Collegiate Championship Invitational
The USA Sevens Rugby Collegiate Championship Invitational, (also now referred to as the 2010 Collegiate Rugby Championship), was a rugby union sevens tournament. The competition was held from 4–6 June at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The CCI was a groundbreaking event in college rugby for several reasons—it was the first ever rugby sevens championship contested among college rugby programs,[1] and it was the first time college rugby was broadcast live on network TV.[2] This was the only year that the tournament was called the "Collegiate Championship Invitational." The following year, the tournament changed its name to the "Collegiate Rugby Championship."
| Collegiate Championship Invitational | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Knockout |
| Date | June 4–6, 2010 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Teams | 16 |
| Matches played | 39 |
| Top point scorer(s) | Rocco Mauer (Bowling Green) (55 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Rocco Mauer (Bowling Green) (11 points) |
| Final | |
| Venue | Columbus Crew Stadium, Ohio |
| Champions | Utah (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Cal |
The men's tournament featured sixteen teams, whereas the women's tournament featured eight teams.[3] The tournament consisted of four round-robin pools of four teams. All sixteen teams progressed to the knockout stage. The top two teams from each group progressed to the quarter-finals in the championship competition. The bottom two teams from each group progressed to the quarter-finals in the challenger competition.
Utah defeated Cal 31-26 in overtime in a thrilling final. Bowling Green's Rocco Mauer led the tournament with 11 tries and was named tournament MVP by Rugby Mag.[4]
Sponsors for the tournament included Subway, Geico, Bud Light and Toyota.[4]
Knockout stage
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 6 June – Columbus Crew Stadium | ||||||||||
| California | 36 | |||||||||
| 6 June – Columbus Crew Stadium | ||||||||||
| Tennessee | 0 | |||||||||
| California | 33 | |||||||||
| 6 June – Columbus Crew Stadium | ||||||||||
| Arizona | 0 | |||||||||
| Arizona | 21 | |||||||||
| 6 June – Columbus Crew Stadium | ||||||||||
| Ohio State | 10 | |||||||||
| California | 26 | |||||||||
| 6 June – Columbus Crew Stadium | ||||||||||
| Utah | 31 | |||||||||
| Utah | 24 | |||||||||
| 6 June – Columbus Crew Stadium | ||||||||||
| Navy | 0 | |||||||||
| Utah | 17 | |||||||||
| 6 June – Columbus Crew Stadium | ||||||||||
| San Diego State | 10 | Bronze | ||||||||
| San Diego State | 17 | |||||||||
| 6 June – Columbus Crew Stadium | ||||||||||
| Dartmouth | 7 | |||||||||
Notable players
After the conclusion of the tournament, Rugby Mag selected the following 12 players on the All-Tournament team.[4] These players were chosen based on the impact they had made during the tournament and also based on their potential to succeed at higher levels of rugby.
- Blaine Scully - California
- Colin Hawley - California
- Seamus Kelly - California
- Rocco Mauer - Bowling Green
- Nate Ebner - Ohio State
- Will Holder - Army
- Thretton Palamo - Utah
- Don Pati - Utah
- Keegan Engelbrecht - Cal
- Dustin Muhn - Cal
- Duncan Kelm - San Diego State
- Benji Goff - Tennessee
References
- Bleacher Report, USA Sevens Championship Broadcast Schedule, April 6, 2010, http://bleacherreport.com/articles/374411-broadcast-schedule-set-for-collegiate-rugby-sevens-championship
- Tennessee Rugby, Tennessee advances to quarterfinals; bounced by Cal, June 6, 2010, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2012-04-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- CRC Pools and Match Schedule
- Bleacher Report, Utah Upsets Cal To Win Sevens Title, June 7, 2010, http://bleacherreport.com/articles/402408-college-rugby-utah-upsets-cal-to-win-sevens-championship