A Few Surprises and Plenty of Hope in Men's D1 CRC Divisions
A Few Surprises and Plenty of Hope in Men's D1 CRC Divisions
The Men's D1 and Premier divisions in the CRC will pick up speed on Sunday.
For the D1 Club, there are seven teams in action so everyone plays everyone else once over the first two days.
On Day Three there will be a final between the top two teams. Only one team, Sam Houston State, is undefeated, having gone 3-0. Three teams have one loss. But SHSU's start shows what experience in getting 7s games can do to help. The fact that everyone else has lost a game shows how difficult it is to find dominance in this division.
SUNY Plattsburgh, sitting 2nd at 3-1, will play UMass (also 3-1), and Salisbury (2-1) on Sunday and those games will help figure out which team is second behind Sam Houston State (who by no means has sewn up first).
Men's Premier
The Men's Premier division is a single-elimination bracket (with consolation competitions). So on Saturday everyone played just the one game. It seemed to ramp up the pressure—granted the upshot was the same, win and you're still playing for the Cup, lose and you're not, but the idea that there's no chance to rebound from a loss and you have to think about it all overnight, could weigh on players' minds.
Indiana impressed in a win over Florida, putting aside a somewhat disappointing R7CC finish. AIC raced around Michigan, showcasing impressive athleticism. Dartmouth weathered an early charge by Virginia Tech and smart offloads and clever support work saw them through 24-14.
Notre Dame scored early led by Leo Fangmeyer and held off a Clemson reply to win 38-19. A young Army side was dominant over Air Force, while a well-drilled Iowa State side just barely edged Louisville.
Notre Dame College's speed and aggressiveness pushed aside Nazareth. Mount St. Mary's was tested by West Chester but did enough, while Cal Maritime, led by Jonah Wolfe, showed some excellent skill and evasive running to beat Minnesota.
Iona ran out to an early lead but saw Iowa Central storm back. The Gales ultimately held off the Tritons 29-26.
Kutztown, with Mate Kvirikashvili scoring several tries, shut out Maryland 31-0. Northeastern was impressive in beating South Carolina, while Penn State saw Fordham score on them early before the Nittany Lions raced on.
Once against Jesse Capriotti pulled off a key try to spark the team.
Wheeling's speed hurt Harvard as the Crimson tried to bull their way through. It didn't work. Wheeling turned every turnover into a score.
Wheeling torches Harvard. Joseph Iye not surprused. #maymadness7s https://t.co/Fd7whW6Pu5
— Alex Goff (@goffrugbyreport) May 29, 2022
St. Bonaventure's team play put them past LSU, and, finally, Lindenwood gave up an early one to James Madison before taking control.
The Lindenwood side remains a favorite, but there were 15 other teams with a championship in their sights.
Sunday's Round of 16:
Indiana vs AIC
Dartmouth vs Notre Dame College
Mount St. Mary's vs Cal Maritime
Army vs Iona
Kutztown vs Iowa State
Northeastern vs Penn State
Lindenwood vs Notre Dame
Wheeling vs St. Bonaventure
