BYU Rugby Wins Third National Championship

Contributed By From the Church News

  • 16 May 2013

Article Highlights

  • The BYU Cougars won their third national rugby championship in the last five years on Saturday, May 4.
  • The Cougars finished this season with an 11-2 record.
  • The BYU men's volleyball team lost its championship game after ranking first in 11 of the first 15 weeks.

PROVO, UTAH

The BYU Cougars won their third national rugby championship in the last five years via a last-second drop goal from freshman flyhalf Jonny Linehan, beating perennial champion California 27-24. The national title match drew a near-capacity South Field Stadium crowd on May 4, 2013.

The Cougars finished this season with an 11-2 record and their third national title in five years while also maintaining their undefeated collegiate record on South Field since their inaugural season there in 2009.

On the same day, the number 1-seed BYU men’s volleyball team ended its successful season with a 3-0 loss to number 2-seed UC Irvine (25-23, 25-22, 26-24) in the NCAA National Championships at Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, California.

The Cougars held the number 1 national ranking this season for 11 of the 15 regular-season weeks, including the final seven. Head coach Chris McGown was named the MPSF and AVCA Coach of the Year in just his second season at the helm. Taylor Sander was named the MPSF Player of the Year and Ben Patch was named the MPSF Freshman of the Year. Patch also garnered AVCA National Newcomer of the Year.

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