The 2025 Collegiate Rugby 7s Championship (CRC 7s) marked the 15th anniversary of the tournament and celebrated with 128 teams at Maryland Soccer Complex in Boyds, Md. The men played Friday-Saturday, and the women named its four divisional champions on Saturday-Sunday. [lead photo: Jackie Finlan / @therugbybreakdown]
The Premier Cup saw the renewal of what is becoming a classic match-up between Brown and Army. And the Northeast as a whole has reason to celebrate, accounting for all four divisional champions. Rugby Northeast is home to the DI Club champion, and the North Atlantic conference accounted for the DII and DIII champions.
RELATED: Full tournament scores & stats
PREMIER CUP
Brown University claimed its third-straight Premier Cup title, and the road began with a 38-0 win against Adrian in the Round of 16 and then 24-7 win against Navy in the Saturday’s quarterfinals. Sunday’s semifinals brought Penn State and a 19-7 win, setting up a title rematch against Army West Point.
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On the other side of the bracket, the Black Knights beat Mount St. Mary’s 29-0 in the opening round and New Haven 41-5 in Saturday’s quarterfinals. On Sunday, Army lined up against a tough American International College in the semifinals. The Yellow Jackets deployed dangerous ballcarriers like Venise Sanft, Naomi Dodd and Kiyanah Edwards, but the defense bottled up those threats during a 15-5 win.
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Army has finished runner-up to Brown in the two previous Premier Cup finals and was not interested in a third silver medal. One minute into the final, Chloe de Leon looped around the outside and sprinted past the trailing defense for the long-range try. Alissa Eisenhart kicked the conversion for the 7-0 lead. Picture perfect start for the West Point side.
Chloe de Leon scores the opening try / Photo: Jackie Finlan / TRB
Brown’s Nikki Lynch pumped her arms in a “settle down” motion – there was plenty of game to play. Five minutes in, Laryssa Barbosa tore through the middle for a try, which Julia Murray converted, 7-all. Army spent some nice phases on attack but the defense had self-corrected and had the sidelines locked up. A couple of campaigns were driven into touch. Meanwhile, Brown added one more try before heading into halftime, sending Barbosa across for a second score and Murray conversion: 14-7 to Brown.
Photo: Jackie Finlan / TRB
The battle raged into the second half and the heart-breaker, for Army, occurred in the 13th minute. From a free kick in its own end, Brown worked the ball downfield and Aziza Ayana Alford dove into corner for the score, 19-7, the final. Captain Akilah Cathey was named championship MVP. Brown coach Ros Chou now has five CRC 7s titles, the first two (2016, 2017) occurring with Life University.
AIC took 3rd place with a 22-14 win over Penn State. Queens won the Plate with a 34-12 victory against Wheeling. West Chester took home the Bowl after a 33-12 win against Mount St. Mary’s. And the Shield belongs to St. Bonaventure, which beat out Frostburg 24-5 for some hardware. AIC’s Naomi Dodd led all points (30) and try scorers (6), while West Chester’s Lilly Rhode led on eight conversions.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Akilah Cathey – Brown Univ., Sr.
Naomi Dodd – American International College, Soph.
Nikki Lynch – Brown Univ., Sr.
Yesenia Morales – Army West Point, Soph.
Cecilia Ollis – Army West Point, Jr.
Jaida Rudkin – Penn State Univ., Sr.
Serena Vulaono – New Haven Univ., Soph.
DIVISION I CLUB
Northeastern University was one of those teams that last year had to play in the Premier Cup bracket, but in 2025, there was enough participation to reserve that competition for varsity and varsity-like programs. It, along with teams like Northern Iowa, which also played up last year, are the right fit for DI Club, and the Maddogs made the most of the opportunity with its first CRC 7s title.
Northeastern started the tournament with a 29-5 win against Howard and closed out Saturday with a 20-15 quarterfinal win against Notre Dame. The team restarted play with a 31-5 semifinal win against Northern Iowa Sunday.
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Univ. of Iowa was busy on the other side of the bracket, eliminating Baylor (32-0) and Florida State (17-5) from title contention on day one, and then getting past Purdue 20-7 in the semifinals. Three of four semifinalists hailed from the Midwest.
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Across the three other finals, someone scored in the opening minute or two of play, but the DI Club championship between Northeastern and Iowa went three-plus minutes without a score. That streak halted when prop-turned-center Molly McAlevey powered through the line and then fed championship MVP Kourtney Bichotte-Dunner for the score, 5-0.
Iowa didn’t idle and the plucky Elizabeth Langlois scored beneath the posts, allowing Miranda Basart to hit a conversion — which was not easy to do in very windy conditions. The Hawkeyes led 7-5, but not for very long. From the restart, ball moved to Bichotte-Dunner, who took off for the corner and then hit McAlevey in support. The senior took off for the half-ending try, 10-7 to Northeastern.
Molly MacAlevey / Photo: Jackie Finlan / TRB
It was still anyone’s game and Bichotte-Dunner’s value was also felt on defense. The wing made a crucial, cross-field tackle after Iowa broke free deep in Northeastern’s end. That tackle was essentially a game-saver.
After a long defensive stand in its own 22, a penalty and kick-and-chase relieved some pressure and set up Mira Mahmoud for a try in minute 12. Northeastern held a 15-7 lead until the 15th minute, when Langlois again dotted down to end the game, 15-12 the final.
Purdue took 3rd place after 22-12 win against Northern Iowa. Notre Dame, home to lead try-scorer and first-year Mia Blocher (8), won the Plate with a 14-10 win against Florida State. Boise State is the Bowl champion, claiming those 9th place honors after a 24-12 win against Claremont. And the Shield went to CRC first-timer Arizona State, which bested Howard 31-5 for some hardware. Arizona State’s Riko Takayoshi kicked seven conversions to lead to the DI Club field.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Bailey Barton – Purdue Univ. (Ind.), Sr.
Kourtney Bichotte-Dunner – Northeastern Univ., Sr.
Mia Blocher – Notre Dame (Ind.), Fr.
Ava Hughes – Colorado State Univ (Colo.), Soph.
Elizabeth Langlois – Univ. Iowa (Iowa), Grad.
Morgan Linck – Univ. Northern Iowa (Iowa), Jr.
(The NCR list was only 6 players long so TRB would add Molly McAlevey of Northeastern as its pick for #7)
DIVISION II
The U.S. Coast Guard Academy has its first CRC 7s trophy. The cadets had to get past UW La Crosse (20-7) and Colorado Mesa University (25-12) on Saturday, and then took on a tough Towson squad, led by Kelly Greenleaf, the championship MVP of the NCR Rising Stars 7s Tournament. The teams were tied 12-all into the final minute of play, but Coast Guard had the composure to work one more score for the 17-12 win and berth to the finale.
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Meanwhile, Roger Williams University got the job done on the other side of the bracket. The Hawks bested William & Mary 10-0 and Bowling Green 29-7 in the first two round of Cup play, and then started Sunday with a semifinal showdown against CRC first-timer Marist College. This thriller went into overtime and Kaya Haddad came through with the try in the corner, 24-19 to the Hawks.
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Both Coast Guard and Roger Williams got the defensive push they needed to ready for the final. The Bears pressured first, forcing a hands-in-the-ruck penalty as the Hawks defended their own 22. Championship MVP Kaitlyn Boggs went quick from the mark, angled toward the sideline and finished in the corner: 5-0 after a minute of play.
Crucially, Roger Williams answered right from the restart, and it was Haddad who did the honors with another try, 5-5.
Then the first of two serious Coast Guard injuries occurred, requiring the medical cart and long stoppages of play. When play did resume, Boggs immediately scored a second try, 10-5 into the break.
Savannah McBrayer / Photo: Jackie Finlan / TRB
At the nine-minute-mark, Savannah McBrayer, who is such a fun playmaker at center, crossed the whitewash and kicked the extras, 17-5 for Coast Guard. The Bears were looking good in building to a fourth try, as Boggs took took a tricky line to the Roger Williams five meter. The captain was whipped hard into the ground, necessitating a stoppage. The medical team escorted the championship MVP off the pitch, though Boggs waved to the crowd as she was carted off.
It was trying times for Coast Guard, but the Bears held it together for the remaining two minutes to win 17-5 and the trophy.
Marist took 3rd place with a 24-19 win against Towson, and Coastal Carolina took the Plate after beating CRC newcomer New Mexico State 19-10 in the 5th place match. UW Eau Claire ended its time in Boyds with a Bowl win — 34-12 against New Hampshire. And Arkansas took Shield honors after a 20-14 win against Syracuse. Boggs led all points (55) and try (11) scorers, while Greenleaf and Sydney Weiss of Marist both kicked nine conversions to lead that stat.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Kaitlyn Boggs – U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Conn.), Jr.
Kelly Greenleaf – Towson Univ. (Md.), Jr.
Kaya Haddad – Roger Williams Univ. (R.I.), Soph.
Jaden Logie – Roger Williams Univ. (R.I.), Jr.
Savannah McBrayer – U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Conn.), Soph.
Taylor Walthall – Towson Univ. (Md.), Sr.
Sydney Weiss – Marist College (N.Y.), Soph.
DIVISION III
For the second time in its history, Endicott College has pulled off the NCR double — 15s national championship and CRC 7s championship in the same season. The Gulls completed that same feat in the 2022-23 school year. But it was no easy task, especially in Boyds.
Endicott started the tournament with a 30-7 win against Middlebury, and then just got by Colorado School of Mines, 22-21, during the quarterfinals. Sunday’s semifinals were just as tough, as CRC first-timer Drury University was hungry for a final’s berth. The Missouri program led 12-10 into the final minute of play, which was just enough time for Endicott to rally for one last try, 15-12 the final.
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On the other side of the bracket, Baldwin Wallace found its form during Saturday wins against York (22-12) and UW Platteville (17-12), and then edged East Stroudsburg University 19-10 in the semifinals. Advancing to the final meant ending the tournament with its highest finish ever, and there are several first- and second-years who will carry that experience forward.
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But in the final, Endicott was its championship self. The team scored three tries in both halves – two from corner-taker Colleen Mitchell, two from championship MVP Laryssa Landmesser, and one apiece from Tess Merrill and Marin Shaffer.
Photo: Jackie Finlan / TRB
Arguably the most memorable score occurred after a Mitchell breakaway. The wing was oh-so-close to scoring if it wasn’t for a magnificent Cancian chase-down and tackle at the line. There was a knock-on, however, and Endicott regrouped with a scrum and earned a free-kick penalty, culminating with the Merrill try. Merrill also added the only conversion of the final in the 32-0 victory.
Laryssa Landmesser / Photo: Jackie Finlan / TRB
East Stroudsburg came through with a 17-14 3rd place win against Drury. Colorado School of Mines finished with the Plate after a 17-10 win against UW Platteville. Gannon brought the Bowl championship home to Pennsylvania, topping Yale 22-17. And Middlebury won the Shield after a 30-10 victory against LeTourneau of Texas. Gannon’s Lexi Hulick led all point scorers with 43, scoring seven tries and kicking four conversions. Johanna Hayes (Middlebury) and Taylor Brink (UW Platteville) also dotted down seven tries across four games, and Faith Burtnick (Niagara) and Marianna Moreau (CO Mines) kicked eight conversions apiece to lead that stat.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Molly Cancian – Baldwin Wallace Univ. (Ohio), Grad.
Lexi Hulick – Gannon Univ. (Pa.), Sr.
Laryssa Landmesser – Endicott College (Mass.), Jr.
Piper Lee – Colorado School of Mines (Colo.), Fr.
Tess Merrill – Endicott College (Mass.), Sr.
Julia Nielsen – East Stroudsburg Univ. (Pa.), Jr.
Lauren Thomlinson – Drury Univ. (Mo.), Soph.