Eight teams punched their ticket to the Collegiate Rugby Championship over the weekend, with automatic qualifiers across seven divisions.
All four men’s divisions were represented at the Yellow Rose Showcase in Houston, TX Saturday. Indiana secured a Premier Cup bid, going 5-0 and beating Southern Nazarene, 38-7, in the final. The Hoosiers are the second team to secure a bid in the 32-team bracket, following in-state rival Notre Dame
Sam Houston went unbeaten in DI Club, besting Baylor in the final, 30-14. The Bearkats join already-qualified Kentucky on the train to the CRC.
In the open bracket, Denver defeated Montana State in the final, 17-5. Denver’s reward is a DIII bid, joining Richmond. As the top-placing DII team, the Bobcats have punched their ticket as well. Montana State, last year’s runner-up, is the first team to qualify in Men’s DII.
The Frostbite 7s in Lancaster, PA saw St. Bonaventure and American International College qualify in men’s and women’s Premier Cup, respectively. The Bonnies bested Fordham in the men’s final, the Rams knocking off AIC and Kutztown en route to a second-place finish.
AIC met no match in the Women’s Premier Cup division, going undefeated on the weekend and posting two big shutouts – 48-0 over St. Bonaventure in the semifinals and 36-0 over Long Island in the final. The Yellowjackets are the first team to qualify in the Women's Premier Cup.
James Madison is the third team to clinch in Women’s DI Club, winning the Bison Brawl in Washington, DC. The Dukes went 4-0 on the day, beating North Carolina 12-5 in the final. They join Iowa and Florida in the 16-team bracket so far.
In Women’s DII, the University of Texas, San Antonio won the Lonestar qualifier to earn a bid to nationals, defeating Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the final. The Roadrunners’ lone blemish was a pool play draw with North Texas. They’ll join Bowling Green, Charlotte and Coastal Carolina in Maryland.
To keep up with the road to Nattys, tune into the new episode of The College Rugby Show this Friday!
