was again close this week.
Life won again, this time 29-24, in a game that was almost tied (or fell Lindenwood’s way) with a potential game-tying try lost forward at the tryline.
Led by some solid work in set piece, with Bella Vogel handling the kicking game well at fullback, and Jenna Lees in strong form, Life were aggressive early and scored within the first three minutes.
Lindenwood responded three minutes later with Tanaka Kanyepi scoring on the wing.
Things settled down for a bit after that. Referee Akira Do let the teams play, letting some gray-area technical things go and that was welcomed by the players and coaches.
Help Nominate a Player for the MA Sorensen Award
Fans and college team players and coaches can help nominate a player for the MA Sorensen Award.
Presented every year by the Washington Athletic Club, the MA Sorensen Award is named after groundbreaking rugby player and doctor MaryAnn Sorensen and has been presented to the top women collegiate rugby player in the USA every year since 2016.
Past MA Sorensen Award Winners:
2016: Hope Rogers, Penn State
2017: Ilona Maher, Quinnipiac
2018: McKenzie Hawkins, Lindenwood
2019: Emily Henrich, Dartmouth
2020: Alex "Spiff" Sedrick, Life University
2021: Richelle Stephens, Lindenwood
2022: Idia Ihensekhian, Dartmouth
2023: Keia Mae Sagapolu, Central Washington
2024: Freda Tafuna, Lindenwood
NEWCRC, Colonial Coast Conferences Merging to Form New Conference
The Colonial Coast and the NEWCRC conferences will be combining forces to create the North Atlantic Collegiate Conference.
The thinking behind this move is multi-fold.
1. These two conferences, despite being multi-divisional and both men and women, overlap geographically. Both conferences are almost entirely in NEw England, and there are cases of teams that travel to games and pass colleges in the other conference on the way.
2. Teams are looking for competitive games. Both teams that win big and teams that lose big want and need games that are more competitive.
3 Joining forces will help organization and grow the game.
CRAA D1AA 7s Latest
Oregon and Western Washington lead the way in the CRAA D1AA 7s.
Both teams went 4-0 in action on Day One.
WWU's performance was quite impressive with 151 points scored and a convincing 38-10 win over previously 3-0 San Jose State.
Meanwhile, Oregon dominated with three shutout wins and only 13 points given up, and that against the team they knew they would beat, the NCRC Selects.
Pool B saw the classic split of results with SJSU coming in 2nd at 3-1, UTSA going 2-2, Iowa 1-3, and Texas State 0-4.
Pool A was a little more complicated as Iowa State, Stanford, and Sam Houston State all ended up 2-2. Points difference figured it all out and in the end while Iowa State lost to Sam Houston State, the 19-17 scoreline was close enough that ISU finished with the best points difference.
A Look at The Who and What of College Sevens
College 7s almost (almost) finished and we have a whole bunch of champions.
Last Week
Harvard won the CRAA Women's Premier 7s, showcasing some nice parity between NIRA and D1 Elite. OK, true, the D1 Elite leading teams, Lindenwood and Life, had to bounce quickly from 15s to 7s. Lindenwood came 2nd in both D1 Elite and the Premier 7s, which is tough to do. But Harvard did the double, NIRA D1 championship in the fall and the Premier 7s in the spring.
A nod to Davenport which finished 1st in NIRA D2 and then took 3rd overall in the Premier 7s. Not bad at all.
Premier 7s Order of Finish:
1. Harvard
2. Lindenwood
3. Davenport
4. Dartmouth
5. Sacred Heart
6. Life
7. LIU
8. Princeton
9. Central Washington
10. Penn State
Stanford Storms Through to CRAA D1 Women Title
The Stanford Women's Rugby team clinched the CRAA Women's D1 Championship title in a game that saw them victorious over Grand Canyon University 'Lopes with a final score of 36-19 on May 5th.
The game was delayed close to six hours because of lightning in the area but was, thankfully, played on Sunday evening and the teams stepped up to produce a very entertaining and well-played game. GCU had arrived at this game thanks to close wins over Cal (21-17) and Virginia (14-10). Stanford, for their part, had defeated Florida and Western Washington (the one team they had lost to) to make this game.
Eventually the storms eased up and there was a little wind and a little rain, and plenty of running rugby.
Harvard Shines in Women CRAA Premier Sevens Harvard pulled off a major championship double, beating Lindenwood in the final of the CRAA Women's Premier 7s to bookend their fall 2023 NIRA D1 title. Playing at Aveva Stadium in Houston, Harvard topped the 10-team field that included NIRA (NCAA Varsity) teams plus D1 Elite programs Lindenwood, Life, and Penn State. The standard of play was very, very high with several players showing national-class talent. Lindenwood had ended Day One 3-1 after losing their opener against the Crimson 17-10. The Lions and Life were the two teams that had to play four games in the first day because the format was for two pools of five.
CRAA Women 7s In Their Own Words Have a look at some of our video interviews with the players at the CRAA Women's 7s.
Strong Showing at Day One of CRAA Women's 7s Surprises and drama punctuated Day One of the CRAA Women's Premier 7s and College-Club 7s. This was a very well-played tournament with 10 teams from D1 Elite and NIRA battling it out. Even the teams that emerged winless after Friday's action showed flashes of good play. The Weather Storms in Houston on Thursday wreaked havoc with many teams' travel plans, But they all got there; potentially the last to drag themselves in was Air Force, which is in the College-Club competition and arrived at 1AM with a 9AM game to play. The first day of competition itself started with a bit of a drizzle that later turned to rain. Eventually thunder and lightning came through and the tournament was delayed about 75 minutes, prompting a small change in the schedule.
CRAA Women's 7s Set for This Weekend The College Rugby Association of America is hosting a women's 7s championship during CRAA's championship weekend in Houston May 3-5. Two brackets will be in action: a Women's Premier which is composed of 10 D1 Elite and NIRA teams; and a Club-level bracket consisting of teams not in those two leagues. Here are the pools: Premier 7s Pool A: Life, Dartmouth, Central Washington, Davenport, Princeton Premier 7s Pool B: Lindenwood, Harvard, Sacred Heart, Penn State, LIU All teams will play four pool games, with the first three for most of the teams being played on Friday, May 3. The fourth pool match for eight of the 10 teams will be played on Saturday morning. After that, the top two teams from each pool will face off in the semifinals in the early afternoon on Saturday.
Freda Tafuna Wins 2024 MA Sorensen Award Freda Tafuna of Lindenwood has been named the 2024 winner of the MA Sorensen Award as the top female collegiate rugby player in the United States. Tafuna’s impact on her team and the collegiate scene has already seen her capped by the USA. The SoCal Youth Rugby product is easily the hardest-hitting loose forward in the women’s collegiate game and a game-changer for any team she plays for, including the Eagles. The junior has helped Lindenwood to two national D1 Elite championships as well as this year’s appearance in the final against Life. She beat out an impressive field of finalists, including Matilda Kocaj of Life University, Tiahna Padilla of Harvard, and Akilah Cathey of Brown.
