Quarter of Field Qualified for National 7s in Biggest Weekend of the Qualifying Season

In the wake of the biggest weekend of the qualifying season, 38 teams hold automatic bids for the 15th Collegiate Rugby Championship National 7s April 25-27 at the Maryland Soccerplex in Boyds, MD. Nine more will earn them Saturday and Sunday. 

Defending 15s national champion Wheeling bested host St. Bonaventure Sunday to win the Bonnies 7s and claim the final AQ bid to the Women’s Premier Cup, joining Brown and American International College. Though the Cardinal men are defending champions, this will be the maiden CRC voyage for the Wheeling women in their inaugural spring semester as a program.

In Men’s Premier, St. Bonaventure and Kutztown both claimed AQ bids over the weekend. The Bonnies won the Old Blue 7s in Mt. Vernon, NY, defeating Siena in the final. The Golden Bears finished third at the Fighting Irish 7s at Notre Dame, behind already-qualified Iowa Central and Wheeling, punching their ticket to Maryland. 

The penultimate Men’s Premier AQ bid will be earned at the 18-team Monumental 7s hosted by the New England Free Jacks Saturday and Sunday in Quincy, MA. The final bid goes to the winner of Fairfield’s tournament April 12 in Fairfield, CT. 

Baylor became the latest Women’s DI Club team to earn a berth Saturday, winning the Lonestar 7s at SaberCat Stadium in Houston, TX. The Bears went 3-0 on the day, booking a return trip after making the semifinals in their CRC debut last spring. 

Two more teams will automatically qualify in Women’s DI Club this weekend, from the Wolverine 7s in Ann Arbor, MI and the Rugby Northeast tournament at Stone Hill College in Easton, MA. 

North Carolina State and Louisville are the latest to qualify in Men’s DI Club, as the top-finishing teams at Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, respectively. The Wolfpack tied Kentucky, but defeated South Carolina, Virginia Tech and James Madison on the trot. Louisville was a perfect 4-0 in South Bend, beating Illinois in the final, 19-5. 

Three teams clinched bids in Men’s DII – IUP, Tennessee Tech and Coastal Carolina. The Crimson Hawks beat Georgetown in the final at Bucknell, 31-12, avenging their loss to the Hoyas in the semifinals at last year’s CRC. Tech knocked off host Memphis, 24-19, to win the Bluff City 7s. And the Chanticleers went undefeated at East Carolina.

Another Men’s DII team will qualify this weekend at Pittsburgh 7s, as will a Women’s DII club. Three will qualify in Women’s DII in total, with tournaments at Stone Hill College and the University of Maryland. 

Winners will join the University of Texas at San Antonio and Coast Guard, who qualified over the weekend. The Roadrunners went 4-0 in Houston, besting Oklahoma in the final, 15-12. The Bears went 5-0 at Stony Brook in Long Island, NY, conceding just two tries the entire tournament. 

Endicott and Niagara also punched their tickets in Women’s DIII over the weekend, winning the Free Jacks and Fox 7s, respectively. The Gulls didn’t concede a point in Quincy, while Niagara let in just three tries in their 5-0 performance at home. 

Three teams qualified in Men’s DIII – Duke, defending national champion Slippery Rock and Denver. The Blue Devils beat already-qualified VMI in the final of the Southern qualifier, The Rock knocked off already-qualified Wisconsin Eau Claire at Notre Dame, and the Pioneers beat New Mexico Tech in the final of Bear Den 7s to finish 4-0.

Two more will qualify in Men’s DIII this weekend – winners of automatic qualifiers at Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, PA and the Lt. Crowe 7s at Niagara in Lewiston, NY.