Wheeling, W. Va. – It was a year ago Saturday that the Wheeling University Men's Rugby team was celebrating at the Boyd, Maryland Soccer Complex, bringing home the second National Championship in school history. On Friday, the journey to repeat begins as the Cardinals kick-off the 2025 Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) National 7's, playing up to three games in the premiere bracket. Wheeling will need to secure five wins to bring home their second straight National Title and they enter the bracket as won of the front runners, claiming the #1 seed in the East Division.
The Cardinals secured their third straight Big Rivers Rugby Conference (BRRC) title last time out when they headed to Indianapolis, Indiana for the conference championships. They began their run against Aquinas College and faced their toughest battle of the day, ending in a 14-14 tie. However, they would slice their way through the rest of the pool play competition, beating Drury 44-0 before earning a 34-0 win over Thomas More in the Quarterfinal Round. As they moved on, they would face the University of Rio Grande in a rematch of last year's conference title game and pulled off a 45-7 win. They would then head to the finals where they met Marian University. The Cardinals showed they were the superior offense, scoring 35 points in a 35-1 victory.
As they head into this season's tournament, all eyes are going to be on last year's CRC National 7's MVP Shadreck Mandaza. Mandaza joined the Cardinals just before last season's National Championship tournament, and would be the Cardinal's leading point scorer and leader in tries with 10 across the five-game tournament. This season, Mandaza has primarily handled the kicking duties for the Cardinals, while also sprinkling in some of his own elusiveness to get across the try line. At the BRRC 7's, Mandaza would score a season-high 62 points, including scoring 19 points in the conference championship game against Marian that claimed them their third straight conference title. Mandaza will look to be a key contributor for the team once again as they go for a National title defense.
Along with Mandaza, the team also has several newcomers who have made an impact throughout the season. Leading the charge was freshman Mason Ziegler, who broke out at the Nail City 7's. The freshman would score three tries in the game, and was a part of the action in four of the five matches. Coming off his football season, Ziegler has strong ball handling skills that Head Coach Mike Geibel says translate well onto the Rugby pitch. Another newcomer who has made his presence felt throughout the year is Panashe Mugorogodi. He finished as the MVP of the Nail City7's tournament and was a key part to the Cardinal's success during 15's season. During 15's season, Mugorogodi was tied for the team's third leading scorer, finishing with 40 points and eight tries throughout the season and will get his first chance to compete on the National stage.
The CRC National 7's is a single elimination style bracket tournament, with several tiers of consolation rounds along with the main cup. The Cardinals will begin their run with the premiere bracket, taking on the #8 seed from the East Babson College. For the Cardinals to bring home their second straight National Championship in the 7's season, they will have to win five in a row against the top teams in all of Rugby. Included on their side of the bracket are #2 Brown, #3 Notre Dame, #4 Virginia Tech, #5 Mary Washington, #6 Maryland, #7 Texas A&M, and #8 Babson. It is a tough bracket for the Cardinals, but they look to use their experience to lead them through the bracket and back to Saturday's CRC National 7's Championship match.
The Details
The 2025 CRC National 7's kicks off on Friday, April 25th, when the Cardinals take on #8 Babson College with kick-off at 11 AM. You can follow along with all the tournament action by downloading the app, or follow along with wucardinals.com for updates throughout the day.
