Here's a rundown of what's been happening in the National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) national playoffs.

For the men, the finals will be held in the spring, as always, but a large chunk of the playoffs have been decided this fall.

Region 1 - Northeast
In the Northeast Qualifier on Nov. 12, Tufts University (NERFU Runnerup) handed Ithaca College a 60-22 defeat. This earned Tufts a spot in this weekend's Region Championship hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Conn. Tufts will face SUNY Plattsburgh in one semi, while the University of Maine-Orono plays SUNY New Paltz in the other.

Still, it was a good season for Ithaca. The team graduated 18 seniors last spring and started the season with only three seniors on the starting roster. Yet, led by flanker Brian Dahlin, scrumhalf  Vin Manta, and fullback Tom Garris, they won their division. 

"We have utilized our bench in every game to build freshman experience, so I feel good about our depth," said Coach Annemarie Ferrell. 

Meanwhile, Plattsburgh has been playing very well, and beat Ithaca in the Upstate NY final. 

Ithaca ran out to a 17-0 lead and held a 22-14 advantage at halftime. But Plattsburgh exploded in the second half to win 36-22. 
 

Region 2 - Mid-Atlantic South
In the Mid-South Qualifier on Nov. 12, Elon University surprised Duke University edging them 18-17 and earning the first place in the Spring Region Championship.

The East Penn RU final is set for Nov. 19 with last year's champion Bucknell University facing their nemesis Susquehanna (2014 EPRU Champ). Both teams will earn a spot in a Dec. 3 Qualifier.

The Capital RU NSCRO league was won by Loyola University (Maryland). They will host the EPRU Runner-up on Dec. 3 in one qualifier. Catholic University plays American University on Nov. 19 to determine who will play the EPRU Champ on Dec. 3 in the other qualifier.

Region 3 - Central
The playoffs kicked off on Nov. 5. 2-time NSCRO Champion St. John's University were defeated by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point 48 to 31 in the Central Qualifier.

The Central Region Championship was held on Nov. 12-13 at Cyntheanne Park in Fishers, Indiana and was hosted by Southeastern Youth Rugby. In the first semifinal, University of Southern Indiana (Indiana RFU Champion) knocked off Franciscan University (Three Rivers Conference Champion) by a score of 46 to 8. UWSP was edged Xavier University (Great Lakes Conference Champion) 31 to 29 in the semifinal.. USI finished 3rd in Nationals in 2016, while Franciscan did the same in 2012. USI was looking for a return trip to Infinity Park, but Xavier had other ideas and handed them a solid 56 to 19 defeat in the final. UWSP defeated Franciscan 54 to 5 for 3rd place.

Xavier is the first team to clinch a berth for the NSCRO National Championships April 29-30, 2017 at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colo.

Region 4 - PacWest
All playoff events occur in the Spring.