PALO ALTO, Calif. (10/25/11) – The University of Colorado men’s rugby team won the Pacific Coast Rugby 7’s Tournament this past weekend. The tournament field was comprised of all teams from the Pac-12 conference with the exception of the University of California at Berkley and the University of Southern California. The Buffaloes were in a pool with Utah, Oregon, Oregon State and Arizona State. The other pool was UCLA, Arizona, Washington, Washington State and Stanford.
The Buffs’ began the first day of the tournament with a tough 24-15 loss vs. perennial powerhouse Utah. CU rebounded later that day beating Oregon State 24-12, Arizona State 29-5 and Oregon 43-5. The Buffs’ finished second in their pool behind Utah who went undefeated.
The Buffaloes’ ended up playing a talented UCLA team in the semifinals and came out with a 17-7 victory thanks to a last minute try by CU’s Jordan Kennedy. In the other semifinal, Utah rolled over Washington 45-0.
Colorado met Utah in the championship for what would turn out to be a thrilling game. Utah, a historically dominant rugby school, got on the board first and went up 5-0. The Buffs’ answered, scoring a try and converting to take a 7-5 lead with three minutes to go. Both teams scored with under two minutes remaining and converted to make the score 14-12. CU held out in the remaining seconds and claimed the inaugural Pacific Coast Rugby 7’s tournament championship.
Colorado senior and team captain Luke Lahman was named MVP of the tournament. Lahman led the tournament in try scores and played at an elite level throughout the competition.
The win qualifies Colorado for the USA Rugby Collegiate 7’s national championship on Dec. 16-17. The Buffs’ will head to College Station, Texas to take on 24 of the best 7’s teams from around the country. The tournament, hosted by Texas A&M, will crown the first ever USA Rugby 7’s college national champion.
“This is strong statement about the position CU rugby holds nationally,” said head coach Jim Snyder. “To be among the 24 best teams in the country in an Olympic sport vying for a national championship is incredibly rewarding for our players and represents the University well on a national stage.”
For more information on CU men’s rugby visit their website at www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/?DB_OEM_ID=600&u=curugby&s=htosports&t=c
