Sports

Tournaments prepare rugby squads for fall

By Dana Bulba

Posted on April 13, 2006, at 12:00 a.m.

The University of Maine men’s and women’s rugby teams are amidst their tournament season and have high hopes that their recent and upcoming tournaments will prepare them as serious competitors for the fall. A total of four tournaments this season are in store for the women, while the men will participate in three.

The first tournament of the season was held at UNH, where both teams played 7-on-7. The rugged tournament was held on the floor of a gravel filled barn, toughening the Black Bears up for the remainder of their tournament season.

Over spring break both teams traveled to Savannah, Georgia to participate in the Annual St. Patrick’s Day Tournament; 63 teams competed in 10 different divisions. After several years of not being able to participate due to scheduling and funding, both teams returned to Savannah with just enough players to compete.

The men’s team finished fourth in their division after crushing Northern Florida 47-0, and then winning by default against the University of South Carolina. Senior president Stefan Scarks said they missed playing for first by only four points.

The women did well in Savannah, said junior co-captain and president Teagan Thibodeau. They held their own against one of the best teams in the country, from Orlando, Fla.

“It was a true testament of our team’s ability,” said Thibodeau.

The Maine Collegiate Rugby Cup, one of the most highly anticipated tournaments of the season, is this upcoming weekend at the Cumberland Country Fair Grounds. Schools such as Colby, Bowdoin, Farmington, MMA and Bates will all compete.

Last year, the women’s team had four all-star players chosen to play on the Maine Team during this tournament. Thibodeau hopes to add more players this year.

“Even if we don’t get the outcome we want, we’ll still have individual outcomes,” she said.

Thibodeau and senior Carolyn Kelly were among the selected women to play last year. Thibodeau anticipates junior Rebecca Woods and freshman Judi Azevedo will be significant factors this year. Azevedo, playing the difficult position of fly-half, started playing for the Black Bears just this year without any prior rugby experience.

“I’d like to see a nice four years out of her,” said Thibodeau.

The men’s team, on the other hand, is fully optimistic of their upcoming performance at the Maine Cup.

“We’ll win, not even kidding,” said junior Anthony Desjardins. “Our talent pool is ridiculous.”

During the fall season the men’s team went nearly undefeated, only losing to Colby once, 12-5. The team anticipates good competition from both Colby and Bowdoin.

Several freshmen, Eric S. Anderson, Rocco Andreozzi and Anthony “Big Tony” Purpura have all been outstanding additions to the team, Scarks says. Andreozzi, whose father played rugby for the Black Bears, started playing last season and scored the most tries on the team.

The women will travel solo on April 22 and 23 to Rhode Island to compete in the Beast of the East tournament. The women took third last year after being defeated by Northeastern University. The Beast of the East will be the last tournament of the season for the Black Bears.

The men hope to travel to New York and Michigan this summer to compete.

“We’d like to go into the season in good shape with everyone playing well together,” said Scarks.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 13th, 2006, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.