In a showcase of some of the top collegiate rugby talent the country has to offer, Dartmouth College defeated Army, 32-10, in the final to win the 2011 USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship on Sunday at PPL Park in suburban Philadelphia.
After knocking off defending tournament champion Utah, 17-12, in the opening round on Saturday, the Big Green went on to defeat Notre Dame, Boston College, Penn State and Central Washington to reach the final.
With the score knotted at five apiece early in the championship game, Dartmouth — led by twin brothers Nick and Chris Downer — broke out and ran wild over the Black Knights, scoring 27 of the next 32 points to seal the win.
Chris Downer scored twice for the Big Green, while Nate Brakeley, Paul Jarvis, Will Lehmann and Muhammed Abdul-Shakoor all pitched in with tries of their own.
While a national championship for collegiate 15's rugby is held every year, this marked only the second year a collegiate sevens championship has been held, with Utah winning the inaugural tournament in 2010.
Sevens is a faster-paced version of traditional rugby, with each side fielding only seven players at a time compared to the usual 15. Games are also much shorter, with each half lasting just seven minutes (10 minutes for championship games), instead of the 40 minute halves played in 15's.
This year's tournament featured 16 men's teams and eight women's teams, with Army taking home the inaugural women's championship with a 14-5 win over Penn State.
