Author: Lizeth Castillo
On Saturday, Oct. 4, the Men’s Rugby ventured out to Flagstaff, Arizona for their second tournament of the year. The Blackshirts came out victorious at the 28th Annual Northern Arizona 10’s Tournament with a 2-1 record for the day.
The Blackshirts faced Prescott College in their first match of the day, and after a slow start and even slower play, the team’s day was off to a daunting start. “We were really tired before our first game because we arrived in Flagstaff at 2:00 a.m. and our first game was at 10:00 a.m.,” Ian Boehme (first-year) said. “We came out pretty flat and lost to Prescott.” Former Blackshirts, Philip Guerrero ’08 and Victor Lopez ’08, played at Flagstaff and helped the team overcome their defeat and reign in the rest of the day with resolute playing strategy.
“We went into the tournament unsure of how we would do,” Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz (senior) said. “We had a new group of players, some of which had never played before or had limited experience and we were facing teams we have never faced before.”
The team’s second match, against the Northern Arizona Land Sharks was played in trying early afternoon rain. Despite the weather, the Blackshirts beat the Land Sharks, 59-7. “We played our second game in artic temperatures with a lot of rain on the side,” Boehme said. “Somehow, we played a lot better and dropped the ball less in the rainy conditions. We played, and destroyed, the Northern Arizona Land Sharks.”
According to match reports from the day’s tournament, Sam Buckley (first-year) and Mitch Grummon (first-year) are two new players who have proved to be a force to be reckoned with on the field.
Buckley, the team’s number one recruit from the sixth best high school rugby team in the country, relates how the team’s support ultimately lead to their first win of the day. “Our team dynamics are pretty good,” Buckley said. “We were relatively prepared for the tournament, but it would be nice to have a solid lineup for both forwards and backs. That hasn’t happened yet.”
In the last match of the day, the Blackshirts shook off any unsettling morning feelings and ended the day strong. The team’s effective beginning and consistent play led to a win over their third opponent of the day, Arizona State B-Side. “We were up big at halftime and they decided to put in some of their better players, but we still defeated them 55-0,” Boehme said. “Our backs, especially Paolo, played extremely well.”
Crash balls in the forwards, followed by quick and simple balls to the backs, and support for offloads proved the most effective technique for the Blackshirts’ overwhelming defeat over Arizona State.
Their seemingly effortless win against Arizona State, qualified the team for the final on Sunday-a tournament for which the team was unable to stay. “We made it to the second day of the tournament, but had to respectfully decline to play in the championship game because academics are supposed to come first,” Boehme said. “We drove back at 2 in the morning and arrived back on campus at 8:30.”
After such a successful tournament, the Blackshirts are looking forward to their next tournament and rejoicing in the weekend’s achievement. “We had not had a whole lot of practice in a full 10’s alignment so I would say that the record we came out with was rather impressive,” Ian Nunley (junior) said.
“In years past we’ve used the tournament as a learning experience for new players, with winning being a bonus,” Cosulich-Schwartz said. “After the past couple years however, where we’ve seen the club grow tremendously in size, skill and ability, the focus has started to turn to winning, with player development a secondary focus.”
“The team is looking really good despite the talent that we lost from last years graduating class,” Boehme said. “We have a lot of solid freshman, new-comers and James, an exchange student from England. Last year we had a missing link, that European exchange student that everyone else had, but now we have that.”
The rugby team’s on-and- off field bond prove to be an unrelenting force the team takes to each tournament. “The most encouraging things from the Flagstaff tournament were the outstanding play of our backline, solid play from our rookies and the fact that we all became good friends over the weekend,” Cosulich-Schwartz said. “Flagstaff has always been a blast for our team, but we have historically not been competitive at this tournament.” Cosulich-Schwartz has taken the Blackshirts’ recent success as an affirmation of the team’s growth.
The team’s next tournament is on Nov. 1 at the Halloween 10’s Tournament on Treasure Island in San Francisco.
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