Stanford Wins Inaugural Thomas B. Klein Cup

Stanford, California – Wednesday October 17th

The Stanford Students overcame a 5-0 deficit at the half to rally behind a late try from Senior Dan Ibarra with one minute left, which he converted himself to defeat the GSB (Graduate School of Business) 7-5 in the first annual Thomas B. Klein Stanford Sevens Competition.

About the Thomas B. Klein Cup:
This new annual competition was started with the objective of offering an early opportunity in the season for new players to play the new Olympic version of 7’s rugby, as well as to have an annual 7’s cup competition final between the best of the GSB and Stanford Undergraduate Students. The day started with a demonstration 7’s match between the Students and GSB, followed by multiple inter-squad scrimmages in a round robin format between broken up teams. Before the Final Cup Match, both teams heard from guest speaker GSB Dean Garth Saloner on the lessons he had learned from his previous rugby experience. Each team was coached in the final by guest coaches – GSB Professor George Foster (Undergrads) and GSB Professor (Founder of the GSB Rugby Team) Bill Meehan (GSB). For the next year, the Students will hold onto the cup and next year, it will be all to play for.

Thomas B. Klein was a student at Stanford as both an undergraduate student (B.A. 1973) and graduate student (M.B.A. 1979). He played rugby at Stanford and went on to play for the USA National Team. After graduating, he helped begin and chaired the Stanford Rugby Foundation, which oversees and supports the Stanford Rugby program. He is now the proprietor of Rodney Strong Vineyards.

Stanford Cup Final Team: Jeremy Kim, Austin Carey, Dan Ibarra, Masato Kuok, Alex LeRoux, Gabe Martinez, Sam Falkenhagen. Substitutions: Jason Liljenquist, Oscar Sandoval, Daniel Benavides, Taylor Clayton, Isiah Chinen

Next Up: Stanford will now cut down there Sevens squad to a final fifteen players selected to compete in the Pac 12 Sevens Championship on November 3rd and 4th at UCLA. The Pac 12 Sevens Championship will serve as a qualifier for USA Rugby’s National Championship on November 30th in Texas.