The 2009 Men's Division III Rugby Tournament is a tournament which involved 103 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NSCRO Division III college rugby as a culmination of the 2008–09 rugby season. It began in the fall 2008 season in the northeast, midwest and mid-atlantic, and picked up again in the spring 2009 season for the southern teams, and concludes with the Fearsome Four, a final four-style semifinals and championship games co-hosted by South Jersey RFC on April 25-6 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

National Championship Bracket

Fearsome Four – Cherry Hill, New Jersey

National Semifinal

The National Semifinals were held on a warm sunny day, on a badly worn pitch at Green Acre Park in Cherry Hill, NJ. The event was not well publicized. Each match was attended by about 40 rugby fans, friends and family members. The event host, South Jersey RFC, had a small concession lean-to, offering pretzels, sodas and event T-shirts. In the first match of the day, New England Rugby Football Union Champion Salve Regina met NY State Rugby Conference Champion SUNY Oswego. Salve Regina was the only true small college in the tournament (having approximately 500 male students to SUNY's 3000), and it showed. SUNY's large squad took advantage of poor SRU tackling up the middle and took a 22-0 lead into halftime. The first half was led by the dominance of Oswego flankers Matt Moir (senior)with 4 tries, Kandu Agmibson, fly half Jordan Storie (senior captain), and outside center Jay McGukin (senior captain). In the second half, Oswego replaced four of its starters including starting scrum half and senior captain Alex Rufer among others due to injury and conservation for the finals match, which was to be determined. Consequently, SRU showed some spirit and put points on the board, exchanging tries with SUNY, but they never really got the hang of EPRU referee Pete Hesler's refusal to penalize an offside. And on those other penalties that were called, SRU was physically restrained from quicktapping on multiple occasions by Hesler to allow Oswego to adequately retreat. One such restraint took place on the Oswego 5m line, evoking a barrage of criticism from the SRU sideline, and for which they probably should have been disciplined. Overall, SUNY Oswego was by far the better team on the day, running in multiply tries from outside the 22m. In the second match, VRU Champion Longwood met USA Rugby South Champion Coastal Carolina. The two teams were well coached and matched up very well. Again, however, the large college program carried the day. Coastal Carolina was physically larger, and took an early lead, but Longwood battled back, playing smart rugby and making some key kicks for points. At halftime, Coastal Carolina held a 17-13 lead. In the second half, fitness seemed to be an issue, not so much for the teams, but for the officiating crew, all of whom seemed to be approaching 60 years old and overweight. Apparently, the event host had some difficulty arranging referees, and had to do some last minute scrambling to obtain referee coverage. Longwood took a brief lead, before giving it back to Coastal Carolina for good about midway through the second half. Coastal Carolina was the best team on Saturday. They were big, fit, aggressive and knowledgeable. Longwood matched them in every category but size and points.

Regional Brackets

Northeast Regional Bracket

The Northeast Regional Bracket is the home of

USA Rugby USA Rugby (formally the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugby ...

territorial union Northeast Rugby Union ("NRU") (partial). More specifically, it is the home of NRU's largest local area union, the

New England Rugby Football Union The New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) is a Geographical Union (GU) for rugby union teams in New England. Prior to 2013, NERFU had been a local area union ("LAU"), and part of the Northeast Rugby Union (NRU), which is the governing body fo ...

(NERFU), and its twenty-four (24) Men's College Division III Rugby teams. NERFU plays its regular season in the fall. At the end of the regular season, the top two teams in each of its four conferences participate in the

NERFU The New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) is a Geographical Union (GU) for rugby union teams in New England. Prior to 2013, NERFU had been a local area union ("LAU"), and part of the Northeast Rugby Union (NRU), which is the governing body fo ...

College Men's Division III Cup Championship, which also serves as the NSCRO Northeast Regional Championship. In November 2008, Salve Regina University defeated Southern Connecticut State University 21-20 to win the regional championship. See 2008 NERFU College Men's Division III Rugby Tournament. In this bracket were one union champion and three conference champions: *

Salve Regina University Salve Regina University is a private coeducational Roman Catholic university in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It was founded in 1934 by the Sisters of Mercy and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. The univer ...

Men's College Division III Champion *

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

East Men's College Division III Champion *

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply "Southern") is a public research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it ...

South Men's College Division III Champion *

Keene State College Keene State College is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Keene, New Hampshire. It is part of the University System of New Hampshire. Founded in 1909 as a teacher's college (originally, Ke ...

West Men's College Division III Champion

New York/Midwest Regional Bracket

The New York/Midwest Regional Bracket is the home of

territorial unions Northeast Rugby Union (partial) and Midwest Rugby Union, and their twenty-six (26) men's college division III rugby programs. In this bracket were 3 union champions and one conference champion: *

SUNY Oswego State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego or Oswego State) is a public university in Oswego, New York. It has a total student population of 6,756 and the campus size is 700 acres. SUNY Oswego offers more than 120 undergraduate, graduate ...

- New York State Rugby Conference Men's College Division III Champion *

William Paterson University William Paterson University, known as WP, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey, United States. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 an ...

- Metropolitan New York Rugby Union Men's College Division III Champion *

Fairmont State University Fairmont State University is a public university in Fairmont, West Virginia. History Fairmont State University’s roots reach back to the formation of public education in the state of West Virginia. The first private normal school in West Vi ...

- Allegheny Rugby Union Men's College Division III Champion *

Clarkson University Clarkson University is a private research university with its main campus in Potsdam, New York. Clarkson has additional graduate programs and research facilities in the New York Capital District. It was established in 1896 and enrolled over 4 ...

- NYS East Men's College Division III Champion

Mid-Atlantic Regional Bracket

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Bracket is the home of

territorial union

Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union The Capital Geographic Union is the Geographical Union (GU) for rugby union teams playing in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. It is an association of youth, high school, collegiate, and adult men's and women's rugby teams in the Mid-Atlant ...

or MARFU and their twenty-two (22) men's college division III rugby programs. In this bracket were 3 union champions and a runner-up: *

Widener University Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. Established in 1821, the university was known as the Pennsylvania Military College until 1972. Widener enrolls approximately 3,500 undergraduate students across s ...

Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union The Eastern Pennsylvania Geographic Union (EPGU) is the Geographical Union (GU) for rugby union teams in Eastern and Central Pennsylvania, and parts of Delaware and New Jersey. EPGU is part of USA Rugby. History The Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Uni ...

Men's College Division III Champion *

Penn State Berks Penn State Berks is a commonwealth campus of Pennsylvania State University located in Spring Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania. History The school traces its origins to 1927 and the establishment of a training school for workers for th ...

Men's College Division III Runner-Up *

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

- Potomac Rugby Union Men's College Division III Champion *

Longwood University Longwood University is a public university in Farmville, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1839 as Farmville Female Seminary and colloquially known as Longwood or Longwood College, it is the third-oldest public university in Virginia and one of ...

- Virginia Rugby Union Men's College Division III Champion

South Regional Bracket

The South Regional Bracket is the home of

territorial union USA Rugby South ("USARS") and their thirty-one (31) men's college division III rugby programs. In this bracket were 4 conference champions and their runners-up: *

Lee University Lee University is a Private university, private Church of God (Cleveland), Christian university in Cleveland, Tennessee. It was founded in 1918 as the Church of God Bible Training School with twelve students and one teacher, Nora I. Chambers. Th ...

- USARS Men's College Division III - Conference A Champion *

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

- USARS Men's College Division III - Conference B Champion *

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, ...

- USARS Men's College Division III - Conference C Champion *

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...

- USARS Men's College Division III - Conference D Champion

References

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2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2009 in American rugby union 2009 rugby union tournaments for clubs