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Written by Jackie Finlan
Friday, 26 August 2011 19:37 |
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Grizzlies Grind Out Top Seed in Pool A |
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Sevens -
All-Stars
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Chula Vista, CA - The Pacific Coast took the top seed out of pool A at the Women's National All Star Championship with a final 12-5 win over Mid-Atlantic, which was also undefeated heading into the match. 
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It was a tough day for the Grizzlies, who had some travel issues when the date change. The last-minute logistics scramble forced former Eagle Laura Cabrera to come out of retirement and put the Pacific Coast jersey back on.
"The players really benefitted from having Laura out there," Pacific Coast coach Brandon Sparks said. "They literally had an on-field coach out there. Her communication really helped and she set a good example for the team."
Cabrera didn't play half bad either, scoring two tries on the day including one against MARFU. The ball was tied up in the breakdown, and Kelly Griffin was in the scrumhalf position. She spun the ball out to Cabrera and looped around expecting the pass, but "Laura had other plans," Sparks said. Cabrera put an up-and-under over the defense, broke the line and dotted down her kick in the try zone.
"Laura put on a clinic today," Sparks said. "She definitely proved that age and wisdom outplays youth."
The Pacific Coast team looked a lot like the All Blues team that won the Club 7s Championship, and saw more great performances from Nathalie Marchino and Griffin, both co-captains of today's squad. Phoebe Boone also had a good day and accounted for the game's first try, which didn't occur until late in the first half.
Boone was camped out on the wing, and as the ball worked to her end, recycled the ball so it could work to other touchline. As planned, the ball worked back into Boone's possession and she was able to break through a couple of tackles, then spin through the try zone to center the ball and dot down the try. Griffin converted. MARFU's score came from Ida Bernstein, who was leading the points board at that point in the tournament.
New to the squad was San Juanita Moreno, and she meshed well with her teammates.
"In the first game [against the Midwest], we wanted to make sure that San Juanita was on the same page as the rest of the team," Sparks said after the 19-10 win. "She knows a lot of the players from playing in the Women's Premier League, so she wasn't much of an outsider. She's a smart player and picked up the system quickly. She hooked up with Laura well, and at one point, the two of them had about four passes between the two of them en route to a try."
Sparks was happy with the team's performance, especially considering their light numbers, and was pleased that the player were able to meet at least two of three goals set out by the captains before each game. But the coach also know that the squad isn't running at full pace yet and is interested to see what Sunday will bring. If it's anything like the Club 7s' second day, it'll be another big day on the scoreboard.
Pacific Coast 12
Tries: Boone, Cabrera
Conversions: Griffin
MARFU 5
Tries: Bernstein
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Written by RUGBYMag Staff
Friday, 26 August 2011 19:07 |
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7s Men NASC Pool Standings |
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Sevens -
All-Stars
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Standings for the 2011 7s Men's National All-Star Championships after Friday's Pool Play:
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Pool A
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W
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L
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Pf
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Pa
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Pd
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Pts
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Pacific Coast
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3
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0
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109
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26
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83
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9
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SoCal
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2
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1
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57
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32
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25
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7
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South
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1
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2
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41
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65
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-24
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5
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Northeast
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0
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3
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17
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101
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-84
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3
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Pool B
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W
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L
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Pf
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Pa
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Pd
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Pts
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All Americans
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3
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0
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77
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26
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51
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9
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West
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2
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1
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64
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31
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33
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7
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Midwest
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1
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2
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41
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65
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-24
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5
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Mid-Atlantic
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0
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3
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10
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70
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-60
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3
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Written by Alex Goff
Friday, 26 August 2011 19:19 |
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Pac Coast, AAs Lead Pools |
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Sevens -
All-Stars
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Folau Niua continues his outstanding form at the men’s 7s NASC in Chula Vista, Calif., leading the tournament in tries and points and leading the Pacific Coast to a convincing 3-0 record in pool play.
 The Grizzlies defeated the Northeast 50-5 to finish the day undefeated, with Folau linking well with Mile Pulu at flyhalf and Mike Palefau in the center. Maka Unufe did not reach the tryline Friday, but that was because of some smart play by the youngster. Teams keyed on him and he set up several tries with smart offloads.
Southern California escaped a tenacious South team with a 14-12 win to come second in Pool A.
The Collegiate All Americans got two tries from Bubba Jones and scores from PJ Eloff and Muhammed Abdul-Shakoor to beat the West 26-7 in a Round 3 battle of 2-0 teams.
The West played well all day but the fit, speedy All Americans were just too much.
Niua leads the men’s competition with five tries and 29 points, while Mile Pulu has 25 points, and Taylor Howden 22.
Two players, Southern California’s Justin Boyd and the South’s Bobby Allen have four tries.
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Pool A
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W
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L
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Pf
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Pa
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Pd
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Pts
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Pacific Coast
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3
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0
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109
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26
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83
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9
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SoCal
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2
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1
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57
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32
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25
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7
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South
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1
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2
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41
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65
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-24
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5
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Northeast
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0
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3
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17
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101
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-84
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3
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Pool B
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W
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L
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Pf
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Pa
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Pd
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Pts
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All Americans
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3
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0
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77
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26
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51
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9
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West
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2
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1
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64
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31
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33
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7
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Midwest
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1
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2
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41
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65
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-24
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5
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Mid-Atlantic
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0
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3
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10
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70
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-60
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3
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Saturday matchups:
9am Pacific Coast v. Mid-Atlantic
9:20 West v. South
9:40 All Americans v. Northeast
10am SoCal v. Midwest
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Written by Jackie Finlan
Friday, 26 August 2011 17:29 |
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Four 2-0 Teams at Women's NASCs |
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Sevens -
All-Stars
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Chula Vista, CA - All of the teams that won in the first round of the women's National All Star 7s Championship also won in their second game. The eight teams are either 2-0 or 0-2.
In pool A, the Midwest lost another tight match, losing 15-7 to MARFU. Considering the Thunderbirds are playing their first matches together as well as playing ironman rugby with only seven players in attendance, the team has stood up to two very good squads thus far. 
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Ida Berstein was once again integral to the Sharks' victory, running in two tries for winning point spread. The former 7s Eagle currently leads the points leaderboard with Nathalie Marchino, both of whom have scored four tries over two games. Megan Hanson also scored for MARFU, and Christy Ringgenberg converted Michele Wong's try for the Midwest.
In the other pool A match, Southern California is still looking for its first points of the day, following its 24-0 opener with a 35-0 shutout against the Pacific Coast. The Pacific Coast's ultra potent backs were too much for the Griffins to contain, and player/coach Laura Cabrera, Marchino (2), Kelly Griffin (2), Irene Gardner and San Juanita Moreno all scored tries. So Cal will have one more shot to score points against the Midwest, but will likely take the fourth seed out of pool A into tomorrow's playoffs.
In pool B, the West asserted that it's earlier win against the South was no fluke and beat the Northeast 12-5.
"The team's playing beyond expectations," coach Tracy Gola said. "We came in as individuals, all playing a different style of 7s, but they're all coming together nicely now. We're communicating, working together well - I really couldn't ask for a better group of girls."
The West has a tough match ahead against the USA, which defeated the South 36-0 in its second match of the day. The two teams played the Northeast to close games, but the junior Eagles really opened it up against the Panthers, and will be difficult to corale. Kaelene Lundstrum, who earned her first international caps at Nations Cup earlier this month, had a great game, running in three tries against the South. Deven Owsiany, Amy Naber and Frances Wehrwein also added five-pointers, while Kimber Rozier slotted three conversions.
"It has only been two games," Gola checked her enthusiasm. "We'll see what happens when fatigue starts to set in."
Round 2
MARFU 15-7 Midwest
Pacific Coast 35-0 Southern Cal
USA Dev 40-0 South
West 12-5 Northeast
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