National Tournament Homepage | Davenport Athletic Network

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The fifth-ranked Davenport men's rugby team concluded their regular season schedule last weekend against Life. After the Panthers finished fifth in D1A Rugby, the team grabbed an at-large bid in the National Tournament. DU will start their playoff run against 11th ranked West Point. The Black Knights finished their regular season with a 5-1 record and grabbed an at-large bid. Kickoff for the opening round match between West Point and Davenport is set for Saturday on the DU Turf Field at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Davenport Athletic Network.
 
SCOUTING WEST POINT
 
The Black Knights were unable to compete in the East Coast Conference fall schedule, but the team won three straight games to close out their regular season and move to No. 11 in the D1A rankings to receive an at-large bid to the tournament. West Point won three games on a trip down to Texas, beating Texas, Baylor and Texas A&M, before they lost a close match to rival Navy.
 
THE PANTHERS
 
Davenport closed out their regular season last weekend against second-ranked Life University. The Panthers held a 6-3 lead in the early going of the second half, but the Running Eagles scored the final 24 points to win the game 27-6. DU went 5-8 in the regular season and finished 0-6 in the Mid-South Conference, but each team in the conference was ranked in the top five in the country, which gave Davenport an at-large bid. After moving up to D1A last season, the Panthers are making their first appearance in the D1A National Tournament this season.
 
After converting on two penalty kicks last weekend, sophomore Brady Gent now leads the team with 49 points, while freshman Sondai Adjei is right behind Gent with 44 points. Adjei is tied for the team lead in tries with Reece Czarnecki and Gabe Sochanek as each play has six tries this season. Sochanek and Angus MacLellan will try to lead the front line and use their scrum to control the game.
 
The Panthers will start their National Tournament run against West Point on Saturday at 1 p.m. on the DU Turf Field.
 
Men's Rugby Contact: David Gerhart | 616-554-5045 | dgerhart@davenport.edu
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