In Women’s Premier Cup action, three-time defending national champion Brown defended home turf and won their own qualifier Saturday, going 4-0 against Army, Army’s seconds, St. Bonaventure and Coast Guard. Tate Muller and Charlotte Davies led the Bears with seven tries each, and Olivia Baptiste wasn’t far behind with five.
At the City 7s in Kansas City, MO, Wisconsin pitched a perfect game, going 4-0 to qualify in Men’s Premier Cup. The Badgers beat Iowa Central and UHSP in pool play, then UHSP again in the semifinals, before soundly defeating Southern Nazarene in the final, 40-14. Emilio De Palm was fantastic up front, and halfback Eric Harris was electric in space.
The Iowa Hawkeyes also qualified in Kansas City, going 5-0 to claim a Division I-AA bid. Led by Kansas City native Michael Johnson and mercurial talent Ren Heimer, Iowa defeated Nebraska twice, including 28-14 in the final, to book a return trip to the Big Dance.
Ruck the Rock 7s in Rock Hill, SC also featured two men’s qualifiers, with defending champions Wheeling and UNC-Wilmington qualifying in Premier Cup and Division II, respectively.
The Cardinals beat Queens and Southern Virginia in pool play, before avenging a loss to Belmont Abbey from earlier this spring in the quarterfinals. Wheeling then shutout Notre Dame, 36-0, in the semifinals, before beating Dartmouth, 24-14, in the final.
The Seahawks beat George Mason and ECU in pool play, before besting Georgetown in the semifinal, 39-7, and Coastal Carolina in the final, 17-7. Wilmington outscored opponents 177-22 on the weekend.
Louisville went 5-0 at the Sandman 7s in Blackburg, VA to punch its ticket in Men’s DI Club. The Cardinals were dominant all day, conceding just two tries, while pitching three shutout and piling up 261 points. Host Virginia Tech went undefeated until running into Louisville in the final, falling 24-0. The Hokies posted quality wins over Charlotte, Bowling Green and Tennessee.
DIII men and women qualified at the Richmond 7s, with Christopher Newport women punching their ticket alongside the Duke men. CNU went 4-0 en route to the title, beating UNC-Wilmington and Longwood in pool play, Alfred in the semifinals and Sewanee in the final.
The Blue Devils bested Loyola (MD), Howard and Roanoke in pool play, and Citadel in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they shutout Slippery Rock (who shutout an entire tournament last week), 21-0, before beating the host Spiders three-tries-to-two in the final, 17-14.
Written by Pat Clifton of The College Rugby Show
