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D2 College Championship Updates: NEWCRC, GMW, Gateway

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D2 College Championship Updates: NEWCRC, GMW, Gateway

UVM wins again and tops their pool. Rory Goff photo.

Top teams in various conferences are starting to lay claims to playoff spots in Men's D2 college rugby.

NEWCRC

In the New England-Wide Conference, here are the in-division standings:

NEWCRC Pool A W L T PF PA PD BT BL Pts
Norwich 4 0 0 232 14 218 5 0 21
Coast Guard 3 1 0 164 86 78 2 0 14
Boston University 2 2 0 73 121 -48 2 0 10
Providence 1 3 0 42 127 -85 1 0 5
Sacred Heart 0 4 0 0 148 -148 0 0 0
                   
NEWCRC Pool B W L T PF PA PD BT BL Pts
Vermont 2 0 1 93 37 56 2 0 12
New Hampshire 2 1 0 97 41 56 2 0 10
UMass-Lowell 1 1 1 107 13 73 1 0 7
Bentley 0 3 0 29 154 -125 0 0 0

Coast Guard won big over Providence to secure 2nd in Pool A, 50-17. Had Coast Guard lost, Providence, or, more likely, Boston University might have taken 2nd.

Vermont jumped to 1st in Pool B with a 51-17 defeat of Bentley. 

It was a very good showing for a UVM team that had opened the season with a tie against UMass-Lowell.

"Bentley is well organized and has a fast defensive line," said UVM's Colin Henke. "That forced us to be quick with the ball ensuring that each meter was hard-earned."

Vermont was able to showcase its depth in this game, also, and seem to be peaking at the right time.

Great Midwest

Loyola defeated Illinois State and Northwestern this past weekend to vault to 4-1 and 2nd in the Great Midwest South. 

That confirmed a semifinal spot for Loyola as they got by a University of Chicago team that enjoyed a strong season, going 3-2. After losing a close one to Loyola, Chicago needed a win against unbeaten Northern Iowa and that didn't come to pass—UNI won 73-3 to finish up 5-0.

Marquette played UW-Whitewater in a meeting of teams that could possibly be facing off in the conference final. Marquette came away 43-27 winners despite getting a red card.

"The whole team coming together was really important for us, especially after the red card," said Marquette's Pat Cooney. "It wasn't a one-man win. We all came together and dug deep to play for our brothers alongside us."

Sam Pobtoki and Ciaran Gavin-Quinn led the attack, with Gavin Quinn scoring two tries.

So Northern Iowa plays Whitewater in Cedar Falls, Ia., and Marquette hosts Loyola in Milwaukee.

The winners face off November 5 at the Wisconsin Rugby Sports Complex in Cottage Grove, Wisc. There will likely be a 3rd-place playoff also as that likely decides a playoff seed.

"I think we are in a good position after our win to keep playing strong matches," said UNI's Jentry Staack. "We can always make improvements but I feel really good about how much the team has developed so far."

Staack at flyhalf and Davis Randall at scrumhalf have been working together very nicely, while Cooper Isaacson has been developing into a potent attacking weapon at hooker.

Lock Garrett Getz has a very high work rate and seems to be involved in aspects of play all over the field.

Gateway

Principia ran past Maryville to cap off a huge regular season. UMS&T shut out John Brown 19-0. That put them at 202 but even with Southern Nazarene not going to D2 playoffs, SNU will play Principia in the semis. Wash U will take on CMU.

Eastern Division W L T PF PA PD BT BL Pts
Principia College 4 0 0 379 27 352 4 0 20
Washington University 3 1 0 167 67 100 3 0 15
Saint Louis University 2 2 0 141 132 9 1 0 9
Southern Illinois  1 3 0 56 190 -134 1 0 5
Maryville 0 4 0 17 344 -327 0 0 0
                   
Western Division W L T PF PA PD BT BL Pts
Central Missouri 4 0 0 121 62 59 3 0 19
Southern Nazarene  3 1 0 195 66 129 2 0 14
UMS&T 2 2 0 106 94 12 1 0 9
Pitt State 1 3 0 101 139 -38 2 1 7
John Brown  0 4 0 26 178 -152 0 0 0