Men’s And Women’s Rugby Fall During Collegiate Rugby Championships After Making Playoff Round
The Penn State rugby teams took to Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania this past weekend for the Collegiate Rugby Championships — the premier event in college rugby. The tournament pitted 20 of the best men’s teams and 16 of the best women’s teams in rugby sevens, a face-paced seven-on-seven version of rugby.
The men’s team returned to the competition in 2016 after losing all but one game in 2015 en route to a 15th place finish. The Nittany Lions started off strong in their first two matches on Saturday, defeating Virginia Tech and Drexel 29-12 and 27-12, respectively. They finished pool play with a loss to Life University 17-7.
The men failed to escape its group, but did advance to the Cup playoff round on a tie-breaker. They would face top-seeded UCLA in the quarterfinals and fell behind 19-0. With four minutes to go, the Nittany Lions clawed their way back, but fell just a try short in the 19-12 loss.
The women’s team, coming off its National Championship last month, entered the tournament as three-time defending champions. The Nittany Lions cruised through the group stage, outscoring their three opponents 119-5 to qualify for the Cup playoff round.
Had a great time at the #PennMutualCRC banquet tonight after the ladies went 3-0 in pool play today! pic.twitter.com/LbUq8i2BfV
— Penn State Women’s Rugby (@PennStateWRugby) June 4, 2016
The Nittany Lions looked poised to win their fourth-straight championship, but were ultimately shocked by Lindenwood in the semifinals 14-5. They rebounded to defeat Navy in the third-place game 32-5 to cap off another dominant year in college rugby.
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