The 1996 National Collegiate Rugby Championship was the seventeenth edition of the official national championship for intercollegiate rugby. The Men's tournament expanded to sixteen teams with four primary pools of four teams at different locations from April 20–21. Pool A and B took place at Palo Alto, CA while Pool C and D were held in Baltimore, MD. The winners of each pool advanced to the final four which took place at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs from May 4–5."AFA To Host Rugby Tourney". (April 30, 1996). Rocky Mountain News, p.14C col.4 UC Berkeley won their thirteenth title with a victory over Penn State."Rugby". (May 7, 1996). San Francisco Chronicle, p.D5 col.6"Rugby". (May 6, 1996). San Jose Mercury News, p.7D col.1

Venues CaliforniaMaloney Field Palo Alto, CA Capacity: 2,952

MarylandCalvert Hall Baltimore, MD Capacity: 2500

ColoradoAF Academy Colorado Springs, Colorado Capacity:

Participants The regional unions were each allocated one to three spots. Northeast had three teams (Brown, Cornell, Army), Pacific Coast three teams (UC Berkeley, Stanford, UC Davis), West three teams (Northeast Missouri, Air Force, Virginia Tech), Mid–Atlantic two teams (Navy, Kutztown State), Midwest two teams (Penn State, Ohio State), Southern California two teams (San Diego State, UC Santa Barbara), and Southeast one team (Clemson). The teams were split between East and West sections and seeded one through eight for each section. Each section was split into two 4–team pools. The winner of each pool advanced to the final four.

West seeds 1. Pacific Coast I (UC Berkeley) 2. West I (Northeast Missouri) 3. Pacific Coast II (Stanford) 4. Southern California I (San Diego State) 5. West II (Air Force) 6. Southern California II (UC Santa Barbara) 7. Pacific Coast III (UC Davis) 8. West III (Virginia Tech)

East seeds 1. Midwest I (Penn State) 2. Northeast I (Brown) 3. Mid–Atlantic I (Navy) 4. Southeast I (Clemson) 5. Northeast II (Cornell) 6. Midwest II (Ohio State) 7. Northeast III (Army) 8. Mid–Atlantic II (Kutztown State)

Sweet Sixteen Pool A Semifinals

Final

Pool B Semifinals

Final

Pool C Semifinals

Final

Pool D Semifinals

Final

Final Four Semifinals

Third place

Final

Champions:University of California Berkeley Coach- Jack Clark Captains-Jayson Davidson (Hooker), Kevin Dalzell (Scrumhalf) Roster– Chris Andrews (Fullback), Douglas Anthrop (Wing/Center), Tyler Applegate (Wing/Center), Benjamin Arreguy (Prop), Theodore Callagy (Prop), Christopher Carver (Flyhalf), Todd Conneely (Wing), Byron Deeter (Prop), Sam Enochian (Lock), Robert Flegel (Lock), Mason Foster (Prop), Jonah Holmes (Lock), Brett Kennedy (#8), Kirk Khasigian (Flanker), Brian Libicki (Center), Christian Masters (Scrumhalf), Deron McElroy (Center), Joseph Motes (Flyhalf), Jason Perry (Hooker), Vinh Phan (Center), Eric Roof (Center), Nicholas Sliffe (Wing), David Stroble (Wing), Pete Morales (Flanker), Joe Motes (Flyhalf), Jason Perry (Hooker), Shap Roder (Flanker), Eric Roof (Center), Katsukito Takei (Fullback), John Taylor (Flanker), Simon Terry–Lloyd (Flanker), Chris Varnell (Lock), Scott Yungling (#8).

Women's College Championship The 1996 Women's Collegiate Championship expanded to an Elite Eight and took place at Colorado Springs, CO from May 3–5.Moeller, Stephen (May 2, 1996). "Women's Rugby Wins, 54-0, Heads To Nationals". The Daily Princetonian, p.11 col.2–5 Princeton was the repeat champion of this edition. Penn State #8 Jen Sikora was named MVP Forward of the tournament and Princeton scrumhalf Susan Welgos was MVP Back.Salsbury, Brian J. (June 11, 1996). "Welgos Leads Princeton To National Rugby Title". Daily Record, p.B3 col.2

Participants Princeton University and Virginia Tech qualified by placing first and second respectively at the Mid–Atlantic Territorial championship November 11–12.Dickinson, Jane (November 15, 1995). "Rugby Takes First In Final Fall Invite". Daily Princetonian, p.16 col.4–5 Penn State and St. Benedict qualified by placing first and second respectively at the Midwest Territorial .Ferriola, Frank (March 15, 1996). "Nationals Await Lady Ruggers". The Daily Collegian, p.16 col.4–5 Air Force represented the West. Central Washington won the Pacific Coast championship against Stanford and Reed at Portland, OR from 13 to 14 April."CWU Women Rugby Team Seeking Help". (April 25, 1996). Ellensburg Daily Record, p.8 col.4–5 Radcliffe College was the Northeast representative. Florida State represented the Southeast. The seeding was 1. Mid–Atlantic #1 (Princeton), 2. Midwest #1 (Penn State), 3. West (Air Force), 4. Pacific (Central Washington), 5. Northeast (Radcliffe), 6. Mid–Atlantic #2 (Virginia Tech), 7. Southeast (Florida State), 8. Midwest #2 (St. Benedict).

Quarterfinals

Consolation semifinals Central Washington 22–0 St. Benedict Virginia Tech 15–0 Florida State

Seventh place Florida State 10–5(OT) St. Benedict

Fifth place Central Washington 8–3 Virginia Tech

Semifinals

Third place

Final

Champions: Princeton Tigers Coach: Brian Kraybill Captain: Erin Kennedy (Flyhalf), Ashley Kline (Flanker) Roster: Pamela Adams (Lock), Laura Bartels (Lock), Meredith Bell (Prop), Sarah Briggs (Flanker), Tracy Dubovick (Prop), Valerie Easterwood (Flanker), Laura Engler (Center), Dahlia Fetouh (Hooker), Stephanie Gazdo (Fulllback), Caroline Gibson (Center), Amy Gresh (#8), Alison Gruen (Wing), Mary Angela Knighton (Center), Lara Larson (#8), Ann Marie Lavigne (Lock), Kristine Leporati (Wing), Rachel Liberatore (Prop), Margaret Mudge (Center), Julia Ott (Lock), Megan Sarnecki (Lock), Anna Sinai (Wing), Karina Tellefsen (Prop), Isabel Tremblay (Flanker), Alexandra Van Dusen (Hooker), Susan Welgos (Scrumhalf), Valerie Zimmer (Wing).

College All–Stars The 1996 National Collegiate All–Star Championship included seven teams and took place at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH from June 8–9."Yungling Selected To Rugby All-Star Team". (July 2, 1996). Telegram–Tribune, p.C–2 col.1 Similar to the All–Star Tournaments for club teams, the college competition is divided into geographic unions and used to select the All–American team that goes on to play other junior national rugby teams. The Pacific Coast All–Stars came in first, Midwest was second, Northeast third and Mid–Atlantic fourth.

External links 1996 Women's College Final 1996 Women's Semifinal 1996 Women's Quarterfinal

References