The first round of the Men’s DI College 7s Championships is done and most of the big names have started well.

St. Mary’s just wouldn’t let Colorado State go anywhere, and with Holden Yungert scoring three tries, the Gaels looked fairly polished for their first run-out.

AIC beat Mississippi State 34-14, with tries from Seth Halliman and Gavan D’Amore-Morrison. Central Washington got tries from Josh Bower, Scott Dean, Cameron Marek, and Maverick Schirmer as they took down North Texas 31-7.

Lindenwood stifled Central Florida and won the physical battle by holding onto the ball a little better. San Diego State got two tries from Austin Switzer in beating Nevada 35-0. 

West Virginia didn’t let Texas State go anywhere and Luke Ellis scampered in for a couple of tries. and Arizona State also won big, 33-5 over Texas A&M - Ryan Spiwak scoring two tries.

The most dramatic game was probably Stony Brook against Arkansas. Stony Brook did best when they unleashed their pressure D, but Arkansas rebounded and found ways to break through. Patrick Abelein scored a couple of key tries, and Philip Salter scored late in a back-and-forth game to win it 26-24.

Bowling Green had their own drama, with Sean McFarland’s try with a minute to go making it 19-17 for BGSU over Wisconsin. And Utah beat Miami 26-12, with two tries from Danny Christensen.

“The first half was a little shaky,” said Utah 7s Coach Nu’u’ Punimata. “We came out slow and against a team like Miami we can’t afford to do that. So credit to the boys they were able to recover to get back in the system and finish up the game.”

It was a gut check, said Punimata. But they bounced back quickly.

Whether Cal Poly can bounce back is another question, as they were surprised by Iowa 22-15. John Ryberg scored two tries for Iowa and Ian Parkinson and Taylor Young added tries. 

So Iowa and Arizona State are atop Pool D, but there is plenty of rugby to be played.

Additional reporting Owen Goff.