Ivy Rugby Conference Wrap-Up

The fall 2012 15s season was a little different than the norm in the Ivies this time around.  The men broke into North and South divisions for the first time while the women split into upper and lower tiers of play. The change was due, in part, to the inclusion of sevens rugby into the fall season which will culminate with a championship tournment at Princeton University on November 10th.

In the Men's 15s Ivy North, Brown University shook things up with a tie at Dartmouth College early in the season. Dartmouth, who had not lost or tied a match in Ivy Rugby competition since its inception in the fall of 2009, set the record straight in the rematch at Brown winning convincingly 28-5 to take the North title.

Things were just as tight in the Men's South as Penn and Princeton also knotted a rare 33-33 early season tie. Columbia got in the mix by defeating Princeton 27-14 in Week 2. Though Columbia went on to defeat Cornell twice, the Lions bowed to both Penn and Princeton later in the season. Princeton's 21-15 victory over Penn in their second contest would prove to be just not enough as Penn's win over Cornell in the final match of the 15s season clinced the Ivy South title for the Quakers.

The top two seeds in the North and in the South will face off against each other in the spring Ivy Men 15s Championship scheduled for the weekend of April 13th. The venue is still to be determined. Dartmouth (North #1) will face Princeton (South #2) while the University of Pennsylvania (South #1) will face Brown University (North #2) in Saturday's semi-final matches. The winners will face off on Sunday April 14th for the Ivy crown and the right to represent the Ivy Rugby Conference in the USA Rugby 15s national playoffs.

In women's 15s competition, Brown University topped the top-tiered Green Division with convincing wins against each of their 3 opponents. Cornell looked just as strong in the White Division. By clinching the 2nd teir, Cornell is challenging Dartmouth, the lowest finisher in the Green Division, for a spot in the top four spring playoffs. The Challenge Match will be played this Saturday with kick-off at 1:00 p.m. at Dartmouth.

Cornell surprised perenial power Brown in the season-opening non-league match losing by a close margin of 10-5. It was Cornell's debut in the Ivy Rugby Conference. Finishing the season with a perfect 15 points is proof the Cornell belongs.

The last of three Ivy 7s tournaments will culminate with the Ivy 7s Championships for men and women at Princeton University on November 10th. The winners of the men's division and women's division will each receive an automatic bid to the USA Rugby College 7s National Championships in College Station, Texas.