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Rucktoberfest hosts southeastern teams |
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Tuesday, 02 October 2007 |
 East Carolina University and Western Carolina University play in one of the first 35 games to be played Saturday at Rucktoberfest. Trey Mahoney
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by ASHLEY DAVIS
Sports Reporter
Saturday marked the first day of the 8th annual Rucktoberfest, in which approximately 26 teams traveled to Boone to compete in a two-day men and women’s rugby tournament.
With the high number of competing club teams, this Rucktoberfest was the largest in the tournament’s history.
Competing for Appalachian State University under the name of AHO Rugby, the men’s and women’s teams had a successful weekend.
Going into the tournament, the women anticipated Clemson University to
be strong competition, as the AHO women’s team lost to Clemson at their
last match.
East Carolina University, as 2006 men’s Rucktoberfest champions,
entered the tournament as a strong contender. However, the men expected
tough competition across the board.
“One thing we pride ourselves in doing this tournament is the idea that
we love to bring some of the best athletes and teams to Boone,” said
men’s AHO coach Matthew Clark.
On the first day of the tournament, each team played three matches. Both AHO teams left the field Saturday night undefeated.
The men’s team opened the day against Coastal Carolina University and garnered their first win with a final score of 12-7.
Following their victory over the Chanticleers, the men beat Western
Carolina University 12-7, and closed the evening with a forfeit by East
Carolina University.
 The eighth annual Rucktoberfest was held this past weekend in which approximately 26 collegiate men’s and women’s teams competed in a rugby tournament. The ASU women’s team made it to finals but lost to the University of Virginia and the men’s team made it to semi-finals but lost to Furman University. Alisha Park
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None of the women’s three opponents managed to score Saturday. Elon
University was the first victim with a final score of 10-0, AHO having
scored two tries.
The University of Virginia’s B-squad gave the women’s team their second
win with a score of 29-0, AHO upping their number of total tries for
the day to seven.
The women’s offense switched to high gear for their last match of the
day beating the University of North Carolina at Greensboro 45-0, with
nine tries during the game.
Both of the teams’ records allowed them entry into the semifinals Sunday.
The men’s team played tough offense but could not keep up with Furman University, who won the game in the final minutes.
“This is our tournament - that is the mindset we go into the matches
with,” Clark said. “We have spent hours on end with preparation for the
tournament set-up and the actual game play. We take pride in this
tournament solely.”
Meanwhile the women’s team beat East Carolina, sending one of their
players to Watauga County Medical Center with a neck injury after a
scrum collapsed.
The women’s championship game was held Sunday afternoon between AHO and the University of Virginia.
UVA is ranked third in the nation for women’s rugby, so when the final
score was 19-0 in favor of Virginia, the AHO team walked away
downtrodden but still proud of their accomplishments.
“They’re a well-coached team, but we played like we wanted it and we
played our heart out,” said Becky Martin, one of the women’s senior
captains. “When you play better teams, you figure out what’s going
wrong in your lines and rucks so we definitely can take some of this
into the season with us.”
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