NEWPORT, R.I. – Salve Regina University’s rugby team is the top-ranked Division III men’s college team in the nation according to rankings released last week by the National Small College Rugby Organization. The rankings are based upon teams’ performance in the 2010-2011 competitive season to date.
After winning the New England Division III Rugby Championship last month, the Salve Regina men qualified for the Division III National Tournament at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex on April 29. The Seahawks are returning to the event for the second time in three years.
“I’m really proud of the team,” said Salve Regina’s head coach Mike Martin. “They’ve worked hard to earn this recognition. The most important ranking comes out on April 30 and we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us to be ready for nationals.”
The NSCRO is the national governing body for small college rugby. Since 2001, college rugby national championships have been hosted for Division III men’s and D3/D4 women’s programs at different venues around the country.
“We believe this will add some excitement to the upcoming playoffs as well as clearly show that teams from West Coast to East Coast and in between are now in the mix,” said Steve Cohen, NSCRO president.
Other teams cracking the national Top Ten are Providence College (#6), Springfield College (#8) and Tufts University (#9)
Top 20
- Salve Regina (10-0)
- Ithaca (6-0)
- The College of New Jersey (6-1)
- Coastal Carolina (0-0)*
- Longwood (9-0)
- Springfield (9-1)
- Molloy (7-2)
- Providence (7-2)
- Tufts (7-2)
- Wayne State, Nebraska (5-0)
- Mount St. Mary's (3-1)
- North Dakota State (5-1)
- Franciscan (5-1)
- Houston (2-0)*
- St. Edwards (3-0)*
- Benedictine (5-1)
- Whittier (2-0)*
- Azusa Pacific (1-1)*
- Sul Ros (2-0)*
- Sewanee: The University of the South (0-0)*