Eclectic Mix of Contenders, Dark Horses in Women's CRC
Eclectic Mix of Contenders, Dark Horses in Women's CRC
It's May Madness and the CRC 7s in New Orleans welcomes two divisions of women's teams.
Like the Men's Premier, the Women's Premier is in a bracket format. You have to win every game to keep going for the Cup. If you lose, then you're into the Survivor Shield, Challenge Bowl, or Champion Plate brackets. Sixteen teams meet up in what is a eclectic and interesting mix of programs from across the collegiate spectrum.
Lindenwood University comes off a dominant performance in Atlanta, where they won the tournament and gave up exactly one try all weekend. The team that scored that try, Life University, also plays. We might expect slightly different lineups here, but be assured both of these teams are expected to perform.
Among the competitors to watch may well be Claremont Colleges, which won CRAA's Spring DII final over San Diego State. They can play in the open field, and if they move the ball the way they did in that final, they could hurt some teams. Of course, Claremont is up against Penn State in the opener, and Penn State, despite a bit of an up-and-down season, should be favored. They are physically stronger and will play smart team defense.
Another dark horse to look for is Southern Oregon, a team that always plays an adventurous, wide open style and one that will punish turnovers with glee. They take on Grand Canyon in their first round game.
Notre Dame College is a team that started with 2021-22 season with all sorts of questions and answered them in impressive fashion. It's easy to overlook that went 11-2 in 15s in the fall, won the Battle of the Border April 9, and won the Allegheny Union 7s. They have excellent unity of purpose and open against Michigan on Saturday. By the way, one of the teams they lost to in 15s was Northern Iowa, which opens against Clemson.
Round 1 Matchups:
Life University vs Southern Nazarene
UC Davis vs Notre Dame
Lindenwood vs Boise State
Michigan vs Notre Dame College
Virginia Tech vs Iowa
Grand Canyon vs Southern Oregon
Northern Iowa vs Clemson
Penn State vs Claremont Colleges
Women's DI Club
The Women's DI Club bracket is a hugely competitive lineup of teams. They run the gamut from what are really DII-level teams to big major sports universities. This division will be in a pool-knockout format.
Some teams to watch for:
University of Texas is the best team out of their state and is tough and athletic. IUP had a solid 15s season, won tournaments in 7s, and showed well at Battle of the Border. They will be tough. Iowa State won their qualifier in very impressive fashion, and their defense is something to behold.
And then there's Roger Williams, a varsity program of a quite small school in Rhode Island. This is part of the eclectic mix of teams—teams from huge schools that are easily labeled Division 1, and other teams from universities that are really DII, and then a varsity program from a school that's really a small-college team. Roger Williams, however, won the Green Division at the Beast of the East, won the Bentley 7s, and then won the Rugby Northeast NCR pool.
Pools:
Grand Valley State
Wisconsin-Madison
Roger Williams
Coastal Carolina
IUP
Kent State
Iowa State
UW-Stevens Point
Texas
Central Missouri
UW-Eau-Claire
Kutztown
