Lexington, VA The Hampden-Sydney Rugby Club placed third in the Cardinal Collegiate Rugby Conference (CCRC) 7's national-qualifier tournament on Saturday at the Virginia Military Institute, going 4-1 on the day and defeating host and #18th ranked VMI. The Tigers opened the day against Washington and Lee. The Generals took an early lead before Graeme Ebert and Bryson Smith back-to-back tries. Both kicks were successful, giving the Tigers a 14-7 win in the opening round of round-robin play.

In a matchup with #18 VMI in game two, the Keydets score a try and a failed kick set the early score at 5-0. Once again Graeme Ebert replied with a try and the successful kick gave the Tigers a 7-5 lead. VMI quickly responded with try and successful kick and led at halftime 12-7. Jordan Payton opened the scoring in the second half and his try and a successful kick once again gave the Tigers the lead at 14-12 in a back-and-forth battle. VMI responded with another try to regain the lead 19-14. Graeme Ebert then tied the match with a try and then made the kick that gave the Tigers a 21-19 lead. The defense then held, giving the Tigers the win.

In round three of the four-round pool play portion of the tournament, William and Mary opened the scoring to take an early 7-0 lead. Bryson Smith responded for the Tigers and the successful kick knotted the match at 7-7. The Tribe then scored again but the kick was unsuccessful, setting the score at 12-7 as the Tigers were once again matched in a see-saw contest. Bruton Peacock responded with a try and the successful kick saw H-SC regain the lead 14-12. W&M scored once more and the kick was once again unsuccessful as the Tigers fell behind 17-14. As in the day's previous matches, H-SC scored a late try to regain the lead and set the final score. Against the Tribe, it was an Alex Barth try, and the successful kick gave the Tigers a 21-17 win.

In the fourth and final match of the round-robin pool, the Tigers were able to jump out early against Longwood and cruise to a 48-0 victory. Scoring for Tigers, in order: Tom Kinter, Alex Barth, Bryson Smith, Alex Barth, Carson Mann, Thomas Kinter, Alex Barth, Carson Mann. 

The reward for Coach Seth Trujillo's Tigers' 4-0 record was first place in their pool and a spot in the four-team knockout round. The top two teams from each pool were paired in semifinal matchups in a single-elimination bracket. The tournament's champion would also receive an automatic bid to the rugby 7's national championship tournament to be held at the end of April in Washington, DC. 

The Tigers were matched with Richmond, who finished second to Christendom in the tournament's other five-team pool,  in their semifinal. The Spiders took a 19-0 lead in the first half. Bryson Smith scored in the second half but the Tigers were unable to regain the lead, falling 24-5. In the other semifinal, Christendom defeated Washington and Lee. Christendom then defeated Richmond for the tournament championship. Since Christendom had qualified earlier this season for the national tournament, runner-up Richmond will receive the automatic bid and will also represent the CCRC in Washington. The Tigers placed third by virtue of their win during pool play over W&L, giving the Generals fourth place. 

The spring 7s season for the Tigers will wrap up with a tournament at Longwood on April 15th.