BOYDS, Md. -- Kutztown weathered torrential rains Friday afternoon to start its title defense of the Collegiate Rugby Championship National 7s with a 31-0 Premier Cup first round victory over Nazareth at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

The Golden Bears, top seed in the Midwest Region of the bracket, took care of business against the No. 8 seed Golden Flyers.

Kutztown opened a 17-0 halftime lead on three tries and a conversion, before adding a pair of tries over the final seven minutes.

Mate Kvirikashvili (Kutaisi, Georgia/Monroe Woodbury (N.Y.)), the 2022 CRC Tournament MVP, registered two tries and a conversion for the Maroon and Gold. P.J. O'Reilly (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) added a pair of conversions and a try, while Benedict Quinn (York, England/St Peter's School) and Mike Greene (New York, N.Y./Columbia Secondary School) had a try each.

Nazareth was stymied by the Bears' high pressure defense, which the rain and win only magnified. The Golden Flyers struggled to get anything going offensively and turned the ball over multiple times. KU turned two of those giveaways into tries.

Kutztown's shutout is its third in the last two seasons at CRCs. The Golden Bears opened last year's tournament with a 31-0 victory over Maryland in the first round and a 43-0 victory over Iowa State in the second.

The Golden Bears are back in action Saturday, where they await the winner of No.4 South Carolina and No. 5 Northeastern. Play was halted just after 4:30 p.m. Friday due to the extreme conditions with seven Premier Cup first round matches yet to be played.

In the nine matches that were completed, all higher seeded teams triumphed, including all four No. 1 seeds.

Kutztown's second round match was originally scheduled for 10:19 a.m. Saturday, but that will surely change given the number of Friday games that need to be rescheduled. It looks like the metro D.C. area may get a reprieve from the rain tomorrow, before it returns to the forecast for Sunday.

For the latest updates, visit the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) Championship Central page linked above or follow @ncrrugby on Twitter.