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Postseason
Fields Coming Together
Final
Pieces of NYS Rugby Playoff Puzzle Set Next Weekend
For Immediate Release: October 17, 2004
Contact: J.C. Whipple (jcwhip4@hotmail.com)
SYRACUSE, NY -- NYS Rugby will begin its postseason in three of its
seven divisions next weekend. In the remaining four divisions, important
games remain to determine the final playoff seedings.
Men's Club Division III
Syracuse (6-0) clinched at least a share of the regular-season
title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with its 62-5 win over Lockport
on Saturday. Rochester (5-1) earned the No. 2 seed with a 45-10 win over
upstart Genesee (4-2). Cortland-Homer (4-2), a 33-0 winner over Binghamton,
will square off with Genesee next week. The winner claims the No. 3 seed,
with the loser claiming the No. 4.
Collegiate Men's Premier Division I
First-place Buffalo (4-0) had the weekend off, but will
face cross-town rival Canisius (3-2) on Wednesday. Canisius is battling
with Brockport and Syracuse for one of the final two playoff spots. Canisius
picked up a big road win at RPI, 23-6, on Saturday. Cornell (4-1) held
off a tough Syracuse (2-3) squad, 18-15, while Brockport (3-2) cruised
past Binghamton, 29-7.
Next weekend's conclusion to the regular season will determine the final
playoff field. The top four teams from Premier Division I qualify.
Collegiate Men's Empire Division II
The Eastern side of the playoff bracket is set, while the West will be
determined on Tuesday.
Colgate (4-1) earned the No. 1 seed in the East, following its 18-10 win
at home over Siena this weekend. Searching for the second seed in the
East, Cortland and Albany finished in a dead heat in the standings at
3-1-1, and the teams tied 17-17 in the only regular-season meeting. Cortland
picked up the No. 2 seed in the playoffs by virtue of a 93-86 margin over
Albany in net points - after comparing records and head-to-head play.
Cortland will play at Colgate next Saturday in Hamilton in the opening
round of the playoffs. Colgate was a 36-15 winner over Cortland in the
first week of the season.
In the West, seedings
will be decided once St. Bonaventure and Buffalo State complete a make-up
game on Tuesday. Two scenarios are still in play, while it is known that
Geneseo will be one of the two Western representatives no matter what transpires.
Should St. Bonaventure beat Buffalo State on Tuesday, it will earn the No.
1 seed and Geneseo will be No. 2 (Bonas beat Geneseo, 34-24, earlier in
the season). If Buffalo State beats Bonas, it will be the No. 2 seed, while
Geneseo will be the No. 1 (by virtue of its 35-8 win over Buffalo State).
The No. 2 seed will play at the home site of the No. 1 seed next Saturday
in the opening round of the playoffs.
Collegiate Men's Excelsior Division III
In the East, Paul Smiths completed a perfect regular season with a 23-10
win at Clarkson on Saturday, earning the No. 1 seed in the upcoming playoffs.
The loss was devastating for Clarkson, as it held firm at 30 points in the
standings. St. Lawrence moved into the No. 2 seed by improving to 31 points
in the standings. St. Lawrence will play at Paul Smiths next Saturday in
the opening round of the playoffs.
The West will be represented by No. 1 Niagara and No. 2 Oswego. Niagara
was a perfect 5-0 in the regular season, including a 33-12 win over Oswego
(4-1) in the second week of play.
Collegiate Women's Premier Division I
Wins by Syracuse and Buffalo put the final touches on the Premier Division
I playoff teams. Cornell will again be the No. 1 seed in the NYS Rugby
playoffs, and will host No. 4 Binghamton next Saturday in Ithaca.
Syracuse (3-2) locked up the No. 2 seed with a 20-7 win at Union on Saturday.
Though tied in the standings with Buffalo (No. 3 seed), Syracuse takes
the second seed by virtue of its 15-14 win over Buffalo on Oct. 2. Strangely
enough, the winning score for Syracuse came on a 60-yard jaunt on the
game's final play.
Buffalo will travel to play at Syracuse next Saturday. The winners of
the two semifinal games will meet in the league championship on Saturday,
Oct. 30, in Batavia, NY.
Collegiate Women's Empire Division II
With a 27-7 win over Cornell B on Saturday, Eastern-leading St. Lawrence
(4-1) guaranteed itself at least a share of the regular-season crown and
the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
RPI (3-1) has the ability to play itself into the playoffs with a win
or tie next Saturday when it hosts Oneonta in its final regular season
game. Should RPI falter, Albany would earn the the East's No. 2 seed with
its 3-1-1 record. RPI was a 25-5 winner over Colgate this weekend, while
Albany cruised past Oneonta, 39-7. Should the clubs tie with 36 points
in the standings, RPI gets the nod because of its 18-3 win over RPI on
Oct. 10.
The Western playoff field is set with Fredonia and Geneseo tying for the
regular season title, both fashioning 4-1 records. Fredonia will be the
No. 1 seed at the outset of the playoffs because of its 10-0 win over
Geneseo on Oct. 9. Fredonia topped Brockport, 21-10, in the season's final
week, while Geneseo cruised past St. John Fisher, 44-5.
Collegiate Women's Excelsior
Division III
The Western bracket is in place, with Niagara and St. Bonaventure playing
their way in. The East waits for two makeup games next weekend that have
large implications on the bracket.
Niagara, the West's No. 1 seed, closed out a perfect 4-0 regular season
with a 37-0 win over William Smith on Saturday. Bonas earned the No. 2
seed by blanking Le Moyne, 25-0. Le Moyne, playing its first season of
NYS Rugby, would have gotten the No. 2 seed with a win.
In the East, Oswego has locked up the No. 1 seed. Standing at 4-0, Oswego
closed the regular season with a 15-7 win over Siena. Siena, now at 2-1,
will face Plattsburgh (1-1) next Saturday for the right to qualify for
the playoffs in its first season of NYS Rugby play. A Siena win would
put the club in the playoffs as the No. 2 seed.
Plattsburgh needs wins over Siena and Hamilton next Saturday and Sunday
to earn the No. 2 seed. Hamilton also has an outside chance to pick up
the No. 2 seed.
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