LAFAYETTE, Colo. - Two victories at the West Region's Division 1AA Playoffs earned UC Davis a place at the May 7 USA Rugby College 15s National Championships, where the Aggies will defend their 2015 title against East Regional victor Notre Dame College.
Playing 125 miles down the road from its South Euclid, Ohio, campus at Bowling Green State University, the Falcons proved too tough for their Quarterfinal opponent - Middle Tennessee State. Five first-half tries, including two from inside center Zach Forro, gave Notre Dame College a 31-0 lead at the break, and the team cruised to a 38-7 win.
American International College was equally impressive in its Quarterfinal victory. The Yellow Jackets received a pair of tries by All-Americans Christian Adams and Jihad Khabir as the East Coast Rugby Conference Champions rumbled past James Madison, 68-27.
With a National Championship appearance on the line, the two D1AA contenders exchanged tries in the game's first 10 minutes through the hands of Notre Dame's Roneil Reynolds and AIC's Gavan D'Amore-Morrison. Trailing by a conversion, Falcon fly half Logan Weinstock closed the half with two penalty kicks to give his side an 11-7 halftime lead.
The Yellow Jacks reclaimed the lead on a converted Lui Sitama try. However, those would be the final points the potent AIC attack would score.
"Our forwards did a great job of keeping possession of the ball, and our backs did a great job of closing space and not let them get into space to create opportunities to score,' explained Notre Dame Head Coach Jason Fox. "They became very frustrated and started to make mistakes. We were able to keep our offensive and defensive structure throughout the game.'
Scrum half Cory Graham broke AIC's lead in the 64th minute with a try, and Weinstock would add two penalties in the closing minutes to give Notre Dame College a 24-14 win.
After falling a game short of the Division II National Championship Final last season, a few changes to the team's culture has spearheaded this year's title run.
"We expect more personal accountability at practice, in the weight room, and on campus in general,' Fox said. "The discipline has paid off as you can see by the unselfish nature we play. The players really have bought into making themselves better for the good of the team, not just for themselves.'
In California, UC Davis hosted the West Region's D1AA Quarterfinals and Semifinals. Saturday, April 23, the Aggies received 18 points from center Josh Farnsworth and had no problem getting past conference rival Sacramento State, 38-5. The 35-point win over the Hornets set up a Semifinal fixture against a familiar foe in Arkansas. The Razorbacks fell to Davis in the 2015 Semifinals, and put themselves in position for another crack at the Aggies have scored seven tries in their 43-17 win against Utah State.
In the Semifinal, both teams' back threes made their mark in the opening half. UC Davis got two tries from full back Christian Lonsky and wing Guilherme Maia Silva, while Arkansas struck back with scores from wingers Chris Pharis and Luke Reher. None of the six tries were converted and the Aggies went into halftime leading, 20-10.
The Razorbacks cut UC Davis' lead to just five points when flanker Coby Graves dotted down, but the reigning National Champion answered with tries from Ian McCaffrey and Colten Collings to win, 32-15.
The pair of victories for Notre Dame College and UC Davis gives the teams two weeks to prepare for the D1AA National Championship. The Final will be played May 7 at Saint Mary's College as part of the 2016 USA Rugby College 15s National Championships.
The men of Davis will not be making the short trip to Moraga alone, as the Aggie Women will be competing against Virginia for the Women's DI Spring Championship at the College 15s National Championships.
