Brown Women Top All in CRC 7s Four champions were crownd Sunday in the Women's CRC 7s in Maryland. D1 Premier Brown repeated as women's CRC Premier champions, downing Army in a close one 12-5 n the final. This was the second straight year those two had battled it out in the CRC final. Kate Muldoon set up Sorensen finalist Akilah Cathey for the opening try as Cathey powered through tackles to score. A massive break from the speedy Morgan Cunningham made it 12-0 at the break. But Brown would not score any further and Army recommitted to defense and looked to overcome the deficit. The Black Knights did score, but with less than two minutes to play they didn't have enough time to regain possession and follow up. Navy defeated AIC for third while Bowdoin, as predicted by GRR, did very well to 5th, shutting out both Notre Dame College and Penn State in the process.
A Look at the Women's Brackets at the CRC 7s Saturday sees the women’s brackets in the CRC kick off and it’s a wild mix of 16 teams, many of which are varsity programs. Keep an eye on Lander, which has hardly put a foot wrong this season. They take on Notre Dame College in their last event as a varsity program. Repeat NIRA DIII 15s champs Bowdoin faces repeat NCR D1 15s champs Michigan in a really interesting first-round game. Michigan has a ton of pace and understanding of space, but Bowdoin is very well coached and talented to boot. It’s a pick ‘em. Here’s how we see the first round: D1 Premier Brown vs Minnesota West Chester vs Southern Nazarene Brown is heavily favored in this round as they are fast, can bust through tackles, and work well together.
US Rugby Foundation Announces Scholarship Recipients The US Rugby Foundation has announced its list of 23 student-athletes who have received scholarships through their various scholarship programs. These deserving individuals were selected based on their exceptional academic records and their demonstrated commitment to the sport of rugby. Each recipient will receive a minimum of $1,000 to help cover the costs of tuition, fees, books, and other school-related expenses. This scholarship program reflects the US Rugby Foundation's steadfast support for rugby players at all levels of their academic and athletic development. Please join us in congratulating these 23 outstanding students on their achievements.
La Salle University to Add Sports, Including Women's Rugby La Salle University's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation is adding four varsity sports, including women's rugby, President Daniel J. Allen, Ph.D., and Vice President of Athletics & Recreation and Director of Athletics Ashwin Puri announced today. The school will add women's rugby, women's acrobatics and tumbling, and women's triathlon, and will reinstate baseball, all for the for the 2025-26 school year.
Life Wins Barnburner D1 Elite Final on Late Kick In a wild barnburner of a D1 Elite final, Life University somehow got by Lindenwood to win their first-ever Women's D1 Elite Championship. These two teams had been in the final against each other five previous times—every final since the 2017-18 season (2020 was COVID-canceled), and Lindenwood has prevailed each time. Early on it appeared we would see the same result. Lindenwood had much of the possession and territory and an offload to Freda Tafuna saw the loose forward thunder through for a try under the posts. The Sorensen Finalist was immense, causing all sorts of problems for the Life defense and charging in for a second not that long afterward.
D1 Elite Preview: Can Life Break Lindenwold's Streak? The history of the D1 Elite finals is one of Lindenwood beating Life University. While there was no final held in the 2019-2020 season due to COVID, from the 2017-18 season through the 2022-23 season these teams have met every year in the D1 Elite championship game. Lindenwood has won every single time. 2023-24 Women's D1 Elite Final Sunday, April 14 at Grand Canyon University; Life on The Rugby Network KO 10PM ET>> So is it a foregone conclusion this week? No, not it’s not. The reason is in part because last year’s final was achingly close—17-15, in fact, and that was partly fueled by the fact that Life lost their starting flyhalf for the game in the first five minutes. Second … Life has already beaten Lindenwood this spring. March 16’s 24-19 victory in Marietta is worth taking a closer look. Meaningful First Half Events Life took the first lead at 7-0.
Finalists for 2024 MA Sorensen Award Named The finalists for the 2024 MA Sorensen Award have been set. After huge participation from the collegiate rugby public in voting, and with the MA Sorensen Award selection panel, here are the final four candidates. All of the nominees had impressive season, but there can only be a small list of finalists and only one awardee—this is an enormously difficult award to win. Votes from the collegiate rugby public (with votes from opposing coaches and opposing captains carrying extra weight) help create this list, with the Sorensen Award's panel of experts adding their votes, as well. The list of finalists has historically been a list of four or five players. If there is a close vote for two of the players the list of finalists has, in the past, been expanded to five.
Walsh University to Adopt Notre Dame College Rugby Programs Walsh University will announce tomorrow on the campus of Notre Dame College that the NDC men’s and women’s rugby teams will be able to transfer to Walsh. Walsh is a small (2,500 students) Catholic university in North Canton, Ohio. It currently has no rugby team but has been expanding its athletic department and has two large grass fields donated by the Hoover Corporation, along with a refurbished football stadium. Walsh has a package of majors that are very similar to NDC’s, but the school states that it is in a strong financial position, in contrast to NDC, which is closing this spring. Notre Dame College to Shut Its Doors this Spring A campaign from NDC Director of Rugby Jason Fox to find a home for the rugby team, instead of distributing the players around to various colleges, was afoot even before NDC announced it was closing. In the end Walsh was easily the most receptive.
It's Life vs Lindenwood Once More in D1 Elite It will be Life vs Lindenwood in the Women's D1 Elite collegiate final yet again. Life beat Central Washington 28-3. It took a while for the Running Eagles to get their pace up, It wasn't until past the midway point of the first half that Life took the lead—an early CWU penalty goal put the Wildcats ahead. Adrionna Duncan's try made it 5-3 and Nina Mason's conversion made it 7-3. Life tried to play in the CWU end using Mason's kicking ability to get them there. Overall, Central Washington handled the kicking game well and the 7-3 scoreline held up through to halftime. But just a few minutes into the second half Life got a penalty and took the lineout inside the CWU 22. They mauled it, and while the Wildcats held they were able to work it to freshman Lissa Salisbury to make it, with Mason's conversion, 14-3. CWU had scoring opportunities but the Life defense held.
Tropical 7s Women and Girls Roundup Here's a quick look at the Tropical 7s women's and girls brackets and who came away with hardware. Women U23 Tsunami, Trinity Western, and Harvard all emerged 3-0 from pool play. Ultimately, it was the Crimson that emerged victorious over the Canadian opposition. After beating Sacred Heart, LIU, and Quinnipiac on Day One, the Criimson rolled through Army, Dartmouth, and Trinity Western to win it the Elite division. Familiar names Brogan Mior, Chloe Headland, Maya Hilger, and Lennox London all were effective, as was Junior Jara Emtage-Cave, who is back making waves in 7s for Harvard, and Cameron Fields, who was huge on Day Two. In the quarterfinals, Fields scored two tries to lead Harvard to a 24-14 defeat of Army. In the semis, Reese Morgan, London, and Olivya Snyder set the scoring tone in a 22-14 win over Dartmouth.
Good News Afoot for NDC Rugby Players We don't have a ton of details for you right now, but we do have some important news for anyone following the Notre Dame College rugby programs. As reported—Notre Dame College to Shut Its Doors this Spring—Notre Dame College the institution is closing. That leaves many students scrambling to find a new college or university to attend.
Two Close Games help D1 Elite Shine It was a weekend of very close games in D1 Elite, which is good news for the league. CWU Edges BYU Central Washington held off BYU 22-20 to improve to 3-4 in D1 Elite competition. BYU has had a tough time in the move up to D1 Elite, but it was a move that had to happen, and this result, on the road, was a good one for the Cougars. Certainly BYU has learned a bit about being tenacious and physical on defense, as well as managing the kicking game. The result was a game in which No one scored for over 18 minutes. Finally off a scrum inside the CWU half, BYU attacked down the right side. They consolidated from there, probed left, used the forwards, and finally went over with a nice short ball off the backline. CWU responded almost immediately. A break through the outside backs on the right side almost produced a try from 50 meters out.
NCR Maps Out How Members Can Qualify for 2024 CRC Sevens
National Collegiate has mapped out how teams can qualify for its spring-culminating tournament, the CRC, which will be held once again in late April.
It's fairly unprecedented for a US collegiate organization to have such a qualification process mapped out this early—unprecendented and, for many, refreshing.
The CRC will hold eight brackets at the Maryland Soccerplex in Germantown, Md. April 26-28. There are over 140 slots for the tournament, with 16 slots set aside for four women's brackets (Premier, DI, DII, Small College) and three men's brackets (DI, DII, and Small College) while the Men's Premier tournament is planned to have 32 teams.
Yale Standout Olivia Sally Receives Marshall Scholarship
Yale University rugby player Olivia Sally has been selected to receive a Marshall Scholarship to study for her Master's at Oxford University in England.
Sally will pursue post-grad degrees in Child Development and Education as well as in Public Policy.
Two Navy Rugby Grads Earn Prestigious Scholarships
Two seniors from Navy Women's Rugby have been awarded prestigious scholarships to pursue graduate studies overseas.
Abigail (AJ) Ward has received a Rhodes Scholarship, while Charlotte d'Halluin has received a Marshall Scholarship.
Ward was among the list of 32 students nationwide awarded a Rhodes Scholarship for postgraduate study at Oxford University. She is the 56th midshipman to earn the honor and follows on the heels of recent Navy rugby grad Sarah Skinner, who received the Rhodes in 2022 and is pursuing a Master's in International Relations at Oxford.
