BOYDS, MD – It was a tale of two regions in the men’s DI Club 2025 CRC bracket, but the final chapter saw NC State take down UNC-Charlotte 12-7 in the last game of an epic rugby Saturday at the 2025 CRC 7s.
In the battle for the state of North Carolina, the Wolfpack reigned supreme. The two seed took an early 12-0 lead and never relinquished it despite a valiant comeback effort by the 49ers. All-Tournament selection Hugh Reddan – who went nuclear for on the weekend with eight tries, tied for the most in DI Club with Missouri’s Logan Lair – put up the first points of the match after just over a minute elapsed.
The Wolfpack’s Matteo Casnabet scored just before the half to push the lead to double digits. Charlotte finally got on the board when Garrett Hyten crossed the whitewash, but it was too little too late. NC State was able to run out the clock and close their strong tournament run with the ultimate victory.
A convincing 26-5 win over last year’s champion Louisville on the morning of day two made it clear to those in attendance that the Wolfpack had come ready to play. Reddan had a hat trick in the contest with teammate Charlie Howard also chipping in a score. They beat Temple and Tennessee in the opening rounds on the side of the bracket that went mostly chalk.
The 49ers were the product of a chaotic bracket process in which they knocked off two seed West Chester in a 24-22 quarterfinal victory and one-seed South Carolina lost to UMass by one point. UNC-Charlotte defeated the Minutemen 10-7 in the semifinals to punch their ticket to the finals. All-Tournament selection Cam McKinnon was the ultimate glue guy for the 49ers on the weekend, doing a lot of the dirty work in the middle of the field while also chipping in a couple tries over the course of two days.
2025 All Tournament Team