The National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) season is officially underway, although at this point in the season, much — but not all — of the action is of the friendly or scrimmaging nature. That will change soon. Until then, these recaps will include friendlies but once the regular season really takes off, only select non-conference matches will be reported.
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The ALLEGHENY had three friendlies scheduled, two of which came off (DII Cincinnati vs. DI Kent State was canceled). DIII Gannon hosted DI Pitt in a Friday Night Lights match. • DI Walsh University played its first 15s scrimmage as a program and celebrated the occasion with a win against DII Ohio University. Walsh looked light on numbers for a 15s season, but that’s expected with a new program. Ohio University on the other hand is bursting. On Sunday, Ohio Univ. retook the pitch and fielded two separate 15s sides to face DI Ohio State. The Bobcats didn’t come away with any wins, but those numbers are a big W. [Ohio State also played a friendly against DIII Ohio Wesleyan today, Wednesday, and won 31-19.]
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The Michigan-based GREAT LAKES conference (+Ohio’s Bowling Green State Univ.) includes DII and DIII teams, and they all play each other. Come playoffs, they’ll take different pathways. There were a mix of results in week one. The Ferris State vs. Bowling Green match was postponed.
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Western Michigan technically forfeited its match against Saginaw Valley, but a game was played. The record books will show a 28-0 forfeit win to Saginaw, but the actual score was 70-15. • DIII Calvin College defeated DII Central Michigan 38-17.
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In the DII MID-ATLANTIC (MARC), a classic rivalry unfolded in the six-team North pool, as Kutztown traveled to Bloomsburg. The visitors put down 17 points in both halves for a 34-0 win. The Huskies will face reigning league champ Temple this weekend, while Kutztown plays a friendly against Vassar College (Tri-State).
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The Central pool saw a pair of scrimmages: George Washington vs. Towson, and Georgetown vs. Maryland. And in the MARC South, DII Mary Washington scrimmaged DIII Longwood.
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In the DI MIDWEST, all three Iowa teams were active. In the Cyhawk match, Univ. Iowa held onto a 38-33 win against Iowa State. Meanwhile, Northern Iowa opened up the regular season with a 55-20 victory against Winona State of Minnesota.
In the SOUTH ATLANTIC, Virginia (UVA) and James Madison University scrimmaged NOVA’s DII side. The Hoos beat JMU 36-0 and NOVA 28-5.
In UPSTATE NEW YORK, DII Syracuse shut out SUNY Binghamton 55-0. In crossover play, St. Bonaventure, which now plays in the DI Allegheny, beat DII Cornell 104-0. Makenna Ramsey and Natalie Lamar scored five tries apiece. DII Buffalo also played a friendly against DIII Niagara.
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Crossover friendlies are always a fun space, even when it’s very early in the season. DI Allegheny’s Wheeling University (W.V.) scrimmaged NCAA varsity Emory & Henry College (Va.), a DII program that competes in NIRA. NCR Women’s Director and John Broker called the match that featured a team playing its first match at home and another team that is growing from 7s to 15s. Wheeling won 89-7. Read the match report.
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And finally, an interesting crossover match occurred between 2023 DII runner-up Vassar College and DIII Yale University, which is playing 15s in the new North Atlantic conference this year. The Brewers won 34-10, but Yale showed that it will be a good addition to the 15s sphere.
SEPT 13-15 GAMES
ALLEGHENY
DI: Ohio State v Walsh
DI Wheeling v DII Cincinnati
DIII Gannon v IUP (festival div)
GREAT LAKES
DII: Bowling Green v Grand Valley State
DII: Oakland v Central Michigan
DIII: Calvin v Ferris State
HIGH PEAKS DI
Colorado v Colorado State
DI Air Force v DIII CO School of Mines
DI Air Force v DIII Northern Colorado
MID-ATLANTIC DII
N: Temple v Bloomsburg
N: Delaware v Kutztown
C: American v Maryland
S: Mary Washington v VA Commonwealth
DIII Georgetown v DII George Washington
DII William & Mary v DIII Christopher Newport
MID-AMERICA
Drury v Arkansas
MIDWEST DI
Iowa State v Wisconsin
Minnesota v Winona State
NORTH ATLANTIC
DIII Endicott v Yale
DIII WPI v Plymouth St
DII New Hampshire v DIII Keene St
NORTHERN LIGHTS
DII North Dakota v DIII North Dakota St
10s/15s RR @ Gustavus Adolphus
PRAIRIE STATES DIII
South Dakota v Wayne State College
RUGBY NORTHEAST
DII Norwich v DI Boston College
DII Maine v DIII Colby
SARC
Division I
N: Howard v James Madison
C: Clemson v NC State
C: Appalachian St v Tennessee
DI Florida St v Florida
DI Central Florida v Georgia Tech
DI Lander v DII South Carolina
DII Coastal Carolina v DIII Citadel
DII UNC Greensboro v UGA
DII UNC Charlotte v Kennesaw St
TRI-STATE
N: Fairfield v RPI
UPSTATE NY
DII Cornell v Binghamton
Clarkson v Hamilton
Cortland v Colgate
Oswego v Plattsburgh
Fredonia v Brockport
Ithaca v Geneseo
Niagara v Rochester
LeMoyne v Nazareth
Oneonta v Alfred
CROSSOVERS
Vassar v Kutztown (Sun)
DI St Bonaventure v DII Buffalo
Purdue v Ball State v Notre Dame
Virginia v James River
DI Indiana (Big 10) v DII IU Indy
Frostburg St (NIRA) v Kent St (Allegheny) CLD