For week three of National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) regular-season play, the recap focuses on the more significant or compelling decisions. There’s just so much rugby happening — in league play, but also 7s, 10s and developmental — to cover it all. But for a rounder picture of what Sept. 20-22 held, check out The Rugby Breakdown’s Scores page. Highlights are listed by conference in alphabetical order.
Allegheny … DII Cincinnati for a second-straight week faced a DI team, and kept it close (21-7) with Walsh University. The Bearcats have a much more challenging schedule this year and should their B-side-supporting numbers remain high and injuries low, they’ll benefit in the postseason. The game to watch: Oct. 19 vs. DII West Virginia, which beat Ohio University 33-17 on the weekend.
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There were three interesting games during the Big 10 opening weekend, but focus falls on newcomer Adrian College, which beat Indiana 54-19. Stay tuned for incoming interview with new head coach Gracie Martinez. Also, hard to look past Michigan’s one-try win against Notre Dame, 21-14.
York College opened the DIII Eastern Pennsylvania (EPRU) season with an 80-0 win against Scranton, and did it with no subs. This Saturday, York plays East Stroudsburg, which took a forfeit win from Shippensburg last weekend.
The attacks were firing in the Saginaw Valley vs. Central Michigan match, as both sides earned bonus points for tries scored. Saginaw Valley won 54-43 to improve to 2-0 in the DII Great Lakes conference.
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Great Waters held its first DII game of the fall, pitting UW La Crosse against a combination squad of UW Oshkosh and UW Whitewater in the Central pool. La Crosse dominated in a 105-5 decision.
High Peaks was a fun space to watch. The closest league game occurred in Division I, with Boise State beating the visiting Utah State 43-26. Colorado Mesa State is DI and Colorado School of Mines is DIII, but for years, they were each other’s best competition in DII. That truth reiterated itself on Saturday, as the Mavericks won a 33-26 contest. Also! Mesa hosted DIII Southern Utah and DII Northern Colorado, and the Utahans won the 15s match 59-12.
The Lonestar conference held a 7s series tournament at LeTourneau. The Univ. North Texas went 6-0, defeating the host, Baylor, Texas Tech, Angelo State, Houston and Sam Houston.
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Mid-America held a 15s festival at Pitt State with Arkansas, Central Missouri, Drury, Missouri and Benedictine competing. Arkansas and Drury both went 2-0 in shutout fashion.
In the Mid-Atlantic, the closest league game occurred in the Central pool. TRB chatted with Towson head coach Ella Nelsen, who over her side beat Maryland 24-20. Also loving on DIII Christopher Newport, which is playing in its first 15s season as a program, and banked a 60-point win against Virginia Commonwealth.
In the DI Midwest, Minnesota held off a Wisconsin comeback to win 31-30. Stay tuned for an interview with Gophers head coach Amity Beiner. Northern Iowa beat Big 10 transfer Iowa 50-24 as well.
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In the DIII North Atlantic, reigning champ Endicott beat WPI 65-14. Sophomore Colleen Mitchell (3) and senior Tess Merrill (2) scored multiple tries, while junior Caitlin Paddock added five conversions.
In Northern Lights, MSU Moorhead got the forfeit win against North Dakota State, but a game was played. UM Duluth held the second Northern Lights 10s series stop, and Gustavus Adolphus went 3-0 against the host, St. Benedict (a 7-0 decision) and Macalester. St. Benedict went 2-1, posting two shutouts.
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Rugby Northeast had all three divisions in action. It was opening weekend for DI, and Boston College and UMASS played the closest game: 28-19 to BC. In DII, Norwich kicked off its NCR era with a 65-7 win against Univ Maine Orono. Octavia Crawford led all Cadets with 13 points on a try and four conversions. Bentley and Middlebury contested the closest DIII match, with the former winning 26-5.
There was one league match in each of the three DI SARC pools. Virginia stayed undefeated in the North after a 62-7 win against James Madison. North Carolina State (Central) and Central Florida (South) shut out their opponents, UNC and Florida, respectively.
In Division II, Georgia Tech’s numbers have impressed and it translated into a 78-5 win against Alabama. Chloe Weed scored three tries. DIII Lee University beat DII Appalachian State 37-22 in a non-conference match.
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The North pool of the DII Tri-State is traditionally stronger than its Central and South counterparts, and two of the top teams — Columbia and Fairfield — saw each other last weekend. They both competed in the 2023 Round of 16. Fairfield won 22-0. Also, national runner-up Vassar beat RPI 39-17. • In the South, Rutgers, Marist and Stony Brook won their respective matches by large margins.
In DIII, SUNY New Paltz eked out a 15-10 win against Drew, and Siena shut out SUNY Maritime.
In DII Upstate New York, Syracuse has scored 55 points in back-to-back outings, winning both games against Binghamton and then Buffalo last weekend.
In DIII Cortland and Oswego advanced to the conference semis last year, and the Peace Frogs went on to finish 4th in the nation. The duo played their 2024 regular-season game on Saturday, and Cortland prevailed 31-0. Niagara also featured in the conference final four in 2023 and improved to 2-0 after a 53-29 win against Ithaca College.
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And finally, a trio of friendlies are worth a mention. DI Wheeling University beat DIA Penn State 34-19. Bella Gullatta led all point scorers with 23 on six conversions, two penalties and a try, and Tamzin Boyce dotted down two tries. The Nittany Lions, which compete in CRAA are regrouping under new head coach Lauren Shissler.
Northeastern University, which is the reigning DI CRAA fall 15s champion (a competition that no longer exists), played DI NCAA varsity Long Island University. Although it was a 36-0 loss, the scoreboard didn’t start ticking over until 30 minutes in and the Maddogs got great experience.
Out west, DI Iowa State traveled to DIII Wayne State College in Nebraska and held off the Wildcats in a 19-10 win. This is obviously a non-conference match but it a close loss to a DI program is confidence boosting.