On April 22nd, UMRFC hosted the Michigan Collegiate Cup (MCC) to cap off the developmental spring 15s season. The wolverines showed up to the MCC hungry for a win, sporting a string of several losses in the past few weeks, including a loss the week before to Oakland University who attended the MCC.
With some of the best rugby that the 15s side has played all spring, Michigan was able to soundly defeat Eastern Michigan University 34-10. Next up, Oakland. The game against Oakland was a much better contest than the previous week. The wolverines led all the way until there was only a minute and a half left, when Oakland tied the game with a penalty kick. Michigan then played Oakland again to determine who would win the tournament. Unfortunately, Oakland won the game 35-15.
All-in-all the spring 15s side showed some great improvement in the final games of the spring season. A lot of players (especially younger guys) stepped up and showed leadership that has everyone excited about the future of Michigan Rugby.
On the same weekend, the 7s team travelled to Madison Wisconsin to play in the Big Ten Universities Championship. The team has been plagued with injuries this season, and elected not to travel to the second round of the BTU tournament the week before. The side started strong in Madison with a convincing 24-5 win over the University of Illinois. The next game was against the University of Wisconsin, which the wolverines lost 17-24 after putting up a great fight. After that, a 34-14 win over Northwestern allowed Michigan to advance from pool play to compete in the semifinals. A 12-32 loss to Ohio State (the eventual winners of the tournament) set up Michigan for a third place game against Michigan State. Finishing the weekend strong, the wolverines beat State 24-5 and took third place in the Big Ten.
