Archive

NYS Rugby Heads Toward Close of Regular Season - Nov 5, 2005
Postseason Berths Awarded in Five Divisions

For Immediate Release: October 16, 2005
Contact: J.C. Whipple (jcwhip4@gmail.com )

SYRACUSE, NY -- NYS Rugby is preparing for its postseason as five divisions will see the the opening rounds of playoffs take place next weekend. In six other divisions, clubs continue to fight for those coveted berths.

Men's Club Division III took shape this week after Syracuse defeated Rochester, 26-6, in a showdown of two unbeatens. With the win, Syracuse improved to 6-0 and solidified its position to claim its fourth consecutive regular-season title. Rochester falls to 5-1 and a second-place tie with Binghamton, which was idle this week. South Buffalo improved to 4-2 with its 48-7 win over Cortland-Homer (2-5), while Genesee slid past the Barracks Rangers, 47-44, to move to 3-3.

Cornell used a big 45-0 win over Syracuse to improve to 4-0-1 and stand atop Collegiate Men's Premier Division I play. Buffalo, percentage points behind Cornell, was idle and remains 3-0-1 on the season. Binghamton used a 26-12 win over Brockport to improve to 3-2, good for a tie for third place with Syracuse.

Albany's 29-10 victory over Le Moyne, Cortland's 12-0 win over Union and Colgate's 31-6 victory over Siena created a three-way tie for first place in Collegiate Men's Division II East, each with identical 4-1 records. With the three tied for first, the following tie-breakers had to be implemented to award the No.1 and No. 2 seeds: head-to-head records (where all three tied with a 1-1 mark), followed by head-to-head net points (Albany +10, Cortland -2, Colgate -8). By virtue of the tiebreakers, Albany receives the No. 1 seed and Cortland the No. 2. Albany will host Cortland next Saturday in Albany in the opening round of the playoffs.

In Collegiate Men's DII West play, Rochester closed out its undefeated regular-season with a 33-20 win over Buffalo State. U of R will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming playoffs. St. Bonaventure's 24-13 win over Fredonia secured it second place in the standings, and earned the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. St. Bonaventure will travel to face Rochester next Saturday. In other action, Geneseo topped Hobart, 52-19, to close the season with a 2-3 mark.

Plattsburgh, the No.1 seed in Collegiate Men's DIII East, cruised to the regular-season title with an unblemished 5-0 mark following its 29-10 win over Oneonta. St. Lawrence topped Hamilton, 31-5, while Clarkson ran past Paul Smiths, 34-5 to finish in a three-way tie for second with Oneonta, all at 4-1. With the three teams tied, the following tie-breakers had to implemented to award the No. 2 seed: head-to-head records (where all three tied with a 1-1 mark), followed by head-to-head net points (Oneonta +3, Clarkson +2, St. Lawrence -5). By virtue of the tie-breaking system, Oneonta receives the No. 2 seed. No. 1 Plattsburgh and No. 2 Oneonta will square off again next weekend in Plattsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Collegiate Men's DIII West title and No. 1 seed was claimed by Niagara after its perfect 4-0 mark in the regular season. RIT will be the No. 2 seed after posting a 3-1 record. RIT topped St. John Fisher, 26-17, to secure its playoff bid. Oswego closed its season with a big 76-10 win over Alfred.

Buffalo wrapped up the Collegiate Women's Division I title and the No. 1 seed with a 70-0 blanking of Binghamton on Saturday. Syracuse (3-2) topped Union, 25-10, to secure a playoff bid. Cornell and Ithaca, scheduled to play this weekend, are looking at the possibility of rescheduling for this Tuesday. Cornell has locked up the No. 2 seed, and will host Syracuse next Saturday in opening round action. Buffalo will host either Ithaca or Binghamton on Saturday.

Collegiate Women's Division II East play finds RPI still atop the standings at 3-0-1, followed closely by St. Lawrence at 3-1 and Oneonta at 2-1-1. RPI topped Colgate, 22-5, while Oneonta had a solid 17-5 win over Albany. RPI and Oneonta square off in Oneonta next weekend, while St. Lawrence travels to Albany.

The standings remained unchanged after the top three teams compiled shutout wins in Collegiate Women's Division II West action. Fredonia improved to 5-0 with a 22-12 win over Brockport. The loss dropped Brockport to third place at 3-2, a game behind Buffalo State (4-1), a 60-0 winner over RIT.

Collegiate Women's Division III East play finds Siena standing unblemished at 3-0. Hamilton stands at 2-1, followed by Oswego at 2-2.

Le Moyne scored a big 5-0 win over St. Bonaventure to create a logjam atop Women's Division III West. Niagara (2-1-1), a 14-5 winner over William Smith, is a half-game ahead of Le Moyne and St. Bonaventure, both 2-1 on the season. St. Bonaventure hosts Cornell B next Sunday, while Le Moyne hosts William Smith.

The playoff fields for Men's Collegiate Division I and Women's Division II and Division III will be announced next Sunday evening. NYS Rugby will host the 2005 Collegiate Championships on Saturday, Oct. 29, at Genesee Community College in Batavia, NY.