Liberty Latest as D1AA Starts and D1 Heats Up
This was the first big weekend in the Liberty Conference, in both the NCR D1 and D1AA divisions.
D1AA
UMass opened their account in impressive fashion with an 88-5 defeat of Niagara. Yale, which had a solid 2024-25 season, beat UConn 24-12.
But perhaps the notable results were Boston College 71-21 over Buffalo, and Babson 42-22 over Columbia.
Late Try Sees Babson to Small-College Championship
A last minute try from Charlie Price pulled victory from the jaws of defeat to secure Babson the 2023 National Collegiate Rugby Small-College championship over a determined Wayne State.
A sunny and very windy day welcomed the finalists and Babson played with the wind and quite the wind it was.
In fact the breeze gave and it took away. More on that in a moment.
Babson Storms Past Catholic to Small-College Final
Despite what the experts said, Babson vs Catholic in NCR’s Men’s Small-College semifinals was not a close game.
Catholic had experience in the national final four and were also a little older, but their composure left them early and Babson, which has blown a 26-point lead in the quarterfinals before eking out a victory, ran out to an early lead and never let up.
Small-College Semifinalists All Used to Success
Going into the NCR Small-College season, many felt that Cal Poly Humboldt and Babson had a serious shot to make it to the final.
Even the (mostly) trained monkeys working in the offices of GRR World Headquarters thought so. CPH had, of course, won it all last year, while Babson had emerged as Small-College 7s champs, so it seemed logical.
Babson Over Endicott in 95-Point Thriller
Babson beat Endicott in dramatic fashion 50-45 to advance to the NCR Small College semifinals in Houston.
The game was played on a very windy day in Malden, Mass., and was back-and-forth throughout. Still, well into the second half Babson led 40-14 and looked in control. They weren't.
