Wheeling, W. Va. – On Saturday night, the Wheeling University Rugby team held a Watch Party for the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) 7's National Championship selection show. Players, coaches, and fans gathered in Troy Theater as they watched to see where the Cardinals would place in this year's field with refreshments and prizes available. The team learned they would be the #1 seed out of the East Region and the #2 seed overall in the tournament, which will be held in Washington, DC April 28th through the 30th.

The 7's season has been very kind to the Cardinals, with the team taking just two losses across five different tournaments. They would win all five of their tournaments, marking the first time in program history that they would accomplish that feat as they finished the spring with a 21-2 record, their best mark in program history, with their two. Losses coming to East Carolina University at the Mooseman 7's and Kentucky University at the Adrian 7's. The offense has been the driving force for the team's success, with Wheeling scoring 20 or more points in 18 of their 23 games this season and totaled 580 points. The Cardinals were named the 2023 Spring 7's Big Rivers Rugby Conference (BRRC) Champions and look to build on their sixth place finish in last year's tournament.

Leading the way through this spring season has been junior Mohamed Haddar. Haddar leads the team in tries this spring, sitting at 34 entering the CRC 7's tournament as he uses his speed to break away from defenders. He has scored 170 points throughout the spring season and looks to bring some of that elusiveness to the championships. After dealing with an injury early this season, Joe Iye made his return to the pitch at the Wolfhound 7's, but put together his best performance of the year at Adrian. He scored at least one try in every game and was the team's leader with seven tries in the game while totaling 38 points across the five games. Or is a guy who has been known for his defense throughout his career, but he showed his offensive style and can be a huge piece for the Cardinals in the playoffs.

Along with finding out their seed, the Cardinals also learned who their first round matchup would be against on April 28th. They will be facing off with #8 Howard College, a team they will be facing for the first time in program history. Joining Wheeling in the East Region will be #2 Adrian, #3 Mt. Saint Mary, #4 Fairfield, #5 Thomas More, #6 Michigan, and #7 Virginia Tech. The winner of Wheeling and Howard College's game will then move on to face the winner of #4 Fairfield vs. #5 Thomas More in round two. The Quarterfinals will serve as the Regional Championship in each region, with the East Region champion moving on to face the South Region champion in the semifinals. The CRC 7's National Championship will then be held on Sunday, April 30th.

Head Coach Mike Geibel is proud of all the hard work his team has put in to earn this honor during the spring and looks clrwDd to the tournament run ahead.

"Getting a number one seed is huge for us. This is something the guys have earned by battling in every tournament this spring and, in theory, it gives us a smoother path in the tournament as the reward for that hard work," said Geibel. "We aren't taking any teams lightly, though. We are going on a business trip and the job isn't finished until we raise the trophy. We know we can play with and beat every team in the tournament, we just have to put it together for 5 matches in a row. Sevens is tough and every match will be a test, but we are confident going in and I think we still haven't played our best rugby yet this season." 

The Wheeling University Rugby team kicks off the 2023 CRC 7's on Friday, April 28th, when they take on #8 Howard College in the First Round with kick-off time to be determined.