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Written by Pat Clifton
Friday, 08 July 2011 11:34 |
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Midwest Qualifiers in Milwaukee, Cleveland |
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Sevens -
Club Sevens
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 The Midwest Qualification series continues Saturday with tournaments in Milwaukee and Cleveland. Lakefront 7s, the Milwaukee event, will be contested by the Chicago Lions, Chicago Griffins, Milwaukee Harlequins, Milwaukee RFC, Youngbloodz, Fox Valley Maoris, Indianapolis and Madison.
Of them, only Fox Valley, the Harlequins and Madison are without series points. Milwaukee, Youngbloodz, the Lions and Griffins currently sit second through fourth in the Midwest standings, respectively. The Lions won the most recent qualifier, Firehouse 7s in Chicago, and the Griffins finished second. The Lions had to come back against the Youngbloodz in pool play, and Milwaukee reached the semifinals, signaling Lakefront 7s could be a hotly-contested tournament. The same can't be said about Rock 'n Roll 7s, the Cleveland qualifier, which includes 1823, Cleveland Eastern Suburbs, Cincinnati, Western Michigan, Kentucky and Bowling Green. Only 1823, who leads the Midwest having participated in each qualification weekend, and Cincinnati have series points. 1823 defeated Kentucky and Bowling Green last month at Cin City 7s by a combined score of 79-0, and the Wolfhounds pounded all of their opponents en route to a matchup against the Columbus, Ohio club in the final. 1823 defeated Cincy 12-10 to take the tournament title. They could very well meet in the final in Cleveland Saturday for a rematch. Lakefront also features these brackets: men's competitive, women's competitive, men's open social 1&2, Women's social and high school.
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Written by Pat Clifton
Friday, 08 July 2011 10:57 |
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Highly-Ranked 7s Teams Collide in San Diego |
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Sevens -
Club Sevens
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 One of the more intriguing tournaments of the weekend is not a qualifying event. Old Mission Beach Athletic Club is hosting Belmont Shore, a combined Los Angeles team, San Bernadino and the Glendale Raptors in a round-robin competition that will flank the All Americans’ match with New Zealand Universities Saturday in San Diego, Calif.
The Utah Warriors and Old Puget Sound Beach were originally slated to play in this event, but have pulled out.
OMBAC and Belmont Shore are pre-qualification-period favorites to represent Southern California at club 7s nationals in August. They’ve already met once this summer, in the final of Oasis 7s, and Belmont won. But, says OMBAC coach Craig Hartley, neither team had its full compliment of players in that game.
“We played pretty well, played in the finals against them. We didn’t have all of our guys out and they didn’t have all of their guys out, so I think it’ll be a better representation of both teams.”
Hartley expects the Los Angeles squad, which will also make a run at qualifying for Nationals after forming under the new 7s eligibility rules, to be a talented amalgamation.
The team that really makes the tournament intriguing is Glendale. After winning the Dallas Harlequins Cup last month, they sit atop the West qualification standings, which allows them to forgo playing in the Kansas City qualification tournament also being held Saturday.
“We just wanted a change of scenery and a change of competition, because if we went to Kansas City, which we originally planned, we would probably play against the same teams,” said Glendale and West 7s all-star coach Andre Snyman.
“I would like to expose my players to more of a variety of players and not play the same players, so that’s why we decided to go to the San Diego tournament, to play against different players, and the more exposure the team can get the better.”
Snyman, a former Springbok international, will get his first look at Belmont Shore, the perennial 7s powerhouse, Saturday. The San Diego event will be just his second American rugby tournament since arriving the States in May.
“I heard rumors that they are the team to beat,” he said of Belmont Shore, “but they’ve got to perform on the day to beat any team, so if we’re in form on the day and we play against them, who knows, maybe we can make a surprise.”
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Thursday, 07 July 2011 22:20 |
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Whittling Time for Eagles |
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RUGBYmag Premier -
Exclusive News
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Probably by the end of next week, USA Head Coach Eddie O’Sullivan will name his squad to play Canada twice.
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Written by RUGBYMag.com News Release
Friday, 08 July 2011 10:21 |
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Dragons Honoring Deceased Rugger |
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Clubs -
Men's DII Clubs
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The Chicago Dragons are holding a trivia night fundraiser at North End Bar, 3733 North Halsted Street in the Boystown neighborhood of Chicago from 9pm to midnight Friday, with all the proceeds being donated in the name of Foster Courtney to the Mid-America Transplant Services.
Courtney, an inside center for the St. Louis Crusaders, was struck by a car in the Grove District of St. Louis just outside the Crusaders' sponsor bar following a fundraiser. The driver of the car was drunk and speeding. He fled the scene, but the police now have him in custody. Courtney died hours later at St. Louis University Hospital at the age of 29. He was an organ donor and because of his generosity, eight lives were saved in the aftermath of his untimely passing.
Courtney was from Memphis, Missouri. He studied business administration at Culver-Stockton College and pursued a career in human resources. He lived in St. Louis and worked as a talent management and organizational development specialist at Corizon. Courtney's memorial service is Saturday, and his family asks that instead of sending flowers, you send a donation to either the Mid-America Transplant Services or the Courtney Memorial Scholarship Fund, which will help a Culver-Stockton business student in need. To donate to the scholarship fund, contact Eric Barkley 573-288-6463.
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Written by Cody Secker
Thursday, 07 July 2011 21:39 |
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OPSB Headlines Can-Am 7s |
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Sevens -
Club Sevens
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When the Can-Ams Summer Sevens tournament kicks off this weekend in Bellingham, it will be a matchup of some of the best teams Canada and the USA has to offer. Some will be looking for revenge from last year and others will have that infamous target on their backs and constantly looking over their shoulder
One of those teams being both the hunter and the hunted is Old Puget Sound Beach (OPSB). OPSB looks for nothing more than to maintain their solid tournament play. They are going to have a great chance to do so with a full and healthy squad, something they had to work around in Vancouver, BC. The former two-time defending champions lost in the final to Valley High (BC) 20-17 and are looking to get one back. Should these two match up in the divisional final it will make for a great match as both sport some of the best Sevens players in their respected countries.
Hosts Chuckanut Bay, playing in the Division B pool, will also have their hands full with teams like the Raccoons and Hoggs, both of which have strong returning squads. Chuckanut has looked fairly dominant this year and look to stay competitive this weekend with a full squad and the advantage of sleeping in their own beds.
On the U19 side, it looks as though the home team will once again be the team to beat. Defending champion Chuckanut Bay will once again bring a squad that not only brings a lot of speed to the table, but experience as well. However, the Bayside Young Sharks will be looking to dethrone their Bellingham counterparts and bring the trophy back to the other side of the border.
As for the women’s side, the Emerald City Mudhens (Seattle) will once again be looking to defend their title and make up for their disappointing loss in Vancouver against Burnaby Lake. For the Mudhens, it will be doing the fundamental things consistently and keeping containment on their opponents, something that killed them in Vancouver, BC. First things first though as pool play, which includes runner up from last year Bayside and 3rd place finisher Portland, will give them nothing but trouble.
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Page 1240 of 1449 |
