MATTHEWS – National championships in NCAA Division I, II and 1-AA rugby will be decided May 3 and 4 at the Matthews Sportsplex.
The venue will host six matches in the two-day tournament and crown three new national champions in women’s Division I and II matches and in the men’s Division 1-AA finals on May 4 starting at noon.
The Division I championship is between Virginia Tech and BYU.
BYU is in its first season in elite Division I rugby, but the Cougars have cruised through the postseason with relatively easy wins over Stanford (65-0) and UC-Santa Barbara (49-7).
The Hokies got to the title game by holding on to beat rival Virginia 29-20 in a game they led 29-8 but held on to win. After throttling James Madison 73-5, Virginia Tech beat Central Florida 34-12 to reach the title game.
The Division II bracket is down to its Final Four with Fresno State against Tulane and Eckerd pitted against Salisbury.
Fresno State has defeated Long Beach State (90-22) and St. Mary’s (64-21) while Tulane roughed up Kansas State 68-5.
In the other bracket, Eckerd has defeated George Washington (84-10) and Coastal Carolina (53-12) while Salisbury downed Georgia 55-26.
In the men’s Division 1-AA finals, Chico State is squaring off with Dartmouth.
Dartmouth crushed Sam Houston State (53-5) and Central Florida (57-17) while Chico State snuck past Kansas ( 24-7) and Western Washington (30-24) to reach the final.
Chris Morris, a Country Day grad, is a freshman on the Dartmouth team.
Tickets cost $10 for students, $15 for general admission or $23 for a two-day pass and are on sale at https://www.universe.com/events/2019-usa-rugby-spring-college-championships-tickets-matthews-DG4Z8R?ref=universe-discover.
Who’s playing when? (*All games played at Matthews Sportsplex)
Friday, May 3:
Women’s Division II semifinal (noon)
Women’s Division II semifinal B (2 p.m.)
Saturday, May 4:
Women’s Division II 3rd-place match (10 a.m.)
Men’s Division I-AA final (noon)
Women’s Division I finals (2 p.m.)
Women’s Division II finals (4 p.m.)