Stanford Finish 3rd at Pacific Western Conference 7’s Championship
Stanford, California – Saturday November 9th
Stanford started slow and ended strong to finish 3rd overall in the Pacific Western Conference 7’s Championship. A very young Stanford squad of fifteen-players included just two seniors and two juniors, and seven freshman amongst the eleven underclassmen. The young squad competed valiantly without regular senior captain Dan Agness. Furthermore, the team was hit hard by injury early in the day, and minutes into their second match, the fifteen-man squad was down to eleven players and without three regular starting players. Nonetheless, the reillient Stanford team showed their toughness in bouncing back from early defeats to improve throughout the day, and finish with strong performances resulting in victories
In their first pool match, Stanford started very slow and Santa Rosa jumped out to a three try lead before the half, and would add three more in the second half before freshman Ryan Merritt showed his pace in a 95 meter break and score. Stanford was much more competitive in their second pool match against Nevada-Reno. After falling behind 0-5 in the first half, sophomore Wesley Greiner crossed the line to tie the game. Stanford would leak a last minute try to lose the close contest 5-10. In their third and final pool play, Stanford jumped out to early lead with a try from freshman Alex Barron before a Stanford mistake on a charged down kick leveled the scores at 5-5 with Fresno State at the half. The second half would belong to Stanford, as junior Nino Abundes would cross the line twice with strong finish after being put into space by freshman Nico Sanchez.
Despite finishing 1-2 in Pool Play, Stanford advanced to the top-four championship knock out round, as Santa Rosa was ineligible to do so as the only non-Conference (Pacific Western) team in the tournament. Stanford would face off with eventual Champion San Jose State in the semi-final. On the opening kickoff San Jose State caught a break and fielded a loose ball to score five seconds in. Stanford would come back strong with consecutive tries from Abundes on a beautiful late switch with Nico Sanchez, and then strong defensive work from junior scrumhalf Alejandro Sanchez created a turnover he himself jumped on for a 2nd score. San Jose State would counter with a try of their own to level the score at 12-12 at the half. In the second half, San Jose State controlled most of the territory through the first few minutes, when strong Stanford defensive pressure forced a loose ball Stanford looked poised to pounce on. However, an awkward bounce of the ball saw it go straight to a Spartan player and through the Stanford line for a score. As time wound down, Stanford played adventurously in an effort to tie the game, eventually turning over the ball which lead to a final San Jose State score, San Jose State 24 – Stanford 12. While San Jose State would go on to beat Chico State 19-7 in the Championship Match, Stanford would get a second chance against Nevada-Reno in the Third Place Match. Fielding a young squad with three freshman and only one upper classman, Stanford played some of their best rugby of the tournament, scoring two tries in each half, one in the first each from sophomores Sam Falkenhagen and Wesley Greiner, and two in the second from speedy freshman Pascal Odek, while only allowing Reno to cross the line once, Stanford 26 – Nevada Reno 5.
The Conference 7’s Championship now concludes the Fall 7’s season for Stanford. The team improved dramatically through the course of the brief season and hopes to build on those improvements as they turn their focus to the Winter 15’s season.
Next Up: Stanford at Cal Maritime at Cal Maritime in preseason 15’s Match – Friday November 22nd at 6pm
Stanford Team: Jason Liljenquist (Senior), Uche Omegara (Senior), Nino Abundes (Junior), Alejandro Sanchez (Junior), Sam Falkenhagen (Sophomore), Wesley Greiner (Sophomore), George Fullerton (Sophomore), Jovi Rippert (Sophomore), Alex Barron (Freshman), Nico Sanchez (Freshman), Pascal Odek (Freshman), Drew Lexmond (Freshman), Chris Sebastian (Freshman), Jack Chabolla (Freshman), Ryan Merritt (Freshman)
Pacific Western Conference 7’s Championship
November 9th, 2013
Round 1: Pool Play
Pool A: Nevada-Reno 23 – Fresno State 5
Pool A: Santa Rosa 38 – Stanford 5
Pool B: San Jose State 24 -SF State 5
Pool B: Chico State 22 – UC Santa Cruz 10
Round 2: Pool Play
Pool A: Stanford 5 – Nevada-Reno 10
Pool A: Santa Rosa 19 – Fresno State 10
Pool B: San Jose State 24 – UC Santa Cruz 10
Pool B: Chico State 19 – SF State 7
Round 3: Pool Play
Pool A: Stanford 19 – Fresno State 5
Pool A: Santa Rosa 24 – Nevada-Reno 12
Pool B: San Jose State 10 – Chico State 5
Pool B: SF State 17 – UC Santa Cruz 10
Round 4: Semi Finals
Consolation: Santa Rosa 22 – UC Santa Cruz 12
Consolation: Fresno State 12 – SF State 7
Championship: San Jose State 24 – Stanford 12
Championship: Chico State 31 – Nevada-Reno 5
Round 5: Finals
7th Place: UC Santa Cruz vs. SF State
5th Place: Santa Rosa vs. Fresno State
3rd Place: Stanford 26 – Nevada-Reno 5
1st Place: San Jose State 19– Chico State 7
