A late try saw Louisville edge defending NCR D1AA champs Tennessee 29-27 Friday night just outside Nashville.
It was a game that was fairly typical of early-season matches—it wasn't perfect, it wasn't exact, but it was a good contest between two of the top teams in the division.
With the score 27-24 the Cardinals got over the line for the game-winner.
It was a back-and-forth game in the first part of the match. Louisville had some scoring chances that they failed to convert.
"Some of our discipline let us down in the middle part of the game," said Louisville DOR Emil Walton. "We had one yellow card that didn’t help us, but the boys dug deep and had a great comeback."
Louisville's youth and their bench were crucial in the win, with freshmen Hugh Dwyer and flyhalf Andrew Seeger finishing the last 30 minutes at the scrumhalf-flyhalf hinge.
"Honestly, our backline defense is what kept us in the game with all the pressure," said Walton.
It's early, early days yet and this was a close one, but it does raise Louisville, who won the D1AA bracket at the CRC 7s this past spring, as a definite contender in the NCR D1AA 15s race.
And so they should be. The last several years has seen SCRC and MAC teams in the NCR final. For the MAC, it's been a history of frustration, with Louisville losing in the final in 2022 and 2023, and Bowling Green doing the same in 2024 and 2025. SCRC teams (Kentucky twice and then Tennessee) have won the last three championship matches.
Men's College Champions-Historical List
De La Salle HS
Saint Mary's (Rudy Scholz Finalist)
USA U20s (Captain)
USA Men's National 15s Team (Debut vs Georgia 2023 at age 20)
As a 17-year-old Spencer Huntley required a waiver to play for the USA U20s, an indication of how he was rated in the USA age-grade pathway. He got that waiver and impressed for the USA U20s, and then moved up to the USA U23s. He led the San Diego Mustangs to a national HS Club championship in 2024.
He also played in the SoCal single-school league for Cathedral Catholic.
Hope Rogers began playing rugby at age 16 in high school and continued to compete during her time at Penn State University. There, she won four National Championships, was crowned MVP on two occasions, was named to the USA Under-20s and earned Collegiate All-American honors for four years. Rogers was also an impressive discus player during her senior year in high school where she broke a school record and won Gold at Districts for the sport.
Mike played for Life College, Philly-Whitemarsh and played for the USA National 7s and 15s teams in the 1980s and 1990s.
He was also part of the Atlantis touring side, playing 7s for the team in several around the world.
