Wheeling, W. Va. – Last May, the Wheeling University Men's Rugby team reached the game's highest stage, bringing home the 2024 Collegiate Rugby Championships (CRC) 7's National Championship. As they enter their 2025 spring season, they do so with a target on their back as they get set to defend their national title. With four tournaments throughout March and April, the Cardinals are ramping up to face some of the best teams in the country.
The 2024 spring season was a historic one, not only on the playoffs front, but during the regular season as well. The Cardinals would compete in four tournaments during the season, and did not lose a match, winning all four of those tournament's championships. The only blemish on their record was a tie against Louisville at the Moosemen 7's, bringing their regular season record to 15-0-1. The Cardinals would enter the Big Rivers Rugby Conference (BRRC) 7's Tournament as the #1 seed, and were the defending champions. They allowed just seven points between their first four games of the tournament and would match-up with the only team they allowed a point to in the championship in The University of Rio Grande. The Cardinals had both sides of the ball working, pulling off a 50-0 win to defend their conference title.
They entered the 2024 CRC 7's as the #1 seed in the tournament, and knew they had a tough task ahead of them. In the opening day of competition, the Cardinals would play three games against Fordham University, Mount St. Mary's, and Indiana. The Cardinal defense stood tall, allowing just 17 points between the three games, while the offense scored 96 points during that same span. As they entered day two, two more opponents awaited them in Babson College and Kutzown. The Cardinals earned a shutout victory over Babson in the semifinal round, advancing them to the CRC 7's National Championship for the first time in program history. They would face Kutztown, the other undefeated team in the tournament field, and would earn a 29-12 victory to claim the National Title.
Several of their stars from last season's national title run are back this season, including the 2024 CRC National 7's Tournament MVP Shadreck Mandaza. Mandaza played a big role for the Cardinals throughout the tournament, tying for the team lead with 10 tries while taking on a majority of the kicking duties throughout the tournament. In the National title game, Mandaza would get across the try line three times in the National championship game, cementing himself as the tournament's MVP. Mandaza continued that success into 15's season this past fall, leading the team with 89 points, most of which coming in the kicking game. Mandaza would go 23-26 on conversion kicks throughout the year, while scoring five tries and adding a perfect 5-5 mark on Penalty Kicks.
A few of the other stars from the Cardinal's 7's National championship run also return to the pitch with senior Joe Iye and Mohammed Haddar coming back into the mix. Haddar was the Cardinal's try leader during 7's season last year, using his combination of speed and agility to get into the try zone. During the 15's season, Haddar would score three tries for the Cardinals, totaling 15 points and will once again play a crucial role for the Cardinals as they head down the stretch. Joe Iye comes back for his fifth run at the CRC National 7's. After bringing home the national title last season, Iye and his team are looking to duplicate the performance in 2025. Iye is the most experienced out of all the Cardinal ruggers on the pitch, and will be a leader for the team down the stretch.
As they kick-off the 2025 7's season, the Cardinals will play across the same style of schedule that they played last season, with three regular season tournaments and the BRRC Tournament at the beginning of April. However, after winning the National Championship a season ago, the Cardinals will be facing a higher level of competition. The Peach 7's and Notre Dame 7's will feature several of the teams that the Cardinals faced during the 2024 CRC 7's run. They are also bringing 7's Rugby back to Bishop Schmitt Field for the first time since the 2022 Spring season. Head Coach Mike Geibel is excited to face the challenge and looks for his team to continue their success from the spring.
The Wheeling University Men's Rugby team kicks off their spring 7's season on Saturday, March 8th, when they compete in the Peach 7's in Atlanta, Georgia.
