GRR: Penn State
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.
One of the great links about playoffs and tours and non-conference games is that you get matchups you'd never plan for.
NCR's D1 semifinal between Penn State and Queens University Charlotte is one of those games.
"Penn State is a storied program with 60 years of history, whereas Queens has not hit the five-year mark," said Queens Head Coach Frank McKinney.