"We're very excited to welcome these teams to what we feel is the best place in the country to play rugby," Nate Brakeley '12 said. "The team is eager to put on a good show of Dartmouth rugby in front of our friends and family."
Captain Paul Jarvis '12 echoed Brakeley's claim.
"It's a tremendously exciting opportunity for Dartmouth Rugby," Jarvis said in an email to The Dartmouth. "The whole team is ready for the challenge of playoff rugby, and we are confident that we will be able to execute and perform in front of a home crowd."
Eight games are set to be played at Brophy Field over the coming weekend. The Big Green is competing for its first Division I-AA national championship in its history. Dartmouth will have two home games to start the tournament, starting with a contest against Shippensburg University on Saturday at 1 p.m.
"Our expectations are really high going into this tournament," Simon Greenberg '13 said. "It's important to us since it's our first time competing for this."
The Big Green received an automatic bid after an undefeated season and an Ivy League title. The members of this year's senior class have never lost an Ivy League game in their time on the team, and the 2011-2012 season marked Dartmouth's fourth consecutive year with an undefeated regular season record.
"Our senior class is really strong this year," Greenberg said. "It's good for a tournament like this where consistency is needed to keep consistent for multiple games."
Jarvis said that the seniors are excited to play on their home field one last time.
"For the seniors, this is our last chance to play at home on Brophy Field, and I know all of the squad is equally eager to rise to the occasion," Jarvis said.
The action gets underway on Saturday at 9 a.m. as Division II teams Colgate University and Bentley University square off. Boston University will face Towson University at 11 a.m. in the other Division II first-round matchup. Northeastern University will take on Stony Brook University at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the other Division I-AA game.
The second-round and consolation-round games of both tournaments will be played on Sunday. The Division II consolation game kicks off the day at 9 a.m. followed by the Division II second-round game at 11 a.m. The Division I-AA consolation game follows at 1 p.m., while the second-round game wraps up the day at 3 p.m. The regional winners will move on to Sandy, Utah to compete in the final four from May 18-19.
"We'll be playing for our first final four appearance since the 1980s, so this means a lot to the club," Brakeley said.
As the second overall seed and the top seed in its region, the Big Green is a strong contender for the title. Dartmouth has three All-Americans and a U-19 All-American in the lineup.
