The University of Kentucky captured the 2019 SCRC Olympic Rugby Championship with a 26-14 victory over Kennesaw State University in the final.  The one day event proceeded under threatening skies in Columbia, South Carolina with the Gamecocks serving as excellent hosts. 

In what proved ot be the most competitive sevens event in conference history, UK emerged from pool play with narrow victories over Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi State.  Kennesaw State advanced to the final with equally narrow victories over Tennessee, South Carolina, Auburn and MTSU.  

Pool A

Pool B

Schedule / Results

Announces competition realignment for 15s

In the annual general meeting on April 07 the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference completed several items of business related to membership, competition and leadership.

Present:  Alabama, Auburn, Kennesaw State, Kentucky, Middle TN State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee
Absent:  Georgia

Meeting Opening at 8:00 PM EST

Elected Leadership
Commissioner – Marty Bradley
Treasurer / Secretary – Jim Farrar

Appointed Leadership
Competitions Director – Gary Anderson
Discipline Director – Charles Dube
Referee Director – Dave Haines

Membership
University of Memphis
Georgia Institute of Technology
Both teams were accepted by a unanious vote.

2019 15s Competition Review
Tier 1: Kentucky, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Kennesaw State
Tier 2: Auburn, Georgia Tech, Memphis, Middle TN State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State

Features: 1 crossover for a total of 6 matches. Championship game in each tier. challenge / promotion match options.

2019 7s Competition Review
April 13 – Columbia, SC
Winner – USAR National Tournament Bid
Highest finishing SEC team – CRC Bid

Financial Report
Membership voted unaniously to leave 2019-2020 dues at 2018-2019 level and also approved budget to reflect previous year budget.

High Performance
Review of plans and proposal for all-star team and camps/clinics.

Contacts
Please update. 

Meeting Adjourned at 8:40 PM EST

Brendan Esson Repeats as Player of the Year

The Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference has announced the 2019 All-Conference team after the conclusion of the 2019 Championship.

Deservedly, the Kentucky Wildcats lead the way with 4 first team selections including SCRC Player of the Year Brendan Esson.  Esson repeats as POY having also claimed the title in 2017 while leading the Wildcats to the conference championship.

SCRC 1st Team

SCRC 2nd Team

SCRC Honorable Mention

Gamecocks win 3rd Title

The 2018 Southeastern Olympic Rugby Championship was be held on April 07 in Knoxville at the Tennessee Rugby Park. South Carolina held off Kentucky in the final 7-5 to take their third title in as many years and claim the automatic bid to the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship and the USA Rugby National Championship.

Pool A (1,6,9)

1. South Carolina
2. Georgia
3. Florida

Pool B (2,5,8)

1. Kentucky
2. Mississippi State
3. Auburn

Pool C (3,4,7)

1. Alabama
2. Tennessee
3. Ole Miss

Pool Play

09:00 AM   A2 v A3   Georgia 7, Florida 12
09:20 AM   B2 v B3   Miss State 0, Auburn 17
09:40 AM   C2 v C3   Tennessee 14, Ole Miss 10
10:00 AM   A1 v A2   South Carolina 24,Georgia 0
10:20 AM   B1 v B2   Kentucky 27, Miss State 5
10:40 AM   C1 v C2   Alabama 12, Tennessee 5
11:00 PM   A1 v A3   South Carolina 34, Florida 0
11:20 PM   B1 v B3   Kentucky 24, Auburn 0
11:40 PM   C1 v C3   Alabama 33, Ole Miss 0

Playoffs

1:00 PM   Game 1 (#8) Mississippi State 24, (#9)  Ole Miss 7
1:20 PM   Game 2 (#2) Kentucky 29, (#7) Georgia 12
1:40 PM   Game 3 (#3) Alabama 27, (#6) Florida 7 
2:00 PM   Game 4 (#4) Tennessee 12, (#5) Auburn 5
2:20 PM   Game 5 (#1) South Carolina 25, (W1) Miss State 0
3:00 PM   Game 6 (W2) Kentucky 14, (W3) Alabama 10
4:00 PM   Game 7 (W4) Tennessee 5, (W5) South Carolina 17
4:20 PM   Game 8 (L2) Georgia 10, (L3) Florida 29
4:40 PM   Game 9 (L4) Auburn 38, (L5) Mississippi State 12
5:00 PM   Game 10 (L6) Alabama 19, (L7) Tennessee 15 (3rd / 4th)
5:20 PM   Game 11 (L8) Georgia 14, (L9) Mississippi State 0 (7th / 8th)
5:40 PM   Game 12 (W8) Florida 5, (W9) Auburn 10 (5th / 6th)
6:00 PM   Game 13 SCRC Championship South Carolina 7, Kentucky 5

2018 Final Ranking

1. South Carolina
2. Kentucky
3, Alabama
4. Tennessee
5. Auburn
6. Florida
7. Georgia
8. Mississippi State
9. Ole Miss

Scoring

Ranking Points

3 Pts    Win
2 Pts    Tie
1 Pt      Lose

Rank Determination

1.  Total Ranking Points

2.  Difference in points scored and allowed during pool play (point differential).

3.  Difference in number of tries scored and allowed during pool play.

4.  Points scored during pool play.

5.  Coin toss.

Kentucky Sweeps Coach and Player of the Year

The Kentucky Wildcats lead the way with a total of 10 players selected as 2017 SCRC All-Conference. Kentucky’s Brendon Esson was selected as the 2017 Player of the Year and UK’s Gary Anderson received the well earned 2017 Coach of the Year. A total of 45 players were honored from 9 conference teams. 

2017 Player of the Year – Brendon Esson

Brendon attended High School at St Johns College in Harare, Zimbabwe before moving to Lexington in 2015.  Since joining the program Brendon has been a standout player and leader on and off the pitch, his leadership led him to be named team captain in 2017.  In this year’s SCRC Championship he scored twice including the go ahead score in the final minutes of the game.

2017 Coach of the Year – Gary Anderson

Coach Anderson led the Kentucky Wildcats to their 1st ever SEC Championship going 12-0 on the season between the two sides. The key component to the wildcat’s success is the entirety of the coaching staff, Vince Gross, Scott Tungay, Jan DeBeer and Taylor Johnson. The staff does an outstanding job from recruiting quality talent to getting the student athletes to perform at their maximum level.

SCRC First Team

SCRC Second Team

Honorable Mention

Kentucky holds off Tennessee for well earned championship

The Kentucky Wildcats continued with an impressive display of rugby for the fall season and capped it off with the 2017 SCRC Championship.  The Wildcats defeated Alabama 40-22 in the semifinal and then topped Tennessee in the final 26-22.

Both teams now await the opportunity to compete in the USA D1AA National Championship Tournament which begins on November 18.

Kentucky

Scoring Summary

  1′ – UK TRY (Suber); Score: 5-0
  6′ – UT TRY (Roberts); Score: 5-5
26′ – UK TRY (Lewis) / CK (Esson); Score 12-5
34′ – UK TRY (Esson) / CK (Esson; Score 19-5
36′ – Yellow Card Kentucky (Butler)
37′ – UT TRY (Roberts) / CK (Davis); Score 19-12
44′ – Red Card Kentucky (Mencini)
66′ – Yellow Card Tennessee (McAfee)
67′ – UT TRY (Roberts); Score 19-17
68′ – Yellow Card Kentucky (Prather)
78′ – UK TRY (Esson) / CK (Esson); Score 26-17
80′ – UT TRY (Roberts); Score 26-22

Halftime: Kentucky 19, Tennessee 12
Full Time: Kentucky 26, Tennessee 22

Referee: Randall Johnson
Asst Referee: Ethan Rosenblum
Asst Referee: Brad Lokitz

Tennessee

1. Rivas
2. Couch               
3. Kayser
4. Janowick
5. Shaw
6. Landon
7. Craven
8. Roberts
9. Vickers
10. Hawkins
11. Leatherwood
12. Williams
13. John Via
14. Cook
15. Davis
16. McAfee
17. Montgomery
18. Beacom
19. Walter
20. Walker
21. Moseley
22. Griffin
23. Horak

2017 All-Tournament Team

Forwards
Keenan Kayser,  Tennessee
Tucker Donlon,  Kentucky
Shawn Dawley,  Alabama
Isaac Hamlin, Kentucky
Brandon Holmes,  South Carolina
Dylan Craven,  Tennessee
Caleb Canter,  Kentucky
Kerry Roberts,  Tennessee

Backs
Travis Vickers,  Tennessee
Brendon Esson,  Kentucky
Shaq Suber,  Kentucky
Ignacio Guisasola, Alabama
Christian Harrell,  South Carolina
Caleb Strum,  Alabama
Sean Barnes,  South Carolina

Honorable Mention
Josh Landon,  Tennessee
Pat Feimer,  Alabama
Dirk van den Berg,  Kentucky
Micah Stewart,  South Carolina
Bobby Morgan,  Alabama
Logan Butler,  Kentucky
Sam Hawkins,  Tennessee
Eli Warfield,  Kentucky
Jacob Powers,  South Carolina
Nick Lewis,  Kentucky
John Via,  Tennessee

Vols over the Gamecocks 27-17 and Wildcats over Crimson Tide 40-22

The 2017 Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference Championship opened in exciting fashion as Tennessee and South Carolina battled in the early game and Alabama gave Kentucky a good run in the second. The event was hosted at the Tennessee Rugby Park in Knoxville.

Tennessee Tops South Carolina
November 04, 2017 (Knoxville, TN) – The Volunteers used a heavy dose of forward play and the UT backs were able to contain the explosive USC backline to take a hard fought 27-17 victory.  
 

Kentucky Sprints past Alabama
November 04, 2017 (Knoxville, TN) – The Wildcats used an expansive attack and seized the slightest of openings to run across 6 tries in route to a 40-22 victory. the Crimson Tide had good attacking ball throughout the contest but just couldn’t keep pace in the scoreline.

Tennessee 27, South Carolina 17

Tennessee

1. Rivas
2. Couch               
3. Kayser
4. Janowick
5. Shaw
6. Ransom 
7. Craven
8. Roberts
9. Vickers
10. Hawkins
11. Leatherwood
12. Beacom
13. Via
14. Cook
15. Davis
16. McAfee
17. Landon
18. Walker
19. Williams
20. Montgomery
21. Walter
22. Fine
23. Horak
 

Scoring Summary

12′ – UT TRY / CK; Score 7 – 0
22′ – SC PK; Score: 7 – 3
27′ – UT TRY; Score 12 – 3
39′ – SC TRY/CK; Score 12 – 10
45′ – UT TRY; Score 17 – 10
61′ – UT TRY; Score 22 – 10
64′ – SC TRY / CK; Score 22 – 17
75′ – UT TRY; Score 27 – 17

Halftime: Tennessee 12, South Carolina 10
Full Time: Tennessee 27, South Carolina 17

Referee:  Rob Halcomb
Asst Referee: Matt Noss
Asst Referee: Ben Dickinson

South Carolina

1. Corr
2. Hason
3. Matthews
4. McDonald
5. Holmes
6. Martinez
7. Larex
8. Cecchi
9. Callaham
10. Stiles
11. Harrell
12. Skulley
13. Burnes
14. Arrula
15. Powers
16. Claruz
17. Stewart
18. Depont
19. Thacker
20. Boslex
21. Hoeten
22. Chicrovano
23. Harris
24. Reid
25. Birchrell

Kentucky 40, Alabama 22

Kentucky

1. Prather
2. Van Den Berg
3. Donlon
4. DiGeronino
5. Hamlin
6. Canter
7. Butler
8. Mencini
9. Broeder
10. Essom
11. Ramsey
12. Suber
13. Warfield
14. Mare
15. Lewis
16. Yoho
17. Andres
18. Johnson
19. Guangula
20. Strasshofer
21. Bryant
22. Roberts
23. Eastherly 

Scoring Summary

SCORING
10′ – UK TRY (12) / CK (10); 7-0
14′ – UA PK (12); 7-3
17′ – UK TRY (13) / CK (10);  14-3
36′ – UK TRY (2) / CK (10);  21-3
40′ – UA TRY (12) / CK (12);  21-10
44′ – UK TRY (13) / CK (10);  28-10
58′ – UK TRY (18);  33-10
63′ – UK TRY (13) / CK (10);  40-10
66′ – UA TRY (3);  40-15
78′ – UK Yellow Card (13)
80′ – UA TRY (7) / CK (12);  40-22

Halftime: Kentucky 21, Alabama 10
Full Time:  Kentucky 40, Alabama 22

Referee: Chris Gower
Asst Referee:  Ben Dickenson
Asst Referee: Ryan Miller

Alabama

1. Rogers
2. Feimer
3. Dawley
4. Abbatiello
5. Collins
6. Ray
7. Carpenter
8. Morgan
9. Dulgarian
10. Kallas
11. Strum
12. Guisasola
13. Watson
14. Lewis
15. Waring
16. Boohaker
17. Feimer
18. Connors
19. Stokes
20. Meehan
21. Trout
22. Gangwer

Led USC to conference title and CRC appearance

7’s Player of the Year
Christian Harrell, South Carolina

A junior center from Enola, PA, Harrell is a USC Honor’s College student, double majoring in Finance and Supply Chain Management.

In high school, Harrell was a two-year varsity starter at Cumberland Valley, winning the PA State Championship, while also competing in varsity football during the off season.

While playing for South Carolina, Harrell is a 3-time All-Conference 15’s Team recipient, a 1-time All-Conference 7’s Team recipient, and was one of the top 50 backs of 2016 according to Goff Rugby Report.

Harrell has helped lead the Gamecocks to back-to-back Southeastern Rugby 7’s Championships and has represented South Carolina at the USA Rugby Collegiate 7’s Championship, as well as back-to-back Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championships.

In 2017, Harrell has proven to be an essential asset to the Carolina backline in both skill and leadership, accounting for 26 tries across seven tournaments, to include 11 in the Gamecock’s 10-0 run of conference play, adding to their overall SCRC point differential of 308-41.

During the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby 7’s Championship (CRC), Harrell captained the Gamecocks to a Bowl Championship, giving the team its first winning record (4-2) and its first division victory in its three years of competing in the event, with wins over Tennessee, Delaware, Virginia Tech, and Clemson. In fact, the Gamecock’s only losses were to Indiana and Kutztown who finished 4th & 5th overall. Harrell scored two tries, though more importantly, played 80 of the 84 total tournament minutes.

The Gamecocks look forward to having him return for his senior year this fall.   

South Carolina earns bid to Penn Mutual CRC

South Carolina played textbook sevens and held firm on defense for the entire day to claim the 2017 Southeastern Olympic Rugby Championship.  With the win the Gamecocks earn the SCRC bid to the 2017 Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship in Philadelphia.

Coach Steve Darnell’s boys controlled the pace and possession in every game on their way to the championship.  In the final USC jumped to a two try lead only to have UK knot the score just before the half.  The Gamecocks flexed their muscles to begin the second half and finished with a 26-12 victory and the conference championship.  

South Carolina now joins Tennessee in competing in the 2017 Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship in Philadelphia in June while Kentucky and Alabama both have their sites set on the USA Rugby National Championship Tournament set for May 19-21 in Glendale, Colorado.

Results of Pool Play

Playoffs

Final Rankings

1. South Carolina
2. Kentucky
3. Alabama
4. Tennessee
5. Mississippi State
6. Georgia
7. Ole Miss
8. Auburn

All Conference Team

8 teams compete for the Penn Mutual CRC Bid on Saturday

Eight Southeastern Conference schools compete on Saturday for the Southeastern Collegiate Olympic Rugby Championship in Knoxville.  The victor also earns an invite to the 2017 Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship held in Philadelphia in June along with a possible bid to the USA Rugby National Championship Tournament.

South Carolina enters the championship event as a decided favorite having overwhelmed the competition in the lone qualifying event held in Columbia on April 01.

1 South Carolina
2 Tennessee
3 Kentucky
4 Georgia
5 Alabama
6 Ole Miss
7 Auburn
8 Mississippi State

The first game of the day kicks off at 9 AM and the Championship is slated for 5 PM.  This year the championship is hosted by the University of Tennessee at the Tennessee Rugby Park in Knoxville.

Tennessee Rugby Park
8051 Oak Ridge Highway
Knoxville, Tennessee

The event will be streamed by Purple Moose Media so check by just prior to the event for details on viewing if you can’t make it to Knoxville to see it live.  Updates will also be posted throughout the day on Twitter at @SCRCRugby.