Men’s And Women’s Rugby Fall During Collegiate Rugby Championships After Making Playoff Round
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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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