The U.S. Men’s Collegiate Division I National Championships, which aren’t the top-level competition in the nation but may be the most widely followed given their ready-made university audiences, got underway last weekend with the “Sweet 16″ and quarterfinal rounds. The results included a few close matches, but also plenty of stompings.
Some of these whippings point to the gap betweenthe best and the also-rans in American college rugby. California, for example, cruised in their two matches as a reminder of their perennial dominance in the competition. On the other hand, a few of the blowouts said as much about the competitiveness of the competition as the tight matches did. One side who won big in the opening round, Louisiana State, was appearing in the tournament for the first time and spanked Navy, a fairly regular national title contender. Another big winner in the first round, Arkansas State, was making only its second appearance and beat Utah, another regular title contender. Both sides lost in the next round, but not a bad start!
There were plenty of closer matches as well, but to see newcomers arrive at the tournament and roll over established competitors seems to be as promising sign a sign as any for American college rugby. After all, everyone loves the upsets, Cinderella stories, and so on as much as they love a dynasty, and a tournament where a newcomer can come in and give a stalwart a hiding is an exciting tournament. Meanwhile, we’ll wait for the semifinals and final on the first weekend of May to see if the tale of the year is about the continuing Cal dynasty or a surprise from of of the other semifinalists (BYU, San Diego State, and Army)
