Having won the toss and elected to bat, the Rams crumbled under intense pressure from Students paceman Nick Williams.

Williams finished with figures of 6-28, with five wickets coming from his first spell.

Tom Stray (29) and Gilmour (17) top-scored for the Rams, who were bundled out for 85.

Rams skipper Matt Gale, while disappointed by the performance, was buoyed by Gilmour's 3-50 in Melbourne University's first innings.

"He's bowling really well at the moment and pushing for selection at higher grades. If we can get a breakthrough on Saturday, then post enough of a chase, we may be in it for a reverse outright."

The Rams struggled to play on the newly laid Melbourne University wicket which produced plenty of bounce.

"We didn't have a great day in the end. The wicket looked good to bat on but made scoring tough," Gale said.

Wickets to Drew McKay (1-11) and Gale (1-17) helped the Rams limit the Students to 6-152 at the close of play.

"With a bit of luck we can make a game of it," Gale said.

Ringwood continues to suffer inconsistencies with the bat. "There hasn't been a week where everyone's played well together," Gale said.

Rams youngster Michael Topp continued his impressive season with selection to the Cricket Australia Centre of Excellence.

The contracted Bushrangers rookie is one of five Premier Cricket players travelling to Canberra to receive intensive fast-bowling training.