Wayne Rugby Park in Wayne, Nebraska was the scene on Nov. 5-6 for the NSCRO West Regional Championship. The event featured the following teams:
Minnesota #1 – Carleton College from Northfield, Minnesota
Minnesota #2 – Bemidji State University from Bemidji, Minnesota
Great Plains #1 – Wayne State College from Wayne, Nebraska
Great Plains #2 – Augustana College from Sioux Falls, South Dakota
On Saturday, both Carleton College and Wayne State College stood tall at day’s end. Carleton’s quick recycling of the ball to their skilled flyhalf Robin Burrell and darting runs by outside center Sara Harrison provided too much for the Augustana girls leading to a 58-0 win. Wayne State used its forward power to control the rucks and scrummaging as they pulled away from the Bemidji girls 37-0.
On Sunday, Wayne State and Carleton met in what was expected to be a close encounter. It was a scoreless match until Carleton’s Alison Lisi broke out of a lineout to dot down a try about half way through the first half. Carleton’s flyhalf Robin Burrell and inside center Edee Lee added tries making it 17-0 at the end of the half. The first half was marred by numerous penalties called at the breakdown against Wayne State leading to 2 yellow cards and a red card for their scrumhalf for repeated infringements. Carleton went back on attack after the break with Burrell taking off on a 50m run for a try. A few minutes later her Wayne State counterpart was red-carded for repeated infringements. Down to 13 players…Wayne State fought hard and scored when no. 8 Jennifer Becker drove over with the ball from a ruck at the goal line. Carleton responded with 3 tries and the match ended with a score of 37 to 7.
As a result of their win in the Regional Championship, Carleton College has qualified for the NSCRO National D3 Championship scheduled for Nov. 19-20 in Cherry Hill, NJ. They will face the winner of the New England RFU D3 Championship which will be determined this Saturday between Western Connecticut State and Wentworth Institute of Technology. Info about this event is provided below as well as the NSCRO website.
A photo of the Carleton College Women’s RFC is attached taken just after their victory.
NSCRO thanks Darrin Barner, Wayne State College RFC Coach and Supreme Commander of Wayne Rugby Park along with his men and women’s club for hosting an outstanding rugby event. In addition, NSCRO wants to recognize and thank the work of the medical staff, Dr. Mark McCorkindale, Dr. Sam Recob and ATC Tim Ellis along with the match officials, Kurt Weeder and Brian Kaiser from the Great Plains RRS and Eric Anderson and Art Sears from the Minnesota RRS.
Elsewhere in the NSCRO World of Small College Rugby….
Division 3
New England Region – In the NERFU semifinals, Wentworth Institute of Technology handled the University of Hartford 59-12, while Western Connecticut State University edged the University of Maine-Orono 15-14. WIT and Western Conn State will face off this Saturday in the NERFU D3 final. This winner will play on Sunday in the final. The winner will qualify for the NSCRO National D3 Championship scheduled for Nov. 19-20 in Cherry Hill, NJ.
New York State/New England Region – The College of Holy Cross edged Wheaton College 10 to 7 to win the inaugural New England Women’s Collegiate Rugby Conference title. Holy Cross was the the 2008 NSCRO Division 4 Champion. Check out the NEWCRC website at http://www.newcrc.org/. Holy Cross will face the NY State RC Champion, St. Bonaventure University this Saturday at Smith College in Northampton, MA. The winner will qualify for the NSCRO National D3 Championship scheduled for Nov. 19-20 in Cherry Hill, NJ.
East Penn/Met NY Region – Lock Haven University, the 2010 NSCRO Division 4 Champion, beat Millersville University 10 to 3 to capture the East Penn RU D3 title this past Saturday. Lock Haven travels to Fairfield, CT this Saturday to face the Met NY RU D3 Champion, Fairfield University. Fairfield is looking to return to the National Championship after having lost in 2010 in the semifinal to the eventual National Champion, Bentley University. The winner will qualify for the NSCRO National D3 Championship scheduled for Nov. 19-20 in Cherry Hill, NJ.
Division 4
Albright College won the East Penn RU D4 Championship this past Saturday 29 to 10 over Susquehanna University and will face the winner of the New England RFU D4 Championship on Sunday, Nov. 20 in Cherry Hill, NJ. Albright was runnerup in the D4 Championship match in 2008 losing to Holy Cross.
The NERFU D4 semifinals and final will be played this Saturday at Springfield College. The semifinal pairings are:
St. Anselm College vs Trinity College
Springfield College vs Johnson State College
2011 NSCRO National Women’s D3 and D4 Championships
The event is hosted by the Philadelphia Women’s RFC (www.pwrfc.org) at the home field of the South Jersey RFC ( www.southjerseyrugby.org).
Schedule
Sat. Nov. 19
11AM – Div 3 Semifinal – Winner: Nov. 12 match – St. Bonaventure (New York State Rugby Conference Champion) vs. Holy Cross (New England Women’s Collegiate Rugby Conference Champion) VS Winner: Nov. 12 match – Lock Haven (East Penn RU Champion) vs. Fairfield (Met New York RFU Champion)
1PM – Div 3 Semifinal – Carleton College (West Region Champion) VS New England RFU Champion (determined on Nov. 12)
Sun. Nov. 20
9:30AM – Div 3 3rd Place (Sat semifinal losers) – 30 min halves
11AM – Div 3 Championship Final
1PM – Div 4 Championship Final
Field Location – Cherry Hill, NJ
The field is on Evesham Rd. diagonally across from William G Rohrer Center for HealthFitness close to the corner of Cropwell Road and E. Evesham Road, Cherry Hill, NJ. There is parking adjacent to the field.
Directions are at : http://www.epru.org/news/d.
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NSCRO – The National Small College Rugby Organization
The National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO, pronounced “N”-Scro) was co-founded by Steve Cohen and Chip Auscavitch in 2007 in order to establish an official organization to oversee the Men’s and Women’s Division III and Women’s Division IV college rugby playoff system leading to a National Championship. These championships are a vital part of developing rugby in the U.S. as over 220 men’s and women’s teams are classified in this category (about one-third of all college rugby teams).
In 2002, Steve Cohen started these championships but were managed independent from any union or organization. They were referred to as “East Coast Championships”. As additional teams and unions began to participate, and the NSCRO was created, the name was changed to “NSCRO National Championships”.
For more information about NSCRO including participating teams and playoff brackets, go to www.nscro.org as well as contacting NSCRO President Steve Cohen at sdcohen4@mindspring.com
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