Hokies, Hawks, Hens Lead in MARC
Hokies, Hawks, Hens Lead in MARC
Virginia Tech and St. Joseph's continues their solid run of form in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby D1AA Conference with wins this week.
Virginia Tech defeated West Chester 40-22, storming out to a huge lead in the first half and holding on even as the Rams came back.
Two-time NCR D1AA champs, Virginia Tech remains player-coached and, despite some graduations, could well be a contender again.
"With a big graduating class, the team has been finding momentum," said Kyle Cooper, a grad student at VT and the man coaching the team along with captain Zach Harding. Cooper said Harding, Jack Herman, Carson Hoffman, and Cooper Anderson have brought plenty of leadership to the Hokies.
"These players have been doing a great job leading on the field during games and in practice," said Cooper. Against West Chester, "we found momentum early through our hard running offense. We have also seen younger players step up and fill in gaps,."
Senior center Gavin Lockwood scored three tries for Virginia Tech, while sophomore lock Lucas Bichy exemplifies that cadre of younger players making an impact.
"He's been an integral part of our success in the forward pack," said Cooper.
St. Joe's meanwhile, won comfortable over Penn 43-0.
Fullback Jack Del Monte scored two tries, and the Hawks also got tries from flyhalf Jeffrey George, flanker Brandon Bispo, and impact reserves Nick Sapienza and John Beach. George added five conversions and a penalty for 18 points on his own.
St. Joe's improves to 2-0, and also at 2-0 is Delaware, which defeated Temple 32-10. Virginia Tech is also 2-0 having beaten Princeton and West Chester.
