The University of Maine men’s and women’s rugby teams traveled to Rhode Island on April 22 and 23 to compete in the Beast of the East Championships, one of the largest collegiate rugby tournaments in the world.
Both teams returned to Orono victorious, with the men winning the championship game 24-0 against the University of New Haven and the women winning the championship game 17-12 in overtime against the University of Connecticut.
The men faced off against Framingham State University and Salem State University in pool play, defeating the two teams 29-10 and 7-0, respectively.
They then faced UMass Dartmouth in the quarterfinals, defeating the Corsairs 17-10. In the semifinals, they beat Colby College by the same score and then shut UConn out to win the championship.
The women did not give up a single point until the championship game, shutting out their first four opponents by a total score of 143-0.
In pool play, the Black Bears beat Babson 46-0 and Binghamton 21-0. In the quarterfinals, they defeated Plymouth State University 37-0 and then beat UMaine Farmington 43-0 in the semifinals.
UConn would give Maine a contest, pushing the game to overtime, but Maine was able to edge the Huskies 17-12.
It was a good weekend for Maine rugby as the women were dominant and the men are now ranked fifth in the nation by the National Small College Rugby Organization.
