Western Rugby Football Union wraps up in Greeley

Players and coaches clearing snow from the pitch

A Blizzard that moved through Greeley, Colorado on Friday night and Saturday morning left four inches of snow on the pitch and forced a one-day delay postponement of the Western Regional Rugby Championships at the University of Northern Colorado.

The winter storm forced match officials to postpone all matches scheduled for Saturday, cancel three championship games, and cancel all four consolation games. Only the Division I men played a championship game.

Women’s Division I and Division II matches were relocated to the Untied States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

Division I Men
After an army of players and coaches assisted by a snow blower cleared snow from the field in Greeley Sunday morning, Division I men’s play began. In the first game number three Louisiana State University defeated number two seed Colorado State 18-14 (see story). In the second game number four Air Force upset the top seed Wyoming Cowboys 35-29 (see story).

In the only Championship game of the day, LSU crushed Air Force 52-18 to advance to the USA Rugby National Guard Collegiate Playoffs in Berkley California on April 17 as the West's number one seed. LSU will play Utah in the first round.

Air Force enters the tournament as the number two seed and will face Cal Poly in the first round on April 18.

Division II Men
In Division II play, the number one seed University of Northern Colorado defeated number four seed St. Louis University 19-15, and Colorado School of Mines beat Texas State University 34-19.

Since championship matches normally used to determine the seeding for the next round were canceled, the winners of the semifinals were seeded in the next round according to their ranking going into the tournament. UNC is ranked number one in the West and Mines ranked two holds the number two spot for the Playoffs in Sanford Florida on April 17.

Women’s Division I
In the Women’s Division I, Texas A&M advanced as the West’s number one seed by defeating the University of Colorado 10-5. A&M will take on the Mid Atlantic number four seed at the USA Rugby National Guard Division I Women’s College Playoffs and Championships in Sanford, Florida on April 17.

New Mexico secured the West’s number two seed by beating Air Force 22-10 and will play the Pacific number two seed on April 18 in Florida.

Women’s Division II
In Division II Wayne State defeated Texas Tech 12-5, and Wyoming defeated Truman State University 22-10. Wayne State advances to the Division II play offs as the number one seed. News of who they would face in the playoffs was unavailable at publishing.