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The Pacific Desert Rugby Conference (PDRC) is traditionally the first College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) league to hold its 7s championships every school year and thus the first to name teams to the springtime national tournament. On Saturday, Oct. 24, 15 sides reported to UC Irvine, Calif., for a proper days of 7s, and DI UC Santa Barbara took top honors for a repeat berth to nationals on April 24-26, 2027, in Indianapolis. [lead photo: Alex Ho @hoiho_photo]
Based in Southern California and Arizona, the PDRC contests its CRAA 15s season beginning in the new year, and thus there’s little time to wedge in a 7s qualifier season before the national championship in late April. So the conference has adapted and for years has placed the local 7s season in the fall, which fits nicely alongside an otherwise developmental block ahead of 15s.
In the PDRC championship bracket, nine teams were placed into three pools of three teams, with the winners of each pool advancing to the Cup semifinals. The fourth spot was reserved for the “best second place” team per the standings, and that was a fortunate set-up for UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos are the reigning CRAA 7s Challenger National Championship titleholders and were coming off of a West Coast 7s title run earlier in the month. But the conference championship opened with a 15-12 loss to Arizona. However, a shutout against DII UC Irvine provided the point differential that UCSB needed to move forward with the No. 4 spot in the semifinals.
POOL A
Arizona 15-12 UC Santa Barbara
Arizona 19-0 UC Irvine
UC Santa Barbara 39-0 UC Irvine
Pool B produced the closest results, but Claremont Colleges did enough to beat both Occidental and San Diego State to get into the Cup semifinals. UC San Diego dominated Pool C, posting big scores against Claremont’s DII side as well as UCLA. The Bruins beat Claremont DII, but that big loss to the Tritons knocked UCLA out of Cup semifinal contention.
Photo: Dina Soriana @dinasaur_671
POOL B
Claremont 19-10 Occidental
Claremont 17-10 San Diego St
San Diego St 29-19 Occidental
POOL C
UC San Diego 47-0 Claremont DII
UC San Diego 28-5 UCLA
UCLA 46-7 Claremont DII
As mentioned, the top-four teams advanced to the Cup semifinals, while the next-four teams funneled into the Plate bracket, or 5th place division. Claremont’s DII team finished 9th in the standings and dropped out of the knockout rounds. After missing out on the medal rounds, UCLA rebounded with back-to-back wins in the Plate division, fighting off Occidental and San Diego State for 5th place overall.
PDRC coordinator Natalie Figueroa / Photo: Dina Soriana @dinasaur_671
PLATE BRACKET
Semifinals
UCLA 27-22 Occidental
San Diego St 20-10 UC Irvine
7th: Occidental 32-5 UC Irvine
5th: UCLA 22-17 San Diego St
The Cup division was thrilling. UCSB put in a confident win against UC San Diego in the semifinals, and Claremont eked past Arizona 17-12 to advance to the title match. There, the Gauchos ran in four tries to the Foxes’ two to win the DI conference title 22-12. Santa Barbara gets the automatic berth to the national 7s tournament — which traditionally fields a premier division for NCAA and NAIA varsity teams, as well as a Challenger Division for DI and DII clubs. While not official yet, Claremont is also a contender for a Challenger bid.
Photo: Alex Ho @hoiho_photo
CUP BRACKET
Semifinals
UC Santa Barbara 26-14 UC San Diego
Claremont 17-12 Arizona
3rd: Arizona 17-12 UC San Diego
Final: UC Santa Barbara 22-12 Claremont
There was also a six-team novice bracket that included two UCLA sides, Claremont’s third side, second teams from San Diego State and UC Santa Barbara, and a combination squad from Mira Costa, Loyala Marymount and UC Riverside.