Riverside (California) wins US National 7s

The tournament was played at Harlequins Park in Indiana township, few miles from Pittsburgh in a well-manicured field that also hosted the USA Rugby 15-a-side tournament in the Spring.

Another exciting game was in Pool B where MTSU went ahead 14-0 at Halftime against Arizona’s Red Mountain. The MTSU moosemen punched first with Tries by Mark Kane and Mark Miranda.

Red Mountain would strike back with a try from ironman Matt Dallow to bring the score to 14-5. MTSU replied with a try from James Gillenwater with 2 minutes to go (21-5). Red Mountain didn’t give up and in less than one minute scored two more tries by Kevin Torkelson and Agust Class (both converted by Dallow) but it was to little, too late and the MTSU would claim their first win in a Nationals 7s Tournament.

Interestingly, the Championship rounds of competition pitted an East Coast team against a West Coast club in every match, with the exception of the Championship Final. The final standings again showed the predominance in Sevens of teams from the West (Pacific, So-Cal, West) and the Mid-Atlantic, relegating teams from other 3 Territorial Unions (South, Midwest, Northeast) to the Bowl bracket.

It was also nice to see Cayo Nicolau, the 6'3 250 lbs MTSU player who was also asked not play because the Eagles (15s) committment to the Pan American tournament next week in Argentina. Cayo was supporting his teammates but it was sad to see this extraordinary player not competing in the best 7s tournament in the USA.

2003 Men’s Club Sevens National Championships:

1. Riverside (CA)
2. Olympic Club (CA)
3. Denver Barbarians (CO)
4. Maryland Exiles (MD)
5. Washington (DC)
6. Hayward Griffins (CA)
7. Gentlemen of Aspen (CO)
8. NOVA (VA)
9. OMBAC (CA)
10. New York Athletic Club (NY)
11. MTSU (TN)

Middle Tenn. Side Headed Back To Rugby Nat'l 7s Tourney 01/08/03

A team formed of the top Men's Middle Tennessee Rugby players has made it back to the USA Rugby National 7s tournament. Last year, players from Vanderbilt, MTSU and the Nashville team got together to form Nashboro United and participated in summer tournaments all over the South to qualify for last year's National tournament for the first time. This year, with a few new faces, the team has made it back to the National scene. This year's squad consists of 6 Nashville players, (Adam Kibler, Ted Balicki, Mark Miranda, Chris Ryan, Peter Van Vuuren and Hodgen Mainda) 4 MTSU players (Mark Kane, Mike Renda, Jon Atkeinsen and Cayo Nicolau) and 2 Vanderbilt players (James and Justin Gillenwater). They beat the heavily favored Charlotte team in the South Championship's semi-finals and lost a heart-breaker to Atlanta in the finals. The top two teams from the South Championship tournament qualify for the National Championships. Rugby 7s is a scaled down version of regular rugby in that only 7 players per team are on a full field and only 7 minute halves. That makes for an exciting game of quickness, sure tackling and superb ball handling. The team now travels August 9-10 to Pittsburgh, PA to compete for the National Championship. For more information, please log onto nashvillerugby.com

South Championships

Tennessee moosemen stun Charlotte in Semifinals
July 19, 2003, Columbus, Ga. — The Atlanta Renegades defeated MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University) to take the 2003 South RFU 7s Championship.

MTSU and the Atlanta had lost in pool play — MTSU to Life University 12-0 and the Renegades to Charlotte 31-0 in the opening match of the tournament. It was a big upset for Charlotte, who hadn't lost a 7s game all season capturing the prestigious Cape Fear 7s in early July.

But in the semifinals, it was the underdogs that prevailed. The Renegades beat Life University 24-17 in the first semifinal.MTSU, lead by Brazilian-born Cayo Nicolau, down by five points with no time left scored a try in the corner, and the conversion went through, for the most stunning victory in the US qualifiers so far.

In the final, the Renegades clinched the top seed from the South beating MTSU 24-17. MTSU earned the second seed from the South (15th in the Nation) for the tournament to be played in August 9-10 at Pittsburgh.

Elvis King 7s

A few of us travelled to Memphis to compete in the Elvis King 7s on Saturday. Good music, great weather, fun rugby. After collegiate responsibilities, dental and legal issues, it turned out we had only 7 players, 3 having never worn a Nashville jersey. But we won our pool, playing our best match against the favored ASU side, with the help of a Memphis player, Jose, who provided excellent relief and strong play all day.

We played Memphis A in the Quarters with no subs. We battled back and forth, 3 or 4 lead changes, but gave up a final try as time expired to lose the game for a mild upset.

So, in all, a solid effort for NRFC and a great thanks to the travellers. Special props to the newest Nashville players, Jeremy Bettle and Jeff Walton, who make excellent additions to our club. And Rowan Millar, who after practicing with NRFC off and on for two years, finally wore the white jersey for the first time. Here's to many more. Other contributors: Mike Gower, Igor Romoneda, Daniel Carter and myself (C.Gower).

MTSU Wins Final USA Rugby South Qualifier

14/07/03

July 14, 2003 Knoxville, Tennessee

Middle Tennessee State University dominated the day at the 27th Annual Tennessee 7s Championship Saturday in Knoxville, TN. MTSU handily won their championship match against the Atlanta Renegades 43-5. MTSU reached the finals by defeating Life 24-0 while the Renegades defeated Chattanooga, who forfeited the 3rd place match against Life to take fourth in the Qualifier bracket.

In the all-Knoxville Open bracket championship match, the Knoxville Possums defeated the University of Tennessee 22 to 17 in a heated match for local bragging rights. Knoxville defeated Nashville 24-5 to reach the finals while UT defeated the Johnson City Silver Bullets 45-5.

In the High School Division, Tennessee Mid-State bested the Knoxville West High Rebels 33-10 after a hard fought 7-0 semi-final victory over
Knoxville Catholic. West reached the finals by defeating Maryville 29-7. Maryville was the surprise team of the day, overcoming their last place seeding in the brackets to reach the semifinals in their first ever rugby action after just forming a club in May.

KRFC and SMAC were proud to host 22 teams in this year's tournament, and would like to thank all the clubs and spectators who once again helped make this tournament a success.

Cape Fear
I would just like to say that i'm very proud to be apart of what took place this weekend. You would have to be there to understand what i'm feeling right now. These guys played there butts off and did not let up. At the beginning of each match the men attacked the opposing team whether we had the ball or not. Heart, determination and a will to win. I didn't have to motivate these guys to play because they knew what we had to do and they went out and did it. I'm very proud to be around such great players who dedicated themselves to the cause and to help the team take another step towards the South Championships. My hats off to the SUPER 8 (Classic, Rock, Renda, Guppy, Kano, Miranda, Minnow, and Ted the DAWG!). Thanks guys for a most memorable weekend.

Special thanks to Kristin Miranda and Tiana Ryan (forgive me if I spelled your name wrong). These women not only supported their husbands but supported the team by supplying water and snacks to the players and also cheering the men on during the game. Thanks ladies. Also, thanks to Cayo Nicolau who brought water to the players at the half and provided coaching tips during and after the game. Thanks for being there Cayo.

My hats off to Mike Haverstick for the Saturday practice which really helped the men understand the game better and they put it all to good use. Stick does a great job with incoporating game tactics and drills and it has definitely helped the team a lot. Again, THANKS Mike Haverstick.

You guys would think we have just won the National 7's championship by the tone of this, but i'm extremely grateful and proud of all who attended and I think they deserved to be put in the spotlight for the effort they gave this weekend.

the Vulture