Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference

The MARC will be teaming up with Franklin & Marshall College this weekend as F&M will be hosting the 2018 DIP Classic Rugby Tournament, starting on Saturday April 14th. All three of the MARC Men 7's Series Divisions - D1AA, D2, and NSCRO - will be participating in their respective divisions at this event. This will be the second stop for the D1AA teams in their Series. For D2, this will be their final stop and a D2 Men 7's Conference Champion will be crowned. And for NSCRO, this stop has huge implications as the winner will qualify for the NSCRO National 7's Championship Tournament later this spring.

Fans should be excited for this event as there will be plenty of talent on display. It is anyone's guess on who will win their respective division but below is a division by division look at the teams.

Good luck to all those competing! 

DIVISION 1AA

Saint Joseph's University won the first leg of the MARC D1AA Series at Rowan last weekend. Both Noah Niumataiwalu and Jimmy Wolfer looked good throughout the day and will look to have similar performance at F&M. West Virginia is currently in second with speedsters Luke Ellis and Jonathan Gonzales creating problems for the opposition. The Moutaineers have also gotten solid performances from the Degore brothers and Sam Kinser.  Temple also looked good with English standout Matt Williams leading the charge of a young Owls team. Freshman Carson Delaney from LaSalle has made an immediate impact on the team and ATL twins Damion and Justin Nsiah bring lots of speed on the outside.  West Chester, Rowan, Pitt, and Villanova are still in contention for the Series Championship and will look to capitalize on Series points this weekend.  

Division 2

Bloomsburg has been rolling in the MARC D2 Series winning the first two legs of the tournament and is in a good position, with 16 points thus far, to win the Championship. Mike Appleman, Nico Disabatino, and Jabari Johnson have been dominant for the Huskies. There is a log jam in second place with Millersville, Scranton, and Drexel, all tied with 12 points each. Scranton has  relied on their 7s Captain Kevin Bronander who has been the teams playmaker and one of their leading scorers as an underclassmen. For Drexel, Kyle Kent continues to shine and is dangerous anywhere out on the pitch. And Millersville will continue to rely on Nick Horan, Kyle Schory, and captain Eric Jeffress to lead the way for the Marauders.   East Stroudsburg, Lafayette, and Lock Haven shouldn't be counted out as they can surprise a few teams this weekend. And keep an eye on LaSalle University who have looked good in the City Six 7's Series out in Philadelphia. 

NSCRO 

The NSCRO Division will include teams outside of the MARC as this tournament will be acting as a qualifier for the NSCRO National 7's Tournament later this spring. As for the MARC teams, pool A will feature Franklin & Marshall who will have the support of the home crowd. It will also feature Kings College who recently won the 2017 MARC Fall 7's Championship. In pool B, Penn State - Berks is currently in 2nd place of the MARC NSCRO Series and Moravian College looked good in the fall 15's season and will hope to carry that momentum throughout the spring. In Pool C, Widener looked good in the first tournament of the MARC NSCRO Series and Holy Family is coming in with plenty of 7s experience as they play 7s in both the fall and spring. In pool D, Susquehanna has to be one of the favorites of the tournament. Susquehanna led the way in the MARC Fall 15's NSCRO Division and are having similar success in the MARC NSCRO 7's Series. They are currently in first place in the MARC after two tournaments.  And also in Pool D is Neumann University who are currently tied for third in the MARC NSCRO  Series and have also strung together some impressive performances.