 Photo by Holt Menzies
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by RANDI KITTS
Intern Sports Reporter
The State Farm Fields Complex was a sea of colored jerseys this past weekend, as rugby teams from all over the south came out to participate in the 10th annual Rucktoberfest.
Appalachian State’s men and women’s AHO rugby teams were the hosts of the event, both battling 14 competitive teams a piece for the 2009 tournament.
“We have our own style of what I like to call ‘organized chaos,’ and when we come together and execute that, no one can compete with us,” senior hospitality and marketing major Matt R. Espy said.
The AHO men’s team
pulled out their second consecutive victory this year, not allowing a
single try to be scored against them throughout the weekend’s entire
competition.
The
tournament was a two-day affair in which the teams played three games
on Saturday, and competed in the semifinals and championship games on
Sunday.
“We had
a few easy games, and we were able to put up 86 points on Saturday,”
club president and junior marketing and economics major Ben S.
Llewellyn said.
The men had a triple shut out performance against UNC-Charlotte, Elon and the College of Charleston on their first day.
 Photo by Holt Menzies
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The team played South Carolina in the semifinals on Sunday, securing the win in a sudden death round.
“USC is a D-1 school with a full roster and fully funded team. To beat them was awesome,” Llewellyn said.
After the men’s close call with USC, AHO took on Clemson in the championship game.
A previous victory in their away game against Clemson gave the men a better sense of confidence before the final match.
“We beat
them once at Clemson, and as long as we brought our game, I [couldn’t]
really have seen a different outcome,” Llewellyn said.
The
men’s poise served them right on Sunday, when AHO defeated the Tigers
in yet another shut out performance, as they were able to uphold their
title as the reigning champions of what they like to call “the biggest
rugby tournament of the south.”
The AHO
women faced N.C. State, UNC and East Carolina on the first day of the
tournament, and were able to win two of the three matches and tie UNC.
They too never allowed their opponents to score against them on Saturday.
“We had
a slow start [on Saturday] but as the day went on we got better and
better and were able to learn from our mistakes and fix them,” women’s
team president and senior psychology major Lisa M. Rieger said.
Although
the AHO women tied Carolina 0-0 in the first day of the tournament, the
Tar Heels were less fortunate on Sunday when AHO defeated them 9-3 in
the semi-finals.
“The
women have a strong core of veteran players and a talented group of new
players that have filled in very well,” team coach and sociology
professor Ken B. Muir said. “Before, women playing sports was seen as
more of an anomaly, but now I think society is taking them more
seriously. It used to be seen as ‘cute,’ but not anymore.”
The
coach said the women’s passion, desire and confidence are what,
ultimately, brought them to the finals this year against UVA,
Rucktoberfest’s defending champions.
Despite their hard fought efforts, however, the women fell to the Cavaliers on Sunday in the championship game.
“Virginia
is a really strong team,” sophomore Becky M. Moose said. “They brought
three separate sides and were really good at finding holes in our
defense.
“They
shut us out the weekend prior to the tournament, and so I think we
improved by just being able to put points on the board this time
around.”
As the
men gathered to accept their trophy, Espy said he was glad to have
participated in “by far the most competitive tournament [Rucktoberfest]
has had yet.”
“[AHO plays] fast-paced, smash-mouth rugby that no one can compete with,” Espy said.
Photos by Holt Menzies | Chief Photographer
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