Men DII College News
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater won the Upper Midwest 7s Saturday, in the final qualifier for USA Rugby's 7s Championships.
Whitewater will be the 12th team in USA Rugby's Men's DII 7s. The full field of Men's DI teams and Women's DI teams have already been confirmed.
It's a small but very important weekend for college rugby, as six major championships are decided.
Norwich University won the Chris Munn 7s this past weekend, edging the always-tough Middlebury 19-17 in the final.
This was a heavily-Vermont-area tournament, with Norwich fielding four teams, Vermont and Middlebury two, and Dartmouth also participating.
In the B-side bracket, Middlebury B defeated Norwich B 29-15 to win the cup.
Fools Fest at Winona State in Minnesota kicked off the upper Midwest 7s spring this past Saturday, and with both DII and NSCRO men's college brackets in the tournament, there were some interesting matchups.
As teams start transitioning from 15s rugby to 7s, so too does their focus in practice and on the pitch.
Gone are the days of practicing scrumming drills with the forwards or splitting up into forwards and backs to work on their respected skill sets. Instead, teams are coming together to work as one congruent group to capitalize on the vast amount of open space 7s provides.