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The University of Maine rugby teams competed at the Maine Cup this past weekend at the Cumberland Country Fair Grounds. Colby College, Bowdoin College, the University of Maine at Farmington, Maine Maritime Academy and UMaine all traveled to compete in the tournament hosted by the Portland Rugby Football Club. The UMaine men’s team finished a close second to UMF, while Colby was the women’s champion.
The women started the tournament playing early Saturday morning against Bowdoin College. It was a tight game, and the teams were evenly matched.
“I’m sure Bowdoin was not expecting to face the team they did,” said junior co-captain and president Teagan Thibodeau.
The Polar Bears rode the momentum of an early score to a 5-0 win over the Black Bears.
On the men’s side, UMaine opened up with an impressive 55-0 win over MMA.
“It was raining the entire game, and you could barely see across the field due to the heavy fog,” said junior Anthony Desjardins.
After a slow start due to the weather and its consequential penalties, the team went into the second half with a sizable lead. During the second half the team substituted with some rookie players and rested some of the veterans.
The women were slated to take on UMF next, but due to a lack of players UMF had to forfeit. UMF gathered enough players from other teams, though, to have a match.
“Their pack must have outweighed ours by a couple hundred pounds, but our girls stood pretty tough against them,” said Thibodeau.
The men played their second game against UMF as well.
“[UMF] is traditionally one of our largest rivalries in the state,” said Desjardins.
Earlier that day UMF beat Colby, the reigning champions of the tournament four years running, by just one try.
“Our match with Farmington started aggressively with hard hitting, fast passes and overall quicker game pace than our first game on the day,” said Desjardins.
Heading into the second half both teams were scoreless. Farmington was the first to score, gaining a seven point lead. The game was tied 7-7 with just 12 minutes to go after freshman Rocco Andreozzi scored a try and kicked the conversion. A few minutes following, UMF was awarded a penalty and decided to kick which resulted in their 10-7 lead. UMaine failed at an attempt to tie the game after a penalty kick was awarded to them. UMF won, 10-7.
Senior president Stefan Scarks, senior William Dow, freshman Eric S. Anderson, freshman Anthony Purpura, and Desjardins were selected to the New England Rugby Football Union Maine all star team.
Senior Matthew Mosley, junior Brian St. Pierre, and Michael Groth were also asked to compete in the all star game although they did not receive all star jerseys.
“[Those selected] will play a game in two weeks on the [April] 29th against New England’s best rugby players,” said Desjardins.
The women harvested three tournament all stars: senior Carolyn Kelly, junior Kylie Newman, and senior Alanna Pfeffer. Thibodeau and sophomore Renee Rioux were both named to the Maine All Star Pool. The all stars will join the Maine Collegiate Select Side to compete at the NERFU Cup against the top college players from around New England on May 7.
“Overall, what stood out most was how we played as a team. We worked hard to get ready for Maine Cup, and we really came together as a team,” said Thibodeau.
The women’s team will be attending the Beast of the East tournament this weekend in Portsmouth, R.I.
Bangor Daily News