During the CRC, the tournament hosted a Philadelphia 7s championship, featuring college teams from the Philadelphia area.

This tournament started as an offshoot of a plan to load up the main CRC with local teams. That didn’t quite hit the sweet spot, and so eventually a competition for local teams sprang up, with the idea to attract more local fans of those colleges to the even itself.

(The CRC weekend actually features 90 teams in seven brackets.)

Colleen McClockey photos.

The six Philadelphia Bracket teams were: Delaware, West Chester, Penn, Villanova, Rowan, and Mount Saint Mary’s. 

Delaware swept West Chester, Penn, and Villanova without much trouble. In the other pool, Mount Saint Mary’s swept Rowan, West Chester, and Villanova.

Rowan was all kinds of trouble for Delaware in the semis, but the Blue Hends survived 17-15. MSM beat Villanova 17-7 to make the final.

In the championship match, Delaware finished strong, beating Mount Saint Mary’s fairly handily 36-12.

“The boys did a nice job of navigating the tournament and finished off super strong in the final,” said Head Coach Struan Murray. “Honestly, it was the best and most consistent team effort I have seen from them all year. Was very cool to see. Everyone in the squad had an impact moment over the five games.”

Still, Tom Abram, Joe Roberts, and Chris Mattina all had strong performances in winning.

While it may not have been the full CRC, where Delaware has competed before, but it was a nice ending to a hugely important comeback season for the Blue Hens.

Philadelphia Bracket Scores:

Delaware 34-5 West Chester

Villanova 19-14 Penn

Rowan 7-33 Mount Saint Mary's

Delaware 29-0 Penn

Villanova 0-45 Mount Saint Mary's

Rowan 24-12 West Chester

Delaware 32-5 Villanova

Rowan 33-0 Penn

Mount Saint Mary's 21-10 West Chester

Semifinal: Mount Saint Mary's 17-7 Villanova

Semifinal: Delaware 17-15 Rowan

5th: West Chester 17-12 Penn

3rd: Rowan 24-17 Villanova

Cup Final: Delaware 36-12 Mount Saint Mary's