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NYSRC
Kicks Off 2003 Fall Season
Over Clubs Vying for League Titles
SYRACUSE -- The New York State Rugby Conference (NYSRC) opens it
17th season of play this Saturday as four men's club games get the 2003
fall season underway. The collegiate season commences the following Saturday,
September 13, when 25 matches will be contested in three men's divisions
and two women's divisions.
"We are looking
forward to another outstanding season of rugby in New York State,"
said NYSRC President Mike Hodgins. "We have made great strides in
the past few years in our quality of play and we look to take it to another
level this year."
Men's
Club
The Syracuse
Chargers, the 2002 Division III men's champions, highlight a slate of
four games the opening weekend (Sept. 6) as they host South Buffalo at
Burnett Park in Syracuse at 12:00 p.m. Rochester, the runner-up in Men's
Division III last season, travel to Binghamton for its opening match.
Lockport hosts Genesee and Cortland-Homer plays at Finger Lakes on the
opening Saturday.
Collegiate Men
The collegiate
men open play on September 13. The men's bracket features three divisions
- Division I Premier, Division II Empire and Division III Excelsior.
2002 champion Buffalo
leads the charge in Men's Division I play. Three men's teams advanced
to the Northeast Playoffs last year - Buffalo, runner-up Canisius, and
Cornell. Each club should make a run at the title again this season.
Siena, the Men's Division
II champion last year, will have its work cut out for it in 2003. Losses
to graduation have depleted the ranks, but it is expected to be among
the leaders at season's end. Siena was one of two NYSRC collegiate men's
clubs to win a match in the NRUs last year - a 32-0 decision over Rutgers
in the first round.
Cortland was the runaway
winner in Men's Division III a year ago, sweeping through the playoffs
en route to a 42-7 victory over Buffalo State in the championship. Building
on its title, Cortland advanced to the second round of the NRUs, defeating
Bryant, 22-3, in the opening round.
Collegiate Women
The
women's side features two divisions of play Premier (Division I) and the
Adirondack, Finger Lakes and Western Divisions of DII.
Cornell is looking to defend its three
consecutive Women's Premier titles. One of the most solid programs in
the Northeast, Cornell advanced to the NRU Championship game in 2002,
where it fell to Vassar. Cornell opened the NRUs with a 31-3 win over
Columbia, and then claimed its second-round match with Amherst, 20-0.
Syracuse will also make a run at the league title, on the strength of
its 10-6 loss to Cornell in the NYSRC championship game.
With realignment to three divisions of DII this season, play should be
more balanced than ever. RPI ran through NYSRC play last season, outscoring
the opposition, 305-0. It advanced to the NRU playoffs, where it fell
to Plymouth State. Cortland, the NYSRC DIII representative at NRUs, defeated
Middlebury, 9-0, in the opening round. Cortland and Geneseo, both traditionally
strong clubs, should also vie for the DII title in 2003.
2003
Playoffs
The highlight of the fall season,
the 2003 New York State Collegiate Playoffs will again be held at Genesee
Community College, October 25-26. The two-day event features 24 clubs.
The men's club playoffs will be held at the home site of the highest seed,
November 1-2.
The
New York State Rugby Conference (NYSRC) governs over 70 clubs at the men's
and women's club, men's and women's collegiate, and youth levels.
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