GRR: Penn State
The D1A playoffs start this weekend with the four teams in that division playing semifinals Saturday and the final on CRAA Finals Weekend on April 30.
Lindenwood faces Penn State in St. Charles, Mo. Lindenwood is 11-0 and has logged impressive wins over women's clubs Life West, Chicago North Shore, Chicago Lions, Colorado Gray Wolves, and the St. Louis Sabres.
Penn State pulled off a little bit of an upset, beating Navy 40-24 Saturday in D1A action.
These teams had clashed during the fall in Rugby East and Navy won that meeting 37-22.
But this time around Penn State exerted pressure early and got a big game once more from flanker Aiden King. Brian Stella was a huge presence in the backline and scored multiple times.
The Big Ten Universities Rugby Conference has admitted Penn State to its Spring 7s competition.
This is a big move for Big Ten University Rugby as it helped elevate the standard of competition with addition of one of the top programs in the country.
NCR’s D1 playoffs ended the way much of it had progressed, with the game on a knife edge.
St. Bonaventure had come into the game the highest ranked team, having already beaten Penn State and Kutztown in the Rugby East, and then beat Kutztown again in the semifinals. Penn State had escaped two one-point games—would it be another tight contest? Yes, yes it would.
Two Rugby East teams will face off in the NCR D1 final December 11 in Houston after Penn State and St. Bonaventure both won semifinals on Saturday.