New Champion to be Crowned in DI Club

Returning as a No. 1 seed, reigning Division I Club champion University of San Diego’s title defense was ended in the second round by North Carolina State, last year’s runner up in Division II. Three different players scored for the Wolfpack in the win, which put them in the semifinals. 

The rest of the top seeds have all made it to the Cup semifinals. Louisville, the top seed in the East, beat Salisbury 42-0 in the first round, then followed that performance with a 31-0 shutout over Columbia. Liam Johnson and Ryan Cammarata lead the Cardinals in tries after day one, with three tries a piece.

Seven seed Florida also scored a big upset in the first round, knocking off second seeded Purdue, 19-12. Their next game was against their rival, Georgia, with the winner earning a spot in the semifinals. Florida started the game off slow but was able to gain a man advantage due to a Georgia penalty. The Bulldogs held tough with only six players, but their efforts would ultimately not be enough, and the Gators came away with a 21-12 win.

North Carolina opened with a 15-5 win over Oregon State, setting up a second-round match up with Tennessee. The Vols beat Southern California 26-0 in the opening round, with Luke Mathis leading the way with a brace of tries, setting up an overtime quarterfinal, which Tennessee would win. 

The loss put Georgia in the Plate semifinal against San Diego, who was looking to avenge their loss earlier in the day. This time, the Toreros would not be upset and went on to win 29-5. North Carolina also clinched a spot in the Plate final with a 31-7 win over Columbia. 

In the Bowl Bracket, Salisbury and Purdue were able to get past their opening morning losses. Salisbury won a high-scoring affair over Missouri, 33-28, before beating Oregon State, 34-14. Jack Warnick led the Seagulls with two tries in the win. As for Purdue, they also survived a close win in their first Bowl Cup game with a 17-12 win over UMASS. The Boilermakers then won their semifinal game in commanding fashion, with a 38-19 win over Bowling Green.

For tomorrow’s matchups, NC State will take on Cinderella Florida for the Cup Semifinal at 12:30, followed by Louisville and Tennessee at 12:50. The winners will play at 6:32, and all three games will be in the main stadium. San Diego and North Carolina will play at 3:40 on field 9 for the Plate Final, with Georgia and Columbia playing right before at 3:20 for seventh place. The D1 Club Bowl final will be at field 9 between Salisbury and Purdue at 2:40.

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