Recap of Southern Virginia University Rugby Tournament
On Saturday, Feb. 19, the Southern Virginia University rugby team played in its inaugural Sevens tournament. Teams who participated are listed as the following:
James Madison, Loyola Maryland, Mary Washington, Mount St. Mary’s with two teams , NC State, St. Joes, University of Virginia, UNC Wilmington, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, and Southern Virginia University. Read here for details about how a Sevens game is played.
Southern Virginia had the first game of the tournament against the second of Mount St. Mary’s two teams. The Knights scored quickly against The Mount, resulting in a quick score and a conversion. After that, The Mount could not find the try zone. The final score was 29–7 in favor of the Knights.
Southern Virginia then played against Loyola Maryland, ending with a second win for the Knights, with a score of 41–7. This was a very exciting game where at no point The Knights were concerned of losing. All seven players on the field gave a big effort in defense, with a spectacular show of offense.
In the last round of pool play, Southern Virginia played Virginia Tech. Last season, Virginia Tech advanced to the conference 15’s playoffs, while Southern Virginia did not. Virginia Tech’s loss to Southern Virginia was seen as a “fluke” last season. This time, Southern Virginia tied with Virginia Tech with a score of (17–17) in the afternoon, proving our program’s competitive level.
After every competitor had a chance to play three games, the teams were seeded for the final matches of the tournament.
- Mary Washington
- Mount St. Mary’s 1
- Southern Virginia
- Virginia Tech
- St Joseph’s
- UNC Wilmington
- Mount St. Mary’s 2
- University of Virginia
Semifinal matches were played between Mary Washington and Virginia Tech (36–0, Mary Washington) and Southern Virginia and Mount St. Mary’s 1(12–5, Mount St. Mary). As a result of the semifinal matches, Southern Virginia and Virginia Tech played for third place in a rematch of the third round group stage. The final score ended at 29–0 for the Knights, a great rebound response to the only Knight loss of the day.
In the finals, Mary Washington went on to beat Mount St. Mary’s 1 with a score of 17–5. The next tournament for the Knights will be Feb. 26, in College Park, Maryland
