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NYS Rugby Begins Month-Long Run to Playoffs - Oct 7, 2005
Calendar Turns to October as Teams Position for Postseason

NYS Rugby Begins Month-Long Run to Playoffs
Calendar Turns to October as Teams Position for Postseason


For Immediate Release: September 30, 2005
Contact: J.C. Whipple (jcwhip4@gmail.com)

SYRACUSE, NY -- As the calendar turns to October, several clubs have its eyes set on position themselves for a run to the New York State Rugby (NYS Rugby) postseason tournament. While traditional powers have a hold on many divisions, there is a new crop of clubs in the mix that have made 2005 interesting to date.

"We have seen one of our best seasons, competition-wise, to date," said Mike Hodgins, NYS Rugby president. "Competitive balance is always at a premium for us and we have definitely seen that through September. As a conference, you want every club to come into the season with the opportunity to advance to post-season play."

In the eight-team Men's Club Division III division, six teams have a legitimate look at a post-season berth. Rochester (4-0) and Syracuse (3-0), long-time rivals, stand atop the division, while Binghamton is a step back at 3-1. South Buffalo and Cortland-Homer are both 2-2. Rochester meets Lockport this Saturday, while Syracuse square off with the Barracks Rangers. Cortland-Homer hosts Genesee and Binghamton faces Finger Lakes.

Collegiate Men's Premier Division I has a three-way tie atop the standings with Binghamton, Buffalo and Cornell all standing at 2-0. Possibly the game of the weekend in all of NYS Rugby play will see Buffalo travel to Cornell for a 1:00 p.m.kickoff on Saturday. These two have met in the last two Collegiate Championship games, with Cornell taking both. Binghamton will then meet Cornell on Wednesday, Oct. 5, in Ithaca.

Collegiate Men's Division II East is paced by Colgate (2-0), with Albany, Cortland, Siena and Union all standing at 1-1. A big weekend for positioning, Colgate travels to Albany, Siena and Union square off in Loudonville, and Cortland hosts Le Moyne. College Men's Division II West is paced by Fredonia and Rochester, which are both out of the gate at 2-0. St. Bonaventure and Hobart are both a step back at 1-1. Fredonia travels to Hobart, while Rochester hosts Geneseo. Bonas hosts Buffalo State in what is always a closely contested contest.

Collegiate Men's Division III East play is jumbled after two weeks of play. Clarkson and Plattsburgh are 1-0, while Oneonta, Paul Smiths and St. Lawrence are 1-1. Rugby Sunday this week features SLU traveling to Plattsburgh, Oneonta hosting Paul Smiths and Hamilton facing off with Clarkson in Clinton.

Upstart Niagara has asserted itself to open 2005, as the pack is off to a quick 2-0 start. RIT and St. John Fisher are both 1-0. In the division's game of the week, Niagara travels to perennial contender RIT for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.

Buffalo has ridden its Week 1 upset of Cornell to a 2-0 start and stands alone atop the Collegiate Women's Division I standings. A four-way tie for second finds Binghamton, Cornell, Ithaca and Syracuse all grouped at 1-1. Separation will undoubtedly take place this week as Binghamton travels to Cornell and Ithaca hosts Syracuse. Buffalo looks to move to 3-0 when it hosts Union (0-2).

With just one week of competition so far, everything is still wide open in Collegiate Women's Division II East. Colgate and St. Lawrence are both 1-0, while Cortland and RPI are a half-step back at 0-0-1 after last week's 5-5 tie. Albany and Oneonta have both fell in their opening matches. This weekend features Albany hosting Cortland and Colgate traveling to Oneonta. The match of the weekend will be St. Lawrence-RPI, scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in Troy.

In Collegiate Women's Division II West action, Buffalo State and Fredonia have both opened with perfect 2-0 marks, Brockport and Geneseo stand at 1-1. Buffalo State and Fredonia square off in Buffalo, while Brockport hosts Geneseo, in what should be two outstanding matches.

Collegiate Women's Division III East play has had a slow start to the schedule. Action picks up this weekend with Siena hosting Potsdam and Oswego traveling to take on Plattsbugh.

St. Bonaventure (1-0) and William Smith (1-0) are both out of the gate quickly in Collegiate Women's Division III West action. The teams will square off in Olean in an 11:00 a.m. kickoff on Saturday. Niagara (1-1) will host Cornell B (0-1) is another big game.