After 176 Games, Men's Brackets Wrap Up at CRC
After 176 Games, Men's Brackets Wrap Up at CRC
People like to call the CRC 7s tournament CRCs (See-Are-Sees), plural, not the CRC, and while that used to be a bit weird when it was one tournament, these days it makes much more sense—eight tournaments, four for men, four for women, and almost 300 games played over the weekend make it about as plural as you can get.
The four men's brackets wrapped up Saturday. Here's what happened.
Premier
Wheeling ran, passed, and most certainly tackled their way to a repeat of the CRC Men's Premier Title Saturday, once again getting an MVP-worthy performance from Shadreck Mandaza.
While we can talk about speed and elusiveness, and clearly Wheeling had all of that, they could also defend, and perhaps it was Mandaza's defensive efforts that made the difference in the final.
Against a very patient and well-organized St. Bonaventure team, Wheeling was able to stay controlled and made their tackles.
SBU did well, also, holding firm until Alex Nyamunda broke through the help the Cardinals to a 7-0 halftime lead.
As he had all tournament, Panashe Mugorogordi thundered through midway through the second half and that put two-score pressure on Bonnies. Mandaza's try just sealed it as Wheeling won 19-5.
Going 5-0, Wheeling allowed just seven tries, and never more than two in a game. Mandaza was spectacular, and the MVP, but his right-hand man had to be Mugurugordi, who was powerful and broke tackles, as opposed to Mandaza scampering around them. And don't forget Joseph Iye, who has been a leader for Wheeling for some years now and just does the hard work that needs to be done.
CRC 2025 All Tournament Team Selections:
Zak Banton, Notre Dame
Luca Halloway, Siena
Raphael Lansonneur, Brown
Shadreck Mandaza, Wheeling
Takudza Musingwini, Iowa Central CC
Manula Taula, St. Bonaventure
Agustin Yenaropulos, Queens
Queens edged Belmont Abbey 17-12 led by Hilton Olivier, who was their distributor and playmaker and field general. Abbey capped off a very good 7s season that included a win at the Rock Hill 7s and 4th at the CRC (two losses, 19-12 to Bonnies and 17-12 to Queens) led by a breakout performance from freshman Sam Patch.
Brown, beaten by Wheeling, ended up 4-1 with wins over Siena and Iowa Central for 5th. Kutztown also finished the tournament with just one loss. Beaten by Siena the Bears defeated Mary Washington and Clemson to take 9th (the Plate).
And then there's always the first-round losing team that runs the table to take 17th—it doesn't seem like much of a finish, but you have to win four in a row to get there. Fairfield was a mini St. Bonaventure (almost literally, they don't have a lot of big players) in that they played a smart, organized attack that didn't rely on pure athleticism but instead leveraged their rugby IQ and ability to change direction and pace using the ball. They beat Loyola, Drury, Walsh, and, in the Bowl Final, a tenacious Virginia Tech, to finish the season strong.
D1 Club
In what was overall a low-scoring bracket, UNC Charlotte won three games by a try or less to make the final. NC State's games were a little more dominant, but not much. The Wolfpack made it an all-Tarheel State final. Hugh Reddan was a powerful presence for NC State and his three tries to pip Louisville in the semis caught UNC-Charlotte's attention. Well if they were going to mark him, they were still burned by him as Reddan scored his eighth try of the tournament to put the Wolfpack in the lead. Worry about Reddan and the likes of Matteo Casnabet can score. A 12-0 was enough as NC State held on 12-7.
Louisville took 3rd over UMass, while the other teams to lose just one game and then win a consolation playoff were Claremont Colleges (5th, Plate), and Nebraska (9th, Bowl).
DII and DIII
With two-time defending champs IUP out of the tournament thanks to a hard-hitting Montana State team (three tries each, but MSU hit their conversions), the DII title was up for grabs. Marshall Wiseman led UNC-Wilmington to a 24-12 win over Montana State, giving North Carolina a second CRC championship in the same year. Coastal Carolina took 2rd.
IUP, for their part, didn't get all weepy and instead beat Scranton and Norwich to finish 3-1 and win the Plate (5th). So in three CRC tournaments, IUP has lost just once, and, as we said, in that game they scored as many tries as their opponents. Vermont lost their opener 7-5 to IUP, and then beat Towson, Coast Guard, and Memphis to take the Bowl, or 9th. It was an impressive run for the Catamounts.
So maybe some surprises in D1 Club and DII, but in DIII favorites UW-Eau-Claire did the job, beating Richmond, Denver, Duke, and, in a shutout, Springfield in the final.
Duke took third, while Denver shut out John Carroll for 5th and VMI took 9th.
So that was it for the men's brackets; 80 teams and, by our count, 176 games over two days. Quite the feat for NCR and the organizers (Pat Clifton especially), and also for the teams. It's not easy to get there, and it costs money and time and effort, but the weather was kind, many of the games dramatic, and everyone showed up to play ... which is what it's supposed to be all about.
