May 1, 2006
Stanford, Calif. - The 2006 USA Rugby Collegiate National Championships will be played this weekend on the campus of Stanford University at the Steuber Rugby Field and Doyle Family Club House. The Division I Women's Semifinals will kick off the weekend action, with defending National Champion Stanford playing Navy at 10 a.m. on Friday.
At noon on Friday, the Ohio State and Penn State women will battle for the second spot in the title match, which will be played at noon on Saturday, immediately following the Division II women's championship between Plymouth State and UC Santa Cruz at 10 a.m. Last year, Stanford defeated Penn State, 53-6, for the National Championship on Steuber Rugby Field.
Three of the four teams that advanced to last year's championships return in 2006 as top-seeded Stanford defeated North Carolina, 79-7, Navy beat Air Force, 34-10, and Penn State upended Army, 34-10. With a 39-28 win over Virginia, Ohio State advances to its first-ever Division I Championship Semifinal. In the consolation bracket, Cal shutout Central Florida, 51-0, West Chester upended Princeton, 18-10, UC Santa Barbara defeated Radcliffe, 19-8, and Chico State held off Northern Iowa, 23-13.
The Division I men's semifinals are slated to kick off at 2 p.m. on Friday, featuring BYU and Penn State in the first match and Utah in Cal in the second game at 4 p.m. Last year, Cal defeated Utah in the championship match, 44-5. On Saturday, the Division II men's championship between Northern Colorado and Coast Guard will begin at 2 p.m., and the Division I men's championship will close out the weekend 4 p.m.
Top seeded Cal and No. 3 Penn State claimed the third and fourth places for the Division I Men's College Championships with Cal getting past Navy, 29-12, and Penn State blanking Dartmouth, 53-0, one of four shutouts on the final day of the playoffs. In consolation play the underdogs wrapped up their respective seasons with wins as 16th seeded UC Santa Barbara upset eighth-seeded Clemson, 32-22 in Pool A play and No. 14 UC Davis defeated No. 6 Ohio State, 39-28 in Pool C.
Tickets will be sold only on the day of the event from the entry gate. Ticket prices are $10 per adult and $5 per student/child.
Friday, May 5
10:00 a.m. -- Division I Women's Semifinal [Stanford vs. Navy]
12:00 p.m. -- Division I Women's Semifinal [Ohio State vs. Penn State]
2:00 p.m. -- Division I Men's Semifinal [BYU vs. Penn State]
4:00 p.m. -- Division I Men's Semifinal [Utah vs. Cal]
Saturday, May 6
10:00 a.m. -- Division II Women's Championship (Plymouth State vs. UC Santa Cruz)
12:00 p.m. -- Division I Women's Championship
2:00 p.m. -- Division II Men's Championship (Northern Colorado vs. Coast Guard)
4:00 p.m. -- Division I Men's Championship