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Written by Jackie Finlan
Tuesday, 11 October 2011 10:57 |
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Glendale Works Depth in Chicago Win |
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Clubs -
Women's Clubs
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A couple of weeks into the women’s DI club season, Glendale coach Lisa Rosen thought Chicago would be their biggest challenge of the season. After the Raptors’ 48-0 win against Chicago, it’s become evident how good Glendale has become over the last month.
“We've been focusing on our scrummaging, which hasn't been historically strong, and as a result each week it's getting better,” Rosen said. “We did some real-time video analysis at training, and will continue to do so as we approach Austin.”
Rosen watched Andrea Prusinski, Tyra McGrady, Gabe Fidelman, Hannah Stolba and Bethany Humphreys all cross for tries, and Stolba also kicked four conversions. But it was Sarah Wilson who really impressed the coach.
“Sarah Wilson, our captain and tight head prop, was stellar on offense and defense,” Rosen commended the Woman of the Match. “She is a rare combination of power, technique and work ethic, and she led from the front.”
But Chicago didn’t roll over and challenged Glendale’s physicality.
“Chicago was very tough at the point of contact,” Rosen said. “We turned over several balls at the counterruck, but fortunately for us they were not able to capitalize on our mistakes. They made a late break at the last moments of the game, but the ball was mishandled in goal, preserving the shutout.”
Saturday was Rosen’s last chance to experiment with different backline combinations against a live opponent. Glendale has a bye next week, which puts nationals three weeks out. Tonya Ansel, whose availability has been spotty this season, started at fullback, where she played for about 20 minutes the previous weekend. Bethany Wilson moved to outside center, and Humphreys slid over to inside.
In the forwards, there’s a nice battle for starting positions evolving in the front row.
“Gabe Fidelman and Heidi Bauer have been working very hard on the pitch,” Rosen said, “and with the addition of Carol Fabrizio (Santa Monica) and Jen Montoya (Black Ice), we have five-six solid front row players who are regularly competing for time. “
Taryn Brennan worked in at No. 8, Robin Roberts and Sara Edwards shared time at scrumhalf, and Colorado University grad Gedda Rodrigues also got her shot at flanker. All 23 players on the roster saw time.
“The biggest challenge for the Raptors right now is defense,” Rosen said. “The team is physical and tenacious, but our toughest defensive games came in the first two weeks of play, and to add to the challenge we will have one less game under our belts than everyone else [since St. Louis forfeited]. The responsibility is on us to work doubly hard at training to create situations that will stress and test our defensive system, and we'll be doing that.”
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Written by RUGBYMag.com News Release
Tuesday, 11 October 2011 10:51 |
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Stations Casinos, USA 7s and LVI Announce Partnership |
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Tournaments -
Stations Casinos LVI
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Las Vegas, Nev. -- USA Sevens, the premier rugby tournament in North America, has partnered with Station Casinos, one of the leading providers of gaming and entertainment in Las Vegas, to host the 3rd annual Las Vegas Invitational amateur rugby competition.
The Las Vegas Invitational (LVI) will take place February 9 – 12, 2012 and will be played alongside the USA Sevens international rugby tournament held annually in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Invitational is considered one of the premier amateur rugby events in the United States, featuring athletes and matchups across a wide-range of rugby divisions and age groups.
Station Casinos has joined as title sponsor of the competition, and has been named as the Official Hotel partner. During tournament week, Station Casinos will become the epicenter of all things rugby including host of the Official Fan Party at Sunset Station. "We're thrilled to partner with USA Sevens to serve as host to teams and fans participating in the Las Vegas Invitational event. Our hotels are uniquely positioned to offer each team premium accommodations at affordable rates,” said Kevin Kelley, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Station Casinos.
Over 200 teams are expected to compete in the tournament, and with over 12,000 fans projected at the LVI, as well as over 60,000 fans attending the international tournament, USA Sevens is anticipating record crowds in 2012. “We expect this to be an explosive year for the event and we're excited to be partnering with Station Casinos to help continue to grow the sport of rugby in North America,” said Jonathan First, President of USA Sevens.
Through the partnership with Station Casinos, participating teams will be offered special room rates at Boulder Station, Sunset Station, Fiesta Henderson and Palace Station as well as an opportunity to receive $200 discount off of the tournament registration fees. In addition to providing LVI teams and fans with specially designed hotel packages, Station Casinos will host a variety of rugby-themed events across the participating properties for the entire week of the tournament.
For additional details about the Las Vegas Invitational presented by Station Casinos, visit http://www.usasevens.com/las-vegas/las-vegas-invitational or to secure the discounted hotel rooms, visit www.stationcasinos.com/usa-sevens/.
About Station Casinos LLC
Founded in 1976, Station Casinos LLC is the leading provider of gaming and entertainment to the residents of Las Vegas, Nevada. The Company’s properties include various amenities, including numerous restaurants, entertainment venues, movie theaters, bowling and convention/banquet space, as well as traditional casino gaming offerings such as video poker, slot machines, table games, bingo and race and sports wagering. The Company owns 17 properties including: Boulder Station, Fiesta Henderson, Fiesta Rancho, Green Valley Ranch, Palace Station, Red Rock Resort, Santa Fe Station, Sunset Station, Texas Station, Days Inn at Wild Wild West and the Wildfire Gaming division that includes Barley’s Brewery, The Greens, Gold Rush, Lake Mead Lounge, Wildfire Casino & Lanes, Wildfire Boulder and Wildfire Rancho. The Company also manages Aliante Station.
About USA Sevens
USA Sevens LLC owns and operates the USA Sevens Rugby Tournament under an exclusive commercial license from USA Rugby. Held annually, the event is the fifth of nine stops on the international HSBC Sevens World Series world tour. The USA Sevens Rugby Tournament is the largest rugby event in North America, as well as the largest rugby event ever to be held in the USA. USA Sevens LLC is a division of American International Media, a company whose business activities include: the USA Sevens tournament in Las Vegas; the Collegiate Rugby Championship, a new rugby sevens event created with NBC Sports to promote the growth of Rugby in America; and its media holdings RUGBY magazine, usasevens.com, and RUGBYmag.com
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Written by RUGBYMag.com News Release
Tuesday, 11 October 2011 10:52 |
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Additional College 7s Qualifier at Stony Brook |
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Sevens -
Collegiate Sevens
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USA Rugby and the Empire Rugby Conference have reached an agreement to add a 14th collegiate 7s qualifier to the newly-minted national college 7s championships. Stony Brook University will host the Empire Rugby Conference 7s on November 19. It will be the last of 14 tournaments to serve as a qualifier. Ten other teams will be selected through a wild card system. The National Championships are expected to be help in a warm-weather locale December 16-17 - likely either Texas or Florida. The ERC is opening the Nov. 19 tournament up to non-conference teams. Invitations have been extended to local teams such as Army, Navy, Rutgers and Delaware. More information on this tournament can be found at StonyBrookRugby.org.
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Written by Jackie Finlan
Tuesday, 11 October 2011 10:11 |
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North Shore One Step From Elite 8 |
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Clubs -
Women's Clubs
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Chicago North Shore defeated the Austin Valkyries 29-5 this weekend, and with that win, has nearly booked a seed to nationals. It’s been an incredible turnaround season for last year’s third-place team in the nation, which started this season with losses against Chicago and Glendale. Since then, North Shore is 3-0 with wins against Denver Black Ice, Detroit and Austin. 
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CR2 has three seeds to the Elite 8, and Glendale is heading to Texas as #1 in the region. There are three teams at 3-2 vying for those final two seeds: Austin (15 pts), Detroit (15 pts) and North Shore (14 pts). This weekend is the final round of league play, and sees Austin traveling to Detroit, and North Shore heading to St. Louis (1-4). North Shore should win their game against St. Louis, likely with a bonus point, which would give them 19 points. Whoever wins the Austin v Detroit game will end up with at least 19 points (unless of course there’s a tie) and head to nationals. Bonus points and points differential will determine order of seeds.
So this weekend was a make-or-break situation for North Shore, and they responded well to the pressure.
“We knew this game was going to be a challenge because Austin is a tough team with a big, strong pack,” North Shore’s Jenny Lui said. “So our plan was to play a little wider, which worked well for us.”
The first quarter was pretty even, as the forward pack hammered away at each other and punched around the fringe. In the 18th minute, North Shore moved the ball wide to fullback Teena Mastrangelo, who worked the defense with wing Alyssa Green and eventually scored.
At the end of the half, Green made good on a linebreak, cut in on Austin’s fullback and scored in the middle. Jacki Gloss converted the try for the 12-0 lead at the break.
North Shore was by no means complacent heading into the second stanza, knowing full well that this game was just as important to Austin. Early on, North Shore put together a good-looking scrum near Austin’s tryline, and No. 8 Kate Daley was able to skirt across the try line for the 17-0 lead.
During the next five minutes, Austin worked their way downfield, and after a series of scrums, No. 8 Rachel Kraft picked from the base and scored, 17-5.
The bonus-point try occurred in minute 61, when Pam Kosanke launched a 15-meter pass to Mastrangelo in space. She took the ball the final 20 meters for the score in the corner. Fifteen minutes later, the North Shore forwards set up some nice quick-ball phases that eventually opened up some space for center Gloss, who raced to the try line and was tackled into the posts, knocking them over, but getting the try, 29-5.
“It was a good team win,” Lui said. “We're coming together nicely and feeling pretty good, but we're not satisfied yet. We need to continue to work on different combinations, improving our team play, and playing a complete game of rugby.”
North Shore will have one more game to finetune, and then it’s off to Austin for the Elite 8.
Saturday, Oct. 15
Detroit v Austin
Denver Black Ice v Chicago
Chicago North Shore v St. Louis
| Women DI CR 2 Standings |
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W |
L |
T |
Pf |
Pa |
Pd |
BT |
BL |
Pts |
| Glendale |
6 |
0 |
0 |
344 |
32 |
312 |
6 |
0 |
30 |
| Austin |
3 |
2 |
0 |
177 |
76 |
101 |
3 |
0 |
15 |
| Detroit |
3 |
2 |
0 |
146 |
86 |
60 |
2 |
1 |
15 |
| Chicago North Shore |
3 |
2 |
0 |
141 |
62 |
79 |
2 |
0 |
14 |
| Chicago |
2 |
3 |
0 |
57 |
90 |
-33 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
| St. Louis* |
1 |
4 |
0 |
34 |
265 |
-231 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
| Black Ice |
0 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
293 |
-288 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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