Amazing Finish to ACRC 7s at Surfside-Virginia Beach
The ranking and match-ups were set after Saturday's pool play at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The sun rose over the Atlantic Sunday on twelve teams stocked with talent and grit, each capable of beating any other on any given day. The question left to be decided was who would prove best on this day.
AIC Upsets #1 Ranked Kutztown Rugby to take Home ACRC Cup at Surfside Sevens-Virginia Beach
The morning began with elimination rounds. Kutztown defeated Stony Brook 26-5. Notre Dame College took care of St. Joe's 40-26 in a close contest that saw the Falcons pull away near the end. AIC defeated Western Michigan 36-12, Penn State defeated Miami University 26-15, Heat Elite prevailed over East Tennessee State and Old Dominion defeated Cincinnati 26-12.
Old Dominion went on to beat Heat Elite 27-12 for the Spoon. Miami University beat Stony Brook 12-7 for the Plate. After the win over St. Joes in the Cup quarterfinal, Notre Dame College lost to Kutztown 35-0 in the semifinals but took home the Bowl when Penn State left early after a loss to AIC in the semi's by a score of 33-5.
This set up the Cup game between Kutztown and AIC. AIC came into the weekend with three sevens tournament victories and a 25-3 record this spring, but Kutztown, undefeated while winning six straight tournaments and earning a nationwide #1 ranking, presented the most formidable of challenges.
American International College Looked Super All Weekend
AIC looked super-charged all weekend and the first half of the championship proved no exception. The Yellow Jackets came out strong and led 24-0 at the half thanks to two tries from Christian Adams and one from Ben Roach (all converted by Roach, who would have 18 on the weekend), topped off by a 30-meter penalty kick from Roach as the horn sounded.
In the second half, KU struck first, with Duke Makina scoring off the line-out in the corner, but failed to convert. AIC answered with a try from Adrian Ray converted by Roach, making the score 31-5. Two consecutive Kutztown tries pulled KU within two converted tries at 31-17.
AIC's Roach, however, wasn't through, scoring a final time as the Yellow Jackets managed a 38-17 victory over the Golden Bears to take home the Cup as the first-ever American Collegiate Rugby Sevens Champions.
Participating teams praised the event as a great weekend of rugby in a first-class facility. A special thanks to Boathouse Sports for the awesome performance Ts awarded to the winners.
About Surfside Sevens
Surfside Sevens is a tournament founded and developed by Amy and Stephen Siano. Amy Siano designed the logo and designed and built the first of many websites. Stephen Siano developed the concept for the tournament. The timing of the event with the unique horn system was noticed by Stephen Siano during the Taupiri Sevens in New Zealand in which Stephen played. Stephen brought the concept back to the USA and developed the tournament a the beach.
Contact Stephen Siano, Tournament Director for details 610-389-4474 or siano@urugby.com.
