St. Bonaventure didn’t clinch a berth for the 2025 Collegiate Rugby Championship National 7s, but a strong performance helped to build a solid case for an at-large bid.

The Bonnies finished third this weekend in the 14-team Premier Cup division of the Frostbite 7s at Landisville, Pennsylvania, advancing to the semifinals by winning its pool on a tiebreaker.

On Saturday, St. Bonaventure defeated Fordham, 26-7, lost to Indiana (Pa.), 24-17, and thumped Niagara, 64-0. The Bonnies, Indiana and Fordham all went 2-1, but SBU advanced on the best point differential.

On Sunday, SBU lost to Brown, 31-5, in a semifinal, but bounced back to defeat Babson College, 26-5, in the third-place match.

Noah Edwards (four tries), Conor McGuirk and Jonny Thomson (three each) led the Bonnies in scoring for the tournament.

Brown defeated American International College, 17-14, to qualify for the CRC National 7s April 25-27 at Boyds, Maryland.

Meanwhile, the SBU B side (JV team) was dominant in winning the eight-team Open Blizzard Division on Saturday, outscoring East Stroudsburg, Penn State-Berks and Bloomsburg, 114-0, in pool play before defeating Scranton, 26-7, for the title. Nick Doumbe led the Bonnies with four tries.

“Definitely a successful weekend,” said Coach Danny Neighbour. “We got a great performance from our JV team, allowing just one try against them in four games. And our varsity came back strong against Babson after a tough loss to Brown. Beating good teams can only help our at-large chances.”

The Bonnies will play in three more 7s tournaments this spring: Wheeling 7s on March 22, Old Blue 7s at Mount Vernon on March 29, and Fairfield 7s on April 12. Old Blue and Fairfield are also qualifiers for the National 7s tournament.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure is a community committed to transforming the lives of its students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a commitment to academic excellence and lifelong civic engagement. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).