Several National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) held playoffs last weekend and are ready to name their respective champs and representatives to regionals (Nov. 15-17). There were also some important games that either locked up conference semifinalists, lead to wild-card invites, and/or impacted at-large applications. The following reviews important games that occurred Oct. 25-27, but read TRB’s updates from last week, which provided wider coverage of NCR’s DI, DII and DIII post-season-bound teams.
RELATED: Oct. 25-27 Rugby Scores
PLAYOFF WINNERS
Both the DII Mid-Atlantic and Tri-State conferences begin their playoffs at the quarterfinal stage and spend three-straight weekends building toward their championships. The Mid-Atlantic held its semifinals last weekend. William & Mary hosted 2023 MARC champ Temple and prevailed in a 19-14 victory. On Sunday, Kutztown traveled to Delaware. When the teams met in the regular season, they tied 17-17, but the Blue Hens had the edge in the rematch. Delaware, which finished runner-up to Temple in 2023, won 38-22. On Nov. 2, William & Mary and Delaware will decide the champ and which team is traveling to Culpeper, Va., for regionals.
Tri-State kicked off its post-season last weekend but only two of the quarterfinals actually took place. Both Columbia and Rutgers forfeited their respective matches, affording Marist and Fairfield byes on Saturday. Meanwhile, RPI beat Montclair State 63-39, and Vassar shut out Stony Brook 62-0. This weekend, Marist will travel to Vassar for their semifinal, and RPI will head to Fairfield for the teams’ third match against each other this fall. Whoever wins this weekend still has the conference final on Nov. 9, but both teams will advance to regionals, as the competition has two seeds to the post-season.
Division III produced some thrilling and unexpected results this weekend. In Upstate New York, the unranked Geneseo traveled to No. 8 on the Coaches Poll, Plattsburgh, for the teams’ semifinal. The scoreboard did not tick over until minute 72, when Geneseo captain Caitlin Schirmer scored and Ava Spottek converted. Jess Leonard added some padding with a second try, which sealed a 12-0 win. Meanwhile, Niagara (10) eliminated Clarkson (15) 25-15 on the other side of the bracket. The conference final is this weekend, but both Niagara and Geneseo will advance to regionals, as the league has two seeds to the NCR Round of 16.
Tri-State’s DIII also saw some teams drop or not have 15s numbers, leaving three teams healthy and able for a 15s post-season. Leader Siena advances directly to the final, and awaited the winner of play-in match between New Paltz and Molloy. The teams were tied 33-all after 80 minutes, and both scored a try in overtime. New Paltz, however, hit the conversion for a 40-38 win and berth to the conference championship. The victor will continue its season at the Canton, Mass., regional location on Nov. 16-17.
POST-SEASON IMPACT
At this point in the season, every game is important, but there were a handful of matches that occurred last weekend that either solidified post-season berths or improved a team’s station.
DIVISION I: After last weekend’s games, the South Atlantic (SARC) knows three of its four semifinalists: #1 Virginia, #2 Central Florida, and #3 North Carolina State. The fourth seed goes to a wild card spot, and Lander University’s road trip to Florida last weekend was useful in awarding that berth. On Friday, the Bearcats lost to Florida State 21-19 and then on Sunday dropped a 31-12 contest to Central Florida. Now, Florida State has until tomorrow morning (Tuesday, Oct. 28) to accept the wild card bid to the conference championships (Nov. 2-3 @ NC State). If the Seminoles don’t accept, then Howard University will get the spot. The SARC champ will advance to the NCR DI Round of 8/4 in Columbus, Ohio.
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Montana State lost a single-digit decision to Utah State last weekend, but it will be the West rep in the High Peaks championship against East leader Colorado. The Buffaloes host the final this weekend, and the winner advances to the NCR Round of 8/4 in Kansas City, Mo.
DIVISION II: Syracuse won its final conference match against Buffalo 59-7, securing a second-straight seed to NCR regionals. The Upstate New York team will report to Columbus, Ohio on Nov. 16-17.
SARC now knows its DII semifinal pairings for the Nov. 2-3 conference championship at NC State:
#1 Kennesaw State vs. #4 Georgia Tech
#2 UNC Charlotte vs. #3 Coastal Carolina
Great Waters knew three of its four conference semifinalists heading into the weekend, and the fourth spot came down to the Marquette vs. UW LaCrosse game last weekend. With winner-advances stakes on the line, a tremendous game evolved, and Marquette held on for 14-12 win and the No. 4 seed to semis. Both semis and finals will be contested in Oshkosh, Wis., this weekend:
#1 UW Eau Claire vs. #4 Marquette
#2 Univ. Illinois Chicago vs. #3 Univ. Illinois Urbana Champaign
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And these games don’t impact standings, per se, but for those applying for at-large berths to regionals, they’re significant. North Atlantic’s DII Coast Guard controlled Rugby Northeast’s Norwich in a 65-7 Friday Night Lights win. Also from North Atlantic, the Univ. New Hampshire built a 45-0 halftime lead against Rugby Northeast’s Roger Williams, before the Rhode Island team battled back with 29-straight points: 45-29 the final.
DIVISION III: Rugby Northeast! The conference names its DIII champ via standings, and it all came down to Colby and Bentley last weekend. The Maine team led 40-21 at halftime, and then the Massachusetts side answered with 19-straight points to tie it up at 40. But then a last-minute try from Colby afforded the 47-40 victory and trip to regionals.
In Great Waters, UW Stout beat Northern Michigan 80-26, securing a spot in the division’s semifinals. The team joins UW Platteville, Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech in Oshkosh, Wis., for this weekend’s conference championships.
How many times have you read “this weekend” in this recap? Watch for a post in a few days that reviews a bevy of playoff games occurring this Saturday and Sunday.