Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
They were used to playing indoors from practicing inside Mahaney Dome, but not like this.
Last weekend, the University of Maine men’s and women’s rugby teams competed in a barn when they played in the Shameless Rip-Off tournament at the University of New Hampshire’s campus.
“It was a ton of fun because whenever you play down there it’s always a good time,” men’s team captain William Dow said. “It’s smashmouth rugby: a lot of hitting and there were a few fights.”
Because of the limited space available in the barn, the teams were forced to play 7-on-7 instead of the normal 15-on-15.
The tournament started on Saturday for the men and on Sunday for the women. During the first day of the competition, the men’s teams were split in two. The ‘A’ side was comprised of veteran players, and the ‘B’ side full of new players.
Although the ‘B’s’ were eliminated after losing their first two matches, the ‘A’ side came back after an opening round loss to advance to the playoffs on Sunday. In their playoff game, they came from behind as Dow and Stefan Scarks scored two tries to tie the game. The match-winner was scored by Tony Desjardins.
Even with the edge of narrowly winning their last game, the team’s luck ran out as they were defeated in the next round.
“We played them very tough but they came out on top in the end,” Dow said. “I am very pleased with how we played. We played very tough and gave it all our effort.”
As for the women’s team, they garnered a win and a tie in their first two games but were forced out of competition by the University of Maine-Farmington.
Even though the team did not get the outcome they wanted, according to co-captain Kylie Newman, this game proved vital as it helped ready the Black Bears for the Maine Cup.
“We knew they were a tough team and we scrimmage with them as well,” Newman said. “They had a couple key players we could not stop. I think going in for the Maine Cup, we know their strong players and know the people who they have that really stand out.”
The Maine Cup is an annual tournament open to both the men’s and women’s teams where schools such as Bates College, Bowdoin College, Maine Maritime Academy, UMF and UMaine compete to see who has the best team in the state.
Bangor Daily News