Five teams punched their ticket to the Collegiate Rugby Championship National 7s over the weekend at automatic qualifying tournaments across four states in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida and Iowa.
Notre Dame became the first Men’s Premier Cup team to earn qualification this season, winning the Sunshine 7s in Gainesville, FL. The Fighting Irish went 3-0-1 in pool play, defeating Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and Florida, and drawing with Clemson.
In the other pool, Aquinas mirrored Notre Dame’s record, beating Indiana, Alabama and Clemson’s seconds, while tying South Carolina. The Irish defeated Aquinas, 12-5, in the final, and the Hoosiers rebounded from their lone loss, beating Clemson, 32-12, for third place.
At the Women’s Division I Club qualifier at Hawkeye 7s, host Iowa lost its first match of the day to Boise State, but rebounded with four-straight victories to win the title and punch its ticket to nationals. After being held to just one score against the Broncos, the Hawkeyes exploded for 38 points against Michigan State and 35 against Purdue to finish out pool play.
Iowa then bested Big Ten rival Ohio State in the semifinals, 22-15, and exacted revenge against Boise State in the final, 26-17. The Hawkeyes are the second team to qualify in their division, alongside Love at First Ruck champion Florida.
Two teams qualified in Women’s Division II over the weekend – Bowling Green and UNC-Charlotte. The Falcons went a perfect 3-0 Sunday to claim the Great Lakes 7s title in the dome at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI. They hung an improbable 77 points on Oakland in pool play and beat previously undefeated GVSU 49-14 in the final.
Coastal Carolina hosted, went undefeated and won Sun’s Out Scrum’s Out over the weekend, but the Chanticleers having already qualified at Love at First Ruck 7s, the automatic bid fell to runner-up Charlotte. The 49ers went undefeated in pool play, beating South Carolina, North Georgia and Appalachian State before punching their ticket to the CRC with a 12-10 semifinal victory over Georgia Tech.
The first team to qualify in Men’s Division III is the University of Richmond, champions of the Southern 7s in Elon, NC Saturday. The Spiders went 4-0, beating Sewanee, Loyola (MD), and Xavier en route to the final. On the other side of the knockout bracket, The Citadel upset Duke, 14-5, before knocking off Christendom and host Elon. The Spiders were one try better in the championship game, winning 24-19.
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