Less than a year removed from winning the small-college national rugby title, St. Bonaventure is one win away from returning to the national stage, this time in Division I.

But Coach Meredith Pyke is well aware this will be the highest hurdle to clear.

The Bonnies, 6-0 and ranked No. 5 in the latest National Collegiate Rugby D-I poll, travel to West Virginia to play top-ranked Wheeling University (8-0) at noon Saturday for the Allegheny Rugby Union Conference title.

The winner advances to the eight-team national tournament, which opens the following weekend and concludes Dec. 7 in Houston.

Wheeling didn’t have a rugby program until this year, but flourished in its first season in NCR Division I because Coach Ken Pape brought more than a dozen players with him from Lander University, which competes in NCAA Division II.

“This will be our toughest game, but the team is very excited to play them,” Pyke said. “The biggest thing for us to do is play confidently. We have to be aggressive and not sit back and let them play with the ball. We have to pressure them on defense and hope that they commit errors to allow us to capitalize on their mistakes.”

After a pair of two-point wins over Walsh and Ohio State, the Bonnies closed out their perfect regular season last Saturday by pounding Pittsburgh, 97-0. In their four blowout wins, including Pitt, SBU outscored its opponents, 415-0.

Pyke said she wouldn’t have considered a move to Division I if she weren’t confident her club could compete. But she didn’t expect this level of success so soon. Regardless of what happens Saturday, she’s “thrilled” with the Bonnies’ first year in D-I.

“It’s a testament to what we’re growing and what the athletes are doing,” Pyke said. “I've said it before, but I’m just really proud that even when we get up big, we don’t let up. They keep playing because they’re trying to get better. They’re trying to perfect their craft.”

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).