The Men’s DII College 7s Championships kicked off with a clear statement that the Goff Rugby Report pool favorites are strong, and some other teams better pick it up.

Wisconsin-Whitewater looked fairly clinical in the opener against UT San Antonio, although UTSA showed some fight. Tim Grams directed traffic nicely and Alec Truethardt did the scoring for the Warhawks in the 33-10 win.

St. Louis University took care of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 26-12 with Ryan Guercio scoring two tries and Joseph Nuchereno and Conor Brady scoring one each (all three try-scorers converted their own tries, with Guercio missing one).

Tom McCrimmon was hard to stop against an inexperienced Coast Guard side. Several of the CGA players are new to the game and it showed in their defensive organization. UMass-Lowell showed why GRR thought they might make a move, pulling off a bit of a surprise tie with Lindewood-Belleville 12-12. William Weinhold’s try with time up - he second try of the second half - and Dylan Swiderski’s conversion locked up that game.

Minnesota-Duluth looked unstoppable against Niagara, with Luc Desroches powering through for a couple and Logan Hanson having a solid game.

Salisbury came back to beat Rowan 17-14 in a thriller. Prince Ehtim Eyo’s try at the end of the game won it for the Sharks. Mike Ehrlich scored all of Rowan’s points. 

Principia unleashed the most enterprising rugby and raced past a hard-working Tulane team 33-10. Sentongo Falukh scored twice as Principia had too much pace combined with snappy ball-handling.

And Salve Regina won a game of two serious pool contenders 22-10. There’s plenty of work to do, especially in Pool C where three teams are unbeaten (one is 1-0 and two others tied). SLU plays UMass-Lowell in a big one early.

Duluth v Principia promises to be a classic in Pool B, while it’s still anyone’s game in Pool D.