GRR: Babson
Babson College won the Frostbite 7s NCR qualifier over the weekend, beating some D1 teams in the process.
The tournament featured an NCR CRC 7s automatic qualifier that ran over two days, plus a men's bracket on Day One and a women's bracket on Day Two.
A last minute try from Charlie Price pulled victory from the jaws of defeat to secure Babson the 2023 National Collegiate Rugby Small-College championship over a determined Wayne State.
A sunny and very windy day welcomed the finalists and Babson played with the wind and quite the wind it was.
In fact the breeze gave and it took away. More on that in a moment.
Despite what the experts said, Babson vs Catholic in NCR’s Men’s Small-College semifinals was not a close game.
Catholic had experience in the national final four and were also a little older, but their composure left them early and Babson, which has blown a 26-point lead in the quarterfinals before eking out a victory, ran out to an early lead and never let up.
Going into the NCR Small-College season, many felt that Cal Poly Humboldt and Babson had a serious shot to make it to the final.
Even the (mostly) trained monkeys working in the offices of GRR World Headquarters thought so. CPH had, of course, won it all last year, while Babson had emerged as Small-College 7s champs, so it seemed logical.
Babson beat Endicott in dramatic fashion 50-45 to advance to the NCR Small College semifinals in Houston.
The game was played on a very windy day in Malden, Mass., and was back-and-forth throughout. Still, well into the second half Babson led 40-14 and looked in control. They weren't.