IUP reigns Supreme in Men’s DII

The quest for a three peat for the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks is alive and well through day one of Division II action at the Collegiate Rugby Championship. They were able to beat Coastal Carolina, 21-14, thanks to two tries from reigning MVP Dom Holmes, following it up with three tries in a 22-17 win over Montana State in the quarterfinals. Holmes’s five tries put him one behind UNC Wilmington’s Danny Zawalich for the most in the DII division.

Second seed Georgetown showed they should not be overlooked with a strong showing on the first day of the tournament. The Hoyas won their first two games on the day with a point differential of 48.

The West was full of upsets. Eight seed Scranton won big, upsetting top seed Memphis, 29-12, in the first round, followed up with a dominant 33-12 win over Miami Ohio in the quarterfinals. Senan Price had four tries on the day for the Royals. To close out the region, fourth-seeded Maine beat Colorado Mesa in the opening game, before upsetting second-seeded UNC Wilmington in the quarterfinals.

While the Cup final is still up in the air, the Bowl and Plate finals are set. Coastal Carolina followed up their opening round loss with a big win over Albany and a shutout over Northwestern to advance to the Bowl final. Their opponent will be Colorado Mesa, who scored over 40 points in their two wins over Northern Iowa and Memphis. As for the Plate final, it will be between Montana, who won their semifinal 35-5 over Norwich thanks to three tries from Thomas Hingerty, and UNC Wilmington, who shut out Miami Ohio 26-0.

For tomorrow’s matchups, Scranton and Maine will play at 11:50 a.m. in the Cup Semifinals at 12:10 p.m.. The Cup final will be at 6:11, and all three games will be in the main stadium. Montana State and UNC Wilmington will be playing at 12:40 on field 9 for the Plate Final, with Norwich playing Miami Ohio for 7th place at 12:20 on the same field. As for the Bowl Final between Coastal Carolina and Colorado Mesa, the game will be at 12 p.m. at field 9.  

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