The lineup of teams for the 2018 USA Rugby Cub 7s Nationals has been finalized after four regions capped off their qualifier seasons Saturday.
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It's A Metro Midwest
The Chicago Lions men's team had been right near the top all season, but faded at a critical moment. After playing Metropolis in the semis, the Lions fell 45-0 to the Minneapolis side, and thus was eliminated from the winners-take-all Midwest Championship. Metropolis, which has been playing some superb rugby this summer, went on to beat the Cleveland Academy for the MW title.
Metropolis won the semi 45-0 and the final 34-0.
The Academy, which had kind of limped into the regional finals, takes second and will go to New York, as well.
With the women, as it has been all season long, it was Metropolis and the Chicago Lions battling it out. In the final, Chicago took down Metropolis 27-7. Both teams have qualified.
Qualified: Metropolis Men (#1), Cleveland Academy Men (#2), Chicago Lions Women (#1), Metropolis Women (#2).
The Last Frontier
With the Heartland 7s having not provided any closure thanks to lightning, it all came down to Denver., and the host team, Denver Barbarians, defeated Bulldog in the final 21-19.
Denver won the Frontier Series with 15 points, while Bulldog took 2nd with 11.5.
Kansas City had an up and down tournament, but a fourth-place finish provided one point, and left KC with seven overall, good enough for the #3 seed from the region.
The women's competition has already finished and it looks to be that the Kansas City Jazz or Rocky Mountain Magic have won the only seed to New York - better head-to-head.
Qualified: Denver Men (#1), Bulldog Men (#2), Kansas City Blues Men (#3), Rocky Mountain Magic Women (#1).
Red River Is Red
The women's qualifiers had already been decided with ARPTC sending two teams to New York. In the men's qualifier, it was about who would join Dallas at nationals. All New Orleans had to do, really, was take the field at Houston's Hell or High Water 7s. Finishing top four would help. In the end, Dallas #1 faced Dallas #2 in the semis, while NOLA took on Austin in the other semi. By winning its pool and beating HURT in the quarters, New Orleans did enough to secure a place in New York.
However, getting the #1 seed would require finishing ahead of Dallas 1. Didn't happen, as the Austin Huns downed New Orleans to make the final against Dallas 1. It was too late for the Hunts to overtake New Orleans, however.
Qualified: Dallas Reds Men (#1), New Orleans Men (#2)
Pacific North
The Tacoma Aroma 7s hosted the Pacific North championships, which, on the women's side, was really mostly about how the seeds to nationals would be arranged. Four strong teams - Berkeley, Life West, WAC, and ORSU - were battling for three seeds.
In the end, it was a four-team round-robin in which ORSU, two-time tournament winners in the Pacific Northwest, faltered and lost all three games. Life West swept the table to take the #1 seed, Washington Athletic Club went 2-1 to take 2nd, and Berkeley All-Blues edged ORSU 17-10 to go 1-2 and take the #3 seed.
In the end the key games were played at the beginning of the day, with Life West defeating Berkeley 30-7, and WAC taking down ORSU 19-10. WAC had its best tournament of the summer.
On the men's side, it was a crowded field looking for that lone spot to the national championships. Life West and WAC dominated, and met in the final. For the Washington Athletic Club, some paperwork and player availibity issues meant they played with only eight players - not all of them full match fit.
But, with some smart subbing (you can make five subs in a sevens game, eve if it's the same person in and out), WAC survived. In the final, WAC took a 19-0 lead, saw Life West come back to make it 19-14, and scored late to seal it. Ian Wright and Scott Dean were stalwarts for WAC.
Qualified: Life West Women (#1), Washington Athletic Club Women (#2), Berkeley All Blues Women (#3), Washington Athletic Club Men (#1)
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Fill list of qualified teams:
Men
Old Blue, Mystic River, NYAC, Beltway Elite, Atlanta Old White, Metropolis, Cleveland Academy, Dallas Reds, New Orleans, Belmont Shore Blue, Santa Monica, Belmont Shore Gold, Denver Barbarians, Bulldog, Kansas City Blues, Washington Athletic Club
Women
New York, Boston, Scion, DC Furies, NOVA, Atlanta Harlequins, Phoenix, Chicago Lions, Metropolis, ARPTC Blue, ARPTC White, San Diego Surfers, Life West, Washington Athletic Club, Berkeley All Blues, Rocky Mountain Magic