USA

By Brian Lowe

Sometimes you just can’t pick ‘em can you. I’m talking about the stunning start to the Mid-Atlantic Premier League in which Virginia Tech knocked off one of the early season favorites Navy.

There wouldn’t have been many people around the country who would have backed the Hokies to win that one, especially as they were caned by the Midshipmen in the corresponding match a year ago.

It doesn’t mean that Navy is done by any stretch of the imagination, of course not, but what it does say is that one should never discount the underdog.

Not only did VTech win the game unexpectedly, but they did it on the road in the opening game of the season. To give it some perspective, it was very much akin to Appalachian State upsetting Michigan in the Big House in the opening round of last year’s college football season.

No, it might not have had the same kind of impact nationally, but that’s only because rugby is what it is in this country – not even a blip on the mainstream sports radar – but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a massive result because it was.

Virginia Tech head coach Jon Conrad attributed the final scoreline to the efforts that his guys had put in during the two previous seasons. He said that even though they hadn’t had a winning record in the 2007 and 2008 seasons, they never gave up and the win was a testament to their commitment to the game and their team.

Another team that punched above its weight on opening day was Albany, the new chums in Division I in the New York State Conference. Albany edged Binghamton in its first tilt in the higher grade.

While that one probably isn’t in the same category of the VTech result, it is nonetheless another example of a team that has had the cajones to move out of its comfort zone of DII and posted a W in its first hit-out in the top grade.

On a separate note, it seems as though all is not quite settled yet in Southern California despite the Union’s executive committee having voted this past weekend to establish an eight-team DI competition.

There had been moves to trim the number of teams in the top tier to just five and set up a Premier League with all teams playing a home and home series. San Diego State, Cal Poly, Arizona, UC Santa Barbara, and UCLA were pegged to make up the new league, but the EC opted for a league that would also include Arizona State, USD, and Long Beach State.

Former DI schools Claremont and UC San Diego have been dropped to Division II.

I’m told, however, that SDSU is partnering with Cal Poly and UCSB, and maybe more, to look into other options that might be open to them in the way of creating a league that will offer them more meaningful games week in and week out.

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