The Wolfpack hosted the annual Atlantic Coast Rugby League 7s Tournament Saturday at the Method Road Complex. The Pack also competed for a position in the USA Rugby Collegiate Championships, held in Greensboro, N.C.
The eight-team tournament featured two groups: Group A consisted of the Pack, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Maryland, while UNC-Chapel Hill, Clemson, Navy and Virginia made up Group B. The top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage.
“Overall, I thought we played really well,” Rob Jordan, a junior in business administration, said. “Our pattern of play really flowed and our offense executed what it needed to.”
State began the day with a 26-12 victory over the Demon Deacons, and then it squeaked past Virginia Tech 17-15 an hour later.
The Wolfpack clinched the top spot in Group A with an emphatic 26-5 win over Maryland to push its record to 3-0 on the afternoon and grabbed a place in the semifinals. The latter two wins came against teams that the Pack had lost to in 15s play earlier this fall.
“This tournament proved that we have a really strong and talented core,” sophomore Rashad Alston said.
In the semis, the Pack drew Virginia, which had defeated UNC-CH and Clemson on its way to a second-place finish in Group B. State avenged yet another 15s loss to the Cavaliers, grinding through a 19-12 win to set up a matchup with Navy, the Group B champion, in the final game. It was the Wolfpack’s fourth consecutive appearance in the ACRL championship game.
“Our 15s season was really rough for us,” Alston said. “We only got one conference win. So for us to rebound and finish second here in 7s was huge.”
Unfortunately, the Midshipmen proved to be too much for the Wolfpack and denied it a championship win. This broke a streak of two consecutive ACRL Sevens championships won by State.
“I think that one thing we need to work on is our defensive structure.” Jordan said. “Most games we played well, but then we started lagging.”
The Wolfpack posted several honors in the tournament. Martin Gerlach, a research student, led the tournament in total points scored, posting 32 points, while Dominick Goldston, a student in mechanical engineering, was right behind him with 30. Goldston also led the tournament in tries scored, with seven on the afternoon. Tries are essentially rugby’s equivalent to American football’s touchdown. Each try is worth five points, with a kick afterward for two additional points.
Despite losing in the final, the Wolfpack earned an at-large bid to the USA Rugby Collegiate Championships. The tournament will be held in Greensboro, N.C. on Nov. 23-24.
“It should be fun,” Jordan said. “There are going to be a lot of teams at our level and higher.”
