The National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) will broadcast their NSCRO Women’s National Championships on the Gift-Time Rugby Network on December 5 – 6, 2015.
The NSCRO Women’s National Championship will pit Lee University, Colgate University, Minnesota State University – Moorhead and University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth.
Minnesota State University – Moorhead will be making its second consecutive appearance in the NSCRO Women’s National Championships. They ended up in third place last year. This year MSUM had a perfect season this year. Starting off the year winning the All Minnesota 15s Tournament with wins over UW-River Falls, Luther, and St. Bens. Winning by a margin of 173-0. To defeat UW-River Falls in the finals, 40-0. MSUM continued their dominating ways through the playoffs defeating UW-Platteville, 84-5 in the Sweet 16, and #1 Wayne State College, 36-12 in the Elite 8.
University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth entered into the playoffs with a perfect 5-0 season. Coming out of the Colonial Coast Rugby Conference, they were able to sweep through their schedule with 187-29 margin of victory. Ranked 8th in the NSCRO Top 20, eased their way through the Sweet 16s and Elite 8. They defeated #9 Franklin Pierce University, 45-5. They went on to take down University of New Haven, 22-10.
Lee University, coming out of the Dixie Rugby Conference in the South, Lee University has had a perfect season. Lee opened up the season to a 20-19 win over University of North Georgia and turned it on from there. They entered the playoffs with a 5-0 record, including wins over SIRC D2 playoff teams University of Alabama (25-19) and University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (31-19). Lee University, who was ranked as high as #3 in the NSCRO Top 20, kicked off the Sweet 16’s with a dominating win of College of William and Mary, 67-7. They closed out the Elite 8 with a win over #4 Mount St. Mary’s University, 34-25.
Colgate University, out of the Excelsior Rugby Conference, entered into the playoffs with a 4-0 record. In a regular season pathway that gave them a win against #12 SUNY Cortland, 29-28, they were able to amass a prolific offensive record, averaging 27 points per game and only allowing, 15.75 points per game. Colgate kicked off the Sweet 16s with a nail biter, overtime win against University of Rochester, 29-26. Colgate eased through the Elite 8 with a major win over #6 Denison University, 61-10.
The semi-finals will take place on December 5th, where MSU-Moorhead will take on UMass-Dartmouth at 1:00pm Eastern, followed by Lee University facing off against Colgate University at 3:00pm Eastern. On December 6th, the Third place round will start at 10:00am Eastern and Cup Finals begin at 12:00pm Eastern.
You can watch the Semi-finals (here) and Finals (here) or check them out at NSCRO.org
National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO): Since 2002, the National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) has been at the forefront of fostering and developing small college rugby programs in the United States. NSCRO is comprised of more than 230 men’s and 100 women’s colleges and universities who participate in more than 30 leagues for an opportunity compete on a national level and showcase their abilities to a broader and larger audience.