The Northeast Rugby Union College playoff semifinals were a tale of familiar faces and upsets as matches were held today at three location across the territory.
Men's D1
In Men's D1 competition held at West Point, NY, #3 Syracuse University pulled off one of the larger upsets of the season clipping #2 Dartmouth College 6-5. Dartmouth took a 5-0 lead into the halftime break but could not make it hold up as the Hammerheads took advantage of Dartmouth penalties to slot two in the second 40. Syracuse will face #1 seeded Black Knights of Army who toppled #4 Fordham 49-7. Army held a narrow 10-7 lead at halftime before reeling off 39 unanswered points in the second 40. With the wins, Syracuse and Army qualify for the USA Rugby championships.
Women's D1
In action held at UMass Ahmerst, the top women's seeds held serve with #1 Army shutting out #4 Syracuse 46-0, and #2 Brown defeating a tough #3 UMass side 26-10. Army and Brown continue their rivalry tomorrow with the NRU Championship on the line while Syracuse faces UMass for the NRU's 3rd seed to next spring's Nationals.
Men's D2
The Men's D2 championships are also being held at UMass, where defending National Champion and NRU #2 seed Middlebury College squeezed by #3 Stonybrook 11-0. They will take on surprise #5 seed University of Vermont in tomorrow's NRU Championship. UVM secured a spot in the finals with a 15-10 upset of #1 seed UMass. Stonybrook and UMass will battle it out for the third and final NRU seed to next spring's national tournament.
Women's D2
The Women's D2 championships are taking place at Norwich University in Vermont where the #1 seeded host club earned their 3rd consecutive trip to the championship match with a 22-7 win over #5 seed Radcliffe. Norwich will take on a tough #2 Rutgers University side who defeated defending NRU Champs and #3 seed Stonehill College 8-7. Stonehill and Radcliffe square off for the NRU #3 seed and a spot in USA Rugby's championships next April.