GRR: College Men
Rowan University won the 2016 Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference championship with a 32-17 defeat of York Sunday.
York pulled off a slight upset on Saturday in the semis, defeated IUP 39-22. It was a bit of a shocker to IUP given that Indiana had won the earlier meeting of the two teams 29-22. But York got up early and kept the pressure on. Rowan, meanwhile, took care of Scranton 50-7.
Furman University has won the Southern Conference and in doing so the Paladins put themselves in excellent position for a good national playoff run.
With the victory Furman takes the #1 seed out of the Southern, and will play in the bracket at their home fields in Greenville, SC. Should they win and make the final four, the Paladins host that final weekend, also.
In the Wisconsin-Iowa-Illinois League (WII), Wisconsin-Whitewater is, not unexpectedly, in the final, after beating Northern Iowa 88-12 in a physical game. Illinois State also won, putting a 58-19 decision over a very good Wisconsin-Milwaukee team. Those two teams will battle it out for the conference title Sunday. But UNI and UW-M are not out of national playoff contention.
SUNY Cortland will play SUNY Geneseo in the final of the Upstate NY Collegiate Conference Sundat after both won playoff games Saturday.
Geneseo needed all their karma to get by SUNY Oswego. Late in the game Oswego led 34-21, but two late tries, both of them converted, got Geneseo into the championship game in dramatic fashion.
Notre Dame College defeated Lindenwood-Belleville 34-17 Saturday morning in Lamont, Ill. in a clash of two very good independent DIAA teams.