ACRC
The inaugural American Collegiate Rugby Championship will be contested between Keystone State rivals Penn State and Kutztown. The Rugby East was considered the toughest conference participating in the tournament and it showed with two teams in the final. The Nittany Lions had the more difficult of journeys between the two teams to reach the final. In the quarterfinals they were matched up against Clemson. Despite holding an early lead in that match they had to hold on at the end for a 27-26 win. Wing Dom DeFalco was big in that match and is expected to be a big player in the final. In the semi-finals Penn State had to go on the road where they defeated Middlebury 34-12.
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Kutztown had an easier ride to the final. The pasted West Virginia in the quarterfinals 83-17 before playing Bowling Green in the semi-finals. In that match they had a balanced attack and came away with an easy 46-11. Leading the way for Kutztown in the playoffs and in the regular season was center Bruce Dolan. He scores tries and crucial times and will give the Penn State defense headaches. In the only previous meeting between Kutztown and Penn State this fall Kutztown came away with a 27-26 win that reflected how evenly matched the two teams are.
DII
Salisbury won a DII championship just a little more than six month ago when they defeated Minnesota-Duluth. But since then U.S.A. Rugby has shifted the DII championship to the fall meaning that Salisbury can win a rare championship double in the same year. As the Northeast winner Salisbury will face the Mid-Atlantic winner James Madison. The Maryland side beat Bryant and the Coast Guard to reach the semi-finals while James Madison put in very impressive performances over Vassar and Illinois State. Salisbury may have the edge on experience but it could be a very close came.
The other semi-final will feature last year's runners up UM-Duluth and UW-Whitewater. UM-Duluth beat Lousiana Lafayette and Saint Louis University by big margins to reach the final four out of the West. UW-Whitewater emerged from the South with wins over Notre Dame College and UW-Whitewater. As in the other semi-final it's a toss-up as to who will win.
ACRA
The ACRA will contest both a DI and DII championship. Norwich are the favorites in DI. They lost to Penn State in last year's U.S.A. Rugby DI title but have a tradition of putting in strong results, as their recent 7s title showed. They did, however, have to struggle a bit to make the semi-finals. They beat Syracuse by a big score in their first regional match but were then taken to the limit by AIC in the semi-final, only emerging with a 19-15. They will take on Northern Iowa in the semi-finals. Northern Iowa are probably the biggest surprise of the semi-finalists but judging by their record they possess a lot on attack. They beat Kent State 83-7 and then Air Force 51-0 to reach the semi-finals. The other semi-final will see rivals Navy and Army square off. Navy, who came in fourth at nationals last year, beat Penn and Quinnipiac to reach the semi-finals. Army defeated Buffalo and Dartmouth by big scores.
The DII semi-finals features four teams looking to show their qualities. Notre Dame College have only been in existence for a few years but are already making their mark. They beat Ithaca to claim the West Pool II seed. They will face Vassar, who emerged out of the East Pool II with several big wins. The other semi-final sees Winona play Kutztown. Winona were runners-up in DII last season while Kutztown are looking to make their first real impact.