The D2 men’s college sevens field for the USA Rugby Collegiate Sevens Championships is nearly set as all of the conference qualifiers concluded this past weekend. 

To date eight teams have qualified form winning tournaments and four have been selected through an at large bid process decided by the competition committee.

NC State had unfinished business from two weeks ago. The Wolfpack took care of business beating Old Dominion 33-7 to get a shot at doubling up on national titles. After being weather delayed, the Wolfpack traveled three hours to ODU to play one match. NC State jumped out early and never looked back.

“In a way this was a blessing for us. We were focused and in better weather we were able to play our game,” said NC State coach Brian Ketcham. “We are excited at the potential of winning another national title but it has not been a big focus for us. Playing good quality rugby is what is important and if it results in another title that is great.”

In the Southern Conference, the first three tournaments served as seeding for the eight-team field. East Carolina, ranked sixth coming into the weekend, shocked the field to earn a spot at nationals. In their first two games, the Pirates blanked Wake Forest and UNC-Wilmington, respectively before shocking second-seeded Furman with a 17-14 win.  ECU then took down the Citadel in the semis and then beat defending national champions UNC-Charlotte 19-12 in the final to finish off the improbable run. 

“One of the biggest things that stood out was our ability to maintain our defensive structure while limiting mistakes and playing smart, decisive rugby on offense. It was a straight dogfight for 14 minutes as the two teams went back and forth,” club president Austin Rabah said of the final.

With the win the Pirates clinch their first 7s conference titles since 2015. The team was led by senior captains Rob Johns and Heath Sorkin. Sean Mchugh and Jeff Calzaretta also played huge roles on both offense and defense.

“I think it’s safe to say no one saw this result happening is an understatement, but the boys believed in each other and their ability to be great,” Rabah added.

The final qualifier of the weekend saw Hartford come away with hardware in the New England Wide. UH struggled in 15s this fall but managed to win its way through a tough conference. Two years ago Hartford had a nice showing at nationals and will look to replicate that in 2019.

The rest of the outstanding field was determined by an at-large bid process. According to several sources, 10 teams applied for at large bids. Wisconsin-Whitewater and IUPUI, who finished second and third in Upper Midwest qualifier both made the cut. The War Hawks are a perennial power and IUPUI will be making its first stint at nationals. UNC-Charlotte and Montana State are said to be receiving the other two spots.

The 12 team field is nearly set. A couple of conference winners have not yet confirmed their spot in Arizona. This will be decided in the coming weeks. If the teams cannot attend at large bids will replace them.

The 12 team field is as follows:

William Paterson, Hartford, Norwich, East Carolina, Iowa Central, Principia, Bloomsburg, NC State, IUPUI, Wisconsin-Whitewater, UNC-Charlotte, Montana State

—Brett Anker