2011 Preseason CPL Rankings By Alex Goff (Dobson Images) The College Premier League doesn't begin in earnest until March. However, we at RUGBYMag.com are unveiling our first CPL Rankings. The rankings are based on a variety of factors, including (for the first effort) last year's performances, advice from coaches and observers around the country, a formula we use to assess performance, and our own observations. If we were to use our formula alone, the top team would be Dartmouth, because the formula rewards playing and winning games, which Dartmouth has done plenty of. Others have a played a little bit, and still others have been completely idle. The formula works best when everyone is playing, and even then we aren't locked into it. The formula is designed, as is the advice of experts, to open our eyes to teams we've overlooked. So to this year. Here are our opening rankings for the 2011 season: 1 Cal 2 BYU 3 Life University 4 Arkansas State 5 Army 6 Utah 7 St. Mary's 8 Dartmouth 9 Penn State 10 Central Washington 11 Delaware 12 San Diego State 13 LSU 14 Kutztown 15 Texas A&M 16 Navy 17 Cal Poly 18 Arizona 19 Tennessee 20 UCLA 21 Wyoming 22 Colorado State 23 UC Davis 24 Air Force 25 Oklahoma 26 Colorado 27 Arizona State 28 Notre Dame 29 Ohio State 30 Claremont Colleges 31 Rutgers
http://rugbyamerica.net/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog Top 10 Division I Premier Games to Watch in 2011 January 3, 2011 The start of the inaugural Division I Premier season is just over two months away and the excitement is starting to build. Four conferences, 31 teams, and collegiate bragging rights are on the line. With so many games on the schedule, picking out the ones with the most potential was difficult. Rumors abound regarding ESPN getting involved with the broadcast of some Division I Premier games. A major development that many have hailed for years, getting college rugby on a major sports network such as ESPN would be a coup for the sport and college rugby as a whole. If the rumors are indeed true, which games might find their way to ESPN? Let’s take a look at ten games to keep an eye on during the upcoming season. 10. Tennessee at Life (March 5th) – This week one matchup is one of three opening weekend games on the list. Life University makes their collegiate debut against one of the challengers in the Mid-South Conference. An upset by the Volunteers could throw the conference into a free-for-all battle for pole position. 9. Dartmouth at Penn State (March 26th) – Rugby East Conference favorites Dartmouth take to the road to Happy Valley to take on the Nittany Lions. This game has major ramifications on how the Rugby East Conference shakes out. 8. Cal at St. Mary’s (April 9th) – The classic Northern California matchup now takes on new significance as the two teams battle for the Pacific Conference title. Cal remains the conference favorite, but will have to work hard on the road to knock off the Gaels. This game has traditionally drawn very well, so expect a capacity crowd and lots of fervor. 7. Cal at San Diego State (March 5th) – Another big opening weekend matchup, Cal heads south to face San Diego State. The game serves as a measuring stick for the Aztecs who narrowly missed a trip to the Final 4 last season. 6. Kutztown at Dartmouth (April 30th) – A big Rugby East Conference match pitting two postseason contenders. Dartmouth comes into the season as the Rugby East favorite and Kutztown is among a handful of teams that will jockey for one of the two playoff bids in the conference. Kutztown may need a big road win over Dartmouth to move onto the postseason. 5. St. Mary’s at Central Washington (April 16th) – An intriguing matchup between two teams that are poised to challenge for postseason bids. Central Washington is an up-and-coming squad and knocking off one of the big names in college rugby would be a big boost. St. Mary’s is going to need to notch a big road win over Central Washington to keep in the conference playoff hunt. 4. Life at Arkansas State (April 2nd) – This is “THE” big game of the season in the Mid-South Conference. Arkansas State and Life are the two big conference favorites and this game will likely decide the Mid-South Champion. In the coming years, this game could build into a great rivalry. Who won’t want to look back and say they saw the first game in the rivalry? 3. San Diego State at St. Mary’s (March 19th) – Barring an upset or two during Pacific Conference play, this game should have a playoff berth on the line. Two teams that play a very fun and open style of rugby… this one should not disappoint. 2. BYU at Utah (March 5th) – The final opening weekend game to make the list, this one is by far the most important. BYU/Utah is already a heated rivalry that has received national attention. Imagine Ohio State/Michigan or Auburn/Alabama playing during the first week of the football season. To raise the bar a little higher, this opening game might also decide the Western Conference Champion. 1. Navy at Army (April 30th) – This shouldn’t come as any surprise… it is Army vs. Navy after all!!!! One of the most historic and hotly contested rivalries in college sports, the rivalry spans across every sport in which the two mighty institutions participate. Rugby is no different either. Both Army and Navy will be right in the mix in the Rugby East Conference so this game may also have playoff implications. This is going to be a big one. Play begins in the new Division I Premier on March 5th and runs through April 30th. The top two teams from each conference move onto the playoffs which begin May 7th and culminate on May 21st with the Division I Premier Championship.
For Immediate Release February 28, 2011 College Premier Division set to launch BOULDER, Colo. – The USA Rugby College Premier Division (CPD) is set to kickoff on Friday March 4, marking the start of an elite collegiate men’s rugby competition. “This competition is one of the visible results of USA Rugby’s commitment to college rugby. The end goal for us is to showcase the college game as a high level competitive sport in America ,” said USA Rugby Collegiate Director, Todd Bell. “Pairing a dynamic and action-packed Olympic sport with well-established university brands is a great opportunity for rugby to attract new talent and expand the fan base.” The College Premier Division was originally slated to be called the College Premier League, but was changed as each of the teams are still classified as Division I and therefore teams are not technically a league, but rather an elite division. The opening weekend of College Premier Division competition will be highlighted by the annual Wasatch Cup battle between long-time rivals BYU and Utah at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy , Utah . This matchup is the first ever USA Rugby “Barnburner,” a CPD match selected by USA Rugby that encapsulates the competitiveness and spirit of college rugby. The first match of the CPD will start Friday March 4, with the Arizona State Sun Devils hosting the Colorado Buffaloes at the Arizona State University Soccer Stadium in Tempe , Ariz. ### Further Information: Jarrod Beckstrom | Communications Manager | USA Rugby | jbeckstrom@usarugby.org Follow USA Rugby on Facebook and Twitter! ABOUT COLLEGE PREMIER DIVISION The College Premier Division is an elite collegiate rugby competition sanctioned and administered by USA Rugby . The CPD is modeled after NCAA competitions and features 31 elite men’s college rugby programs competing in four conferences, Rugby East, Mid-South, Western, and Pacific. The regular season sees all teams in the conference play one another, with the two top seeds qualifying for the playoffs. Playoffs are single elimination and the two unbeaten teams advance to the CPD final. The winner of the CPD will be declared the National Champion. CPD Quarterfinals | May 7, 2011 | CPD Semifinals | May 14, 2011 | Infinity Park | Glendale , Colorado CPD Championship | May 21, 2011 | Rio Tinto Stadium | Sandy , Utah The Official Ball of the College Premier Division Inspiring America to fall in love with Rugby Jarrod Beckstrom | Communications Manager | USA Rugby 2500 Arapahoe Avenue, Suite 200 | Boulder CO 80302 W: 303.539.0300 x124 | C: 303.501.9692 | Fax: 303.539.0311 Be covered! USA Rugby and Zurich North America now offer great Rugby Accident Insurance to all of USA Rugby's Members! To learn more or enroll, visit usarugby.org.
http://www.rugbymag.com/news/colleg...lear-unique-hurdle-make-ivy-league-proud.aspx Dartmouth Hopes to Clear Unique Hurdle, Make Ivy League Proud By Pat Clifton (Ed Hagerty photo) The late winter start is new for many College Premier League teams, especially those faced with snowy, bleak conditions. However, Dartmouth is dealing with a unique challenge leading up to their Saturday CPL debut against Delaware. The Ivy League school is on a trimester system, opposed to the semester system used by most colleges, and after Dartmouth sophomores finish their spring period, they don’t go home for the summer. Rather, they stay on campus for an extra trimester. In return, they’re given a trimester of choice off to study abroad or seek internships. For Dartmouth ruggers, that trimester’s traditionally been the winter of their junior year to accommodate for both the fall and spring seasons. Two of Dartmouth’s top players and All Americans, Paul Jarvis (USA Rugby) and Derek Fish (RUGBY Magazine), are juniors, and instead of training with the rest of the team in Hanover, N.H. the last several weeks, they’ve been doing their own thing. Fish is back home in Madison, Conn. helping coach his former high school wrestling team and prepping for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), and according to Dartmouth coach Alex Magleby, Jarvis is, “in DC working for a think-tank writing about the Arab conflict.” While some Dartmouth juniors won’t be available for the Delaware match, Fish and Jarvis will. So what’s it been like preparing for the biggest season of their college rugby careers away from campus and their teammates? “It’s been tough. I’ve been doing the team strength and conditioning program pretty religiously, and I’ve got a few balls. When it hasn’t been covered in snow I’ve been passing and kicking,” said Fish. “Some of my brothers are seniors in high school, so I’ve been throwing the ball around with them, and I’ve gone up to school a couple times to get in some team trainings. “This Premier thing is new, so missing the training is kind of weird for us. Obviously we’re concerned, but we think we’ve done enough to stay competitive and stay in shape.” Each CPL team has its own hurdles to clear, but none like Dartmouth’s. The only teams who understand their reality are Ivy League brethren, on whom Dartmouth pounded heavily in the fall. Beatings aside, Dartmouth is carrying the proverbial torch for the rest of the Ivy League, a proud covey. “The Ivies were the first campuses to have collegiate rugby in the United States, with the exception of a couple schools on the West Coast, and it’s a great place to grow the game I think,” said Magleby, a beaming Ivy grad. “If you compare it to the non-revenue sports, if you compare it to lacrosse soccer, everything except basically basketball, football and baseball, there are Ivies in the top 10 in the country, and in rugby I think certainly the Ivies can play that part.” Dartmouth would like to think their Ivy League contemporaries, who'd love nothing more than to beat Magleby, Jarvis, Fish & co. in the fall, will be rooting for them in the CPL, just as Dartmouth will be pulling for Harvard in the DI Sweet 16. “We’re pretty excited for Harvard going into the National DI Championships, and we really, really hope they do well,” said Magleby. “A couple years ago when they actually went to Nationals we were all pulling for them, and that’s the same this year. We hope they represent the league well, which hopefully they will, and we’re excited for them.” “I know they’ll be hoping we succeed, because that reflects positively on them and on the Ivy League,” added Fish. “It helps attract sponsors, get good athletes out on campuses throughout the Ivy League and get a better standard of rugby.” Will Ivy League pride be enough to push Dartmouth past Delaware Saturday? Most likely not, but the play of Fish and Jarvis might be.
http://rugbyamerica.net/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog College Premier Division Roundup March 6, 2011 College, Collegiate Men, Division I Premier by Ted Hardy, Editor, Rugby America So, what if the competition went through a few names changes… College Premier League, Division I Premier, College Premier Division… what a few name changes between friends? Anyways, what is important is that, after months of anticipation, the competition kicked off play. While there were some of the expected blowouts, there were also some pretty good games mixed in. In the Rugby East Conference, Dartmouth and Delawarelocked in a battle with the Ivy League stalwart coming out on top in the end 15-5. In another Rugby-East matchup, the scoreline wasn’t that close, but Ohio State held their own in a 44-26 loss to Navy. Army rolled past Rutgers 58-15 in the final Rugby East game of the weekend. In the Mid-South, Texas A&M and the Oklahoma Soonersplayed another good one with the Aggies coming out ahead 28-18. The big surprise out of the conference was the thumping that Life University gave Tennessee. Life came into the competition as an unknown commodity. Everyone knew they were good, but the 54-3 scoreline against the Volunteers says alot. Life #8 Cam Dolan scored three tries in the rout. The highlight of the Western Conference schedule was the big Wasatch Cup battle. BYU came out on top 40-22 over Utah in the game, but the real winners were the fans. The nearly 6,000 fans in attendance were treated to two great curtain raisers before the main event. Tournament organizers put on a great domestic combination of college, high school, and club rugby and in the process matched or outdrew most international level 15′s events that have been held here in the USA. In the other Western Conference game played Saturday, Air Force blanked Wyoming 52-0. In the Pacific Conference, Cal Poly took down UCLA 27-14 in a hard fought matchup of two rivals. St. Mary’s drubbed UC Davis 52-10 and Cal blew San Diego State out of the water 95-0. Central Washington was poised to produce a similar scoreline against Claremont and it all started well as the Wildcats ran out to a 31-0 lead. However, a series of yellow cards hurt Central Washington in the second half as they won 44-27. A full weekend of CPD action is now officially in the books. Some good games… some not so good. Overall, the teams involved did a great job providing coverage and scores of the games. Everyone knows which teams are a cut above the rest. The interesting point to follow during the season will be the progress of the teams in the middle. The #10 through #25 teams in the competition are similar in many ways and have parity. Seeing how those matchups fare on a weekly basis will keep the competition interesting and fresh. More importantly, are any of them ready to take the next step and push the top teams in the competition? 2011 College Premier Division Standings Rugby East Conference Army 5 Navy 5 Dartmouth 4 Ohio State 1 Kutztown 0 Penn State 0 Delaware 0 Rutgers 0 Mid-South Conference Life 5 Texas A&M 4 Arkansas State 0 LSU 0 Notre Dame 0 Oklahoma 0 Tennessee 0 Western Conference Air Force 5 Arizona State 5 BYU 5 Arizona 0 Colorado State 0 Utah 0 Colorado 0 Wyoming 0 Pacific Conference California 5 St. Mary’s 5 Central Washington 5 Cal Poly – SLO 5 Claremont 0 UCLA 0 UC Davis 0 San Diego State 0
http://www.rugbymag.com/features/opinions/goff-clifton-cpd-picks-week-two.aspx Goff, Clifton CPD PIcks: Week Two Colorado vs. Colorado State PAT I know CSU won in the fall, but it came down to the final couple minutes, and I've got to think the Buffs have been champing at the bit all week for a CPD do-over after being lambasted by ASU. Of course, Colorado State will be eager for a win in front of a big crowd, too, but I don't think they'll be imposing enough up front to negate the Buffs' skill in the backline. ALEX Colorado v Colorado State. Neither team is thrilling me too much at the moment. I think Colorado was shocked in Tempe last week and Colorado State couldn’t beat a Wyoming squad who, a week later, were taken apart by Air Force. So I am thinking right now Colorado. USA Rugby has this as their official “barnburner” game. Don’t know about that. Lots of passion, for sure, but in the end both teams will leave this game still with plenty to prove. Delaware vs. Ohio State ALEX Delaware v Ohio State is a clash of two teams with a different view, I think, of losses last week. OSU did somewhat better than expected under difficult circumstances. Meanwhile I am sure Delaware expected to beat Dartmouth – not in an arrogant way, they just were confident they’d win. Now there’s a danger of a “now what?” mind-set. Therefore I find it hard to pick a winner here. These are not traditional opponents. I think in the end Ohio State is young, Delaware is not, and I go with experience. PAT Like a lot of teams, Delaware pulls the underdog card an awful lot. They feel overlooked, and they'll be aiming to make a statement against Ohio State. I think this match could tell us more about Ohio State than last week, and I think it'll tell us they're still not there, yet. I'll take Delaware. Arkansas State vs. LSU PAT Arkansas State is my dark horse to win it all this year. I really like what they've built, and I really like their players. They're a bit small when compared to Cal and BYU, but not standing next to LSU. Arkansas State will win, and probably pretty big. ALEX Yes Arkansas State is, by many observers’ estimation, a top-four-caliber team. They have a really punishing forward pack and can run the ball well. They return a lot of starters and can kick for points too. I like LSU. I think they’ve got some talented players and a good coaching setup. But do they have all the boxes checked at every position? Some nifty new forwards who will be good enough to win a lot of games. I like LSU but I see Arkansas State putting this game away late. Cal Poly vs. Central Washington ALEX These teams are somewhat similar in how they prepare their athletes and how they approach the game. I think in the end it’s going to be a clash of pectoral muscles as each team tries to show the other who is stronger. It shouldn’t be that way, and the winning team might be the one that exploits space (or at least thinks along those lines). RUGBYMag.com has correspondent Cody Secker on-site for this one, so it will be intriguing to see his take on the match. I pick CWU because they are at home and they looked the stronger team last week. But remember, Claremont Colleges burned them for five (5!) tries in the second half. Even taking into account that half is proof Claremont is better than expected, it’s a cause for worry in Ellensburg. PAT It's been kind of a theme for my picks, but I think when talking about college athletes, motivation is a big factor. And I think Central Washington will have the edge in that category. They wanted to put a bigger beating on Claremeont, and they didn't, and we've talked about it, so they'll be out to prove they could have. I also just think CWU is better, plus I like the fact they're at home. Wyoming vs. Arizona ALEX Given how inconsistent Wyoming has been and given how consistent Arizona has been, and given the fact this game is played in Tucson, then I have to go with the Wildcats. PAT This should be a foregone conclusion. Somewhat interesting because it's one of only a few matches between teams in this conference who weren't in the same league last year, but Arizona should handle Wyoming with relative ease. San Diego State vs. UCLA ALEX Redemption? Who wants it more, a team that was pretty close and feels they could have pulled it out, or a team who got absolutely smashed? Resilience is one of the wonderful things rugby teaches us. Let’s see how resilient San Diego State can be. I have a really hard time picking this game. I guess I have to go UCLA, but I am not convinced. PAT A lot of pride in the San Diego State program, but UCLA is a group heading in the right direction with a real sense of urgency. This is a tough one, but I will take the names in Duncan and Jaime Kelm and the logo in San Diego State. Like you, not very confident. CAL vs. UC Davis PAT It seems like the easy out, to just pick Cal in rout, but that's what I'm going to do. Davis put up a decent score against St. Mary's, but they did have an abysmal preseason and Cal is Cal. ALEX UC Davis at California. You know I sometimes wish Cal was in some sort of international collegiate league with UBC, UVic, Oxford, Cambridge, BYU, Queen’s, and Tokyo University or something. Then we’d be reporting on them the way we should, analyzing their play, discussing their players and Jack Clark’s lineup choices. Instead we don’t do that, because the story is generally the same, and there are a bunch of other, much more uncertain games to discuss. Cal will win this easy, what’s interesting about that? Who Clark chooses to put on the field won’t matter, because he has developed his depth so successfully, and the desire to play for a true starting spot is so strong among all players that a freshman who gets a shot this Saturday will probably kill it just to get noticed. If I were Andy Malpass (and thank the Lord I’m not sir … wait, that’s something else) I would chop up the game into 10- to 15-minute increments. Tell the team to stay with Cal for ten minutes. Hold your line, hold you shape. Be comfortable with the fact that Cal will have about 75% possession because that’s how they strangle teams. And then if you get the ball, make them pay for it (or at least kick it to the corner and make Cal start over). Concentrate, put all your brain and heart into ten minutes. Then when you’re done, do another ten. If Davis scores two tries, and can point to long periods where they defended, and made Cal work, they should be pleased. Utah vs. Arizona State ALEX Oohhh man, this will be a great game. Outstanding. Utah lost to BYU and will have to be ticked off about it. They outscored BYU 14-5 in the second half, and must be wondering, “why couldn’t we have done that in the first half?” I think Utah still has issues with playing as a full 15. Meanwhile, how great is Arizona State? Winning rather convincingly after jumping from DII to the CPD. They have shown they can compete in this league … now the question is, can they compete against a highly-regarded side like Utah? If Utah travels with too much arrogance they will be taken down a notch. If they travel light, same story. I think the Utes win this, but I have serious reservations. PAT How good is Arizona State? That's what this game is about for me. It's also about seeing what Trevor Kohl can do against a team with real size. Colorado is not big, Kohl is, and he was a bruiser off the back row last week. Will he be equally effective against Utah? If so, I think ASU will be one of the most intriguing teams in the CPD this year. Also interesting will be where Chris Coyle lines up. He played on the wing against CU and didn't touch the ball a whole lot. Will Gary Lane move him into the midfield? If so, how does he do? While I'm more interested in how ASU plays, Utah is too good. Utah wins. ALEX Coyle v Palamo? If Palamo plays, interesting matchup right there. PAT Thrilling even. We could finally measure Thretton against a DI football player. Life vs. Texas A&M PAT Life's first real road game, and it'll be interesting to see if they travel well. When they met Navy in Charlotte, they weren't as impressive as they were last week in Marietta. A&M needs a breakthrough win, and this would be one. I think this is my true upset alert match, but Life still has to be my pick. VERY interested in this score. ALEX Life v. Texas A&M. OK, so the Life message that “we haven’t done anything yet” is blown out of the water now because they took apart a very good Tennessee team. Playing on the road won’t be too much of a hardship. A&M did well to win last week, but right now I think Life is exactly what we said they’d be back last spring in Rugby Magazine (print edition) – the Next Big Thing. They are powerful in all aspects. << Back Reader Comments terreyd @ Friday, March 11 2011 10:45 AM Flag Inappropriate I too, attended the Life match against Tennessee...., it seemed to be over in the first ten minutes of the match...not the best weather conditions, but all in all, a pretty over-whelming performance, as "DMac77" stated. We'll see how it goes in College Station tomorrow.....one game at a time! factchecker @ Friday, March 11 2011 1:37 AM Flag Inappropriate AState, Utah and Life are the teams to watch this wkend. Utah needs a big victory to be the real #2 west. Its all open in the MidSouth between AState and Life. We know AState is good, but how good? With credit to LSU, ASU needs to win big. Life (and AState) will need to pump these mid-table teams. Eck-S @ Friday, March 11 2011 12:54 AM Flag Inappropriate Well said. Everything is speculative so we will see this saturday. Its truly enjoyable to see top teams playing each other more regularly and creating a better base of understanding. Until proven otherwise I will keep believing in Life though. Too much talent, too much Dan Payne... retired @ Friday, March 11 2011 12:26 AM Flag Inappropriate Just wondering his logic... Who knows what ASU will be this year, we always give football players too much credit, and Utah plays two totally different types of rugby (vs BYU rugby and vs anyone else rugby), so where Utah has the talent to blow ASU out, u never know... I'm excited to see wat happens Eck-S @ Thursday, March 10 2011 11:06 PM Flag Inappropriate Retired- It makes sense when you factor in that Utah didnt beat BYU, and if you look at ASU objectively. He picked Utah, but pointed out that Arizona State is not a team to be taken lightly. You claim Goff gives one team too much credit, then you turn around and dismiss another for no reason.... retired @ Thursday, March 10 2011 9:32 PM Flag Inappropriate perhaps it was better in person, but i watched the life/tn game and byu/utah back to back and the pace of the two games was a night and day difference.... DMac77 @ Thursday, March 10 2011 8:49 PM Flag Inappropriate I was at the Life vs Tennesse game. Impressive is the right word. retired @ Thursday, March 10 2011 8:30 PM Flag Inappropriate I'm still convinced no one actually watched Life play TN, all they did was look at a score and that's how someone judges them as "impressive".... and how do you say Utah is going to beat BYU one week and then say you arent sure they will beat arizona state the next week? That doesnt make sense.... Eck-S @ Thursday, March 10 2011 3:42 PM Flag Inappropriate ASU has played Utah close in losses each of the last two years (12-6, 17-5), and as reported from another site, Palamo is not playing in any more regular season CPD matches. I am still looking for verification on that tidbit, but as the pundits have said, it should make for a very close game.
http://www.rugbymag.com/news/colleges/college-premier-league/cpd-roundup-round-2.aspx CPD Roundup Round 2 By RUGBYMag.com Staff The higher-ranked team won every College Premier Division game for the second weekend in a row. Opening up their account were Arkansas State, Louisiana State, and Arizona. Arkansas State traveled to LSU and were dominant, 58-0. Head Coach Matt Huckabut wasn't overwhelmed with his team's performance, but it was certainly enough. Arizona played their first game of the season, hosting 0-1 Wyoming. the Wildcats put on a show. Without All American Peter Tiberio they fell behind early, but rallied to gain the lead and then ran away late 56-15. Life moved to 2-0 with a 43-22 defeat of Texas A&M, paced by two tries from Garrett Lambert and Glen Maricelli. Cal scored early and often, which Tom Rooke and Blaine Scully both scoring three tries in a 106-0 rout of UC Davis. Central Washington won a physical and hard-hitting affair against Cal Poly, showcasing superior conditioning to stretch their lead in the second half, 43-17. Utah survived a tenacious Arizona State team in Tempe 29-20 in a game that was 22-20 going into the final minute. San Diego State rebounded from their pasitng by Cal to beat UCLA 43-22, and Delaware was another team that lost last week and won this week, beating Ohio State 41-17. # 24 Colorado 29-3 #30 Colorado State #11 Delaware 41-17 #26 Ohio State #1 Cal 106-0 #28 UC Davis #3 Life 43-22 #18 Texas A&M #5 Arkansas State 58-0 #17 LSU #9 Central Washington 43-17 #17 Cal Poly #12 Arizona 56-15 #29 Wyoming #15 San Diego State 43-22 #20 UCLA #7 Utah 29-20 #13 Arizona State Rugby East Army 5 Navy 5 Delaware 5 Dartmouth 4 Ohio State 1 Kutztown 0 Penn State 0 Rutgers 0 Mid-South Life 10 Arkansas State 5 Texas A&M 5 Notre Dame 0 Oklahoma 0 Tennessee 0 LSU 0 Western Air Force 5 Arizona State 5 BYU 5 Colorado 5 Utah 5 Arizona 0 Colorado State 0 Wyoming 0 Pacific California 10 Central Washington 10 St. Mary’s 5 Cal Poly – SLO 5 San Diego State 5 Claremont 1 UCLA 0 UC Davis 0
http://www.rugbymag.com/news/rankings/cpl-rankings/college-premier-rankings-march-13-2011.aspx College Premier Rankings March 13, 2011 By RUGBYMag.com Staff After 21 College Premier Division matches, the RUGBYMag.com CPD Rankings are 21-0. The higher-ranked team has won every game. (Did our attempt at a simple formula, 3 points per different in rankings, hold firm? Yes and no. No - only one result was really near 3 pts per rankings, CWU v Cal Poly. But on average, the nine results from this weekend averaged almost exactly 3 points per rankings points. It puts us in mind of a joke. Three statisticians go hunting. The first fires at a wild boar and misses 10 feet to the left. The second fires at the same boar and misses ten feet to the right. The third says "we hit it!") But ... no team really under-performaned, except perhaps LSU. No team drastically over-performed, except perhaps Arizona State and Texas A&M. We might be inclined to move Arizona State up, but on a loss? When the two teams ahead of them won? No, We think Central Washington is quite good, but good enough to leapfrog Dartmouth? Not just yet. Good for San Diego State for getting a win. But we won't move them up just yet. Arkansas State and Colorado edge up, LSU edges down. March 13, 2011 RUGBYMag.com College Premier Rankings 1 (1) Cal 10-0 (17-0) Defeated UC Davis (28) 106-0 2 (2) BYU 6-0 Idle 3 (3) Life University 7-0 Defeated Texas A&M (18) 43-22 4 (5) Arkansas State 3-0 (5-0) Defeated LSU (17) 58-0 5 (4) St. Mary's 7-1 (11-2) Idle 6 (6) Army 1-0 Idle 7 (7) Utah 4-1 (7-3) Defeated Arizona State (13) 29-20 8 (8) Dartmouth 8-0 Idle 9 (9) Central Washington 4-1 Defeated Cal Poly (16) 43-17 10 (10) Penn State 2-2 (3-3) Idle 11 (11) Delaware 9-4 Defeated Ohio State (26) 41-17 12 (12) Arizona 7-1 Defeated Wyoming (29) 56-15 13 (13) Arizona State 2-2 Lost 29-20 to Utah (7) 14 (14) Navy 1-1 Idle 15 (15) San Diego State 2-3 Defeated UCLA (20) 43-22 16 (16) Cal Poly 4-2 Lost 43-17 to CWU (9) 17 (18) Texas A&M 1-1 (2-2) Lost 43-22 to Life (3) 18 (19) Kutztown 1-0 Defeated Clemson 80-29 19 (17) LSU 2-1 (3-1) Lost 58-0 to Arkansas State (5) 20 (20) UCLA 4-4 Lost 43-22 to San Diego State (15) 21 (21) Oklahoma 1-1 (1-2) 22 (24) Colorado 2-2 (2-3) Defeated 29-3 Colorado State (30) 23 (22) Air Force 1-3 24 (23) Tennessee 7-1 (7-2) 25 (25) Notre Dame 3-2 (5-2) Lost 16-10 to Davenport 26 (26) Ohio State 1-2 (1-3) Lost 41-17 to Delaware (11) 27 (27) Claremont Colleges 0-6 Idle 28 (28) UC Davis 3-6 Lost 106-0 to Cal (1) 29 (29) Wyoming 2-4 Lost 56-15 to Arizona (12) 30 (30) Colorado State 0-4 Lost 29-3 to Colorado (24) 31 (31) Rutgers 0-1 Idle This then sets up this week's games: BYU at Colorado BYU Favored Delaware at Rutgers Delaware favored Penn St. at Kutztown Penn State favored Notre Dame at LSU LSU favored BYU at Air Force BYU favored San Diego St. at St. Mary's St. Mary's favored Interesting that only one home team is favored. It is highly likely that Kutztown will provide us with our first rankings upset of the season.
http://www.rugbymag.com/fan-zone/awards/cpd-player-of-the-week-poll-round-2.aspx CPD Player of the Week Poll: Round 2 (Utah's Don Pati is the Western candidate. Ian Muir photo) Each conference in the College Premier Division (CPD) has named its Player of the Week for round two of the CPD season. The conference Players of the Week are up for the CPD Player of the Week honor. Fan voting for the CPD Player of the Week poll is now open and will close at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday March 14, 2011. Conference Players of the Week: Rugby East Jimmy Kowalski, Delaware (1-1), Jr., Fullback (New York, NY) (Pictured right) Saturday: Two tries and two conversions in a 41-17 win over Ohio State Coach Notes: Controlled the game and ran though would-be tacklers, set up two other tries. Xavier High School product. Mid-South David Caswell, Arkansas St. (1-0), Jr., Wing (Cape Town, South Africa) Saturday: Three tries, five conversions and a penalty kick in a 58-0 win at LSU Coach Notes: Caswell’s 28 points are a CPD single game high through two weeks. Western Don Pati, Utah (1-1), Soph., Scrumhalf (Salt Lake City, Utah) Saturday: One try, one conversion in 29-20 win over Arizona State Coach Notes: Was all over the field and very efficient in his tackling. Pacific Duncan Kelm, San Diego State (1-1), Sr., Center (Santa Rosa, Calif.) Saturday: Two tries and a conversion in 43-22 win at UCLA Coach Notes: Played great defense, and led his team from the front. His scores were a result of great support running and communication. To vote for the CPD Player of the Week, click here: http://on.fb.me/g9ta3e. Congratulations to Navy scrumhalf, Ricky Neel-Feller for winning the CPD Player of the Week for round one of the CPD, winning 53% of the fan vote.
For Immediate Release March 15, 2011 CPD Barnburner: Kutztown v. Penn State BOULDER, Colo. – USA Rugby has named the Barnburner for round three of the College Premier Division (CPD). This week the Barnburner is a Keystone State clash between the two preeminent collegiate rugby programs in Pennsylvania and longtime rivals, Kutztown University and Penn State. The Barnburner kicks off at 1:00 p.m. EST at the Kutztown Rugby Pitch in Kutztown, Pa. Both teams are looking to make a statement in the newly formed CPD and what better way to do that than whooping-up on a rival? They split the fall series 1-1, so Saturday’s match will also be a tiebreaker for the Kutztown-Penn State series. According to RugbyMAG.com’s rankings this week, Penn State is #10 in the country and Kutztown is #18. But like all good college rivalries, rankings mean little when you take the field. Last year Penn State made it to the Round of Eight in the Division I Collegiate Men’s playoffs, falling to Cal in the semifinals. Kutztown hasn’t been in the playoff picture since 2008 when they had one Marco Barnard (now a regular on Team USA) leading them on the field. But this is a new year, a new competition, and a new opportunity to reach the postseason. A win for either team would put them at the top of the Rugby East table, mixing it up with top ten teams Army and Dartmouth. Coincidentally, in the next round of CPD play Kutztown faces Army and Penn State squares off with Dartmouth, putting their season hopes hanging in the balance early. “Rugby East probably has the most parity of any conference in the CPD,” said Penn State Head Coach, Don Ferrell. The coach knows that in such a tight conference, every game needs to be considered the game that could determine the outcome of the season. “It was nice having time to prepare for our first game, but the guys are just excited to get started. There are a lot of nerves and a lot of excitement.” Ferrell knows this rivalry well, being involved in Penn State rugby for 14 years and playing Kutztown regularly. “Kutztown is a big rivalry for us, but it’s also a great friendship we have with the players and the coaches,” said Ferrell. ### Further Information: Jarrod Beckstrom | Communications Manager | USA Rugby | jbeckstrom@usarugby.org Follow USA Rugby on Facebook and Twitter! ABOUT COLLEGE PREMIER DIVISION The College Premier Division is an elite collegiate rugby competition sanctioned and administered by USA Rugby. The CPD is modeled after NCAA competitions and features 31 elite men’s college rugby programs competing in four conferences, Rugby East, Mid-South, Western, and Pacific. The regular season sees all teams in the conference play one another, with the two top seeds qualifying for the playoffs. Playoffs are single elimination and the two unbeaten teams advance to the CPD final. The winner of the CPD will be declared the National Champion.
http://www.rugbymag.com/news/colleges/college-premier-league/two-game-weekend-for-byu.aspx Two-Game Weekend for BYU By Alex Goff One of the stated goals USA Rugby’s College Premier Division was to avoid those two-game playoff weekends. High-level rugby isn’t a sport you should be playing day after day. But that doesn’t stop some teams doubling up when they feel the need. Witness BYU making it a two-match road trip to Colorado this weekend. Thursday night they take on the CU Buffs in Boulder, and then hoof it to Colorado Springs to take on Air Force on Saturday. The Cougars are very deep, and they get a rest day in between matches, but it’s still the sort of weekend that forces the coaches to put in extra time managing the lineups. “We will field two different teams,” BYU Head Coach David Smyth told RUGBYMag.com. “Exactly how different is to be seen. We want each squad to be as strong as possible and also manage the time players will have on the field.” It’s a balancing act for Smyth, to be sure, and he will make several changes in the forward pack, especially after March 5th’s difficult win over Utah. “That Utah game was probably the most physical match we’ll see all season,” said Smyth. “A lot of the players were beaten up after that, so the weekend off was good.” Watch for front-rower Joey Mount, prop Chad Harker, flanker Braiden Bair and prop Mike Price to get significant time in the pack, while center Adam Kuchin will probably get more of a look in the backs. Smyth said he’s already seem some good work from younger players such as Jared Whippy and also from former USA U19 standout Seki Kofe, who followed his brother, Hynie Leaaetoa to BYU after an outstanding stint at the Eastside U19 program in Oregon. Kofe took about a year to get back into playing shape after LDS mission, but is now in good form. The whole team would like to show how good their form is, and could make a big statement with a sweep of the Buffaloes and Zoomies. Smyth would like to see a more consistent performance than the one against Utah where they outscored the Utes 35-8 in the first half and were outscored 5-14 in the second. “We saw some good things, but more in the first half than the second,” said Smyth. “I would have liked to see have seen more consistency.”
http://www.rugbymag.com/news/colleg...u-vs-penn-state-whats-right-with-the-cpd.aspx KU vs. Penn State: What's Right With the CPD By Pat Clifton Part of the allure of the College Premier Division is its pairing of high-level teams, who don’t often meet, against each other. That’s not what Saturday’s match between Kutztown and Penn State is. Not in the slightest. Penn State and Kutztown are old Mid-Atlantic rivals coached by MARFU collegiate all-star coaches who have rosters chocked full of kids who’ve played with and against each other. It’s like big brother playing little brother in the driveway, but lately it’s been awful hard to differentiate who the big brother is. Kutztown and Penn State split their two friendly meetings in the fall, like they’ve pretty much been doing the last few years. One interesting note, however, is that Penn State typically wins at Kutztown, which is where Saturday’s match is being played. “All the games we’ve beaten them it’s always been at Penn State,” said KU coach Greg Jones, “so we’re using that as a motivational factor.” Kutztown at CRC qualifier in Vegas. Numina photo Motivation won’t be hard to rile in either team, as both have been stuck on the sidelines the first two weeks of College Premier Division play, and both are raring to boot up in the new competition. “I think everybody, coaches included, are pretty much going nuts,” said Penn State coach Don Ferrell. “Now that it’s Wednesday, I can tell you that I’m certainly wound up, and like I said, I’m sure everybody is. It’s been a long time coming to get this season going, and to get the first two weeks off just adds fuel to the fire.” “We’re very anxious,” added Jones. “We’ve both been preparing for this since August.” Because of their proximity, awareness of and acquaintance with each other, Jones says Kutztown and Penn State are very similar programs. “I would tell you on paper we’re pretty much a mirror image of each other. Their forwards are probably bigger and a bit stronger, and they’re going to hold onto the ball as long as they can. They’re very good at that. I think our backs might have the edge, so it’s going to be very interesting,” said Jones. “The (KU and PSU players on the MARFU select side) all train and play together and they’re all friendly, so what’s happened is over the years we’ve all brought different ideas from our clubs to MARFU, and then from watching each other play, we have taken things form one another and inserted them in our patterns. We’re very much a mirror image. It’s almost like we’re playing against ourselves in different colored jerseys.” Though Penn State vs. Kutztown is an old derby, it’s taken on some new stakes. “There are a lot of schools competing for a growing pool of rugby talent around the area. Obviously, we want to be the top dog in our area,” said Ferrell. “It’s also bragging rights for Pennsylvania. There’s very important CPD points that are in there, too. I mean there’s a lot riding on this match, and then you throw the rivalry that is Penn State/Kutztown on top of that, and you’re sure to have a spirited affair.” Adding to hubbub surrounding Saturday’s College Premier Division opener for both programs is the fact that it’ll be locally televised. Kutztown University’s campus cable channel, KUTV, will be broadcasting the game live, and Jones estimates the channel has the power to reach about a million homes. A KU broadcasting student will be joined in the booth by a member of the rugby club to call the match. Kutztown’s newfound media presence is accompanied by a heightened awareness on campus. Jones says KU’s sports information director has contacted him and plans to use KU rugby as a way to raise the school’s profile. They’ve had to wait for it, longer than they’ve wanted, but it seems Saturday’s match between Kutztown and Penn State will be precisely what CPD visionaries have had in mind all along, on all fronts.
http://rugbyamerica.net/ College Rugby: Weekend Primer March 17, 2011 By Ted Hardy, Editor, Rugby America The weekend is nearly upon us and what does that mean? Time for some more college rugby action. The CPD has a light schedule this weekend as does the Division I Conferences along the Pacific Coast. In the meantime, the South picks play back up after a few weeks off. Atlantic Coast Rugby League We’ll start off the weekend preview in the Atlantic Coast Rugby League as they have a full slate of games on tap for fans and college rugby followers. Duke (0-2) @ North Carolina (2-0) – These two rivals square off Friday night in Chapel Hill. The Blue Devils may have gotten the best of the Tarheels in the ACC Basketball Championship, but this game should be all about North Carolina. Virginia (1-0) at Georgia Tech (1-2) – Virginia hits the road to face off against Georgia Tech. The Cavaliers opened up conference play on a good note. Georgia Tech has lost their last two, but showed against Clemson last weekend that they have the ability to push the better teams. Virginia Tech (1-0) at Clemson (2-1) – This is the prime matchup on the ACRL slate this weekend. The conference favorite Virginia Tech goes up against the up and coming Clemson Tigers. Can the Tigers pull off the upset at home and throw the ACRL race into chaos? Maryland (1-1) at North Carolina State (1-1) – Maryland makes their third trip to North Carolina in four weeks. This time, they’ll face off against the Wolfpack. The Terrapins need a win to keep pace in the conference standings. The same can be said of NC State. Only one walks away with the win. South Conference After taking a few weeks off of conference play to accommodate spring break, the South division is back in play this coming weekend. The conference is going to come down to a winner-takes- all showdown between Florida and Florida State. In the meantime, there are still a few games to be played. South Carolina at University of Florida – The Gators have rolled everyone except Florida State. The Gamecocks will have a hard time knocking off Florida at home. The two teams met in the opening weekend of play with Florida coming away 51-5 winners. Florida State at Kennesaw State – Florida State hits the road to Georgia to face off against Kennesaw State who has struggled in conference play. The two teams have already met once this season with the Seminoles dominating in a 72-7 win. Northwest Collegiate Rugby Conference Simon Fraser (0-2) at Central Washington (2-2) – The lone game on the NCRC schedule this weekend, Simon Fraser takes on Central Washington. With the Wildcats idle in College Premier Division play this weekend, will their Division I squad get a boost? CPD Western Conference BYU (1-0) at Colorado (1-1) – The Cougars open up the college rugby slate with a Thursday night matchup against the Buffaloes. Colorado got in the win column last week, but they’ll find the going tough against BYU. BYU at Air Force (1-0) – BYU pulls the double-dip weekend with a second match against Air Force. Few teams could pull off this feat and BYU is definitely one of them. Their team is not only talented, but deep. The combination of two games over the weekend and a solid Air Force squad should add intrigue to the game… well at least a little bit. CPD Rugby East Conference Delaware (1-1) at Rutgers (0-1) – The University of Delaware are on the road to face Rutgers. This season is going to be a learning process for Rutgers. The Blue Hens will provide some of those lessons this weekend. Penn State at Kutztown – The classic Mid-Atlantic matchup has been tagged as USA Rugby’s Barnburner of the Week. This should be a very good game. Both teams are playing their first conference game of the season. Expect a playoff-type atmosphere. CPD Mid-South Conference Notre Dame at LSU (0-1) – The Fighting Irish make their conference debut on the road to face the Tigers. LSU is coming off a big loss to Arkansas State last week and need to rebound. The game should be interesting on multiple fronts… how well does Notre Dame travel? Can LSU bounce back? CPD Pacific Conference San Diego State (1-1) at St. Mary’s (1-0) – This game had to be in the running for the Barnburner of the Week, because it should be a good one and there is plenty riding on the game. The Aztecs and Gaels, along with Central Washington, are the teams battling for the second playoff spot out of the Pacific Conference. The loser of this game will likely fall out of the playoff race. That covers most of the big action on tap for this coming weekend. Stay tuned to Rugby America for news and updates from around college rugby this weekend.
http://www.usarugby.org/#cc=[Application]\\Structure\\Content\\Brand Resource Center\\Content\\Home\\NewsArchive\\23181D59-12E6-E55C-18DC-022748676972\\23181D59-12E6-E562-0BBB-A41A6F57FF98\\23181D59-12ED-8F95-B30F-7249E41E2EEA{{Tab:View}} CPD: Round 3 Results College Premier Division - Week 3 Scores and Stats The third round of the College Premier Division had a little bit of everything. A few dominant displays, some nail-biters, and an upset. BYU put the hurt on two Colorado teams, University of Colorado and Air Force, putting themselves head and shoulders above their Western Conference competition. BYU #8 Ryan Roundy set a CDP record, scoring 7 tries against Colorado only to be overshadowed by his halfback in the Cougars' matchup with Air Force. All-American Shaun Davies set another CPD record scoring 36 points against the Zoomies. In the East, drama unfolded in the "Barnburner" as Penn State's Joseph Baker nailed a drop goal in the 81st minute to go ahead of in-state rivals Kutztown and win 29-30. Delaware took care of Rutgers to earn themselves a top spot in the Rugby East conference. The Mid-South had their share of drama as the Fightin' Irish upset LSU 15-11 in Notre Dame's CPD debut. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top Stats for Week 3 of CPD play: Tries: Ryan Roundy, BYU, 7 tries*; Shaun Davies, BYU, 4 tries*; Michael Haley, St. Mary's, 3 tries Conversions: Shaun Davies, BYU; 8 conversions* Penalty Kicks: Allen Alongi, LSU; 2 penalty kicks Drop Goals: Joseph Baker, Penn State; 1 drop goal For player and team stats, conference standings, and fixtures, visit the CPD Stats Portal. * BYU played two games one on Thursday and one on Saturday. In the interest of fairness, these top stats are from a single game only. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boxscores: Colorado 5 BYU 94 Tries: Lahman Lubbe, Harrison, Kafe (2), Vimahi, Roundy (7) Conversions: none Davies (6), Webber (2) Penalty Kicks: none Davies Bookings: none none Air Force 8 BYU 93 Tries: Ollis Webber, Forrester, Harrison, Kuchin, Kafe (3), Leaaetoa, Davies (4), Nicholls, Tuaone, Vuikadavu Conversions: none Davies (8), Webber Penalty Kicks: Cleveland none Bookings: none Lomu (yellow) St. Mary's 46 San Diego State 5 Tries: Haley (3), Wallace, Bouey, Brophy (2), McGowan Shea Conversions: Heath (2), Brewer none Penalty Kicks: none none Bookings: none none Rutgers 15 Delaware 29 Tries: Rubenstein (2), Hussey Kowalski (2), Gearity, Benedetto, Brotz Conversions: Kowalski (2), Matthews Kowalski (2) Penalty Kicks: none none Bookings: Malanka (yellow) none Kutztown 29 Penn State 30 Tries: Tracey, Acker (2), Lourens (2) DeFalco, Karas, Goulding (2) Conversions: Acker (2) Baker (2) Drop Goals/Penalty Kicks: none Baker (2) Bookings: Lourens (yellow) LSU 11 Notre Dame 15 Tries: Savage Mullan, O'Connor Conversions: Peterson Penalty Kicks: Alongi (2) Peterson Bookings: none none Arkansas St. 58 LSU 0 Tries: Caswell (3), Sullivan, Raath, Gericke, Oliver, Bates, Paterson none Conversions: Caswell (5) none Penalty Kicks: Caswell none Bookings: none none -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CPD Schedule for March 26 Rugby East Rutgers at Navy Noon EDT Dartmouth at Penn St. 1 pm EDT Army at Kutztown 1:30 pm EDT Mid-South Texas A&M at Tennessee 1 pm EDT Arkansas St. at Oklahoma 1 pm CDT LSU at Life 3 pm EDT Western Colorado St. at BYU 1 pm MDT Arizona at Arizona St. 7:30 pm MST Pacific Cal Poly-SLO at San Diego St. Noon PDT Cal at Central Washington 1 pm PDT Claremont at St. Mary’s 1 pm PDT UCLA at UC Davis 1 pm PDT Follow USA Rugby on Facebook and Twitter (@usaeaglesrugby) For player and team stats, conference standings, and fixtures, visit the CPD Stats Portal.
Mid - South 1 Life University 10 2 Arkansas State 5 3 Texas A&M 5 4 Notre Dame 4 5 LSU 1 6 Oklahoma 0 7 Tennessee 0 Pacific 1 Cal 10 2 St. Mary's 10 3 Central Washington 10 4 Cal Poly 5 5 San Diego State 5 6 Claremont 1 7 UCLA 1 8 UC Davis 0 Rugby East 1 Delaware 10 2 Army 5 3 Navy 5 4 Penn State 5 5 Dartmouth 4 6 Kutztown 2 7 Ohio State 1 8 Rutgers 0 Western 1 BYU 15 2 Arizona Wildcats 5 3 Arizona State 5 4 Utah 5 5 Air Force 5 6 Colorado 5 7 Colorado State 0 8 Wyoming 0
http://www.rugbymag.com/news/rankings/cpl-rankings/college-premier-rankings-march-20-2011.aspx College Premier Rankings March 20 2011 By RUGBYMag.com Staff (Notre Dame makes a move. Chris Harrington photo) Six results this past weekend make for few changes. Perhaps the biggest of those few is BYU jumping up to #1. Why? Well Cal hasn't done anything wrong, it's just that the Cougars were so impressive this past week while the Bears didn't play (other than their Freshman/Sophomore team). It is, we think, possibly a temporary shift as Cal gets two very difficult matches this coming week, and good results against UBC and Central Washington will likely put them back at #1. (Some might say we are moving BYU up to #1 just to ensure we don't have a wire-to-wire Cal #1 ... they could be right.) Also moving up, of course, is Notre Dame. They delivered by beating #19 LSU and jump ahead of the Tigers to #18. The close game between #10 Penn State and #18 Kutztown predictably moves those two closer together in the middle of the pack. Arizona moves ahead of Delaware simply because, after looking at it all, and how much difficult Delaware had with Rutgers, we've decided Delaware keeps their #11 ranking, bu the Wildcats deserve to be higher. March 20, 2011 RUGBYMag.com College Premier Rankings 1 (2) BYU 8-0 94-5 over Colorado (22), 93-8 over Air Force (23) 2 (1) Cal 10-0 (17-0) Idle 3 (3) Life University 7-0 4 (4) Arkansas State 3-0 (5-0) 5 (5) St. Mary's 8-1 (12-2) 44-5 over SD State (15) 6 (6) Army 1-0 7 (7) Utah 4-1 (7-3) 8 (8) Dartmouth 8-0 9 (9) Central Washington 4-1 10 (12) Arizona 7-1 11 (11) Delaware 10-4 Defeated Rutgers (31) 29-15 12 (13) Arizona State 2-2 13 (14) Navy 1-1 14 (10) Penn State 3-2 (4-3) 30-29 over Kutztown (18) 15 (18) Kutztown 1-1 Lost 30-29 to Penn State (10) 16 (16) Cal Poly 4-2 17 (17) Texas A&M 1-1 (2-2) 18 (25) Notre Dame 4-2 (6-2) Defeated LSU (19) 15-11 19 (19) LSU 2-2 (3-2) Lost 15-11 to Notre Dame (25) 20 (15) San Diego State 2-4 Lost 44-5 to St. Mary's (5) 21 (20) UCLA 4-4 22 (21) Oklahoma 1-1 (1-2) 23 (22) Colorado 2-3 (2-4) Lost 94-5 to BYU (2) 24 (23) Air Force 1-4 Lost 93-8 to BYU (2) 25 (24) Tennessee 7-1 (7-2) 26 (26) Ohio State 1-2 (1-3) 27 (27) Claremont Colleges 0-6 28 (28) UC Davis 3-6 29 (29) Wyoming 2-4 30 (30) Colorado State 0-4 31 (31) Rutgers 0-2 Lost 29-15 to Delaware (11)
http://www.rugbymag.com/news/colleg...ague/alex--pat-pick-cpd-games-round-four.aspx Alex & Pat Pick CPD Games: Round Four UC DAVIS VS. UCLA ALEX The thing about playing in Northern California every year is that being blown out by Cal somehwat inures you to the pain. Sure UC Davis got hammered by the Bears, but in some sense, so what? What does that have to do with their prospects going forward? They can put that behind them and set reasonable goals, such as winning such winnable games as these. I'd say Davis will bring a lot of physicality and hope to control that aspect of the game. UCLA should be able to absorb that pressure and score some late. So I give it to the Bruins, but in a dramatic way. PAT UCLA better be playing this game with a sense of urgency, because other than April 9 against Claremont, this is probably their only winnable match left. Yes, both are fighting to not be last, but the only thing worse than finishing last is being winless and finishing last. For that reason, I give UCLA the advantage. But if the Bruins don't feel the clock ticking, then UC Davis ought to be able to pull it off. ST. MARY'S VS. CLAREMONT PAT There's not much to talk about here. Perhaps St. Mary's rests some players before tougher games against Cal Poly and Cal the next couple weeks. If there are any Gaels on the fence, Tim O'Brien would be smart to sit them this week. If he does, this match might not be as ugly as it could be. But it will still be pretty ugly. Gaels win in a walk. ALEX I don't think the Gaels can afford to walk in this one. I DO think they will win, but if Claremont showed anything in their opener it was that if you give them an inch, they will take it and then some. Claremont is an interesting team with quick-strike capability, which could bite them in the butt, but I think they might be able to get one, maybe two bonus points out of this. CAL POLY VS. SAN DIEGO STATE ALEX And you wonder which team is at the better stage this week. Cal Poly has some amazing firepower in the forwards, and a simple one-off from the ruck makes big yardage for them. But they can't hold onto the rock. You can't score going 75 meters and then losing the ball in contact. So this is a battle between the physicalilty of Cal Poly and San Diego State's ability to punish turnovers. I think it could be close, but I pick Aztecs PAT This is the one intriquing game in California this week. Cal Poly and SDSU played UCLA to about the same result, with SDSU coming away just eight points ahead in terms of point differential. So in a game close like this, where I have no overwhelming reason to pick one team or another, I opt for home field advantage. I'll take the Aztecs as well. CAL VS. CENTRAL WASHINGTON PAT OK, Cal is on the road to face a tough team, a team that most would consider just outside the elite of the College Premier Division. Last time they did that, they pounded San Diego State 95-0. I don't think the Cougars go down that bad, but it will not be close. Cal has too much everywhere. For example, Tim Stanfill is a really great player for Central Washington, but he doesn't sniff a starting spot for Jack Clark. ALEX Realistically, Cal is not expected to lose this game. They are expected to go undefeated through the CPD season. However, what if Central gets a bonus point for four tries? What if they get within seven? I don't think the latter is likely, but the former is, and could have implications going forward. COLORADO STATE VS. BYU ALEX This will be on TV (BYU network), which should be fun. Cannot imagine BYU losing this. I hope CSU battles it out a full 80. PAT Seeing what BYU did to Colorado and Air Force last weekend, two teams I think are better than CSU, this game might challenge BYU TV's production crew. How many digits can they fit on their score graphic? ARIZONA VS. ARIZONA STATE PAT This, in my opinion, is the matchup of the weekend. There are some really great games in the East, but this is a natural rivalry game with a lot on the line. The Wildcats won by one point in the preseason, but they'll be without five starters, including speedster Peter Tiberio. And Arizona State will have gridiron Sun Devils Trevor Kohl and Chris Coyle, who were missing in the first matchup. This one is also in Tempe, not Tucson. Arizona is still shifty in the backs, led by Tim Moxness, but I'll take the Sun Devils. ALEX THE game of the weekend. No doubt about it. The winner has a great shot to be in the West playoff hunt, and the losers, well, aren't out of it but have an uphill climb. Arizona State has already lost to Utah, which means their climb is already on an incline, but if they beat Arizona, I could see them coming back somehow. This is a rivalry match, playoff implications, last game was decided by a point. It's got it all. I really can't pick anyone here. TEXAS A&M VS. TENNESSEE ALEX This is a really tough one to call, and as such a game I am kind of excited about. I like Tennessee, maybe because they are at home. PAT I like A&M despite being on the road. Frankly, they might be excited about going on the road, given it's their first chance to do so in the new league. I think Texas A&M will be more clinical in the pack and have plenty in the backs. Tennessee isn't an overly large team up front, which is what usually gives the Aggies fits, so I'll take A&M. LSU VS. LIFE PAT This game isn't in doubt. We know Life will win, but how hard LSU makes them work for it counts. LSU is coming off a hard loss, and they can react one of two ways: fold and let Life roll them, or come out swinging and make Life take a couple steps back before they begin the inevitable rolling process. ALEX Yes I agree about LSU. It's been a tough start for LSU, and it won't get any easier at Life. Life's pack is where you can really see the difference between an essentially varsity team and a good club team. They are just stronger, and will control the game. ARKANSAS STATE VS. OKLAHOMA ALEX We've hooked on the idea of a upper echelon of teams who win most of their games easily regardless of where they are playing or, for the most part, who they are playing. It's no myth. Arkansas State are that good. I especially like their forwards' play in the loose - not a surprise given their coach is a former All American flanker. PAT And Oklahoma is without Thor/Captain America body double Taylor Mokate, who is playing 7s in Hong Kong. Oklahoma was somewhat impressive in the way they pushed Texas A&M in their opener, but they don't have their emotional leader this time. I do think OU will make Arkansas State work hard, like LSU did, but the talent difference is way too much. RUTGERS VS. NAVY PAT Speaking of being impressive in a loss, Rutgers has been just that against Army and Delaware, and if they're going to be impressive this weekend, it will once again be in a loss. Life is very good, and they only beat Navy by two scores in the preseason, so I think the Midshipmen may be flying under the radar a bit in the East, while Rutgers has announced itself as a team that you have to show up against. ALEX Rutgers is no pushover, and if they can defend in tight they might frustrate Navy to a certain extent. Navy wins, though, because Navy gets incredible go-forward from their own forward pack, and in this battle of power, I think it becomes a battle of wills, and then I have a hard time betting against Navy. DARTMOUTH VS. PENN STATE ALEX One thing's for sure, whoever wins this game will vault themselves into strong playoff consideration. Obviously, Penn State, who won their opener, is better positioned for this. I get the feeling Penn State in 2012 will be really great. Now? Good but vulnerable. PAT I like Dartmouth here. I think there are some Dartmouth doubters out there, and not just in the pundits, but amongst league participants. I can't say Penn State is one of them, because I don't know, but if they are, watch out. ARMY VS. KUTZTOWN PAT Kutztown won't be pleased they let one get away against Penn State last week at home. It was ther home opener in a new leauge against their rival and it was broadcast on campus and area TV. All that adds up to a KU squad playing angry, but it doesn't equate to a win. Army is just too good. ALEX My first reaction is ... How the heck should I know? Truthfully, this is tough. I am not completely sold on Army just yet, and I guess the result of this game will sell me, or not. I DO think KU has the talent to win it, I just think it will be very hard.
http://www.usarugby.org/#cc=[Application]\\Structure\\Content\\Brand Resource Center\\Content\\Home\\208D7949-1299-1078-7124-00E05889C33C\\NewsArchive{{Tab:View}} CPD Barnburner: Arizona (1-0) v. Arizona State (1-1) BOULDER, Colo. – USA Rugby has selected an age-old in-state rivalry for the weekly College Premier Division (CPD) “Barnburner.” The Arizona State Sundevils and the University of Arizona Wildcats are set to clash on Saturday March 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the ASU Soccer Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. You won’t want to miss this one. These two teams are tied for points in the Western Conference and are doggedly determined to bump the other down in the standings. The last time these two sides met it was an electrifying affair with the Wildcats squeaking by with a 25-24 win over the Sundevils. Neither side is likely to have forgotten that match and encounters like that fan the rivalry flame. Arizona (ranked 7th by WeAreRugby and 10th by RugbyMAG) ran riot against the Wyoming Cowboys in their CPD opener, finishing the match with 56 points including nine tries. Remarkably, the Wildcats played seven freshmen and had nine different players score. This weekend, Arizona has four starters on the sideline with injury and one (speedy fullback, Peter Tiberio) playing for the USA in the Hong Kong Sevens. The injury count and Tiberio’s absence doesn’t faze Arizona Head Coach, Dave Sitton, who is confident that he has plenty of depth in his squad. With 33 years of coaching under his belt (all at Arizona), Sitton knows that the ability to overcome attrition throughout the season is one key to advancing to the postseason. The Wildcats have more than 30 experienced players who are ready to step in and contribute when called upon, especially if it’s against their sworn rivals, Arizona State. Similar to Arizona, the Sundevils are balanced in their scoring and have had seven different players score a total of ten tries in their first two CPD games. With that in consideration, it would seem that ASU Head Coach, Gary Lane, has some squad depth of his own. Arizona State (ranked 12th by both WeAreRugby and RugbyMAG) had a bye last week and a chance to rest and regroup after a very touch-and-go loss against the Utah Utes two weeks ago. ASU was a Division II team just last year (albeit a highly ranked one), one of the reasons why the Sundevils might be the success story of the CPD thus far. They beat Colorado by nearly 30 points and hung tough with a Utah side stacked with All-Americans, losing narrowly 20-29. “We’ve had a couple of weeks to soak in the Utah loss and we’re ready to go,” said Lane. The coach and his side have no intention of repeating the fall season loss to the Cats. “As our program continues to grow and develop, one of our goals is to beat Arizona,” said Lane and to that end, he is getting some help from Arizona State’s gridiron Head Coach, Dennis Erickson. Erickson allowed two of his players, tight ends Trevor Kohl and Chris Coyle, to play rugby in the spring, telling Lane that it wasn’t a problem, but to just “bring them back in one piece.” Coyle has two tries on the season and Kohl made CPD history scoring the first ever try in the newly-formed competition. Sitton has seen film on ASU and knows the athleticism and power that Kohl and Coyle bring. “Everyone in this league has been scouring their respective campuses for better athletes and ASU has found some,” said Wildcats coach, Sitton. Both coaches know that they don’t have to do much to get their teams psyched for this rivalry. Arizona will be keen to beat the Sundevils and move into second in the Western Conference standings and ASU is looking for a signature win and a fighting chance to reach the postseason. “We’re not under any illusion that this won’t be a tough task…and I don’t have a pep talk planned. If anything, I’ll have to calm the guys down a bit,” Lane said, mostly jokingly. “It has always been a hard rivalry game, just as is the case with every Arizona vs. ASU contest,” said Sitton. “However, this is even more so because it is the inaugural CPD meeting. It does excite the senses.” ### Further Information: Jarrod Beckstrom | Communications Manager | USA Rugby | jbeckstrom@usarugby.org Follow USA Rugby on Facebook and Twitter! ABOUT COLLEGE PREMIER DIVISION The College Premier Division is an elite collegiate rugby competition sanctioned and administered by USA Rugby. The CPD is modeled after NCAA competitions and features 31 elite men’s college rugby programs competing in four conferences, Rugby East, Mid-South, Western, and Pacific. The regular season sees all teams in the conference play one another, with the two top seeds qualifying for the playoffs. Playoffs are single elimination and the two unbeaten teams advance to the CPD final. The winner of the CPD will be declared the National Champion.
http://rugbyamerica.net/ CPD Rundown: Rugby East Produces More Close Games March 27, 2011 Rugby News by Ted Hardy, Editor, Rugby America While blowouts have been common across the new College Premier Division, the Rugby East Conference week-in week-out has continued to impress. Of the 39 CPD games played to date, only nine have been decided by ten points or less. Of those nine, four have come out of the Rugby East. Regardless of what happens down the road with the CPD, the Rugby East Conference is onto something with their collection of teams and should not have any problems wherever the competition goes. The conference could easily stand on their own legs if that ever comes to pass. Rugby East Conference Navy vs. Rutgers - Navy (2-0) cruised on Saturday to an easy 46-5 victory over Rutgers (0-3). Navy lock, Colin Byrne scored two tries in the winning effort. Penn State vs. Dartmouth – The game everyone was watching in the Rugby East, Penn State (2-0) held on for a 22-19 win over Dartmouth (1-1). The Nittany Lions got two tries from Chris Karas while Dartmouth got two from prop Charlie Grant. Army vs. Kutztown – Army (2-0) raged back from a 27-10 halftime deficit to shock Kutztown (0-2) and give the Golden Bears their second straight loss. Mid-South Conference Tennessee vs. Texas A&M – The Volunteers (1-1) got a huge bounce-back victory by defeating Texas A&M (1-2) by a score of 28-25 at home. The Aggies made things interesting with a late try by Tim Telaneus, but they could not overcome the 18-point output from Tennessee flyhalf Sammy Anderson. Life vs. LSU – Life (3-0) got a combined seven tries from forwards Garrett Lambert, Cam Dolan, and Paris Hollis as they dropped LSU (0-3) by a score of 71-8. The loss continues the Tigers early season struggles. Arkansas State vs. Oklahoma – Arkansas State (2-0) kept pace in the Mid-South conference as they soundly defeated Oklahoma (0-2) by a margin of 40-3. The win sets up a massive conference battle next weekend in Arkansas between the Red Wolves and Life University. Western Conference BYU vs. Colorado State – BYU (4-0) kept rolling as they shut out the visiting Colorado State Rams (0-2) by a whopping score of 99-0. No surprises here. Arizona at Arizona State – Arizona State (2-1) continued their impressive start to the season with a 38-15 victory over in-state rivals Arizona (1-1). Pacific Conference San Diego State vs. Cal Poly – In one of the more anticipated games of the weekend, San Diego State (2-2) defeated Cal Poly (1-2) by a score of 38-22. Mike Shea scored two tries for the Aztecs and Duncun Kelm had two conversions and three penalty goals to help pace the offence. Cal vs. Central Washington – See, Cal (3-0) doesn’t score 100 points on everyone. All kidding aside, Central Washington (2-1) put up a pretty solid fight before falling to Cal 44-14 at home. St. Mary’s vs. Claremont – St. Mary’s (3-0) kept pace in the Pacific Conference race with a 44-0 blanking of Claremont (0-2). UCLA vs. UC Davis – The final Pacific Conference game produced one of the closest scorelines of the season in the Pacific as UCLA (1-2) got past UC Davis (0-3) by a narrow margin of 14-5. The Bruins did all of their scoring in the first half with tries from Joshua
Mid South 1 Life University 15 2 Arkansas State 10 3 Texas A&M 7 4 Notre Dame 5 Tennessee 4 6 LSU 1 7 Oklahoma 0 Pacific 1 Cal 15 2 St. Mary's 15 3 Central Washington 10 4 San Diego State 10 5 Cal Poly 6 6 UCLA 5 7 Claremont 1 8 UC Davis 0 Rugby East 1 Navy 10 2 Army 10 3 Delaware 10 4 Penn State 9 5 Dartmouth 5 6 Kutztown 3 7 Ohio State 1 8 Rutgers 0 Western 1 BYU 20 2 Arizona State 10 3 Arizona Wildcats 5 4 Utah 5 5 Air Force 5 6 Colorado 5 7 Wyoming 0 8 Colorado State Saturday, 26 Mar 2011 Pacific San Diego State 38 - 22 Cal Poly Aztec Field, San Diego, CA Rugby East Navy 46 - 5 Rutgers Ernie Blake Field, Annapolis, MD Pacific Central Washington 14 - 44 Cal CWU Soccer Complex, Ellensburg, WA Pacific St. Mary's 49 - 0 Claremont Pat Vincent Memorial Field, Moraga, CA Pacific UC Davis 5 - 14 UCLA Russell Fields, Davis, CA Western BYU 99 - 0 Colorado State South Field, Provo, UT Rugby East Penn State 22 - 19 Dartmouth West Campus Pitch, State College, PA Mid-South Oklahoma 3 - 41 Arkansas State Al Veile Rugby Complex, Norman, OK Mid-South Tennessee 28 - 25 Texas A&M Tennessee Rugby Park, Knoxville, TN Rugby East Kutztown 27 - 31 Army Kutztown Rugby Pitch, Kutztown, PA Mid-South Life University 71 - 8 LSU Life Rugby Pitch, Marietta, GA Western Arizona State 38 - 15 Arizona Wildcats ASU Soccer Stadium, Tempe, AZ Friday, 01 Apr 2011 Western BYU (19:00) vs. Wyoming South Field, Provo, UT Saturday, 02 Apr 2011 Rugby East Navy (12:00) vs.Penn State Ernie Blake Field, Annapolis, MD Mid-South Notre Dame(12:00) vs. Texas A&M West Quad Fields, South Bend, IN Pacific UC Davis(13:00) vs. Central Washington Russell Fields, Davis, CA Western Utah (13:00) vs. Arizona Wildcats McCarthey Field, Salt Lake City, UT Western Colorado State (13:00) Arizona State CSU Rugby Pitch, Fort Collins, CO Rugby East Army(13:00) vs. Dartmouth Anderson Rugby Complex, West Point, NY Mid-South Arkansas State(13:00) vs. Life University ASU Rugby Pitch, Jonesboro, AR Mid-South Oklahoma(13:00) vs. Tennessee Al Veile Rugby Complex, Norman, OK Pacific Cal Poly (13:00) St. Mary's Cal Poly Sports Complex, San Luis Obispo, CA Pacific UCLA(13:30) vs. Cal North Athletic Field, Los Angeles, CA Rugby East Kutztown(13:30) vs. Ohio State Kutztown Rugby Pitch, Kutztown, PA Sunday, 03 Apr 2011 Pacific Claremont(13:00) vs. Cal Merritt Field, Claremont, CA
http://www.rugbymag.com/news/rankings/cpl-rankings/college-premier-rankings-april-3-2011.aspx College Premier Rankings April 3, 2011 By RUGBYMag.com Staff (No wonder Navy won, the field was covered in water. Barbara Hendricks photo) The RUGBYMag.com CPD rankings continue to perform well. Of the 10 games this weekend the higher-ranked team won in eight. In one of the two so-called upsets, the teams were separated by only two spots in the rannkings, and the home team (Arkansas State) won by two points. Overall, we count 50 CPD league matches, of which 44 have been won by the higher-ranked team. Four of the six upsets were by home teams. The only true road upset was Notre Dame of LSU in Baton Rouge. Three of the six upsets were decided by fewer than five points. The biggest miss for us, then, was when #12 Arizona State beat #10 Arizona by 23 points. Still, we'll take an 88% success rate so far. This week, obviously Arkansas State moves ahead of Life, even though it seems the two teams are essentially even. Penn State drifts down a couple of spots after their loss to Navy. April 3, 2011 RUGBYMag.com College Premier Rankings 1 (1) BYU 10-0 123-3 over Wyoming (29) 2 (2) Cal 14-0 (21-0) Defeated UCLA 100-0 (20) UBC and Claremont Colleges (27) 62-7 3 (5) Arkansas State 5-0 (7-0) 28-26 over Life (3) 4 (3) Life University 8-1 Lost 28-26 to Arkansas State (5) 5 (4) St. Mary's 10-1 (14-2) 57-17 over Cal Poly (17) 6 (6) Utah 5-1 (8-3) 48-19 over Arizona (13) 7 (7) Navy 3-1 29-12 over Penn State (8) 8 (9) Army 3-0 32-23 over Dartmouth (11) 9 (10) Arizona State 4-2 40-10 over Colorado State (30) 10 (8) Penn State 4-3 (5-4) Lost 29-12 to Navy (7) 11 (11) Dartmouth 8-2 Lost 32-23 to Army (9) 12 (12) Central Washington 5-2 36-25 over UC Davis (28) 13 (13) Arizona 7-3 Lost 48-19 to Utah (6) 14 (14) Delaware 10-4 Idle 15 (16) Kutztown 2-2 68-24 over Ohio State (26) 16 (15) San Diego State 3-4 Idle 17 (18) Tennessee 8-2 (8-3) Won 37-22 over Oklahoma (23) 18 (17) Cal Poly 4-4 lost 57-17 to St. Mary's (4) 19 (19) Texas A&M 2-2 (3-3) 13-6 over Notre Dame (21) 20 (21) Notre Dame 5-3 (7-3) Lost 13-6 to Texas A&M (19) 21 (23) Oklahoma 1-3 (1-4) Lost 37-22 to Tennessee (18) 22 (20) UCLA 5-5 Lost 100-0 to Cal (2) 23 (22) LSU 2-3 (3-3) Idle 24 (25) Air Force 2-4 Won 36-15 over Colorado (24) 25 (24) Colorado 2-4 (2-5) Lost 36-15 to Air Force (25) 26 (26) Ohio State 1-4 (1-5) Lost 68-24 to Kutztown (16) 27 (27) Claremont Colleges 0-8 Lost 62-7 to Cal (2) 28 (28) UC Davis 3-8 Lost 36-25 to Central Washington (12) 29 (30) Colorado State 0-6 Lost 40-10 to Arizona State (10) 30 (29) Wyoming 2-5 Lost 123-3 to BYU (1) 31 (31) Rutgers 0-3 Idle
http://www.rugbyamerica.org/2011/04/05/cpd-names-conference-players-of-the-week/ CPD Names Conference Players of the Week April 5, 2011 Rugby East Tim Acker, Kutztown, Jr., Flyhalf (Buckingham, Pa.) Saturday: Three tries, two penalty kicks, six conversions for 33 points in a 68-24 win over Ohio State Coach Notes: He was also instrumental in consistently attacking the Ohio State backline as he found numerous gaps to run through on his way to launching his teammates in a 68 point effort against the Buckeyes. He was unanimously voted the most dynamic player on the field, for both sides this day. Previous Rugby East Winners March 26: Charlie Grant, Dartmouth, Prop March 19: Ryan Goulding, Penn St., Lock March 12: Jimmy Kowalski, Delaware, Fullback March 5: Ricky Neel-Feller, Navy, Scrumhalf Mid-South Conference Pat Sullivan, Arkansas St., Soph., Flyhalf (Mokena, Ill.) Saturday: 18 points on 1 try, three penalty kicks and two conversions in a 28-26 win over Life. Coach Notes: Stepped in to handle the kicking duties for the first time this season and converted two conversions and three penalties, including the game winner with five minutes to go. Previous Mid-South Winners March 26: Sam Anderson, Tennessee, Outside Center March 19: Sean Peterson, Notre Dame, Flyhalf March 12: David Caswell, Arkansas St., Wing March 5: Cameron Dolan, Life, No. 8 Western Conference Travis Hughes, Arizona State, Sr. No. 8 (Bullhead City, Ariz.) Saturday: Three tries in a 40-10 win over Colorado State Coach Notes: Travis scored 3 tries and created various opportunities for others to score. His tackle count was at a 95% tackle to miss ratio. He was voted ASU’s player of the game for the third time this season. First two-time Player of the Week winner this season. Previous Western Winners March 26: Travis Hughes, Arizona St., No. 8 March 19: Ryan Roundy, BYU, No. 8 March 12: Don Pati, Utah, Scrumhalf March 5: Carson Cleveland, Air Force, Flyhalf Pacific Conference Ryan Hamilton, Central Washington, Sr., Flyhalf (Republic, Wash.) Saturday: 1 try, 1 penalty kick and three conversions in a 36-25 win over UC Davis Coach Notes: Central down 6 starters from the week prior because of injuries and academic requirements needed a player to step up and lead a Ryan did just that. To go along with his personal point total of 14 he put 2 players away tries. Ryan typically plays outside centre but moved to flyhalf this week for the first time this season and performed well. Previous Pacific Winners March 26: Andrew Cook, St. Mary’s Hooker March 19: Joe Brophy, St. Mary’s, No. 8 March 12: Duncan Kelm, San Diego St., Center March 5: Stuart Sharpe, Cal Poly-SLO, Fullback
http://www.usarugby.org/#cc=[Application]\\Structure\\Content\\Brand%20Resource%20Center\\Content\\Home\\NewsArchive\\23181D59-12E6-E55C-18DC-022748676972\\23181D59-12E6-E562-0BBB-A41A6F57FF98\\23181D59-12F2-1A09-9E5D-857995F057D4{{Tab:View}} College Premier Division-Week 5 Scores and Stats The fifth week of CPD play began and ended with commanding victories by BYU and Cal. Despite their lopsided victories, these two teams were unable to overshadow play by the rest of the Premier Division, which saw a total of nine hat tricks this weekend! In the East Division, Army and Navy remained undefeated and atop the standings with solid victories, thus setting the stage for their showdown in the final week of play. In the "Barnburner" Arkansas State defeated Life University 28-26. The ASU Red Wolves jumped out to an early 25-5 lead and were able to withstand a furious Life comeback in the second half to escape with a critical win in Mid-South play. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CPD Statistical Leaders through Week 5: Tries: Ryan Roundy, BYU; 15 tries Conversions: Shaun Davies, BYU; 37 conversions Penalty Kicks: Michael Mills, Texas A&M; William Holder, Army; 6 Penalty Kicks each Drop Goals: Four players tied with one each. CPD Stats Portal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boxscores: BYU 123 Wyoming 3 Tries: Forrester (5), Roundy (3), Webber (2), Harrison (2), Hill, Price, Leaaetoa, Davies, Su'a, Nicholls, Mendenhall none Conversions: Whippy (6), Davies (8) none Penalty Kicks: none Ogren Bookings: none none Utah 48 Arizona 19 Tries: Burd, Ale, Mostyn, Lauti, Houma, Vakapuna, Hafoka Getzler, Mayer, Naber Conversions: Lauti (4), Ofa Getzler (2) Penalty Kicks: Lauti none Bookings: none none Arizona State 40 Colorado State 10 Tries: Hughes (3), Sleem, Sandstrom, Helm Greer, Karas Conversions: Bulkley (2) none Penalty Kicks: Bulkley (2) none Bookings: none none Air Force 36 Colorado 15 Tries: Ruize (2), Gallagher, Ragsdale, Byorth, Halle Oesterle (2), Shafer Conversions: Cleveland (3) none Penalty Kicks: none none Bookings: none none Central Washington 36 UC Davis 25 Tries: Stanfill (2), Smith, Bates, Gordon Shackelford, Oreglia, Bedigian Conversions: Hamilton (4) Harrison (2) Penalty Kicks: Hamilton Harrison (2) Bookings: none none St. Mary's 57 Cal Poly-Slo 17 Tries: Maupin (3), Haley (2), Crawford, Holguin (2), Bouey, Brophy Osterloh (2), Varea Conversions: Heath (2) Ferri Penalty Kicks: Heath none Bookings: Holguin, Carley (yellows) none Cal 100 UCLA 0 Tries: McTurk (3), Muhn (3), Scully (2), Wrobel (2), Daly (2), Asbun, Rooke, Aronson, Westerman none Conversions: Bailes (6), Aronson (4) none Penalty Kicks: none none Bookings: none none Cal 62 Claremont 7 Tries: Gallinger (3), Anderson (2), D. Barrett, N. Barrett, Ring, Fry Eachus Conversions: Aronson (7) Nigh Penalty Kicks: Aronson none Bookings: Tucker, Chehade (yellows) none Texas A&M 13 Notre Dame 6 Tries: Mills none Conversions: Mills none Penalty Kicks: Mills (2) Peterson (2) Bookings: none none Arkansas State 28 Life 26 Tries: Mizell, Sullivan, Gericke, Lambert, Grossheider, Dirksen, Dolan Conversions: Sullivan (2) Cowley (3) Penalty Kicks: Sullivan (3) none Bookings: Evans (yellow) none Tennessee 37 Oklahoma 22 Tries: Howard (3), Boyd, Wilson, Henderson (2) Henry (2), Lair Conversions: Bowlus Givens (2) Penalty Kicks: none Givens Bookings: Wheeler (yellow) none Navy 29 Penn State 12 Tries: Arnsberger, Rohrs, Siefring, Taylor (2) Metcalf, Erickson Conversions: Arnsberger (2) Baker Penalty Kicks: none none Bookings: Burge, Rohrs (yellows) Intrieri (yellow) Army 32 Dartmouth 23 Tries: Leatigaga, Warner, Beck, Lange Downer (3) Conversions: Holder (3) Fish Penalty Kicks: Holder (2) FIsh (2) Bookings: none O'Sullivan (yellow) Kutztown 68 Ohio State 24 Tries: Acker (3), Fryberger, Tracey, Domino (2), Dolan, Vymazal, Lourens, Heard, Harmon, Willatt, Walsh Conversions: Acker (6) Willatt (2) Penalty Kicks: Acker (2) none Bookings: none none -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CPD Week 6 Schedule (all times local to site) Rugby East Kutztown at Navy (noon) Army at Delaware (1 pm) Penn St. at Ohio St. (1 pm) Dartmouth at Rutgers (3 pm) Mid-South Notre Dame at Life (noon) Oklahoma at LSU (noon) Arkansas St. at Tennessee (1 pm) Western Arizona St. at Wyoming (1 pm) Colorado at Utah (1 pm) BYU at Arizona (2 pm) Colorado St. vs. Air Force (4 pm at Infinity Park, Glendale, Colo.) PacificS an Diego St. at UC Davis (noon) Claremont at UCLA (1 pm) Follow USA Rugby on Facebook and Twitter (@usaeaglesrugby) For player and team stats, conference standings, and fixtures, visit the CPD Stats Portal
Mid-South 1 Life University 17 2 Arkansas State 14 3 Texas A&M 11 4 Tennessee 9 5 Notre Dame 5 6 LSU 1 7 Oklahoma 0 Pacific 1 Cal 25 2 St. Mary's 20 3 Central Washington 15 4 San Diego State 10 5 Cal Poly 6 6 UCLA 5 7 Claremont 1 8 UC Davis 0 Western 1 BYU 25 2 Arizona State 15 3 Utah 10 4 Air Force 10 5 Arizona Wildcats 5 6 Colorado 5 7 Colorado State 0 8 Wyoming 0 Rugby East 1 Navy 15 2 Army 15 3 Delaware 10 4 Penn State 9 5 Kutztown 8 6 Dartmouth 5 7 Ohio State 2 8 Rutgers 0
http://boxscorenews.com/college-premier-division-rugby-players-of-the-week-for-april-p17782-68.htm College Premier Division Rugby Players of the Week for April 2 USA Rugby April 5, 2011 BOULDER, Colo. – The conference players of the week have been announced after a thrilling weekend of College Premier Division action. These players are now up for the national CPD Player of the Week honors. Fans can vote in the National CPD Player of the Week poll here: http://on.fb.me/g9ta3e. Congratulations to Tennessee outside center, Sam Anderson for winning 63% of the fan vote and winning CPD Player of the Week for the week of March 26. Rugby East Tim Acker, Kutztown, Jr., Flyhalf (Buckingham, Pa.) Saturday: Three tries, two penalty kicks, six conversions for 33 points in a 68-24 win over Ohio State Coach Notes: He was also instrumental in consistently attacking the Ohio State backline as he found numerous gaps to run through on his way to launching his teammates in a 68 point effort against the Buckeyes. He was unanimously voted the most dynamic player on the field, for both sides this day. Previous Rugby East Winners March 26: Charlie Grant, Dartmouth, Prop March 19: Ryan Goulding, Penn St., Lock March 12: Jimmy Kowalski, Delaware, Fullback March 5: Ricky Neel-Feller, Navy, Scrumhalf _____________________________________________________________________ Mid-South Pat Sullivan, Arkansas St., Soph., Flyhalf (Mokena, Ill.) Saturday: 18 points on 1 try, three penalty kicks and two conversions in a 28-26 win over Life. Coach Notes: Stepped in to handle the kicking duties for the first time this season and converted two conversions and three penalties, including the game winner with five minutes to go. Previous Mid-South Winners March 26: Sam Anderson, Tennessee, Outside Center March 19: Sean Peterson, Notre Dame, Flyhalf March 12: David Caswell, Arkansas St., Wing March 5: Cameron Dolan, Life, No. 8 _____________________________________________________________________ Western Travis Hughes, Arizona State, Sr. No. 8 (Bullhead City, Ariz.) Saturday: Three tries in a 40-10 win over Colorado State Coach Notes: Travis scored 3 tries and created various opportunities for others to score. His tackle count was at a 95% tackle to miss ratio. He was voted ASU’s player of the game for the third time this season. First two-time Player of the Week winner this season. Previous Western Winners March 26: Travis Hughes, Arizona St., No. 8 March 19: Ryan Roundy, BYU, No. 8 March 12: Don Pati, Utah, Scrumhalf March 5: Carson Cleveland, Air Force, Flyhalf _____________________________________________________________________ Pacific Ryan Hamilton, Central Washington, Sr., Flyhalf (Republic, Wash.) Saturday: 1 try, 1 penalty kick and three conversions in a 36-25 win over UC Davis Coach Notes: Central down 6 starters from the week prior because of injuries and academic requirements needed a player to step up and lead a Ryan did just that. To go along with his personal point total of 14 he put two players away for tries. Ryan typically plays outside center but moved to flyhalf this week for the first time this season and performed well. Previous Pacific Winners March 26: Andrew Cook, St. Mary’s Hooker March 19: Joe Brophy, St. Mary’s, No. 8 March 12: Duncan Kelm, San Diego St., Center March 5: Stuart Sharpe, Cal Poly-SLO, Fullback