For Immediate Release
Tri-State Conference Collegiate Rugby
Fall 2024 Wrap-up & our Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Sunday Jan. 26, 2025 at Fairfield University
The Fall of 2024 brought some outstanding weather for playing rugby and the Tri-State Conference teams did not disappoint.
On the men’s side the dominant team was the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), Kings Point. They defeated a very much resurgent Montclair State University Men’s team in the semifinal before facing a Hofstra University team that had avenged their previous season final loss to Vassar College. In the final USMMA prevailed over the Pride and advanced to the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) Division III playoffs where they faced last year’s DIII Champions Babson College who proved a very solid team. Meanwhile Hofstra University Men played in the NCR Challenger Bowl series and traveled to Widner College where they too fell in a close fought contest. Kudos to both USMMA and Hofstra for representing the Conference and having good seasons.
The Tri-State Conference Women’s teams continue to be strong on the national scene and in Conference play Vassar College Women faced Fairfield University Women in the Championship game. Vassar had been pushed to the limit against Poughkeepsie rivals Marist College Women squeezing out a 39-33 win while Fairfield had dispatched Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute comfortably to advance. Both teams thus qualified for the NCR National Championship round of 16. Fairfield traveled to the East Regional where they beat Roger Williams University the #1 Rugby NE Conference team but then fell in a tight game against the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) in the quarterfinal game. Vassar headed to the South Regional and defeated the University of New Hampshire in the Round of 16 and then the College of William and Mary 40-0 in the quarterfinal. Marist College would have been a very worthy At-Large bid and highly competitive team but bids had to be submitted by the end of October and the Red Foxes didn’t really know where they stood at that point. So Vassar went to the Final 4 in Houston, TX and played the USCGA, whom they have now faced 9 times in the last 10 years and the Brewers won a tough match up 39-27 and it set up a rematch with the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, the team that had beaten Vassar 32-29 in 2023 to take the title. This time the Tri-State team would never relinquish the lead and a good defensive effort led to a 24-5 victory and the 2024 NCR National Division II Championship. Well done to the Vassar Women.
Annual General Meeting
Our Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Sunday Jan. 26, 2025 at Fairfield University starting at 1:00 pm.
As always all members are encouraged to send in agenda items and each school is expected to send a representative. Topics include divisional alignment for the Fall of 2025, the playoff structure, a review of Fall 2024, the annual dues, referees and officiating and it is an opportunity to finalize SPRING 2025 SCHEDULES. Time is set aside for teams to set up their spring schedule whether it be 15s or 7s. Please mark our calendar for Sun. Jan. 26 at Fairfield University, 1:00 pm.
An overdue note of thanks goes to the RRSNY and the NYRRS for covering our games this past fall and to all the students who work on behalf of their teammates and schools. I look forward to seeing you at the AGM.